Bilik pejabat kilang ubat umpama sebuah istana

SALAH satu ruang yang terdapat dalam pejabat Kumpulan Syarikat Farmaseutikal Harbin, timur laut wilayah Heilongjiang, China.

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HARBIN, China - Sebuah bangunan pejabat mempunyai hiasan dalaman mirip sebuah istana mewah yang diduduki oleh pemimpin terkaya dunia.

Lebih mengejutkan, blok bangunan itu dibina di China, negara yang dikenali kerana mempraktikkan konsep binaan yang ringkas.

Hiasan dalaman bangunan tersebut ditiru daripada Istana Versailles di Perancis.
Ia merupakan pejabat kilang ubat Kumpulan Syarikat Farmaseutikal Harbin di timur laut wilayah Heilongjiang.

Bangunan itu terdiri daripada blok bangunan enam tingkat yang mengandungi pejabat tiga tingkat manakala baki ruang luar dijadikan muzium milik firma berkenaan.

Syarikat Farmaseutikal Harbin itu adalah milik pemerintah China.
Hiasan dalamannya bercirikan kemewahan seperti dinding dan lampu keemasan sekali gus mencetuskan kemarahan penduduk setempat.

Penduduk mendakwa wang untuk membina hiasan dalaman itu sepatutnya dibelanjakan untuk menyelesaikan masalah pembentungan di kilang-kilang firma berkenaan yang semakin serius.
- Agensi

Citroen unveils high-tech minivan concept

Citroen has unveiled a distinctly unconventional concept set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show later this month.

The Tubik, a far cry from the sleek concepts normally on display at top auto shows, is a large van designed to explore the idea that ‘travel should be fun.’

Capable of seating nine passengers, the Tubik is designed in conjunction with Multicity, a transport-sharing scheme operated by Citroen in France.


It is designed to respond to ‘a changing society where extended families and groups of friends travel together.’


Therefore, it’s part vehicle, part lounge, with modular seats that can be rearranged to semi-reclined or face-to-face depending on the requirements of the occupants.


The middle of the three rear seat rows can also be folded into a table or meridienne-style seat.


To make sure the occupants are never bored during the journey, the van is desicked out with a giant semi-circular screen along with high-definition surround-sound, as well as a one-way large panoramic window for privacy.


As the concept is designed as a more environmentally-friendly way to travel, Citroen has opted to include a hybrid diesel engine which it says produces emissions close to those of a conventional — much smaller — sedan.


The model will be on display, along with concept from Citroen’s French stablemates Renault and Peugeot, at the Frankfurt Motor Show

Telefon bimbit rakam gambar 3D

TELEFON bimbit keluaran Sony Ericsson boleh merakamkan imej tiga dimensi.

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LONDON, Britain - Telefon bimbit pintar yang dapat merakamkan gambar panorama tiga dimensi (3D) akan berada dalam pasaran pada bulan depan, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Imej 3D telefon pintar itu adalah daripada siri Xperia Arc S keluaran Sony Ericsson yang boleh ditonton melalui televisyen yang menyokong aplikasi 3D. Imej yang dirakamkan akan dipaparkan dalam bentuk 2D pada skrin telefon pintar tersebut.

Telefon pintar itu yang dijana sistem operasi Android 1.4 gigahertz (GHz) keluaran Google bagaimanapun tidak boleh membuat rakaman video dalam bentuk 3D.

Menurut sebuah akhbar tempatan, telefon pintar Xperia Arc S menggunakan skrin berukuran 10.6 sentimeter selain dilengkapi kamera dengan definisi 8.1 mega piksel.

Harga telefon pintar itu yang diperkenalkan pada pameran teknologi IFA di Berlin Jerman baru-baru ini masih belum diumumkan. - Agensi

Trump dedah pesawat RM297 juta miliknya

PESAWAT milik Donald Trump yang berharga RM297.85 juta.

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NEW YORK - Bilionair terkenal, Donald Trump (gambar kecil) mendedahkan ruang dalam pesawat Boeing 757 miliknya dalam satu klip video baru-baru ini.

Klip video selama tiga minit itu menunjukkan ciri-ciri kemewahan yang terdapat dalam pesawat yang berharga AS$100 juta (RM297.85 juta).

Hos klip video itu ialah Amanda Miller yang pernah muncul dalam program realiti televisyen The Apprentice yang diterbitkan oleh Trump.

Pesawat itu mempunyai kepala sinki bersalut emas di bilik tidur utama.

AMANDA MILLER menunjukkan sinki bersalut emas di dalam pesawat Donald Trump.

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Sebuah televisyen rata dan sebuah kotak kawalan yang mempunyai butang membolehkan Trump mengakses lebih ribuan filem yang diminatinya.

Pesawat itu juga mempunyai sofa mewah mengelilingi sebuah meja untuk mesyuarat.

Ia merupakan pesawat baharu Trump yang dibeli daripada pengasas bersama Microsoft, Paul Allen pada Februari lalu dengan harga AS$100 juta. - Agensi

Giant 21ft killer croc is caught

Captured ... Mayor Cox Elorde and locals with killer crocodile

A GIANT 21ft crocodile feared to have attacked several villagers has been caught after a three-week hunt.

The one-ton male saltwater beast was trapped in a creek in Bunawan, in the Philippines, on Saturday night.
It is one of the largest crocs ever to be captured alive in the country.
Dozens of locals and staff from a crocodile farm set up traps to catch the monster after reports of a number of savage crocodile attacks.
The reptile is suspected of killing a tragic fisherman who went missing in July.
The croc may now be put into a planned ecotourism park in the southern town.
Mayor Cox Elorde says that this would turn it "from a threat into an asset".
After the hunt, he said: "We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers. When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes."
About 100 people had to pull the crocodile from the creek to a clearing where a crane lifted it into a truck.

Alfa Romeo updates 4C Concept

Alfa Romeo has previewed an updated 4C Concept which the Italian brand will be taking to Frankfurt next month.

The Alfa 4C Concept is a two-seater, rear-wheel drive coupé with a central engine, a length of about 4 meters and a wheelbase of less than 2.4 meters.

The new color is named Fluid Metal with Alfa claiming that it dynamically enhances the smooth and sinuous lines of the car.

The 4C will have 200bhp, with a weight of just 850kg. It’s light and powerful enough for a top end over 155mph and 0-62mph in less than 5.0sec.

The 4C will go into production and will act as the new flagship for the brand.

The 4C is also expected to be the first of a new line of Alfa Romeos to be offered in North America.

Jungle warrior wasp with massive mandibles discovered

Waspzilla ... the 'Garuda' was found on the remote Indonesian island of Sulawesi

IF you're making a trip to Indonesia any time soon, beware – a new waspzilla has been discovered there with jaws longer than its front legs.

The warrior wasp is found on the remote island of Sulawesi and has been dubbed the 'Komodo dragon' of the wasp family.

And for good reason too - males of this stinging species measure an alarming two and a half inches long and have huge ninja-like mandibles.

Some bite ... the wasp has jaws longer than its legs

Lynn Kimsey, entomologist of the University of California, Davis, encountered these fearsome flying beasts when on an expedition to the island.

"Its jaws are so large that they wrap up either side of the head when closed. When the jaws are open they are actually longer than the male's front legs. I don't know how it can walk."

Although these pesky pests mainly chomp on insects, if threatened they could leave a considerable mark on human flesh too.

Ms Kimskey intends to name the mini-beast 'Garuda' after the part-human, part eagle mythical creature that is a national symbol in Indonesia.

The wasp was discovered in the Mekongga Mountains in south-eastern Sulawesi, a little-explored Indonesian island between Borneo and New Guinea.

Bigger ... the warrior wasp measures 2.5 inches long

Ms Kimskey describes it as one of the top three islands for biodiversity in the world, along with Australia and Madagascar.

She and her team have now received a five-year £2.5 million grant to study the island's rich biodiversity that includes the dwarf buffalo and colonial spiders.

The nature fanatic hopes that the discovery of the warrior wasp will help raise awareness about how unique and treasured the region of Sulawesi is, estimating that hundreds of other new species could be catalogued.

Billionaire to build new countries at sea

ew countries at sea

Island nations ... artist's impression of what new countries could look like

A BILLIONAIRE is planning to create his own countries — by building them on giant floating platforms in international waters.

PayPal founder Peter Thiel is funding a project that intends to create new societies governed in a radically different manner from conventional states.

The communities would be run according to libertarian ideals and be housed on gargantuan ocean platforms.

According to a magazine, the islands would be a "kind of floating Petri dish for implementing policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage and few restrictions on weapons".

Giant platform ... new states would be moored in international waters

And the first experimental example of the radical scheme could be built off San Francisco as soon as next year.

Thiel, 43, who is worth an estimated $1.5billion — or £910million — has given £763,000 to the Seasteading Institute planning to build the floating nations.

Funding ... Peter Thiel

Seasteading argues that building in the ocean "is the only option to create new societies on Earth".

The institute is run by Patri Friedman, the grandson of Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman.

He argues that "government is an inefficient industry because it has an insane barrier to entry. To compete with governments on existing land, you have to win a war, an election, or a revolution."

Thiel admitted that many saw the idea of creating societies in the ocean as a crackpot scheme.

He added: "There are quite a lot of people who think it's not possible.

"That's a good thing. We don't need to really worry about those people very much, because since they don't think it's possible they won't take us very seriously. And they will not actually try to stop us until it's too late."

Kapsul belon untuk pelancong lihat Bumi

KAPSUL yang bergerak ke lapisan stratosfera Bumi dengan belon.

BARCELONA - Sebuah syarikat Sepanyol mencipta sebuah kapsul yang akan membawa pelancong ke stratosfera Bumi dengan menggunakan belon helium pada 2013, lapor sebuah akhbar kelmarin.

Stratosfera berada pada ketinggian di antara 12 hingga 50 kilometer dari Bumi.

Syarikat Zero 2 Infinity itu mengenakan tambang sebanyak £90,000 (RM442,734) untuk setiap pelancong yang berada di dalam kapsul tersebut selama lima jam.

Para pelancong akan menikmati pemandangan Bumi. Kapsul tersebut direka supaya mereka boleh memakai baju-T semasa berada di dalamnya.

BENTUK kapsul yang akan dinaiki oleh pelancong.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Zero 2 Infinity, Jose Mariano Lopez-Urdiales berkata, dia mendapat idea untuk melaksanakan projek tersebut sepuluh tahun lalu.

Setakat ini tiga ujian sudah dilakukan pada jarak 32.18 kilometer dari bumi.

Para pelancong akan disajikan makanan semasa mereka berada di dalam kapsul itu. - Agensi

Nelayan tangkap ketam ganjil

RUPA bentuk ketam ganjil yang kini dipelihara di Akuarium Blue Reef, Southsea, Hampshire, Britain.

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SOUTHSEA - Seorang nelayan menangkap seekor ketam ganjil yang wajahnya dikatakan mirip makhluk asing dalam filem Predator yang dibintangi pelakon Arnold Schwazenegger pada tahun 1980-an, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Ketam itu kini ditempatkan di Akuarium Blue Reef di Southsea, Hampshire, Britain selepas haiwan tersebut diserahkan untuk dipamerkan baru-baru ini.

Haiwan tersebut turut dikenali sebagai ketam span dan ia boleh menyamar dan mengelak daripada dilihat menerusi pemandangan mata semasa haiwan tersebut berada di dasar laut.

Ketam itu akan dipamerkan kepada orang ramai selepas ia selesai dikuarantin. - Agensi