Hasilkan baju dengan gentian susu

ENAM liter susu diperlukan untuk menghasilkan sehelai baju.

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HANOVER, Jerman - Seorang pereka fesyen yang juga merupakan pakar mikrobiologi, Anke Domaske mengejutkan dunia fesyen apabila berjaya mencipta baju daripada gentian susu. Domaske, 28, menemui cara menggabungkan susu tepung dengan bahan lain untuk menghasilkan sejenis fabrik istimewa. Rekaan pakaiannya diberi nama Qmilch.

ANKE DOMASKE bergambar bersama model dan pakaian yang dihasilkan daripada gentian susu.

"Fabrik susu ini mengandungi protein yang berperanan memastikan kulit anda berada dalam keadaan sihat. Pakaian bio merupakan satu trend baharu yang akan bermula dalam industri fesyen dan kami kini berada di hadapan," kata Domaske yang membangunkan gentian susu tersebut dalam tempoh hanya dua tahun.

Dia juga percaya teknik yang dibangunkan dengan kerjasama Institut Fiber Bremen itu boleh diaplikasikan ke dalam industri lain termasuklah ubat-ubatan.

Sebelum ini, beberapa buah syarikat Eropah seperti H&M dan C&A telah menghasilkan pakaian yang diperbuat daripada kain kapas organik. Tetapi kebanyakan material organik adalah mahal untuk dipasarkan ke pasaran antarabangsa.

Gentian susu tersebut mengandungi 18 asid amino yang memberi faedah kepada kesihatan. Untuk menghasilkan sehelai baju, Domaske memerlukan sehingga enam liter susu. - Agensi

Hotel di dalam hutan menanti pembeli

HOTEL Balsams Grand Resort di Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, Amerika Syarikat kini mencari pemilik baharu.

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DIXVILLE NOTCH, New Hampshire - Sebuah hotel berusia hampir 150 tahun yang terletak di dalam hutan di sini kini menanti pembeli sejak ia mula berada dalam pasaran untuk dijual pada Julai tahun lalu.

Hotel Balsams Grand Resort yang ditutup pada 14 September lalu itu mempunyai padang golf dan boleh memuatkan 400 tetamu.

Ahli lembaga pengarah hotel itu kini mencari pemilik baharu yang boleh memodenkan hartanah tersebut kerana ia tidak pernah mengalami sebarang kerja-kerja pengubahsuaian besar sejak awal tahun 1900-an.

Hotel itu milik keluarga Tillotson sejak tahun 1954 yang terkenal kerana melabur dalam industri getah.

Namun, ia kini mengalami kerugian sejak beberapa tahun lalu.

Hotel itu menggunakan tenaga wap panas yang dijana oleh sebuah loji biojisim yang pernah digunakan untuk menjana kilang milik Tillotson yang terletak dekat dengan hotel tersebut.

"Ia adalah kos terbesar kami selain kos buruh, ia menyebabkan kami sukar bersaing sebagai sebuah hotel. Adalah sukar untuk mendapat pulangan modal apabila kos tenaga anda begitu tinggi," kata presiden dan pengurus besar hotel tersebut, Jeff McIver.

Hotel itu mengalami kerugian selama bertahun-tahun dengan aset yayasan keluarga tersebut digunakan untuk menampung kos operasinya. - Agensi

Belanja RM32.06 juta angkut batu 340 tan

SEORANG pekerja berdiri di depan bongkah batu seberat 340 tan yang diangkut ke Muzium Seni dari kuari Stone Valley di Riverside, California pada 22 September lalu.

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LOS ANGELES, Amerika Syarikat (AS) - Muzium Seni Los Angeles yang membelanjakan sehingga AS$10 juta (RM32.06 juta) untuk membawa sebuah bongkah batu ke sebuah bangunannya di pusat bandar ini.

Bongkah batu seberat 340 tan itu akan dijadikan karya hasil seni oleh artis terkenal AS, Michael Heizer dalam pameran yang dikenali sebagai Levitated Mass.

Ia diangkut dari kuari Stone Valley dekat sini oleh sebuah kenderaan pengangkut yang mempunyai 196 tayar yang mampu membawa berat muatan 450,000 kilogram.

Seramai 60 orang termasuk pemandu, juruarah dan anggota polis terbabit dalam usaha memindahkan bongkah batu gergasi tersebut.- Agensi

Qatar now world’s richest nation

Qatar surpassed Luxembourg as the world’s richest nation in 2010 and is set to pull away with wealth that’s almost twice that of the US.

The IMF’s Chart of the Day shows Qatar’s gross domestic product per capita at $88,221 in 2010, beating Luxembourg for the top spot.

The figure may reach $111,963 by 2016, surpassing Luxembourg’s $94,621 and Singapore’s $70,992, the IMF said.

“It’s the combination of wealth, growth and a small population,” said Paul Cooper, Dubai-based managing director at Sarasin-Alpen & Partners.

Qatar forecasts economic growth of about 16 percent in 2011 and projects a budget surplus of $6.1 billion this fiscal year.

The IMF estimates the Gulf nation will have the world’s fastest-growing economy for a second year (Qatar has a population of about 848,000).

The country, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has reached its target of 77 million tons of annual production.

Qatar, one of the largest global investors through its sovereign wealth fund, plans to spend over $125bn in the next five years on construction and energy projects.

Lioness saves cub from cliff fall

Rescued ... cub is lifted to safety

A BRAVE lioness shows raw strength as she lifts her tiny cub to safety in a dramatic cliff-side rescue.

Mum came to the rescue after the young male wandered off from the herd and became stranded above a ravine.

Facing an almost vertical climb and the prospect of a huge drop, the lioness carefully made her way to the ledge where the cub was stuck.

Slip ... lioness dives to catch son

She then had to dive for him when he fell from the crumbling refuge.

The lioness eventually clawed her way back to the top with the cub in her jaws.

Steep ... another lion tried but failed

Once back to safety, she gave the wayward youngster an affectionate lick of the head.

The amazing rescue at Kenya's Masai Mara game reserve was captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot.

Licky escape ... duo after rescue

Owning a Private Island

Our summer of discontent is over. Between the scary debt-ceiling debacle in Washington, economic woes in Europe, and frightening stock-market gyrations, it's time to get away, right? So what would it be like to escape to your own getaway in the Florida Keys, off the coast in the Northeast, or on the banks of Lake Michigan?

Usually impervious to market swings, even the private island market has adjusted to the weak economy, with prices dropping as much as 50 percent, according to Farhad Vladi, president of Vladi Private Islands. More sellers are also obtaining building permits in advance of sale -- a long process that can be one of the biggest drawbacks to creating an island retreat.

Don't fool yourself: Owning an island is a luxury, not an investment. It can take two to five years to complete a private refuge on an undeveloped piece of land. Purchasing an island that comes with everything you need speeds up the process, but you give up the opportunity to truly make it your own, something that Chris Krolow, president of Private Islands Inc., says is often important to his well-to-do clients.

So whether you have the will and the way, or just wonder what it would be like, take a look at these islands for sale.

Vladi Private Islands

Lower Birch Islands

Place: Near Addison Township, Maine, about 60 miles northeast of Bar Harbor

Asking Price: $1.295 million

Acreage: Larger island is 23.6 acres; smaller island is 4.4 acres

Larger island is developed; smaller island is undeveloped

It's rare to find islands for sale in this easternmost county of the U.S. Located about ten miles off the mainland, the larger island has a three-bedroom, 1.5 bath home with a wraparound deck, and the current owner is obtaining permits to build a four-bedroom home on the smaller one. A generator and solar power system come with the existing home, as does most of the furniture. There is also a three-acre launch lot on the mainland, perfect for getting the 28-foot lobster boat and dingy included in the sale in and out of the water. The asking price is $500,000 less than back in 2007, when the islands first went on sale.

Private Islands Online

Brewers Island

Place: Near Glen Burnie, Md., 15 miles south of Baltimore

Asking Price: $890,000 (price recently reduced)

Acreage: 1 acre

Developed

Washington, D.C. is less than 40 miles away, and Baltimore's Inner Harbor is accessible by speedboat in just 35 minutes.

Located 300 yards from shore in Marley Creek, a small waterway that leads to the Chesapeake Bay, the island has a two-bedroom, one-bath home, accompanied by a one-bedroom, one-bath guest-cottage. It also comes with high-speed cable, electricity, and water and septic systems. Interesting history, too: The title deed dates back to the pre-Revolutionary War era, and the island is rumored to have been part of the underground railroad for fugitive slaves before the Civil War.

Private Islands Online

Namaste Island

Place: In Lake Michigan, near Traverse City, Mich.

Asking Price: $885,000

Acreage: 7.5 acres

Developed

You could watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan from your bed in this newly renovated three-bedroom, one-bath cabin.

Located less than 1,000 feet from shore, the kitchen comes complete with high-end Electrolux appliances. The island also has several sandy beaches, wild blueberries in July and great fishing.

Private Islands Online

Maude Island

Place: Near Sitka, Ak., in the Alaskan panhandle

Asking Price: $1.15 million

Acreage: 1 acre

Developed

The three-bedroom, two-bath, 2,500-square-foot home has several large decks with views of glaciers and mountains towering over the Gulf of Alaska. The house also comes with a private dock for fishing, boating and kayaking.

Private Islands Online

Sea Shell Key

Place: In the Florida Keys, near Marathon, Fla.

Asking Price: $1.35 million

Acreage: 0.25 acre

Developed

Two-bedroom, one-bath escape comes with a screened-in-porch, air conditioning, electricity and water, a Jacuzzi tub and satellite TV.

The island is surrounded by an exposed reef that attracts all kinds of sea life And, situated less than 1,000 feet from Marathon, there's town life nearby.

Tak mengaku salah kerat kemaluan suami

CATHERINE KIEU

WESTMINSTER - Seorang wanita California, Catherine Kieu tidak mengaku bersalah mengerat kemaluan suaminya dan membuangnya di dalam pengisar sampah.

Dia membuat pengakuan itu di Mahkamah Daerah Orange, di sini pada Jumaat lalu berhubung dakwaan melakukan penyeksaan dan menambahkan kacau-bilau.

Kieu juga didakwa menggunakan pisau dan menyebabkan kecederaan.

Jika disabitkan dengan semua kesalahan itu, dia akan dikenakan penjara seumur hidup tanpa dikenakan parol.

Wanita itu ditahan dengan wang ikat jamin sebanyak AS$1 juta (RM3.16 juta).

Pihak berkuasa berkata, wanita itu membubuh dadah di dalam makanan suaminya yang berusia 60 tahun pada 11 Julai lalu.

Dia kemudian mengikat tangan dan kaki suaminya di katil.

Pihak berkuasa menyatakan Kieu mengerat kemaluan suaminya semasa dia terjaga selepas tertidur.

Suaminya itu telah memfailkan perceraian pada Mei lalu selepas 16 bulan mereka mendirikan rumah tangga.- AP

Kapal selam buatan kayu ditemui

AFP
KAPAL selam buatan sendiri yang dtemui pada Jumaat lalu dipindahkan dari pelabuhan Buenaventura, Colombia pada Sabtu lalu.

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MAYORQUIN - Polis di barat daya Colombia merampas sebuah kapal selam buatan sendiri dekat pelabuhan Buenaventura, pada Jumaat lalu.

Kapal selam yang dirampas itu adalah milik kumpulan pemberontak komunis, Pasukan Bersenjata Revolusi Barisan Ke-29 (FARC).

Pihak berkuasa Colombia menyatakan bahawa kapal selam itu mungkin digunakan untuk membawa tujuh tan kokain secara haram ke pelabuhan-pelabuhan di Amerika Tengah.

REUTER SEORANG anggota polis memeriksa sebuah kapal selam buatan sendiri dekat pelabuhan Buenaventura, Colombia pada Jumaat lalu.

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Menurut seorang pegawai polis, Jeneral Luis Alberto Perez Alvarado, kapal selam itu kemungkinan salah sebuah yang terbesar pernah dirampas oleh pihak berkuasa sejak beberapa bulan lalu.

Menurutnya, kapal selam itu masih belum membuat selaman yang pertama.

Kapal selam itu sepanjang 16 meter dan diperbuat daripada kayu dan gentian kaca.

Ia boleh membawa sehingga 10 tan dadah kokain dan lima orang anak kapal.

- Agensi

The real Catwoman

Divorcee pays £26k a month to house 1,000 felines

Mad about the cat ... Lynea Lattazio has dedicated her life - and money - to her 1,000 feline friends

A DIVORCEE forks out £26,000 a month to look after her 1,000 rescued moggies.

And she was forced to sell her diamond wedding ring and car when the cost of keeping the cats soared as she took more in.

Lynea Lattazio runs Cat House On The Kings – the world's largest cage-free cat sanctuary. She says: "I'm not crazy, but what I do is crazy."

Sanctuary ... Divorcee Lynea with some of her 1,000 cats in her 12 acre ranch in Parlier, California

At the moment the gated property in Fresno, California, is home to 800 adult cats, 100 boarding cats and around 100 kittens, cared for by Lynea and her 23 dedicated support staff.

The rescued felines' food and medical supplies cost a whopping £26,000 each month, but that staggering amount has not stopped the cat-lover.

Lynea said: "I was never allowed a kitten as a child and that's all I ever wanted.

"I think it must be something from a past life that makes me care about them the way that I do.

"Cats are independent, they're humorous, they're not as needy as a dog - I just love them.

"I wake up happy every morning. I feel fulfilled because I know I'm doing something good for the world.

"The cats love me no matter what I look like."

Roaming free ... Lynea's is the world's largest cage free cat sanctuary

Lynea's cat project began 20 years ago when she brought home 15 sick kittens after going to pick up just two for her father.

She said: "Within a year I had 96 rescued cats that would have been put down.

"Within three years I had 350 cats and as word got round what I was doing people just started leaving boxes of abandoned cats outside my door."

Now Lynea has more than 1,000 of the furry felines.

Overrun ... Lynea has now moved out of the central house to make way for her cats

She added: "Up until I had 350 cats I knew them all by name.

"After that they came in so fast that I lost track.

"I now know around 100 personally."

Lynea received the 12-acre ranch property as part of her divorce from her millionaire husband and paid for the growth of Cat House On The Kings out of her own pocket.

She said: "I sold my diamond wedding ring and my Mercedes to pay the spiralling costs."

Catwoman ... Lynea holds one of the resident kittens

But she is still in debt and owes more than £90,000 on her mortgage alone for all the developments she has added.

She revealed: "I get a lot of donations from the public and also from Ellen Degeneres' Halo program that helps with charities in California.

"I dip into my retirement fund to make up any shortfall.

"I can't retire anyway; I'm going to do this until I drop dead so I might as well use the money for something useful."

Lynea has even moved out of the five-bedroom house at the centre of the property.

And each of her eight insulated cat houses is equipped with heaters and feeding stations for the moggies.

She said: "The kittens are bottle fed and sick cats are given medication and even surgery on site at the special cat intensive care unit.

Feline heaven ... feeding time at the sanctuary

"There is even an old cats' home for them to live out their last years in comfort."

Out of all the cats and 20 dogs she cares for Lynea does have favourites.

She added: "I have one cat and one dog that I would not part with for anything.

"My cat Daphne, who I got when she was just four months-old and hated being held, is now the sweetest and cutest cat here.

"My dog Shye Ann is a Rottweiler-Chow mix. I used to buy Rottweilers, before I realised how many are killed at shelters. I call her my Rottweiler-wannabe."

The immediate area around Fresno is known for some of the highest death rates among rescued cats.

Lynea said: "That is why we are here to be a no-kill sanctuary."

Isteri rantai suami di India

KALYANI DAS (kiri) merantai tangan suaminya pada tingkap sebuah kereta api semasa dia dalam perjalanan ke Kolkata dari kampung Mallickpur, India baru-baru ini.

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NEW DELHI - Seorang isteri, Kalyani Das bertindak untuk merantai tangan suaminya yang telah dikahwininya selama 50 tahun.

Das yang berusia 60 tahun akan merantai tangan suaminya yang sakit mental itu, Pachugopal yang berumur 65 tahun.

Menurut wanita itu, suaminya mengalami masalah sakit mental kerana masalah keluarga yang dihadapinya kira-kira tujuh tahun lalu.

Kalyani bekerja di sebuah warung tepi jalan dengan memperoleh pendapatan AS$1.05 (RM3.31) sehari.

Menurutnya, dia berharap suaminya akan meninggal dunia bagi membolehkan penderitaannya hidup bersamanya berakhir.

Dia berkahwin semasa umurnya 10 tahun.

Kalyani akan merantai tangan suaminya yang dibawa pergi ke tempat kerjanya bagi mengelak dia melarikan diri dan menderanya semasa dia sedang bekerja.

Kaki Pachugopal juga dirantai di tepi sebuah bangunan semasa isterinya sedang bekerja.

Dia merantai tangan suaminya pada tingkap semasa mereka menaiki sebuah kereta api dari kampung Mallickpur ke tempat kerjanya di Kolkata. - Reuters