World around us

8.9 earthquake and tsunami hits Japan [video]

2011-03-11T09:43:00.003+01:00

Tsunami Causes Major Damage in Northern Japan After 8.9 Quake.

A magnitude 8.9 earthquake rattled Japan, causing a 13-foot tsunami that damaged buildings and washed away homes along the northeastern coast, Friday afternoon.

The quake hit at 2:46 p.m. local time as several powerful aftershocks followed including a 7.4 quake.

It was originally measured at 7.9 by Japan's meteorological agency but was later upgraded to 8.9.

Aftershocks continued to rock the region as images on Japanese television showed cars and boats being swept away by tsunami waters.

"The earthquake has caused major damage in broad areas in northern Japan," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said during an emergency news conference. "Some of the nuclear power plant in the region have automatically shut down, but there as no leakage of radioactive materials to the environment."

Several areas were submerged in water and buildings engulfed in flames.

In Tokyo, building shook and trains were halted during the middle of the workday.

At least 10 fires have been reported in Tokyo and Tokyo Disneyland's parking lot has been flooded.

Japanese officials had no immediate details on injuries and fatalities, according to the Associated Press.

A tsunami warning has been issued for the country's pacific coast along with Hawaii, Russia, North Marianas, Indonesia, Australia and the south American pacific coast including Mexico, Chile and Peru according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Associated Press reported.

A tsunami watch has been issued for Taiwan, the Philippines and Guam.

If the tsunami waves hit Hawaii, the estimated arrival of the initial wave is 2:59 a.m. HST Friday, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

"This is a very seismically active area off the east coast of japan that has produced a number of large quakes in the past," said Randy Baldwin at the national earthquake center in Golden, Colorado.

Japan's foreign minister has ordered officials to start preparing to accept foreign assistance and told them to check on the safety of foreigners living here in country according to NHK TV.

abcnews.go.com

Horny horse in parade

2011-03-11T08:53:00.000+01:00

As Above...

Giant 50 kg Piranha [video]

2011-03-09T11:33:00.001+01:00

Congo river, from a few months ago

Spider bite causes four hour erection

2011-03-09T09:40:00.001+01:00

Scientists believe a spider could lead to a breakthrough in sexual health after finding a single bite can cause a four hour erection.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia believe the venom of the Brazilian wandering spider could lead to a new cure for erectile dysfunction.

Dr Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at the college, said it works in a different way to Viagra, reports the Daily Mail.

"This is good because we know that some patients don't respond to the conventional therapy. This could be an optional treatment for them," she said.

Her study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, involved experiments using hypertensive rats with severe erectile dysfunction.

"The toxin was able to normalise the erectile dysfunction in these animals," said Dr Nunes.

However, further research is required. Other side-effects can include loss of muscle control, severe pain, difficulty breathing and death.

Dr Nunes added: "The venom of the Phoneutria nigriventer spider is a very rich mixture of several molecules.

"These molecules are called toxins, and then we have various toxins in this venom with different activity.

"Because of this, when a human is bitten by this spider, we can observe many different symptoms including priapism, a condition in which the penis is continually erect."

orange.co.uk

Plumber wins £1.4million on £2 bet

2011-03-09T09:38:00.001+01:00

A plumber won £1.4million at a race course in the UK yesterday - with just a £2 bet.

Steve Whiteley, 61, had all six winners at the meeting at Exeter, Devon, to scoop the Tote Jackpot, according to The Sun tabloid.

It is believed to be the biggest win ever for such a small stake.

No horse-racing punter is believed to have ever won so much for such a tiny stake.

The Tote Jackpot prize had not been won since February 27 and the winners' pool had rolled over to stand at £1million at the start of the day.

emirates247.com

Russian Skull Crusher [video]

2011-03-08T19:31:00.002+01:00

I'm sure he didn't feel a thing...

Nude cyclists shock Melbourne streets

2011-03-07T09:18:00.002+01:00

More than 150 naked cyclists coursed their way through inner-city Melbourne in support of bike activism on Sunday.

Melbourne's fourth annual Naked Bike Ride kicked off at the Edinburgh Gardens in North Fitzroy and took riders on a 10-kilometre trip through the city's streets.

Organiser Heidi Hill says the ride protests in favour of bike activism, as well as naturism, environmentalism and pacifism.

She says it a sure-fire way of bringing attention to those issues.

"Going past Lygon Street and all the restaurants, people come running out and they're quite shocked and then they start laughing and screaming," she said.

"I think people are titillated and excited to see people having so much fun."

She says riders wore little more than body paint slogans.

"Slogans are fantastic this year. They're quite political," she said.

"There's some to do with the Libyan situation. There is Berlusconi this year. Mostly it's about freedom and about bike activism, like 'please cycle safely', and 'bike love'."

abc.net.au

Truck driver of the year [video]

2011-03-03T20:26:00.002+01:00

Truck driver can't keep his eyes on the road or hands on the wheel.

Raw Video of Giant Wave and the injured surfer [video]

2011-03-03T16:16:00.002+01:00

La Nina strikes surfers in California

A surfer has been seriously injured while surfing where the Maverick's surf contest near Half Moon Bay is held.

Authorities say the 30-year-old surfer was found face down in the water after apparently wiping out around 10 a.m. Saturday.

Coastside Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Ari Delay says a person in a personal watercraft and a second person in a kayak were able to get the unconscious man to the beach, where they performed CPR.

Delay says when paramedics arrived the surfer had regained a pulse. He was flown to Stanford Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition Saturday night.

Authorities have not released the name of the surfer.

Delay estimates that waves were estimated to be about 20 feet at the time of the incident.

Man survives Brutal Accident - Unbreakable? [video]

2011-03-03T09:51:00.000+01:00

Caught on tape in China...

Fat Disco Queen 2011 [video]

2011-02-27T21:59:00.003+01:00

She has lots of power...

Why are some people such idiots? [video]

2011-02-24T09:58:00.001+01:00

And the Darwin Award goes to...

New technology in indian agriculture [video]

2011-02-24T09:28:00.001+01:00

Farm Tractor & Indians - thats all i have to say...

How to catch a bus in London? [video]

2011-02-24T09:19:00.002+01:00

These lovely people residents of east London,struggle to board a bus on boxing day during the tube strike,lovely people ,who said the british were good a queuing.

Man has 39 wives, 94 kids

2011-02-23T08:01:00.002+01:00

The more, the merrier is certainly true for Ziona Chana, a 66-year-old man in India’s remote northeast who has 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren — and wouldn’t mind having more.

They all live in a four storied building with 100 rooms in a mountainous village in Mizoram state, sharing borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, media reports said.

“I once married 10 women in one year,” he was quoted as saying.

His wives share a dormitory near Ziona’s private bedroom and locals said he likes to have seven or eight of them by his side at all times.

The sons and their wives, and all their children, live in different rooms in the same building, but share a common kitchen.

The wives take turns cooking, while his daughters clean the house and do washing. The men do outdoor jobs like farming and taking care of livestock.

The family, all 167 of them, consumes around 91 kg (200 pounds) of rice and more than 59 kg (130 pounds) of potatoes a day. They are supported by their own resources and occasional donations from followers.

“Even today, I am ready to expand my family and willing to go to any extent to marry,” Ziona said.

“I have so many people to care (for) and look after, and I consider myself a lucky man.”

Ziona met his oldest wife, who is three years older than he is, when he was 17.

He heads a local Christian religious sect, called the “Chana,” which allows polygamy. Formed in June 1942, the sect believes it will soon be ruling the world with Christ and has a membership of around 400 families.

cnews.canoe.ca

Alyssa Milano Is Pregnant!

2011-02-23T07:57:00.002+01:00

Alyssa Milano is going to be a mommy! The 38-year-old actress and her husband Dave Bugliari are expecting their first child together, reports People.com.

"They're just over the moon," says a friend. "They are so excited."

Alyssa tweeted today: "Yes, it's true. And we couldn't be happier. Thank you for your warm wishes and love!"

The Charmed actress is due in early fall. She and Bugliari, who's an agent at a Creative Arts Agency, got married in August 2009 after three years of dating.

source: zimbio.com

Amazing trick with motorbike [video]

2011-02-22T20:41:00.002+01:00

Guy in Pakistan doing his party trick on a public road! He is wheelie, wheelie good!

Now this is true love... ink a tattoo on your heart!

2011-02-15T21:09:00.002+01:00

A polaroid picture of your tattoo on place and a video recording of the procedure will be the proof.

Expressing emotions through tattoos on one's body is now passe. Have it etched on your heart! And isn't that true love anyways?

True Love Tattoos helps you proclaim your love to that someone special in a special way, indeed, in what they refer to as a soul canvas, if reports on the Web are to be believed.

The operation takes less than three hours - from the choice of tattoo until you have a polaroid proof in hand. However, they suggest you get someone to escort you home after surgery.

The highly professional team have so far performed more than 500 successful operations without any major complications. They provide a wide range of styles from old school to Japanese. You choose the art, they put it on your heart.

But the genuine question - how will you prove to your loved one that you have honoured him or her? Well, you will recieve one polaroid picture of your tattoo on place, and also a video recording of the whole procedure. By the way, this video comes with a great soundtrack from new amazing rock band 'Vikunja'.

The process they claim is "totally safe" and the time the procedure takes varies from the size of the tattoos and, of course, it takes longer for big-hearted people.

Another logical query - what if a person with high blood pressure opt for a tattoo on his heart? Well, the colour shines brighter, they claim.

Their only warning is do not get a tattoo if you have a weak heart, are ink intollerant or if you are not sure you’re really in love. Simialrly, avoid getting a tattoo if you have a newly broken heart. Let it heal for at least three months.

Laser erase surgery is available but not recommended. They also supply a special divorce discount if you can prove your partner cheated on you.

In some cases they recomend you to cover up your old tattoo with a new one, they are especially skilled in making football team crests. This satisfaction cost about $9,000$ to $12,000 depending on the type of tattoo.

emirates247.com

Ghost rider surfs down motorway...

2011-02-15T08:37:00.002+01:00

YouTube footage of a man apparently 'ghost riding' his truck along a Florida highway has divided viewers who can't decide if the stunt is genuine or not.

Posted on the video-sharing hub with the enlightening warning, 'Do not try this at home!! It is a very dangerous stunt', the clip shows the man climbing out of his vehicle and onto its roof as it coasts along the road.

To a soundtrack of Mistah FAB's Ghost Ride It (see what they did there?), he stays astride the Ford Bronco for nearly 20 seconds before making his way back into the driver's seat.

emirates247.com

Crematorium to heat swimming pool

2011-02-08T16:07:00.002+01:00

A local authority in England has given the go ahead for a swimming pool to use energy created by the next-door crematorium to heat its water.

The plan, the first of its kind in Britain, will see waste heat from the incinerator chimney used to warm up the neighbouring leisure centre and its new pool.

“The cremation process is a sensitive matter and we wanted to be sure our proposals had widespread support,” said Councillor Carole Gandy, the leader of Redditch Borough Council in central England.

Eighty to 90 percent of people who contacted the council had backed the scheme, she said.

“Throughout we have been careful to explain how the technology would work, that it is tried and trusted, and that the practice is quite common in parts of Europe and especially in Sweden,” she said.

“We already support our residents to insulate their homes and be energy-efficient, so it seemed only right for us to explore this re-use of energy.”

However, local trade union officials are less than impressed with the plan, saying it was a reflection of the massive public spending cuts being implemented by the government.

“These proposals ... are sick and an insult to local residents,” said Roger McKenzie, regional secretary for Unison, Britain’s biggest public sector labour union.

cnews.canoe.ca

Doctors put left foot on right leg

2011-02-07T21:27:00.002+01:00

Doctors in China attached a patient's severed left foot onto the calf of his right leg in a desperate bid to save it.

Ma Jun, 36, lost his foot after he slipped into a concrete mixer while working on a building site in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

He was rushed to hospital along with his severed foot but his left leg was too badly damaged for it to be reattached.

"The injury was too severe, and the wound was highly contaminated," said Doctor Song Wenchao.

"We had to cut off more than 2cm of dead muscle and bone from the left leg so we attached the foot to his right leg instead."

The foot was transplanted onto the calf of Ma's right leg in a complicated 12 hour operation.

Dr Song added: "While it is hosted by the right leg, the left foot can grow new skin, tissue and muscles. It is normal and pink-coloured so the blood is circulating smoothly."

He is now planning a second operation to reattach the foot to the left leg, followed by further surgery to reconstruct the calf.

"If he recovers as well as we hope, he could be walking normally within four months," said Dr Song.

orange.co.uk

Thieves 'steal 726,000 ultrathin condoms'

2011-02-03T23:19:00.002+01:00

A shipment of 726,000 ultrathin condoms have reportedly been stolen in transit.

Manufacturer Sagami Rubber Industries was exporting the prophylactics from Malaysia to Japan but the shipment was empty when it arrived at the firm's main plant in suburban Tokyo, AFP reports.

Company spokesman Norinari Wakui said: "This has never happened to us before and we are very perplexed. We are not certain if it was of a premeditated nature."

He added that the lock on the container had been replaced before the shipment left its port.

The condoms, which at 0.02mm are 14% thinner than standard products, were valued at around ¥120 million (£900,000).

Founded in 1934, Sagami Rubber Industries was Japan's first condom maker.

digitalspy.co.uk

Mona Lisa model was male

2011-02-03T08:58:00.003+01:00

Researchers have apparently discovered the disputed identity of the model for the famous da Vinci painting.

Italian researchers who specialize in resolving art mysteries said Wednesday they have discovered the disputed identity of the model for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa -- and claimed he was a man.

Silvano Vinceti, chairman of the Italian national committee for cultural heritage, said the Florence-born Renaissance artist's male apprentice and possible lover Salai was the main inspiration for the picture.

However his claim was immediately disputed by experts at the Louvre in Paris, where the painting is on display.

Salai, real name Gian Giacomo Caprotti, a young artist who worked with da Vinci for 25 years, is thought to have served as a model and muse for several of his paintings. The pair had an "ambiguous" relationship and were probably lovers, Vinceti said.

Comparisons between the facial characteristics of figures from several of da Vinci's works - such as "St. John the Baptist" and the "Angel Incarnate" -- reveal striking similarities with the Mona Lisa's nose and mouth, he said.

"There are remarkable similarities," Vinceti told reporters.

What is more, Vinceti said, da Vinci had left clues to the model's identity in tiny letters L and S which he and his team found painted into the eyes of the Mona Lisa.

"Close examination of a high-quality digital copy of the portrait had revealed an L for Leonardo and an S for Salai," he said.

But Vinceti's claims have been disputed by the Louvre museum.

The museum said it had carried out "every possible laboratory test possible" on the picture in 2004 and then again in 2009, and insisted that "no inscriptions, letters or numbers, were discovered during the tests."

"The aging of the painting on wood has caused a great number of cracks to appear in the paint, which have caused a number of shapes to appear that have often been subject to over-interpretation," the Louvre said.

The museum also said Vinceti had made his claims without having had access to the painting itself.

emirates247.com

Largest orchid in the world

2011-02-02T16:18:00.002+01:00

Growing in Brazil, the botanical rarity is 2.5m high. Brazil's environmental agency says the "largest orchid in the world" is growing in a botanic garden in the capital, at a height of 2.5 metres with some stems measuring as long as three metres.

Displayed at the Brazilian Orchids Project garden in Brasilia, the flower - part of the Grammatophyllum genus - has been growing for five years and already has 19 long stems, on which 400 flowers bloom, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resource said.

Biologist Lou Menezes, head of the orchid garden, says he had "grown and adapted [the plant] to the harsh climate" in Brasilia, which is drier than its native Malaysia.

Experts are working on a special hybrid species of orchid by crossing Grammatophyllum flowers with the Cyrtopodium genus, which is often found in the Brazilian rainforest.

emirates247.com

Top 10 uncracked codes

2011-02-02T16:14:00.002+01:00

Although the internet has spawned a multi-billion dollar industry in creating and cracking codes, crypologists have yet to solve some of the oldest riddles. Below are ten of the most notable:

1. The Phaistos Disk is considered the most important example of hieroglyphic inscription from Crete. Discovered in 1903, both sides of the clay disc are covered with hieroglyphs arranged in a spiral zone, impressed on the clay when it was damp. Forty five different types of signs have been distinguished, of which a few can be identified with the hieroglyphs in use in the Proto- palatial period.

2. Linear A is one of two linear scripts used in ancient Crete discovered and named by Arthur Evans. Linear B was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris and was used to write Mycenaean Greek. Linear A is partially understood but parts of it produce works unrelated to any known language.

3. Kryptos is a sculpture by the American artist James Sanborn, located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedication in 1990, there has been much speculation about the meaning of the encrypted messages it bears.

4. Chinese Gold Bar Cipher. In 1933, seven gold bars allegedly issued to a General Wang in Shanghai, China. These gold bars, which contain pictures, Chinese writing, some form of script writing, and cryptograms in Latin letters, appear to represent metal certificates related to a bank deposit with a U.S. Bank and the Chinese writing has been translated, and discusses a transaction in excess of $300,000,000.

5. Beale Ciphers are said to be three encrypted messages which pinpoint where a man named Beale buried two wagons-full of treasure at a secret location in Bedford County in the 1820s. It is claimed one of the messages has been solved, which detailed the tons of gold, silver and jewels that were buried, along with a general location. The still unsolved messages supposedly give exact directions, and a list of who the treasure belongs to.

6. Voynich Manuscript is at least 400 years old and is a 232-page illuminated manuscript entirely written in a secret script. It is filled with copious drawings of unidentified plants, herbal recipes of some sort, astrological diagrams, and many small human figures in strange plumbing-like contraptions. In 2004 there were some compelling arguments which described a technique that would seemingly prove that the manuscript was a hoax, but to date, none of the described techniques have been able to replicate a single section of the Manuscript, so speculations continue.

7. The Dorabella Cipher was written by the composer Elgar in 1897. He sent a letter to a young friend, Miss Dora Penny, the 22 year-old daughter of the Rev. Alfred Penny, Rector of St Peter’s, Wolverhampton, and with it a cipher which to this day has remained unsolved.

8. Chaocipher. John F. Byrne invented Chaocipher in 1918 and tried unsuccessfully for almost 40 years to interest the U.S. government in his cipher system. He offered a reward to anyone who could break his cipher but the reward was never claimed. It has latterly been re-examined by members of his family to determine whether there is any commercial value in it.

9. The D’Agapeyeff cipher is an as-yet unbroken cipher that appears in the first edition of Codes and Ciphers, an elementary book on cryptography published by the Russian-born English cartographer Alexander D’Agapeyeff in 1939. Offered as a “challenge cipher” at the end of the book, it was not included in later editions, and D’Agapeyeff is said to have admitted later to having forgotten how he had encrypted it. It has been argued that the failure of all attempts at decryption is due to D’Agapeyeff incorrectly encrypting the original text. However, it has been argued that the cipher may still be successfully attacked using computational methods such as genetic algorithms.

10. Taman Shud. An unidentified male body was found on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, Australia in 1948 wearing a sweater and coat despite the hot day, carrying no identification. There were no clues as to his identity and dental records and fingerprints matched no living person. An autopsy discovered bizarre congestion, blood in the stomach and enlarged organs but no foreign substances. A suitcase found at the train station that may have belonged to the man contained a pair of trousers with a secret hidden pocket, which held a piece of paper torn from a book imprinted with the words “Taman Shud”. The paper was matched to a very rare copy of Omar Khayyam’s ‘The Rubaiyat’ that was found in the backseat of an unlocked vehicle and on the back of the book was scrawled five lines of capital letters that seem to be a code. To this day, the entire case remains one of Australia’s most bizarre mysteries.

telegraph.co.uk