26 April 2012
Giliran City uji Harimau Malaya
Is £280k van world’s most luxurious ride?
THIS people carrier has been pimped to such a high spec its interior now resembles that of a private jet.
There’s also a 40in TV with a 1,300 watt surround sound audio system.
Businessmen can manage their affairs seamlessly while on the road using the van’s video-conferencing facilities, which are powered by a 500-gigabyte computer.
23 April 2012
Air born Butterfly
A BEAUTIFUL butterfly bursts from its chrysalis — in a dramatic rebirth that took almost 24 hours.
He raised the butterfly for weeks after discovering it as a caterpillar so he could document it changing at home in Girona, Spain.
The butterfly, which has a two-inch wing span, is found across Africa and the Mediterranean.
Barca layu di tangan Real
Ramai golongan kaya Iran beli kereta mewah
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19 April 2012
Siapa jagoan EPL?
LIGA Perdana Inggeris kini berada di musim ke-20. Dua dekad penuh aksi pemain terhebat, pertelagahan di antara pengurus serta jalan cerita yang mungkin lebih hebat daripada filem Hollywood. Begitupun siapa di kalangan pemain layak dianggap terhebat dalam kancah EPL?
Roy Keane
Roy Keane adalah impian setiap pengurus. Lasak, memberi komitmen penuh dan fokus terhadap kemenangan, pemain Ireland itu menjadi watak penting di sebalik kejayaan Manchester United sepanjang 12 tahun di kelab itu.
Alan Shearer
Jelas sekali penjaring terhebat dalam sejarah Liga Perdana Inggeris, Alan Shearer mempunyai purata lebih daripada satu jaringan setiap perlawanan sepanjang kariernya yang cemerlang.
Jumlah 34 jaringan yang dilakukan pada 1994/95 menjadi kunci utama buat Blackburn Rovers memenangi gelaran itu manakala perpindahannya ke Newcastle United menjadikannya ikon di Tyneside.
Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona mungkin mempunyai penampilan paling sedikit dalam Liga Perdana Inggeris berbanding yang lain dalam senarai ini tetapi men�cetuskan impak
besar sepanjang lima tahun di England. Per�sonaliti menarik yang dimilikinya menyebabkan anda tidak ingin mele�paskan aksinya tidak kiralah siapa yang anda sokong.
Thierry Henry
Tidak ramai yang mampu menyaingi skil dan kehebatan legenda Arsenal, Thierry Henry. Selepas berpindah ke Highbury pada Ogos 1999, pemain Perancis itu segera menjadi antara penyerang paling berbahaya dan mempunyai kelas tersendiri dalam dunia bola sepak.
Penulis bola sepak United Kingdom menamakannya sebagai Pemain Tahunan sebanyak tiga kali.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Penyerang Portugal itu adalah antara penyerang berbisa dalam bola sepak. Tiada pertahanan yang sanggup berdepan Ronaldo di tahap terbaik dengan pelbagai helah menerusi skil dan kepantasannya.
Keupayaan memburu jaringan dan kemampuan mencipta jaringan menjadikan Ronaldo seorang bintang dan pemain utama di sebalik kejayaan Manchester United.
Paul Scholes
‘Paul Scholes. Dia menjaringkan gol!’ Itu jeritan yang sering dila�ungkan peminat tetapi bakatnya lebih daripada itu.
Scholes adalah yang terbaik di kalangan profesional dan pemain profesional seperti Thierry Henry, Xavi, Zinedine Zidane dan bekas pengurus Itali, Marcello Lippi turut memperkatakan mengenai kehebatannya.
Dennis Bergkamp
Pemain berbakat dari Belanda itu menyertai Arsenal pada Jun 1995 dan mencatat namanya dalam sejarah Gunners. Berbekal sentuhan hebat, visi luar biasa dan penyudah berbisa, Bergkamp memberi igauan buat ramai pertahanan Liga Perdana Inggeris. Skil yang dimilikinya turut disertai aksi sukar diduga yang mencetuskan banyak gol yang sukar dilupakan.
Ryan Giggs
Dalam era apa pun, Ryan Giggs boleh dianggap sebagai bakat luar biasa tetapi bertanding di tahap tertinggi buat masa yang lama dalam era bola sepak moden adalah sesuatu yang mengejutkan.
Satu-satunya pemain bola sepak yang beraksi sepanjang 20 musim Liga Perdana Inggeris (menjaringkan gol setiap musim), pemain Wales itu adalah pemain paling menyerlah dalam bola sepak Inggeris dan masih menggalas tugas penting untuk Manchester United, lebih daripada 21 tahun sejak penampilannya sebagai pemain profesional.
Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira adalah nadi kepada gandingan ‘Invincibles’ di Arsenal pada musim 2003/04 dan tidak pernah tewas sebarang perlawanan Liga Perdana Inggeris sepanjang musim.
Lasak, tidak bertimbang rasa dan tidak mudah kepenatan, Vieira menjadi kapten pasukan hebat yang mencatat rekod 49 perlawanan tanpa kalah. Pencapaian luar biasa itu tidak mungkin dicapai tanpa semangat dan keinginan pemain Perancis yang membawa Gunners ke tahap terbaik.
Gianfranco Zola
Bekas pengurus Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri melabelkan Gianfranco Zola sebagai “ahli sihir” dan ia mewakili kehebatan pemain tengah Itali yang mampu mengkucar kacirkan per�tahanan dan memukau penonton dengan kehebatannya.
Dengan bakat yang dimilikinya, Zola menjadi satu satunya pemain yang dipilih sebagai Pemain Bola Sepak Tahunan 1997 tanpa bermain keseluruhan musim Liga Perdana Inggeris dan juga pemain Chelsea pertama memenanginya.
Roman's £247m shopping list: Chelsea to give new manager pick of world's best
Roman Abramovich will present his new manager with a list of potential star signings and tell him to take his pick.
And Chelsea's billionaire Russian owner has pinpointed four key roles - a centre forward, two full backs and an attacking midfielder - as the priorities for a summer spending spree.
Key role: Abramovich wants to buy a new striker despite the resurgence of Fernando Torres in recent weeks
Abramovich has used his scouting staff on a six-month project to build up detailed dossiers so that the next boss at Stamford Bridge can hit the ground running. A fresh bid to sign Tottenham's Luka Modric will be one of the options.
Despite the uncertainty over who will be in the hot seat next season as permanent successor to Andre Villas-Boas, the Chelsea owner has been determined to continue with his strategy to rebuild the Blues squad.
Sportsmail revealed in December how Villas-Boas had instructed the club's scouts to embark on a global mission to identify targets ahead of the summer.
Having a Duff season: Chelsea are in danger of missing out on the Champions League next season
That process has continued and the paperwork on potential transfer fees and wages is waiting for action.
The main man: Abramovich is prepared to splash the cash
Abramovich wants his new boss to have the final say on whom he signs, but knows he can't afford to delay.
Some of the game's most high-profile players have made the club's wanted list.
The Blues are also targeting Atletico Madrid centre forward Radamel Falcao, Napoli midfielder Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Ajax central defender Jan Vertonghen, as Barcelona are keen to sign David Luiz.
Chelsea have already made contact with Porto over their interest in Hulk, and have had initial discussions with Real Madrid over the purchase of Gonzalo Higuain.
But their recruitment plans are likely to be offset by numerous departures. Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda are all out of contract and are set to leave in the summer.
Sportsmail also revealed in February that Daniel Sturridge is considering his future.
Meanwhile, Branislav Ivanovic has risked an additional FA ban after appealing against his violent conduct charge for appearing to punch Shaun Maloney of Wigan.
The Serb already faces a three-match ban, but that could rise to four if the FA decide his appeal is frivolous. It is understood Chelsea admit Ivanovic made contact with Maloney - but contest there was any violent intent from the 28-year-old. The appeal will be heard today.
Drogba gives Chelsea win over Barcelona
Barcelona dominated possession, hit the bar and the post and had what looked like a certain goal cleared off the line at a rain-lashed Stamford Bridge.
The Spaniards had 24 attempts on target compared to one by the hosts but Ivorian Drogba made the most of his sight of goal when he fired low and hard past Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half.
“We created so many chances, I had no idea we were going to do that, but we failed to score against a very good side who were very strong,” Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola told a news conference.
“You have to be a strong side to be in the semi-finals of the Champions League. We knew it was going to be a tough challenge and it was.”
Frank Lampard, who like Drogba, John Terry and Ashley Cole, have all been rejuvenated since Roberto Di Matteo took control of the side from the sacked Andre Villas-Boas in early March, began the move after winning the ball from a hesitant Messi close to halfway.
Lampard’s raking pass found Brazilian Ramires whose low cross from the left eluded the Barca defenders with Drogba pouncing at the far post to score.
Di Matteo was full of praise for Chelsea’s “old guard”, who followed up last weekend’s 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“In the past a lot public opinion said that these boys, the old guard, are over the line and too old to play two games; they have played two games in a short period of time, and I think they gave the answer on the pitch tonight.”
However, before and after the goal, Barca were the dominant force with Messi orchestrating most of their attacking moves, but for all his inspired brilliance, he was unable to conjure up a goal either for his team mates or himself. The Argentine forward, who has scored 63 goals for Barca this season, has now failed to score in seven matches against Chelsea.
Although this match was about far more than records and statistics, some telling numbers did emerge after a rainswept night in west London.
The defeat was only Barcelona’s third loss in 63 games this season and they have now failed to beat Chelsea in the last six matches against them and the Londoners are now unbeaten in 14 matches, home and away against Spanish opposition.
Those figures could all have been very different if Barcelona had scored just once from the many chances they created.
Back in London almost 11 months after beating Manchester United at Wembley last May to lift the European Cup, Barca began as if they had no intention of letting Chelsea into the match at all.
Barcelona, bidding to become the first club since AC Milan 22 years ago to lift the European Cup in successive seasons, took a grip of the game almost from the kickoff and went close to taking the lead after 10 minutes when Andres Iniesta’s ball over the top found Alexis Sanchez onside and in space 15 metres from goal.
His well-executed chip beat goalkeeper Petr Cech but Chelsea escaped when the ball bounced back off the bar and was cleared.
Chelsea made their intentions known early on, trying to exploit a perceived weakness in the Barca defence by playing quick balls through the middle to Drogba. He twice ran on to them but was let down by a poor first touch both times.
But that tactic did pay dividends for the goal—just after Barcelona had fluffed another good scoring chance four minutes earlier when Messi went on a jinking run through the Chelsea defence before teeing up Cesc Fabregas with a shot that looked goalbound until Fabregas’ former Arsenal team mate Ashley Cole cleared the ball off the line.
Barcelona played a longer ball game in the second half, but still totally dominated the action with Adriano forcing Cech into a good diving save early in the half.
They almost made all their pressure tell in stoppage time when an angled drive from substitute Pedro hit the base of Cech’s post, and rebounded to Sergio Busquets who blasted it over the bar.
With the tie still evenly balanced ahead of next week’s second leg in Barcelona, Guardiola added: “Obviously we are going to try and score and maybe we will have another 24 chances. But it is difficult against a side that defends as deep as Chelsea do.”
17 April 2012
Preve bukti keunggulan PROTON
PROTON Preve, kereta global pertama keluaran PROTON Holdings Bhd (PROTON), akan menjadi model perintis untuk mengukuhkan kembali penguasaan pasaran pengeluar kereta nasional itu, baik di pasaran tempatan mahupun di luar negara.
“Dengan model ini, apa yang PROTON cuba nyatakan adalah model ini akan menjadi permulaan baru bagi kami, iaitu antara lain memperkenalkan arah baru reka bentuk produk dari segi kualiti dan keselamatan yang mampu bersaing di pelbagai pasaran dunia,” katanya pada majlis pelancaran model itu yang disempurnakan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak di Seri Kembangan, semalam.
Hadir sama Isteri Perdana Menteri, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor: Penasihat PROTON, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed; dan Pengerusi Eksekutif PROTON, Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil.
Syed Zainal berkata, sebagai permulaan, pihaknya memperuntukkan 20 peratus daripada jumlah pengeluaran Preve untuk pasaran eksport.
“Selain pasaran domestik, Preve akan dieksport ke luar negara, dengan Indonesia sebagai destinasi pertamanya pada Julai atau Ogos ini, sebelum memasuki Thailand, Australia, United Kingdom dan Asia Barat,” katanya.
Syed Zainal berkata, Preve dijangka mampu dijual sekitar 4,000 hingga 4,200 unit sebulan dan kini sudah menerima lebih 1,000 unit tempahan sejak mula ditampilkan secara teaser pada Pameran PROTON Power of 1 di Bukit Jalil, bulan lalu.
Sementara itu, Najib berkata, keupayaan untuk mengeluarkan sebuah kereta yang global adalah suatu mercu tanda kejayaan yang amat penting kepada PROTON kerana untuk mencapai tahap piawaian dan standard antarabangsa terbabit, ketelitian dan fokus kepada aspek kualiti tidak boleh dipandang ringan.
“Semuanya harus berada pada tahap global standard. Saya sendiri sangat berbangga dengan keupayaan PROTON dan ini membuktikan bahawa kereta kita juga setaraf atau lebih baik dari kereta berjenama antarabangsa yang lain,” katanya ketika berucap pada majlis pelancaran kereta berkenaan.
Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata untuk memastikan PROTON dan semua syarikat automotif tempatan dapat bersaing dengan kereta terkemuka dunia, kerajaan menerusi Dasar Automotif Negara (DAN) sudah menggariskan pelbagai insentif bertujuan meningkatkan daya saing industri automotif tempatan bagi jangka panjang.
Katanya, ini termasuk penyediaan pelbagai insentif dan pakej geran dan dana automotif yang komprehensif serta pelbagai inisiatif lain bagi meningkatkan usaha sama strategik dengan rakan dagang utama negara.
“Kerajaan juga sedang mengkaji semula DAN yang akan merangkumi skop yang lebih luas dengan mengambil kira kepentingan semua pihak termasuk syarikat kereta, vendor, institusi kewangan dan pengguna.
“Pembentangan cadangan akhir ini, akan dibentangkan di mesyuarat Kabinet tidak lama lagi,” katanya.
Preve, yang kini boleh didapati di semua bilik pameran Proton Holdings di seluruh negara, ditawarkan dalam tiga varian, iaitu standard eksekutif transmisi manual, standard eksekutif transmisi automatik dan spesifikasi premium transmisi automatik.
Versi standard eksekutif transmisi manual menggunakan enjin 1.6 liter IAFM Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) lima kelajuan, dan tujuh kelajuan untuk versi automatik, sementara versi spesifikasi premium pula menggunakan enjin 1.6 liter Caj Keberkesanan Minyak (CFE) turbo dengan CVT Protonic tujuh kelajuan.
Model baru itu ditawarkan pada harga RM59,990 seunit bagi versi standard eksekutif transmisi manual, RM62,990 bagi automatik standard eksekutif CVT, dan RM72,990 seunit bagi versi premium.
Semua varian berkenaan ditawarkan dengan jaminan lima tahun atau 150,000 kilometer, atau yang mana terdahulu.
Menurut Mohd Khamil berkata, Preve, model bercirikan teknologi paling canggih pertama yang ditawarkan kepada pasaran secara besar-besaran itu, akan membuka lembaran baru buat syarikat kereta nasional itu dalam memasarkan produknya yang menepati semua cita rasa pasaran.
“Produk PROTON memang sudah diterima di peringkat antarabangsa ketika ini. Namun begitu, kita tidak harus berpuas hati. Kita mesti bertindak lebih agresif lagi dalam mengembangkan aktiviti eksport ke luar negara dan menjadi lebih berteknologi maju, terus mampu menawarkan pelanggan kenderaan yang sewajarnya, mampu memperkukuh jualan dan khidmat selepas jualan di peringkat antarabangsa, dan mampu berkembang lebih kukuh sebagai jenama yang memiliki reputasi yang baik, yang dipercayai, diutamakan dan mampu menjadi pengeluar kereta yang kompetitif,” tegasnya.
Preve turut mendapat sentuhan anak syarikat milik penuh PROTON, iaitu Lotus Engineering, khususnya dari segi kawalan pemanduan dan pengendalian, yang mampu bertindak balas dengan baik di selekoh pada kelajuan tinggi.
SPESIFIKASI: Proton Preve
12 April 2012
Chelsea add a golden touch
IF their new kit is anything to go by, Chelsea have high hopes for next season.
The FA Cup and Champions League semi-finalists have incorporated a touch of gold to their traditional blue home shirt.
And Roberto Di Matteo, or whoever is in charge at Stamford Bridge come August, will hope the new design translates to success on the pitch.
Praying for a quick getaway?
THIS praying mantis has really plant his hideaway — stems that look like a BIKE.
The insect was snapped lying across the curly vegetation in Borneo, Indonesia.
Photography university student Eco Suparman, 23, was lucky enough to capture the funny moment while visiting the Ambawang River Village cemetery.
In such a grave location, it's no wonder the insect got the spokes.
Adele is rolling in the dosh
ADELE has topped the charts again — as Britain’s richest young musician.
The Rolling in the Deep star’s fortune has tripled in the past year to £20million after huge sales of her album, 21.
It’s seen Adele, 23 — who also had a hit with Chasing Pavements — leapfrog Cheryl Cole, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua and Joss Stone as the wealthiest pop star under 30 in the UK.
Steve Redmond, of the Entertainment Retailers Association, said: “Adele’s been the success story of the past year by a mile. You only get an Adele once every ten years. It’s success on a ginormous scale.”
But Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, 22, tops the Sunday Times overall list for youngsters. He’s worth £54million after starring in blockbuster The Woman in Black.
Daniel’s co-star in the Potter films, 21-year-old Emma Watson, appears in both actors and models charts, with £26million tucked away.
Keira Knightley, 27, also appears in both categories with £30million, and is the highest earning model thanks to her Chanel work.
She pipped Irish starlet Kiera Chaplin in the list, which also includes WAG Coleen Rooney.
05 April 2012
Pickled animals form backbone of anatomy display
An exhibition that shows animals in their most stripped back form — dissected, pickled and reassembled — will open on Friday.
Featuring around 100 specimens, Animal Inside Out displays the anatomical structure of some spectacular creatures.
It includes a giraffe revealing its neck vertebrae and a goat cut open to display the foetuses inside.
There is also a lamb constructed from its own capillaries, and a horse's head that is cut into three cross sections.
The elephant took a team of 30 three years and 64,000 man-hours to complete.
The animals — which all died of natural causes — were preserved using plastination.
Georgina Bishop, the museum's exhibition developer, said: "For us this is not grisly at all.
"This is about science, anatomy, physiology.”
The exhibition opens at the Natural History Museum on April 6, 2012, and runs until September 16, 2012.
04 April 2012
'Cow killer' bug's hair is a white old mess
LOOKS like this insect is having a bad hair day.
The tiny Thistledown Velvet ant is just two centimetres long. But thanks to its vicious sting it is known as Cow Killer Ant.
Despite its name it is a wingless female wasp. It is found crawling through lawns or digging around soil.
Snapper Robert Jensen, 58, captured this super close-up photo while travelling through the Mojave Desert in California.
His 22-year-old son Chris spotted the critter wandering around on the ground.
The male of the bug species are even smaller — though it does not mean their sting is any less painful.
Kereta terbang selama lapan minit
DEE-ANN DURBIN, Amerika Syarikat (AS) - Prototaip kereta terbang ciptaan syarikat Terrafugia Inc. berjaya menamatkan penerbangan sulung pada bulan lalu.
Kenderaan itu yang dinamakan Transition memiliki dua tempat duduk, empat tayar dan sayap yang boleh dilipat.
Ia mampu terbang pada ketinggian 426 meter selama lapan minit dalam ujian yang diadakan pada 23 Mac lalu.
Setakat ini, kira-kira 100 orang telah membayar deposit sebanyak AS$10,000 (RM30,502) untuk membeli Transition.
Bilangan pembeli dijangka meningkat selepas kereta itu dipamerkan semasa Pameran Automotif New York berlangsung pada hujung minggu ini.
Menurut syarikat berkenaan, Transition dijual pada harga AS$279,000 (RM850,952).
Kenderaan tersebut turut memerlukan landasan untuk terbang.
Ketika ini, kereta itu menjalani satu siri ujian kemalangan bagi memastikan ia memenuhi piawaian keselamatan AS.
Menurut jurucakap syarikat itu, kelajuan Transition boleh mencecah 112 kilometer sejam (km/j) di jalan raya dan 185km/j di udara. - Agensi