Coachbuilt Italian Corvettes to Debut at Top Marques Monaco

Each year, the Top Marques show in Monaco brings out some of the finest pieces of craftsmanship, from cars to watches. And this year's event is sure not to disappoint. Among the many debuts scheduled for the Monte Carlo exposition are a pair of custom supercars crafted in Italy and based on the Chevrolet Corvette.

The art of transforming the Corvette by Italian coachbuilders goes back for decades, and has recently been revived. At Top Marques Monaco this year, two new models will debut. One is the Soliel Anadi, designed by Ugur Sahin (pictured above). The car features a uniquely Italian take on the Corvette's styling, with enhanced performance upgrades to make it even faster.

Alongside the Anadi will be a new version of the Spada Codatronca. Styled by a former Zagato designer and his son, the Codatronca debuted at the Top Marques show several years ago, but a new version called the Monza -- focused for use on the race track and anticipated to feature an open roadster body-style -- is tipped to debut at this year's show as well.

Audi R8 GT Coming to America for $200K

Exclusive. Fast. Stylish. Few cars are as eminently desirable as the Audi R8. More desirable still is the V10-powered R8 5.2 FSI. But at the top of the heap is the R8 GT. Unveiled at the Paris Auto Salon last year, the R8 GT packs the same V10 engine, but tuned to 560 horsepower and with 180 fewer pounds to drag around, it's that much faster.

Only 90 examples of this raw performance machine will be coming to the United States, each carrying a price tag of $196,800, making it the most expensive car Audi offers, and probably the most expensive it ever has

Kucing duduk seperti manusia

PENYIARAN gambar yang menunjukkan seekor kucing sedang duduk kini menjadi trend dalam kalangan pengguna Internet.

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LONDON - Bukan sahaja manusia memerlukan masa berehat dan untuk menenangkan fikiran tetapi kucing juga perlu melakukan perkara yang sama, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Kini terdapat trend dalam kalangan pengguna komputer di beberapa laman web, e-mel dan blog yang menyiarkan foto-foto kucing yang sedang duduk dengan gaya seperti seorang manusia sedang bersandar.

Kucing sering kali dikaitkan dengan manusia sejak hampir 9,500 tahun lalu dan merupakan haiwan peliharaan manusia yang paling popular di dunia.- Agensi

Tragic toddler weighs nine stone

Gigantic ... Lu Hao tries to play at home

THE desperate parents of a NINE STONE three-year-old have told how they can't make the giant toddler diet because they are scared of him.

Lu Hao, from China, is dangerously overweight, and at 9st 6lb is FIVE TIMES as heavy as other boys his age.

He is getting so big his family are frightened of him — and have given up trying to stop the youngster from gorging on huge plates of ribs and rice.

His parents claim he throws vicious tantrums if he doesn't get third or fourth helpings of dinner.

Huge ... Lu Hao's dad struggles to pick him up

And mum Chen Huan from Dashan, Guangdong Province, admits: "We have to let him be as if we don't feed him he will cry nonstop."

She said she has tried to cut down his meals in the past, but despite her best efforts he still managed to put on whopping 1.5st in the last year alone.

Sad ... Lu Hao struggles to play without getting out of breath

He has already been banned from nursery over fears his size might be a danger to other children, and usually plays alone at home.

But moving around is becoming tougher and tougher for the toddler, whose weight means he gets out of breath easily.

Struggle ... youngster enjoys playing, but gets tired easily

Ironically when Lu Hao was born he was underweight, at 5.7lbs, but he started piling on the pounds at three months old, and hasn't stopped since.

Dad, Lu Yuncheng, who struggles to pick him up, said: "His appetite is so good that for a meal he can eat three big bowls of rice, even larger than I and his mother."

Worrying ... Lu Hao is already five times heavier than other boys his age

Last year Lu Hao's worried parents took him to see specialists at the Guangdong Children's Hospital.

Doctors there said they think it is possible his weight gain could be down to a hormone disorder.

Hungry ... toddler won't stop eating and throws vicious tantrums if he isn't given food

Dr Lu Hong said at the time: "He is not just overweight but very tall as well so we may be able to treat him if it really is hormonal.

"But he cannot remain like this or his heart will never stand the strain."

A recent government survey showed there are 60million obese people in China, with the number doubling between 1992 and 2002.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi Is Highest Paid Footballer, Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho Is Best Paid Manager

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is the highest paid footballer in the world while Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho earns more than any other manager in the game, according to a survey by France Football magazine.

The Argentina international, who is widely recognised as the world's best footballer and has won the Ballon d'Or for the past two years, earns €31 million per annum. This amount that he garnered in 2011 came from his salary and publicity deals and is €3.5m more than what Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo earns.

Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, a former team-mate of Ronaldo at Old Trafford, is third in the list with an annual income of €20.7m. US-based footballers, David Beckham of LA Galaxy and Thierry Henry of New York Red Bulls, are fifth and 11th in the list with earnings of €19m and €13.6m respectively.

In the manager's category, Mourinho heads the top-paid list as he earns €13.5m a year. The Portuguese coach, who won the Champions League as well as Serie A and the Coppa Italia with Italian giants Inter last season, was appointed as tactician at Madrid in the summer.

Barcelona's Pep Guardiola is second behind 'The Special One' with an annual income of €10.5m while Rafael Benitez, who is without a club at the moment after parting ways with the Nerazzurri in December 2010, earned €10.2m. England head coach Fabio Capello is fourth with a salary of €8.5m.

Flamingo jatuh terlentang

SEEKOR burung flamingo berdiri (kiri) di sebuah kolam di Zoo Moscow, Rusia, sebelum ia tiba-tiba terjatuh (kanan).

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MOSCOW, Rusia - Seorang jurugambar, Tatiana Adamenko, merakam aksi lucu seekor burung flamingo terjatuh ke dalam air kerana hilang keseimbangan badan ketika ia sedang berdiri, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Dalam foto tersebut, jelas kelihatan kekeliruan pada 'wajah' burung itu manakala kaki haiwan itu pula terangkat.

"Saya cuma mahu merakam aksi burung flamingo mencelup kepala ke dalam air tetapi tiba-tiba, burung itu terjatuh," kata Tatiana yang merakam foto itu di Zoo Moscow baru-baru ini.

Selepas beberapa ketika, burung flamingo itu berjaya bangkit semula dan berenang seperti biasa.

Flamingo terkenal sebagai sejenis burung yang dapat berdiri dengan sebelah kaki selama berjam-jam. - Agensi

Horror images of Japan tsunami

Gone .... Sendai neighbourhood wiped out

THIS haunting image shows the devastating aftermath of the Japanese tsunami — an entire neighbourhood simply wiped out.

The before and after pictures of the once bustling residential streets in the north-eastern city of Sendai show the sheer scale of the destruction caused when the huge wall of water hit on March 11.

In one rows of cosy homes sit side by side — in the other foundations are the only reminder that the houses ever stood.

More heartbreaking scenes emerged from nearby Higashimatsushima City, where huge pits are being dug for a mass burial.

As the official death toll is expected to reach 18,000, local volunteers in hazmat suits are preparing to bury their neighbours, friends and even family in long rows separated by simple wooden slats.

Tragic ... Japanese survivors prepare to bury the dead in mass graves

AP

As the teams search slowly through the rubble of their former streets, the only pauses are to say a prayer when they come across a body.

The mass graves are a sign of how desperate Japan has become. It is almost unheard of for a body to be buried, with cremation being widely used instead.

Prayers ...workers stop as they find another body in the rubble

Many survivors have little time to mourn as they are still watching another unfolding tragedy in their battered country.

Workers were evacuated from the Fukushima power plant this morning after smoke was seen billowing from the No3 reactor.

The Fukushima 50 — 580 workers who cover shifts in groups of 50 — are battling to save the shattered nuclear plant by spraying sea water on its shell to keep it cool after its cooling systems were knocked out last week.

Radiation levels in the plant are now so high, that they know they face certain death, but stay on at the plant to protect the rest of the population from further disaster.

Ominous ... smoke rises from the Fukushima plant

Their plans suffered a setback today, when government officials said the sea water being pumped on to the plant could be CORRODING it.

A government spokesman said: "At the moment, we are not so optimistic that there will be a breakthrough."

Shoppers are shunning food grown close to the Fukushima plant, after high levels of radiation were found in milk and spinach.

The government say it is not a danger to health, but they have warned locals not to drink the tap water.

There may be some good news, according to international watchdog the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the situation at the plant is stabilising, but it still remains highly dangerous.

What's that rising over the hill,
is it a Moonster?

Supermoon ... bigger and brighter

ORB blimey - doesn't the Moon look big?

So it should, because our only natural satellite will be closer to Earth tonight than any time in the last 19 YEARS.

And we should get a decent view because forecasters predict clear skies for the so-called "Supermoon".

The description denotes a new or full Moon that is at more than 90 per cent of its closest position to Earth.

The last time it was so near - called a lunar perigree - was on January 20, 1992.

At its furthest - a lunar apogee - the Moon can be almost 250,000 miles away.

At 6.10pm tonight it will be exactly 220,625 miles away from Britain - 625 miles closer than a month ago. It will appear 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than at its most distant.

The effect will be the most impressive when the Moon is close to the horizon, as a backdrop to hills and houses.

When it gets high in the sky it will be hard to detect any size difference because there will be nothing for the eye to compare it with.

Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society said: "Tonight the Moon will be unusually close and a little brighter, but the visual effect of it being closer to the Earth is unlikely to be noticed by the human eye."

Dr Massey - who rubbished recent claims that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami were connected to the Moon's movements - added: "I would tell people not to expect a wow factor, but it is nice to go and have a look."

Pondan di Thailand perlu jalani kerahan tentera

Golongan pondan di Thailand tidak lagi dikecualikan daripada menyertai kerahan tentera berikutan pengenalan terma baru oleh Kementerian Pertahanan Thailand.

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BANGKOK - Kementerian Pertahanan Thailand semalam menambah terma baru yang memberi penerangan bagi kategori transgender yang sebelum ini dikecualikan daripada terlibat dalam kerahan tentera.

Akhbar Bangkok Post melaporkan, kementerian meminda undang-undang yang menyatakan transgender dikecualikan daripada terlibat dalam tentera kerana psikologi yang tidak normal melainkan berlaku kekurangan tentera.

Transgender dikelaskan kepada tiga jenis. Jenis satu merujuk kepada lelaki yang mempunyai penampilan seperti lelaki biasa. Manakala jenis dua merujuk kepada lelaki yang telah melalui pembedahan payu dara dan jenis tiga pula lelaki yang telah membuat penukaran keseluruhan jantina.

"Sebelum ini, hanya jenis satu yang perlu mengikuti kerahan tenaga. Tetapi jika bilangan mereka tidak mencukupi, transgender jenis dua akan dikerah walaupun mereka mempunyai payu dara," kata pengarah akademik jabatan sumber Pemerintah Askar Simpanan Thailand, Thaksin Chiamthong.

Pada tahun ini, pasukan tentera Thailand memerlukan askar kerahan seramai 97,280 orang lelaki berumur 21 tahun, meningkat sebanyak 9,828 berbanding 2010. -AFP

Kedudukan bulan paling rapat dengan bumi

Fenomena ini membolehkan bulan kelihatan lebih besar dan terang daripada biasa.

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ENGLAND - Buat pertama kali sejak tahun 1992, bulan yang besar (super moon) dapat dilihat pada titik kedudukan paling rapat antara bumi dan bulan di menara St. Michael di Glastonbury, England, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Kelihatan beberapa pengunjung sedang berdiri berdekatan menara itu untuk melihat bulan yang hanya dapat dilihat selepas dua dekad lalu.

Fenomena tersebut berlaku apabila bulan berada sangat rapat dengan bumi daripada kebiasaannya. Ketika itu, bulan akan kelihatan sangat terang dan bercahaya. - Agensi