Pemain remaja negara sertai kelab Itali

PEMAIN bola sepak remaja Malaysia, Sean Gan Giannelli (gambar) akan menyertai kelab Itali, Atletico Arrezo di Tusca- ny mulai 20 Ogos ini.

Sean, 15, akan menyertai skuad bawah 17 tahun (B-17) Atletico Arrezo selepas berjaya menawan hati jurulatih dan kakitangan teknikal kelab itu baru-baru ini.

Sean yang berdarah campuran Itali-Malaysia, merupakan pelajar Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil (SSBJ) dan berlatih serta mewakili skuad B-17 SSBJ.

Bapanya, Massimo berkata, beliau berbangga dengan pencapaian Sean memandangkan anak lelakinya itu menjadi rakyat Malaysia pertama mewakili kelab bola sepak remaja Itali selepas menjalani ujian percubaan pada Jun lalu.

"Dia (Sean) anak muda yang bercita-cita tinggi dan matlamat hidupnya ialah bermain bola sepak secara profesional pada tahap tertinggi di Eropah.

"Daripada apa yang dia capai setakat ini, tidak ada apa yang tidak boleh dilakukannya," kata Massimo.

Katanya, kepantasan dan tek- nik yang dipamer Sean sebagai pemain penyerang, memikat hati ketua jurulatih kelab Serie D itu, Abel Balbo yang juga bekas pemain skuad kebangsaan Argentina.

Balbao yang pernah beraksi bersama legenda bola sepak Argentina, Diego Maradona, menyumbat 150 gol dalam Serie A dan pernah bermain untuk kelab AS Roma, Udinese, Fiorentina, Parma dan Boca Juniors.

'Ladang' di atas bumbung

SEORANG wanita berjalan di 'ladang sayur-sayuran' di Hong Kong pada 31 Julai lalu.

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HONG KONG - Bumbung sebuah bangunan 14 tingkat di sini menjadi 'ladang' untuk menanam pelbagai jenis sayur-sayuran, lapor agensi berita AFP semalam.

Ladang itu dimiliki oleh Osbert Lam yang menyewakan tempat untuk menanam sayur-sayuran di kawasan seluas 930 meter persegi.

Antara sayur-sayuran yang ditanam itu ialah timun dan ubi kentang.

Lam yang merupakan seorang usahawan tempatan menyewa kepada orang ramai untuk menanam sayur-sayuran pada harga antara AS$20 (RM62.33) hingga AS$25 (RM77.92) sebulan.

"Saya berpendapat ladang di bandar raya menjadi semakin popular.

"Orang ramai yang datang ke ladang ini berasa amat gembira. Ia umpama ketenangan dan satu jalan keluar," kata Lam.

Seorang jururawat, Melanie Lam yang menanam sayur-sayuran di atas bumbung itu berkata: "Saya berasa gembira memakan sayur-sayuran yang saya tanam berbanding makanan yang saya beli di pasar raya." - Agensi

I love this monkey and ugly creatures like him

Ugly and he nose it ... the proboscis monkey

WITH their bizarre bodies and odd expressions, these curious creatures wouldn’t win any wildlife beauty contests. But zoologist and film-maker Lucy Cooke says it’s time we cared about them before it’s too late.

In a three-part TV series, Freaks And Creeps, starting tonight on National Geographic Wild at 8pm, she will attempt to convince us of the appeal of uglier endangered animals.

Here she explains her mission against what she calls the “tyranny of cute”.

HUMANS are hard-wired to go all gooey over cute animals.

Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz was the first to discover, in 1949, that we are programmed to react to big heads, big eyes and wobbly vulnerability. It’s part of our nurturing instinct.

Well, not me. I think I’m actually immune to cute. Instead, I’ve always been a massive fan of weird, ugly, unloved animals. Maybe it’s the British habit of always supporting the underdog.

What intrigues me, as a zoologist, is the story behind these animals, not their looks.

On a mission ... Zoologist Lucy Cooke

Unfortunately I’m in a minority, and that means hundreds of the least attractive endangered species are getting ignored in favour of the more loveable, fluffy ones.

There was a paper written that revealed there were 500 times more scientific and research papers written about the charismatic, furry animals than endangered amphibians. I couldn’t believe it.

If we only try to save the cute animals, we will end up with a planet of polar bears and pandas, and a whole host of animals that are essential for making the world tick will be ignored and left to die out.

Brilliantly unattractive ... the uakari monkey

So in my series, I hope to convince people that it’s time to stand up for the ugly. My hope is that once people understand the stories behind some of these creatures, they will find them attractive.

In the first episode I go to Borneo and completely ignore its famous orangutans. Instead, I spend time with the proboscis monkey.

There’s no doubt this is one peculiar-looking monkey. He has a giant, bulbous nose, a big pot belly and Donald Trump hair.

A real looker ... the proboscis monkey

Unfortunately for him, he also sports a permanent erection that resembles the least appealing chilli pepper in the world.

The colouring of his fur makes him look like he’s wearing grey tights with white underpants over the top. It’s a real look.

To add to that, the poor thing farts all the time because he lives off very indigestible fruit, which also gives him the pot belly.

Shell-o sexy! ... the Mata Mata turtle

Proboscis monkeys are really endangered, but because there’s no funding for any research on them, we don’t know how many are left.

A lot of people think vultures are very ugly too, but there are some interesting facts about them. For instance, they are bald so they won’t get blood in their feathers as they feed off carrion, and they can also spot a carcass from four miles. That’s like a superhero power.

Their stomach acid is so strong they can break down botulism and anthrax — and at the South African vulture sanctuary I visited I was told you could use vulture poo to wash dishes, as it’s such a good disinfectant.

If looks could thrill ... vulture

They are absolutely necessary to the ecosystem because they recycle dead bodies. But in some places, their numbers have dropped by up to 95 per cent.

Many are poisoned. But there is also a belief in South Africa that smoking vulture brains will enable you to see into the future. Since the lotto arrived in South Africa there has been a sharp drop in numbers.

I visited a market there where I saw hundreds of dead vultures being sold for their brains.

Another ugly animal is the giant Chinese salamander, which unfortunately looks like a 6ft penis.

Penis envy ... the Chinese giant salamander

It lives in the same mountains of China as that poster-child of conservation, the giant panda, but no one’s interested in the salamander.

The Zoological Society of London have campaigned to protect this amphibian for a long time but have struggled to get funding because of the way the salamander looks. This is a real shame because it’s the world’s largest amphibian. It’s really ancient and it’s got as much right to be on this planet as the panda.

Other brilliantly unattractive examples include the naked mole rat, which eats its own poo, the mata mata turtle and the uakari monkey, which looks like an angry red skull.

The naked mole rat ... eats its own poo

There are some people trying to save these unattractive beasts, including a British bloke who is studying the dung beetle in Borneo. He has to provide his own bait, so yes, he craps for conservation. If that doesn’t deserve a medal, I don’t know what does. But I’ll end on one of my favourite uglies, the aquatic scrotum frog.

He lives in Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia, which is more than 12,000ft above sea level.

The air is incredibly thin, it’s very cold and the only way the aquatic scrotum frog survives is by living at the bottom of the lake.

One of the favourites ... the scrotum frog

He absorbs oxygen through his skin, which has evolved to be saggy, with more surface area to absorb more oxygen. To help the process he does press-ups to increase the water circulation around his body.

So there he is, named after a testicle bag, living in the world’s highest lake, doing push-ups in the dark.

He might not be good-looking, but you’ve got to love that animal.

This cuddly panda ... leaves Lucy cold

Aircraft that does 4,300pmh set for take-off

Hypersonic ... the WaveRider will travel six times speed of sound

THE US Air Force is set to test a superfast plane designed to fly at SIX TIMES the speed of sound, or about 4,300 mph.

The hypersonic aircraft - even faster than concorde - is intended to allow the Pentagon to deliver strikes around the globe within minutes.

At its top speed the WaveRider could travel from London to New York in about an hour.

It will be tested later today when it’s dropped by a B-52 bomber and takes flight off the California coast.

Engineers hope it sustains its top speed for 300 seconds, twice as long as it’s gone before.

In its most recent test last year, the Boeing-designed X-51 fell for about four seconds before its booster rocket ignited, but the aircraft failed to separate from the rocket and plunged into the ocean.

Fighter ... the plane is being tested by US Air Force

Mutant butterflies caused by Fukushima disaster

Mutant ... butterflies have been found with smaller wings or damaged eyes

MUTANT butterflies have been discovered near the ruined Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.

A crisis was unleashed when the devastating earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck.

The disaster, which killed 19,000, sent huge waves 20 metres high and wiped out cooling systems at the power plant.

And experts fear radiation levels could spark a string of genetic mutations after changes were found in butterflies.

Many pale grass blue butterflies born since the disaster have suffered abnormalities, including smaller wings and damaged eyes.

Scientists fear the fallout from the catastrophe could also harm other animals and people.

Radiation expert Kunikazu Noguchi said: "This is just one study, we need more studies to verify the entire picture of the impact on animals.

“The case of Fukushima plant workers is a different story. Some of them have already topped exposure limits. It is necessary to strictly monitor them to see if there is any impact."

Worries ... experts fear other species might be affected

Tukar jantina demi Britney

DEMI meniru imej Britney, Kara setakat ini membelanjakan hampir RM300,000 untuk pembedahan.

SEORANG lelaki yang terlalu meminati Britney Spears sanggup menjalani pembedahan menukar jantina bagi membolehkan impiannya kelihatan seperti penyanyi itu benar-benar menjadi kenyataan.

Kara Hays setakat ini membelanjakan lebih STG60,000 (RM 295,000) untuk mengubah jantina serta menanam implan buah dada.

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  KARA ketika berusia 13 tahun.

Kara, 26, sebelum ini dikenali dengan nama Kody.

Hasil pembedahan dijalaninya, Kara kini memiliki rambut panjang perang yang hampir menyerupai penyanyi pop era 1990-an itu.

Kata Kara, apabila dia nekad menukar jantina dia bebas memilih imej yang ingin ditonjolkan pada dirinya.

“Apabila kamu berasa seperti seorang budak perempuan dalam tubuh budak lelaki, kamu cuba menjadi perempuan yang sebenar.

“Saya melihat Britney sebagai wanita yang kuat dan semua orang mahu berpacaran dengannya,” katanya.

Kara berkata, dia memberi perhatian kepada Britney dan Christina Aguilera sebagai inspirasi kerana kedua-duanya adalah bintang yang mencipta nama ketika dia di zaman remaja.

“Pada ketika itu, mereka menjadi perhatian remaja,” katanya.

Keadaan sama dihadapi golongan remaja hari ini yang memandang Lady Gaga dan Katy Perry sebagai idola.

Ketika memutuskan untuk menjadi perempuan dulu, kata Kara, dia berfikir imej yang ingin ditampilkannya.

Namun, kata Kara, bukan faktor populariti saja mendorong dia meniru Britney.
Kara berkata, dia pernah mengalami tekanan emosi ketika Britney berdepan dugaan dalam hidupnya.

“Malah ketika Britney mencukur kepalanya menjadi botak, saya turut melakukan perkara sama,” katanya.

Menceritakan kejadian itu, Kara berkata, perasaannya terganggu pada satu hari dan secara bersahaja pergi ke kedai gunting rambut.

Katanya, dia terus meminta pekerja di situ menjadikan kepalanya botak.

“Saya berfikir jika Britney memiliki kekuatan untuk melakukannya, saja juga mempunyai kemampuan sama,” katanya.

Walaupun orang ramai menganggap tindakan itu keterlaluan, katanya, Kara tetap berasa seperti “dibebaskan” daripada segala masalahnya.

Mengenai penampilan barunya, Kara berkata, ia akhirnya membawa kegembiraan selepas bertahun-tahun berasa tertekan.

Ketika berusia 12 tahun, Kara mengejutkan rakan sekelasnya ketika hadir di majlis tari-menari sempena Halloween dengan pakaian ketat seperti dipakai Britney dalam klip video Oops I Did It Again.

Kelakuannya ketika itu juga mencetuskan rasa marah di kalangan masyarakat konservatif di bandar di Ohio, AS.

Pada usia 15 tahun, ibu bapanya membenarkan dia bertemu doktor dan disahkan mengalami kecelaruan jantina.

Pada 1999, dia mula mengambil hormon wanita.

Selama beberapa tahun, payu dara Kody semakin membesar dan dia mula memakai pakaian wanita dengan lebih bebas.

Dia juga mula menggunakan nama Kara.

Pada 2002, Kara menjalani pembedahan selama 14 jam bagi menukar jantina dan memasukkan implan pada dadanya.

Setakat ini Kara membelanjakan hampir RM300,000 untuk mewarnakan rambutnya menjadi perang serta merapi dirinya sebagai “wanita sempurna.”

Menyimpan angan-angan menjadi pelakon, Kara berkata, dia terpaksa mematuhi peraturan dan kod pakaian seperti wanita lain.

“Saya berasa seperti terlalu diperhatikan dan sama sekali tidak boleh terbabit dalam sebarang skandal kerana diri saya ini sendiri satu skandal,” katanya.

Pada masa sama, kata Kara, dia berasa seperti melalui proses akil baligh sekali lagi.

Tidak lama selepas menamatkan pengajian di sekolah tinggi, Kara mula cuba minum arak dan mengambil dadah, sebelum berpindah ke Los Angeles dalam usahanya mencapai impian sebagai pelakon.

Di situ, dia mula disangka Britney dan menimbulkan kekeliruan di kalangan paparazzi.

Kara akhirnya berpindah ke New York untuk mengikuti kursus seni drama selama setahun dan menamatkan pengajian itu tahun lalu.

Kini, dia sedang mengikuti pengajian peringkat ijazah dalam bidang perhubungan awam.

Bug gurus spot new species

The elusive Semachrysa jade lacewing.

Call it fate, or just pure luck. One insect species recently gained a scientific name due to an eagle-eyed taxonomist browsing images on Flickr.

Shaun Winterton, a senior insect biosystematist for the California Department of Food & Agriculture, along with other researchers, randomly came across the images of the unusual green lacewing on Flickr. They set off to identify the unknown insect.

Winterton reached out to Guek, hoping the photographer could somehow find the bug again and send it off for inspection. In late January of this year, Guek happened to encounter the rare lacewing again, captured it, and sent it to Winterton for further analysis. (Crave suggests Guek may want to start playing the lottery as quickly as possible.)

To classify the insect, Winterton collaborated with Stephen Brooks, a lacewing expert who works as an entomologist with the Natural History Museum in London. Among many other features, Guek's lacewing sports a 1.1-inch wingspan, which appears translucent except for some unusual black and blue markings.

After a round of analysis, Guek's discovery ended up being a completely new previously unnamed species of lacewing known as the Semachrysa jade, a name influenced by Winterton's daughter.

Up close and personal with the newly named lacewing.

Basikal Hoy terlalu ringan

HOY mengayuh basikalnya di Velodrom, Olympic Park London pada 31 Julai lalu.

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LONDON – Basikal yang digunakan atlet legenda Britain, Chris Hoy dalam perlumbaan acara keirin individu lelaki di Sukan Olimpik di sini kelmarin adalah antara faktor menyebabkan dia memenangi pingat emas dianggarkan bernilai £15,000 (RM72,824), lapor akhbar The Sun semalam.

Keistimewaan basikal itu ialah ia hanya seberat 6.8 kilogram.

Hoy yang berusia 36 tahun memenangi pingat emas keduanya dalam acara keirin manakala pelumba dari Malysia, Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, 24, menduduki tempat keenam dan terakhir.

Sebelum ini, Hoy memenangi emas dalam acara berpasukan lelaki.

Hoy kini dianggap legenda sukan Britain kerana dia telah memenangi enam pingat emas dalam Sukan Olimpik.

“Basikal itu lebih ringan daripada basikal yang terdapat di jalan raya. Anda boleh mengangkat basikal itu dengan hanya menggunakan sebatang jari,” kata Hoy.

Kejayaan dalam penciptaan basikal lumba itu menyebabkan pasukan lumba basikal Perancis menjadi cemburu.

Menurut akhbar dalam talian MainOnline, rangka basikal itu diperbuat daripada gentian karbon.

Basikal itu adalah hasil daripada idea pakar-pakar basikal dalam pertubuhan British Cycling yang beribu pejabat di Manchester.

Tayar basikal itu dikatakan diperbuat daripada sutera.

– Agensi

Topeng muka Chewbacca dilelong

TOPENG muka Chewbacca.

NEW YORK - Topeng muka untuk watak Chewbacca yang digunakan dalam filem Star Wars dijual pada harga AS$172,000 (RM535,602) dalam satu lelongan yang diadakan pada 28 Julai lalu di Los Angeles.

Pelakon Peter Mayhew melakonkan watak Chewbacca dalam filem tersebut.

Kostum Edward Scissorhands yang dipakai oleh aktor Johnny Depp turut dilelong pada harga AS$86,100 (RM268,112) dalam lelongan itu.

Kostum Superman yang dipakai aktor Christopher Reeve pada tahun 1978 turut dilelong pada harga AS$79,950 (RM248,975). - Agensi