It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Supermoon!

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year graces the sky today as our celestial neighbor swings closer to Earth than usual.

The supermoon will appear 14 percent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal - the outcome of a cosmic quirk as the moon orbits within about 222,000 miles (357,000 kilometers) of our planet. 

Some viewers may think the shining orb looks more dazzling, but it's actually an optical illusion. 

The glowing disc is simply larger on the horizon next to trees and buildings.

But don't worry if you missed it. The supermoon's effect should still linger until at least Tuesday. 

The supermoon sets over the Statue of Liberty, N.Y.

A full moon rises behind the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.

The moon is seen in its waxing gibbous stage as it rises over Lower Manhattan, including One World Trade Center, center, seen from The Heights neighborhood of Jersey City, N.J.

The word supermoon was coined in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle, according to USA Today.

Nolle used the term to describe a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is at or near its closest approach to Earth.

 

While this supermoon, which rose in the east yesterday, is spectacular, an even larger one is expected on September 28, 2015. 

And the largest supermoon until 2034 will roll in on November 14, 2016. 

The incredible moon sets by the exterior of the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss.

A statue of the Angel Moroni on top a Latter-day Saints temple is silhouetted against the rising moon in Kansas City, Mo.

A full moon rises beside the Bank of America corporate headquarters in downtown Charlotte, N.C.

The moon rises over the temple of Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the seas

The moon rises behind the Peter and Pawel Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia 

This graphic using NASA data explains what causes a supermoon

Ten years after Abramovich bought Chelsea

The deal that revolutionised English football came together in the matter of days. In a world in which transactions often take months to complete, Roman Abramovich characteristically bucked convention. 

The buy-out that transformed the Premier League, which took place 10 years ago on July 1, came about with an immediacy that shook those involved. Keith Harris, the banker who was advising Chelsea at that time, remembers the moment well. 

‘I was in the City of London having lunch on a Friday when I received a call from the Chelsea chairman Ken Bates saying: “I need you here. At Stamford Bridge. Now!”’

So it begins: Roman Abramovich celebrates the first goal at Stamford Bridge after he took charge of the club

Launchpad: Ken Bates (left) next to the Russian's wife at the first game of the 2003 season against Liverpool

 

That was Friday, June 27, 2003, a different era in which Fulham’s Mohamed Al-Fayed was the only foreign owner in the Premier League.

Bates had met Abramovich for the first time only the day before at the Dorchester Hotel. An offer had been made by the Russian, valuing the shares of the club at £60million. One person who has spoken to Bates about that meeting says the Chelsea chairman baulked at the first offer. Abramovich excused himself and had reached the door before Bates reconsidered and negotiations continued.

Harris recalls a plaque erected above the boardroom at Stamford Bridge in which the negotiations took place. It read: ‘Rome didn’t build its empire having committee meetings — it built it by killing people that got in its way.’

He said: ‘At the end of negotiations, we asked for a gesture, for Ken Bates to keep the penthouse suite in the hotel. And that is what we got. By 6pm on the Tuesday night [July 1] it was all agreed and it was announced at 7am the next day. In my professional career, I hadn’t ever conducted a deal that quickly.’

Trevor Birch, who was Chelsea chief executive at the time, was the man at the centre of the storm. It was only on the weekend of June 21-22 that he was first aware that something might be afoot, when representatives of the bank, UBS, called him saying a Russian group might be interested in the club. As ever in football around this time, the Israeli agent Pini Zahavi was involved. 

‘Pini was saying he knew someone associated with a group who were interested in investing,’ said Birch. ‘So there was a bit of a pincer movement.’

Neither Birch nor Harris had heard of Abramovich before that week, but they quickly realised that a revolution was afoot. ‘I suggested that the new owners might want to make a commitment to win the hearts and minds of the fans and spend £25m on the team,’ said Harris. ‘They asked if I meant dollars or pounds. That summer they spent around £150m. Perhaps I’d been a little bit cautious in my initial figure!’

Birch said: ‘We started to realise it would change English football pretty quickly and no one else seemed to be picking up on that. The previous summer we had signed Enrique de Lucas on a free transfer, then no one in January. Then we spent £150m that summer. It was like playing fantasy football.’

Chelsea signed Glen Johnson, Alexey Smertin, Geremi, Juan Sebastian Veron, Damien Duff, Wayne Bridge, Joe Cole, Adrian Mutu, Hernan Crespo, Claude Makelele and Scott Parker.

Change in fortunes: The summer before Abramovich arrived, Enrique De Lucas (left) was the main signing

... then the subsequent summer the likes of Joe Cole, Juan Sebastian Veron and (below) Claude Makelele were brought to the Bridge by Claudio Ranieri

And a few more... (left-right) Glen Johnson, Damien Duff, Wayne Bridge, Marco Ambrosio and Geremi

Roman numerals

£1.5bn on wages
£874m on transfers
£680m on losses

3 Premier League titles
4 FA Cups
2 League Cups
1 Champions League
1 Europa League

Abramovich's personal outlay: £820m 
 

Birch said: ‘It was the catalyst for change in English football. It forced other clubs to look for other sources of revenue and paved the way for further foreign ownership. Before that in England, we would sign foreign players at the tail end of their careers. Suddenly, we could sign players at the peak of their careers from Italy and Spain.

‘The downside was that it created wage inflation throughout the League. So, if a Chelsea player was getting £200,000 a week, a player at another club would say: “Well, I must be worth at least £100,000 a week.” It permeated down through the leagues, so a lower league player would say: “Well, then, I must be worth at least £20,000 a week”.’
David Dein, the former Arsenal and FA vice-chairman, summed up his club’s situation succinctly that year, saying that Abramovich had parked his tanks on their lawn and was firing £50 notes.

‘Nothing has changed except that it’s not £50 notes but €500 notes!’ says Dein now. ‘With Roman’s arrival, I sensed a seismic change would occur in English football. We did have “The Invincibles” immediately after Roman arrived, which does prove that talent will come to the top. 

Complaint: David Dein said that Abramovich had put his tank on the lawn and was firing money

‘Ultimately, though, money will talk as long as there is sound judgment behind it when it comes to the acquisition of players.

‘Though football is never going to be a level playing field, it’s not healthy for the competition to be weighted in one club’s favour. Manchester United and Arsenal had the advantage prior to Roman coming, but primarily due to organic growth with larger fan bases. The genie is out of the bottle now and it will be impossible to put it back in.’

Ten years on, UEFA are implementing the Financial Fair Play restrictions to prevent such unrestrained spending. Successive UEFA presidents, Lennart Johansson and Michel Platini, fought tirelessly for the rules. 

Johansson regarded the spending as ‘morally wrong’, believing it made the organic, sustainable growth of rival clubs impossible. 

Platini revealed recently that he pushed through the rules at the behest of Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan and Massimo Moratti at Inter Milan. But by the time the restrictions were finalised, even Abramovich was an advocate, having broken into the cosy elite of top European clubs.

Plans: Michel Platini pushed through Financial Fair Play rules at the behest of Inter and AC Milan chiefs

But back in 2003, Chelsea were certainly not in that category, although they had beaten Liverpool on the final day of the season to qualify for the Champions League, a result that would prove crucial not just for securing their immediate financial future but also as a prelude for the drama about to unfold.

Birch said: ‘It had been a difficult couple of years, financially. It’s not right that we were about to go into administration, but it was crucial that we qualified for the Champions League in that last game of the season.’

Tottenham had earlier been approached by Abramovich’s aides and football history might have looked very different had that developed. But the location of Stamford Bridge, which had already been modernised, and the fact that Abramovich had an obsession with the Champions League for which Chelsea had qualified, were crucial factors.

‘I think it probably was hard for Ken Bates to sell,’ said Birch. ‘It was the club that Ken had built. He lived there and when he walked around the stadium complex it gave him great pride that he had built it and owned everything.’

Meanwhile, there was still some consternation at the club over what was unfolding. The entire fifth floor of the office block at Stamford Bridge was taken over by Abramovich’s staff and dubbed ‘the Russian floor’.

Rise to power: Marina Granovskaia (left) has become a director at the club

That was where Richard Creitzman, Eugene Tenenbaum, Eugene Shvidler and Bruce Buck, all aides of Abramovich, set up shop. A group of Russian-speaking secretaries were ensconced on that floor and in charge of them was a young twentysomething, Marina Granovskaia, who would rise to be one of the most important conduits of power and is now to be made a director of Chelsea.

When they travelled to play their first game of the season, a pre-season friendly against Lazio at the historic Stadio Flaminio on July 18, the personnel still seemed a little startled by it all, none more so than manager Claudio Ranieri. They lost 2-0.

Frank Lampard recalls: ‘When the owner first came in, there was such uncertainty. We didn’t know how the club would be run. We thought it would be a complete upheaval, all these superstars would come and we’d all be gone.

‘That happened in the beginning and there were periods of time when we brought in quite a lot of midfielders, particularly over the first two or three years. Every summer you thought, “Blimey, there’s more coming in! Am I going to play?” The ones that stayed were the determined ones, who fought to try to up their level to stay in the team; the John Terrys of this world, the Eidur Gudjohnsens.’

When Abramovich arrived, plenty suspected it would not last. Ten years on, it might be time to take stock and acknowledge that he changed the English game and European football for ever.

A decade on: It's inarguable that Abramovich has changed the face of football as we know it

Cengkerang 260j tahun ditemui

ANTARA fosil cengkerang spesies Brakiopoda yang ditemui pada singkapan batuan tapak projek jalan raya berdekatan Sungai Yu, Merapoh, Kuala Lipis, semalam.

Seorang Ahli Paleontologi dari Institut Geologi Malaysia (IGM) menemui fosil cengkerang berusia 260 juta tahun di Sungai Yu, berdekatan Merapoh di sini.

Penemuan itu membuktikan hasil kajian fosil berkenaan lebih tua usianya berbanding fosil ditemui di Taman Emas, bandar Kuala Lipis berusia 230 juta tahun yang dibuat pada 2011.

Ahli Paleontologi IGM, Ahmad Rosli Othman berkata, daerah ini mempunyai banyak kawasan yang mengandungi fosil atau tinggalan hidupan purba dari zaman pra-sejarah.

"Fosil cengkerang ditemui pada satu singkapan batuan di sepanjang projek menaiktaraf jalan raya Merapoh ke Kuala Lipis yang sedang dalam pembinaan berdekatan Sungai Yu. 

"Fosil itu terletak lapisan batu lumpur merupakan jenis Brakiopoda yang lazimnya hidup di persekitaran laut cetek," katanya kepada pemberita di Sungai Yu di sini hari ini.

Menurutnya, antara spesies Brakiopoda yang dapat dikenal pasti di kawasan sama iaitu Leptodus sp.,Transennatia sp. dan Spyridiophora sp.

Beliau yang juga penyelidik dari Institut Alam Sekitar dan Pembangunan (Lestari), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) berkata, menerusi penyelidikan itu bahawa Merapoh berada di dasar lautan antara 250 hingga 260 juta tahun lampau dan menjadi habitat hidupan laut purba yang primitif. 

"Haiwan primitif ini berenang bebas di lantai lautan yang relatifnya agak dalam dan beriklim panas. Kemudiannya, apabila mati akan tertimbus oleh enapan keladak kekal yang menjadi batu dalam tempoh beratus juta tahun lamanya," ujarnya. 

Katanya, haiwan purba itu hidup pada zaman sebelum berlakunya kepupusan masa di muka bumi iaitu kira-kira 252 juta tahun lampau.

Menurut beliau, menerusi proses geologi dasar laut berkenaan timbul ke permukaan bumi dan menjadi daratan serta membentuk topografi atau bentuk muka bumi seperti yang wujud di Merapoh.

Justeru, katanya, apabila terdapat projek pembangunan seperti pembinaan jalan raya di sini, bumi yang menyimpan banyak rahsia alam akan terungkai menerusi penemuan fosil cengkerang di lokasi berkenaan.

"Berdasarkan kajian paleontologi, hidupan primitif ini pernah hidup di sekitar 260 juta tahun lampau atau secara saintifiknya berada dalam tempoh zaman Lopingian dan Permian," jelasnya.

Katanya, kawasan Merapoh diumpamakan 'kitab sejarah bumi' yang memaparkan fenomena kehidupan sebelum wujudnya manusia di muka bumi ini kira-kira 200,000 tahun lalu.

Basikal lama jadi aksesori fesyen

SEPASANG lampu tidur diperbuat daripada lampu basikal dipamerkan di bengkel The Upcycle di Delft, Belanda pada 17 Mei lalu.- AFP

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DELFT - Dua usahawan Belanda menemui cara unik meraih keuntungan daripada beribu-ribu basikal lama yang ditinggalkan di Belanda dengan menukarnya menjadi barangan fesyen dan perabut.

Pelajar seni reka industri, Lodewijk Bosman, 25, dan Hidde van der Straaten, 28, menubuhkan jenama The Upcycle di bandar universiti Delft di sini pada Januari 2012.

Belanda mempunyai lebih banyak basikal iaitu 18 juta berbanding penduduk negara itu seramai 17 juta orang. Sekitar sejuta basikal baharu dibeli setiap tahun.

Mereka membeli basikal terpakai untuk ditukarkan menjadi pelbagai barangan seperti lampu tidur, gelang tangan, tali pinggang dan bangku. 

Lampu tidur itu yang diperbuat daripada lampu basikal lama dijual pada harga 88 euro (RM370), sekali gus mendatangkan keuntungan lumayan.

Rantai tangan yang diperbuat daripada rantai basikal berharga 10 euro (RM42) manakala tali pinggang getah tayar basikal dijual 30 euro (RM126).

Produk tersebut mula dijual melalui laman web firma berkenaan pada Februari lalu dengan barangan tersebut kini mempunyai permintaan meluas di seluruh dunia.

"Separuh daripada pelanggan kami merupakan orang tempatan dengan sebahagian lagi terdiri daripada pelanggan dari luar negara," kata Straaten.

Mereka kini berharap untuk menjual produk The Upcycle di kedai-kedai cenderamata di seluruh negara tersebut. - AFP

BAY BAY ... Andre Schurrle is leaving Leverkusen

Blues move a Schurr thing

Andre timeline

2006: Signs a deal with Mainz.

2009: Makes Bundesliga debut in 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

Sep 2010: Agrees to join Leverkusen at end of season. Makes Germany debut.

2011: Ends final Mainz season with club-record 15 goals.

Jun 2012: Plays at Euros.

Apr 2013: Leverkusen confirm Chelsea contact over Schurrle.

Jun 2013: Chelsea announce deal has been agreed to sign him.

ANDRE SCHURRLE will finally sign for Chelsea in a £17million deal after Bayer Leverkusen dropped their demand to take Kevin De Bruyne in part exchange.

German ace Schurrle has been on Chelsea’s radar for two years but feared his dream move was dead when Jose Mourinho blocked De Bruyne’s departure this week. 

Yet now Leverkusen have agreed to a straight cash deal after signing Hamburg’s Korean striker Heung-Min Son to replace Schurrle. 

The 22-year-old will become the first signing of Mourinho’s second spell as Chelsea boss, even though he was first identified by Andre Villas-Boas and negotiations have been going on since last summer. 

Leverkusen chairman Wolfgang Holzhauser said: “We have made it clear from the beginning Schurrle’s departure would only be possible if we found an adequate alternative. 

“We have now found this and so there is nothing to stand in the way of Schurrle’s move.” 

Schurrle, who cost Leverkusen £5.5m when he joined from Mainz in 2011, has played 24 times for Germany and was part of their Euro 2012 squad. 

He scored 11 goals in 34 games last season to help Leverkusen finish third. 

The attacking wide player will undergo a medical in the next 48 hours and will now find himself in direct competition with Belgium international De Bruyne, who was signed by Chelsea 18 months ago but has yet to play a game for the club. 

De Bruyne spent the whole of last season on loan at Werder Bremen, where he caught the attention of Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia. 

But Mourinho wants a close look at the winger in pre-season training before making any decision. 

Chelsea have once again been inundated with requests to take their squad players on loan and Spanish club Celta Vigo hope to secure midfielder Oriol Romeu next season. 

Romeu is still battling his way back to full fitness after rupturing a cruciate ligament last December but hopes to be ready for the start of the new season. 

The £4.5m capture from Barcelona’s B team has hardly figured for Chelsea since AVB’s departure 15 months ago. 

But his prospects will hardly be helped by the signing of Schurrle, who will arrive in London for the start of pre-season training next month

Messi accused of £3.4million tax fraud

That's a fine Messi ... Barcelona star Lionel in tax probe

 

SUPERSTAR footballer Lionel Messi is being investigated for an alleged £3.4MILLION tax fraud in Spain. 

 

The Barcelona star and his dad, Jorge, are accused of filing fraudulent tax returns from 2006-2009 according to a spokesman for tax crime in Catalonia. 

The 25-year-old recognised as the best player in the world and is rumoured to earn £250,000-a-week and £13MILLION in endorsements. 

Winner ... Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi with trophy

 

Last year the player agreed a new six-year deal with Barcelona worth an estimated £17million-a-year AFTER tax which will run until 2018. 

He revealed his shock at allegations and insisted he has done nothing wrong.

In a statement the Argentine forward hit back saying: "We have just known through the media about the claim filed by the Spanish tax authorities. We are surprised about this news, because we have never committed any infringement. 

"We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advice of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation."
His club has not commented yet. 

Messi - who has won the world player of the year title FOUR times - is one of the world’s highest paid footballers earning around £250,000 a WEEK. 

Agent ... Lionel Messi with dad Jorge

 

Any club wanting to buy him would have to shell out an astronomical £320million to include his wages and £210million transfer fee to release him from the Spanish champions Barcelona. 

But due to new tax laws in Spain, Messi's new deal will cost Barca a lot more. 

Instead of 24 per cent tax they will now pay up to 52 per cent on Messi's salary which means his wages will increase from £10m-a-year to £17m. 

Accused ... Lionel Messi

 

Last December Messi turned down a monster £460,000-a-week offer to quit Barcelona. 

As well as his Barcelona wages, he earns millions from sponsors including Adidas, PepsiCo and P&G and he is 10th on Forbes’s latest list of top-earning athletes. 

Accused of tax fraud ... Jorge Messi

 

He came on for the final half-hour of Argentina’s World Cup 2014 qualifier against Ecuador in Quito on Tuesday which ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said Messi is expected to be included in the line-up for their friendly against Guatemala on Friday.

Mesmerising shots of Mother Nature at her most angry

When 52-year-old photographer Franz Schumacher sees a storm brewing he does not run for cover with everyone else. 

Instead, he grabs his camera and photographs the thunder and lightning from the middle of the action for all to see.

His atmospheric pictures capture the ferocity of storms around Strohgaeu in Germany at harvest time. 

Eerie: The extreme stormy weather captured by 52-year-old Franz Schumacher near Stuttgart, Germany 

Electric: Graphic designer Franz says: 'I want the viewer to share my fascination for the forces of nature'

Lonely: A single farm stands out against the backdrop of the dark clouds covering the fields around it

The graphic designer has a passion for landscape and whether photography and took to the great outdoors to take these stunning pictures. 

Franz, 52, from Ditzingen near Stuttgart, Germany said: 'I want the viewer to share my fascination for the forces of nature and the situations that I experience outdoors in this type of weather.'

He needs precise timings and exactly the right location to achieve impressive images of lightening bolts mid-strike.

The harvest time background provides the perfect background as the ground is a warm brown colour contrasting to the dark clouds above. 

Franz manages to capture forks of lightning zigzagging down to earth, as well as eerie pictures of a single tree and a single farm surrounded by the dramatic storms. 

The rows of golden corn look almost surreal with the swirling clouds and heavy rainfall hovers surrounding them. 

Eye of the storm: The small clear gap in the middle of the swirling clouds looks oddly calm

Surreal: An unnatural-looking light shines through breaks in the cloud as the storm lifts

Lightening: A double bolt cracking across the fields as the rain pours down

Light and dark: Some sunlight manages to creep through the clouds illuminating the long glass

Dangerous: Franz gets right into the path of the storms near his home in Germany to get shots like these

Ethereal: Swirling black clouds gather on the the hilltop as a pink light shines through in the background

Dramatic: The forked lightening is visible in the heart of the cloud and cracking down to earth at the bottom

Engulfed: A lone tree is surrounded by the gathering storm across the countryside

Strike: As the storm builds to a climax an amazing lightening bolt illuminates the whole sky, while a smaller forked bolt stays deep in the cloud

A palace on wheels!

The world's most expensive motorhome has gone on sale in Dubai - covered in gold and worth a cool £2 million.

The space-age eleMMent Palazzo comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace.

But the most impressive piece of luxury is the 'Sky Lounge' - at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting.

Not your average caravan: The world's most expensive motorhome has gone on sale in Dubai - covered with gold gold and worth a cool £2 million

Luxury travel: The space-age eleMMent Palazzo is comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace

Customers: The success of the vehicle has been a hit among oil-rich Arab Sheikhs - the state-of-the-art homes even wash themselves after a day's driving through the Middle Eastern desert.

Luxury: The most impressive piece of luxury is the Sky Lounge - at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting 

The success of the vehicle has been a hit among oil-rich Arab Sheikhs - the state-of-the-art homes even wash themselves after a day's driving through the Middle Eastern desert.

Although the 40ft vehicle comes in a stunning gold, it is also available in white.

 

A spokesman for Marchi Mobile said: 'People never fail to notice innovation, but rarely does the excitement for it last.

'That is how it began for us. But now - after many years of development - we sparked a fire in luxury mobility.

Millionaire lifestyle: The master bedroom has a 40 inch TV, with warm water floor heating system and full air conditioning 

Superstar status: The private jet on wheels is designed to cater for businessmen on the road, wealthy families on their travels or global superstars on tour

Draw: As millions of Brits load up the roof rack to enjoy a weekend break in Skegness or Blackpool, international business moguls are turning to Austrian luxury experts Marchi Mobile

Eye-watering price tag: Despite living space banishing stereotypical pokey caravans, the cost per sq ft comes at a pocket-busting premium - costing double the equivalent amount of some of London's finest homes

'The eleMMent series from Marchi Mobile is a new class within the premium segment of vehicles, targeted to enthuse lovers of the extraordinary.

'Our goal has not only been to introduce a new line of luxury vehicles - but usher in a new era. This is done by a perfect masterpiece that sets itself apart at first sight.'

The private jet on wheels is designed to cater for businessmen on the road, wealthy families on their travels or global superstars on tour.

Despite living space banishing stereotypical pokey caravans, the cost per sq ft comes at a pocket-busting premium - costing double the equivalent amount of some of London's finest homes.

Craze: Never known for doing things in moderation, Dubai millionaires are snapping up the latest craze in motorhomes 

Security The impressive vehicle has real stream video surveillance so the users have a view to activity outside the motorhome

Modern: The bathroom is a billed as a 'Wellness bathroom' and comes with a rainfall shower

Equipped: The extended living area has an integrated kitchen area including a freezer, refrigerator, dishwasher, lift oven, sink, cook top, a built-in coffee machine and ice-maker

Glamour: Retractable steps emerge from the impressive vehicle to allow passengers on to the mobile home - the steps are eve lined with a red carpet 

Mod cons: The caravan also has a barbecue grill station, an 80 litre stainless steel fridge, and a 40-inch all-weather proofed full HD TV and speaker system