Becks’ pay slashed by 2m bucks

Settled in California ... David Beckham

But he still makes £29million

FOOTIE’S David Beckham has taken a wage cut of more than two million dollars — a 40 per cent drop.

It means the LA Galaxy star has been knocked off the top of the US soccer pay league by old pal Thierry Henry, who plays for New York Red Bulls.

Becks, 37, had been on more than £4million ($6.5million) a year.

But he accepted a £2.5million deal after deciding to settle in California with wife Victoria, 38, and their four kids.

However, he gets a cut from Galaxy ticket sales and merchandising. And he still nets £29MILLION a year through ad deals, clothes lines and business interests, according to a Forbes rich list.

Ex-England captain Becks could have earned more by joining Paris Saint-Germain. But he has an £11million mansion in Beverly Hills — and put his sprawling Hertfordshire pad up for sale earlier this year.

David Beckham is pretty in pink

Flamingo pose ... Beckham's boots were the same colour as the pink waterbird

DAVID Beckham famously wore a sarong skirt — and now he’s wearing pink boots.

Perhaps it is no surprise that Becks is favouring female fashion, especially as his wife Victoria is quickly establishing herself as one of the world’s leading fashion designers for women.

Or maybe the pink boots are a nod towards baby daughter Harper Seven. Family man David has the names of all his children stitched onto his boots.

Either way, the colourful footwear made sure all eyes were on the LA Galaxy captain as he warmed up ahead of his team’s game against San Jose Earthquakes.

In the pink ... Beckham's LA Galaxy were recently crowned Major League champions

The match ended in upset as the Earthquakes pulled off a 3-2 victory against the Major League champions.

Beckham’s hot pink boots sadly did not guarantee a red hot performance and it was his foul which gave the Earthquakes the free kick they needed to equalise.

And Golden Balls, 37, was still sporting the dodgy Colonel Sanders-style ’tache and beard which earned a dig from Barack Obama when Galaxy were honoured at the White House last week.

Becks is clearly proud of his face-off with the President.

Hot to trot ... Beckham warms up

He revealed: “Obama said, ‘David, why all the facial hair, man?’ I just laughed it off.

“To even be in the White House was a big honour but to get a little bit of stick off the President was huge.”

Meterai bukti kota Baitul Laham wujud

GAMBAR yang disiarkan dalam laman web Pihak Berkuasa Antikuiti Israel kelmarin menunjukkan meterai kuno yang tertera nama Baitul Laham. - Agensi

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BAITULMUQADDIS - Sepasukan ahli arkeologi Israel menemui sebuah meterai (cop mohor) berusia 2,700 tahun yang tertera perkataan Baitul Laham dalam bahasa Ibrani, kata Pihak Berkuasa Antikuiti Israel kelmarin.

Ia dipercayai bukti terawal kewujudan kota Baitul Laham seperti yang disebut dalam kitab Injil.

Penganut Kristian percaya bahawa Nabi Isa dilahirkan di kota Baitul Laham.

Diperbuat daripada tanah liat, meterai itu ditemui semasa kerja ekskavasi di Kota Nabi Daud, berhampiran Bandar Lama di sini.

Pengarah ekskavasi berkenaan, Eli Shukron berkata, artifak berdiameter 1.5 sentimeter itu dihasilkan antara 700 hingga 800 tahun Sebelum Masihi ketika raja-raja Yahudi memerintah kerajaan Judah atau 700 tahun sebelum kelahiran Nabi Isa. - Agensi

Interesting web : www.gepp.my/epages.

Out of Luc: Chelsea have £32m bid for Brazil winger Lucas Moura rejected

Boy from Brazil: Lucas Moura is the latest hotshot to be linked with Chelsea

Chelsea have had a £32.3million bid for Sao Paulo winger Lucas Moura turned down, according to the Brazilian club's president.

The Blues won the Champions League last Saturday to complete a double for interim boss Roberto Di Matteo who also led the team to FA Cup glory.

But when owner Roman Abramovich demands the club challenge for the Premier League title each and every season, their final position of sixth was clearly not good enough - especially given they were a massive 25 points off winners Manchester City and five points off Tottenham in fourth.

But plans are already afoot to make sure Chelsea mount a serious challenge for the title next season - starting with the move for Moura.

The highly-rated 19-year-old is already a full Brazilian international having played 11 times for the Selecao already.

Planning ahead: Roman Abramovich doesn't yet know who his manager will be next season, but he is already looking for new players

Inter Milan and Real Madrid have been tracking the player but it seems Chelsea have now made the first move.

Club president Juvenal Juvencio says he has already rejected the offer, but says: "At the moment, Chelsea are the closest team to Lucas.

"Inter made an offer of £20.2m, but this was not considered sufficient by us.

"Real Madrid is one of these [interested clubs] - there have been contacts with the president Florentino Perez, who admires the player.

"Lucas is a big player who will triumph in Europe, but Sao Paulo will only sell him for an enormous offer."

Drogba berunding dengan Shenhua

Kelab Shanghai Shenhua akan meneruskan rundingan dengan Didier Drogba seperti yang dirancang. - AFP

SHANGHAI - Kelab Shanghai Shenhua akan meneruskan perundingan dengan Didier Drogba seperti yang dirancang dan ia menghangatkan lagi spekulasi penyerang itu bakal berpindah ke China selepas mengumumkan meninggalkan Chelsea.

Shenhua yang dimiliki hartawan permainan video, Zhu Jun telah pun mengikat bekas rakan sepasukan Drogba dalam skuad Chelsea, Nicolas Anelka pada Disember tahun lalu.

Kelab itu telah memulakan perundingan dengan bintang antarabangsa Ivory Coast terbabit sejak Januari lepas.

"Sehingga sekarang, perbincangan dengan Drogba masih diteruskan seperti yang dirancang," kata Zhu kepada Oriental Sports Daily.

Drogba, 34, mendedahkan, dia meninggalkan gergasi Liga Perdana Inggeris, Chelsea kelmarin, sehari selepas pasukannya melakar kemenangan dalam perlawanan akhir Liga Juara-Juara menentang Bayern Munich.

Drogba menjaringkan gol penyamaan dan juga penentuan sepakan penalti yang meletakkan kelabnya sebagai juara.

Sejak menyertai Chelsea dari Marseille pada 2004, pemain itu meledakkan 157 gol dalam 341 penampilan, membantu kelabnya memenangi 10 trofi.

"Ia satu keputusan yang sukar untuk saya lakukan dan saya amat bangga dengan pencapaian kami, tetapi sudah tiba masanya saya mencari cabaran baru," katanya dipetik dalam laman web Chelsea.

Drogba menjadi bintang terbaru yang bakal ditandatangani kelab China yang berbelanja besar itu dalam Liga Super, selepas jurulatih pemenang Piala Dunia, Marcello Lippi menyertai Guangzhou Evergrande, minggu lepas.

Namun, perpindahan Anelka diiringi dengan masalah. Minggu lalu, pemain tersebut mengancam untuk meninggalkan Shenhua selepas kelab itu merancang untuk mengambil ketua jurulatih baru, menurut media tempatan.

"Jika tiada seorang pun yang menyokong saya dan mereka terus bermain muslihat di belakang saya, saya bersedia memutuskan sama ada untuk bersara atau tidak," kata pemain Perancis itu kepada Xinmin Evening News.

Pemilik kelab, Zhu telah pun menulis kepada ejen dan peguam Anelka bagi mendapatkan penjelasan, lapor Oriental Sports Daily. - AFP

Meet the couple who live with a pair of pet buffalo

Sofa so good ... RC and Sherron say their pets are perfectly safe

HERD the one about the couple who live with a pair of BUFFALO?

RC Bridges, who is nicknamed The Buffalo Whisperer, and his wife Sherron share their home with Wildthing and his new pal Bullet.

The beasts, who weigh 2,400lb and 900lb respectively, relax in the living room and around the house and even take a ride in the family car.

Buffaloes can be very dangerous animals, with curved sharp horns which grow up to two feet long, and they are able to run as fast as 40mph.

But RC says: “I knew they were crazy animals but it actually turned out way better than I thought it would be.

Someone you nose? ... pet sniffs buffalo head mounted on wall

“I always dreamed of training a buffalo, but I never thought about training two.

“They’re like my buddies. Bullet likes to be with me at all times, she’ll even give up food to be close to me.”

RC, who is a cowboy and horse trainer, has worked with buffaloes most of his life.

After losing an eye in 2004 he had to sell his herd, except for one young male who he decided to keep as a pet.

Cattle drive ... buffalo stands on RC's truck

Wildthing, who is now seven, even acted as best man when his owners renewed their wedding vows in 2006, after five years of marriage.

RC, 63, said: “He carried the rings on his horns and threw them off one at a time for us to catch.”

Bullet, a female who is three-and-a-half, joined the family after her previous owner found her too hard to control.

RC said: “Her owner told me if I could catch her, I could have her. She kept getting out of the pen and the sheriff’s department was mad about it.

Under one hoof ... Wildthing and Bullet in the Bridges' living room

“Well, I just caught her, put her in a trailer and brought her home.”

RC's photographer wife Sherron, 39, who is part Native American, makes traditional-style clothes and headdresses using the animals’ hair.

She said: “We love our buffaloes. I think if either one of them died, RC would probably go along with them."

And RC insists his friends and relatives still visit the families home in Texas, where they also keep a pet wolf called Jewell Spirit.

He said: “They’re not afraid to come over because I keep everything safe. But most of them think I’m going to get hurt or killed.

Big pals ... RC hugs one of his pets

“I don’t think you can ever take all of the wildness out of the buffaloes, though. I’ve been hurt a lot, so I guess its just part of the game.”

Nevertheless, the couple’s two grown-up children, son Will and daughter Taylor, are proud of the family pets and have even broken world records with them.

RC said: “My son was the first person to ever ski behind a buffalo, on water skies and on sand.

“And my daughter was the first person to ever snow sled behind a buffalo.”

Spain, Germany, Holland favourites in Euro: Ronaldo

Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that Spain, Germany and Netherlands are the favourites to win the European Championships this summer. The tournament gets underway on June 8 and the 27-year-old touted the trio of nations as the main contenders to lift the trophy.

"Spain have a good chance. Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, why not? But the first three have the great chance to win: Spain, Germany and Netherlands," Ronaldo said at a Castrol event which was attended by Goal.com. "We don’t have a lot pressure. The pressure is for Spain, Germany, Netherlands. But not Portugal. We have to enjoy it, to do the best we can, and let’s see what is going to happen. It will be very difficult."

The prolific Real Madrid forward continued by discussing his thoughts on the tough draw his country have been handed, alongside Germany, Netherlands and Denmark in Group B. "For me it’s the most difficult group in the Euros. It will be very tough for Portugal, but for the other teams too.

"They [Germany] are one of the best teams in the world, as are Netherlands. But I think it [progression] is possible, everything is possible in football. "We are not scared of them, but we respect them because Germany always have strong and compact teams, and it will be tough."

"[Netherlands are] a tough team, but in another way. It will be interesting because Portugal want to play against good teams because the concentration is different when you play against other teams. They're a great team. They are special.

"We know that if we progress we could catch good teams [in the quarter-finals], but this is the most difficult group.

"Can you imagine Holland or Germany out in the group? It will be a surprise! But it can happen!" Portugal kick off their campaign in Poland and Ukraine against Germany at Arena Lviv on June 9 and Ronaldo declared himself pleased with his nation's squad. We are a young group, a fantastic group, with a good and funny coach. It’s really good to be part of this national team, I really enjoy it and I love being there with them."

'Nazmi buka lembaran baru'

NAZMI bersama bapanya, Mansor ketika di Portugal.

KEJAYAAN pemain muda negara, Mohd Nazmi Faiz Mansor mengikat kontrak tiga tahun bersama kelab Divisyen Satu Portugal, S.C Beira Mar akan membuka lembaran baru kepada pembangunan pemain muda di negara ini.

Bagi pengendali Harimau Muda, Ong Kim Swee, berita terbaru mengenai Nazmi ini begitu menggembirakan dan cukup bagus untuk pendedahan pemain muda itu di peringkat tertinggi.

“Ini satu perkembangan yang cukup baik kerana sebelum ini hanya pemain senior saja yang mendapat peluang di peringkat lebih tinggi.

“Perkhabaran positif Nazmi ini akan membuka lembaran baru kepada aspek pembangunan pemain muda di negara ini untuk terus melahirkan lebih ramai pemain muda berkualiti,” katanya ketika dihubungi di Slovakia, semalam.

Menurut laman web rasmi kelab berkenaan, tonggak Harimau Muda yang beraksi di saingan Liga Singapura itu, memikat perhatian panel pemilihan dan terus ditawarkan kontrak tiga tahun untuk menyarung jersi kelab itu.

Namun, di sebalik kejayaan Nazmi memikat kelab Portugal itu, Kim Swee menegaskan semua pihak tidak boleh terus ‘dibuai mimpi indah’, sebaliknya usaha pencarian dan pembangunan pemain muda harus dilipat gandakan.

“Daripada penubuhan Harimau Muda kira-kira empat tahun lalu, kini kita sudah boleh lihat hasilnya. Tapi pembangunan pemain muda tidak boleh berhenti begitu saja.

“Saya akan berjumpa dengan ejen Nazmi (Marco Guimaere) malam ini (semalam). Selepas pertemuan itu, baru kita akan dapat tahu lebih lanjut mengenai kontrak yang ditawarkan kepada Nazmi,” katanya.

Puluhan ribu kunjungi Tokyo Sky Tree

TOKYO - Menara penyiaran paling tinggi di dunia, Tokyo Sky Tree yang setinggi 634 meter di sini mula dibuka kepada orang ramai semalam.

Berpuluh-puluh ribu orang beratur untuk memasuki menara itu semasa hujan.

Kompleks beli-belah dan taman hiburan yang terletak bersebelahan dengan menara itu turut sama dibuka.

Namun, mereka yang berada di dek pemerhati pada ketinggian 350 meter di menara tersebut kecewa kerana tidak dapat melihat pemandangan yang menakjubkan ekoran cuaca mendung.

"Saya sudah lama berhasrat untuk berkunjung ke menara itu," kata seorang wanita, Ayumi Nakazawa yang memenangi tiket ke majlis pembukaan bangunan tersebut.

Tokyo Sky Tree merupakan struktur kedua tertinggi di dunia selepas bangunan Burj Khalifa di Dubai yang memiliki ketinggian 828 meter. - AFP

Apple's Cook 'top-paid US CEO in 2011

Apple chief executive Tim Cook topped the list of the best-paid CEOs in the
US in 2011 thanks to stock options that put him more than $US300 million
($A305.95 million) above his next rival, a Wall Street Journal survey
shows.
Cook, who took the helm of the iPhone and iPad maker in August last year, two
months before the death of founder Steve Jobs, clocked in total compensation of
$US378 million ($A385.50 million).

Cook earned a paltry 90 US cents for his annual salary and 90 US cents for
his annual incentives.

But he scooped up a cool $US376 million ($A383.46 million) in restricted
stock grants, based on Apple's stock price at the time.

Another Silicon Valley big gun, the head of Oracle, Larry Ellison, came in
second place with less than a fifth of Cook's pay, at $US76 million ($A77.51
million).

The study, conducted by Hay Group for the Journal covered the 300 largest US
public companies by revenue.

Television broadcaster CBS head Leslie Moonves was in number-three position
at $US69 million ($A70.37 million), followed by the chief executive of
struggling retailer JCPenney, Ronald Johnson, who pulled in $US53 million
($A54.05 million).

Motorola Mobility chief Sanjay Jha was ranked fifth, at $US47 million
($A47.93 million).

The remainder of the top 10, in descending order, were the CEOs of Citigroup,
Viacom, Motorola Solutions, Walt Disney, and Ford Motor, whose Alan Mulally
earned $US29 million ($A29.58 million).

Apple's Cook could see his compensation climb further into the stratosphere
this year. Apple shares have leapt 29 per cent in the year to date, and on
Monday were up 5.5 per cent in late New York trade.