A New Zealand inventor has put a bizarre floating machine that can also take to the skies up for sale. Mechanic Rudy Heeman took the model of a hovercraft to create the WIG or "wing in ground effective vehicle". It rides like a normal hovercraft but, once it reaches a speed of 70km an hour, it becomes airborne. It took Mr Heeman more than a decade to complete the machine. Over those years, he taught himself to laminate fibreglass, modify car engines and gain an understanding in basic aeronautics in order to drive the vehicle himself, reports said. Some of the parts used to create his ...
Ellie Goulding feels she has been so hyped up that some people don't want to like her music. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter topped the BBC Sound Of 2010 poll and won the Critics Choice Award at the 2010 Brits, but claims it hasn't necessarily been the advantage it sounds. Ellie said: "People want to not like me because I've been so hyped up." She explained: "A journalist came to a gig a few weeks ago and he wrote this amazing review, but he was like, because my success has been so pre-ordained, he wants to not like me, he wants to be critical and ...
Hundreds of civilians are feared to have died in a surge of fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in the turbulent Darfur region, a U.N. source told Reuters on Monday. A Sudan army spokesman denied any fighting was taking place in Darfur's mountainous Jabel Marra region and accused insurgents of harassing and attacking locals. Reports of clashes throughout last week have marred Khartoum's announcement of a new peace push in the region and come just over a month ahead of national elections. "We think that we have a mounting number of casualties ... The lower estimate is around 140. The higher estimate is closer ...
The European Union urged Greece on Monday to announce new austerity measures within days to tackle a debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone and promised to help Athens overcome the problem. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn made the call after a first round of talks with Greek officials amid growing market expectations of a trade-off between new deficit cutting steps and practical EU support for Greek borrowing. "I'm sure that together we shall overcome these formidable economic and fiscal challenges," Rehn said after meeting Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou. [nATH005236] A German government spokeswoman, however, maintained that it was up to Greece to pursue budget consolidation to ...
492 St. Felix III ends his reign as Catholic Pope 492 St. Gelasius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope 705 John VII begins his reign as Catholic Pope 743 Slave export by Christians to heathen areas prohibited 918 Balderik becomes bishop of Utrecht 1260 Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquerors Damascus 1382 French Maillotin uprises against taxes 1420 Pope Martinus I calls for crusade against the hussieten 1434 Jacoba of Bavaria marries Frank van Borselen 1562 Blood bath at Vassy: General de Guise allows 1200 huguenots murder 1565 Spanish occupier Estacio de Sa founds Rio de Janeiro 1587 English parliament leader Peter Wentworth confined in London Tower 1591 Pope Gregory XIV ...
Archaeologists have unearthed a massive red granite head of one Egypt's most famous pharaohs who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Sunday. The head of Amenhotep III, which alone is about the height of a person, was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh's mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor. The leader of the expedition that discovered the head described it as the best preserved sculpture of Amenhotep III's face found to date. "Other statues have always had something broken: the tip of the nose, the face is eroded," said Dr. Hourig Sourouzian, who has led the led the Egyptian-European expedition ...
Greek police arrested two men trying to sell several artifacts, including a bronze sculpture of emperor Alexander the Great from the 4th century B.C., for which the asking price was euro7 million ($9.5 million), authorities said Sunday. Police identified the suspects as a 48-year-old Thessalonikibusinessman and a 51-year-old farmer, but did not provide their names. The men were arrested Saturday morning near the town of Kavala, east of Thessaloniki, police said. Police searched their car and found atreasure trove that included a 65-centimeter (2-foot) statue of Alexander, two bronze heads of a boy and a young man and other artifacts, including two rare Qurans. "According to our information, the (suspects) have ...
Jacques Audiard's powerful prison drama "Un Prophete" (A Prophet) swept the board at the "Cesar" awards on Saturday, picking up the best film, best actor and best director prizes at France's annual version of the Oscars. "A Prophet," one of the outstanding films at last year's Cannes film festival, was named as best foreign film at the BAFTA awards last week and is in the running in the same category at the Academy Awards on March 7. A dark tale of a young, illiterate petty criminal who gradually climbs a brutal prison hierarchy, "A Prophet" took nine awards on the night, leaving little for the ...
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki acknowledged on Sunday that he would probably need partners to gain a majority after the election on March 7, and said he was ready to join with Kurdish or other Shi'ite groups. "Alliances in forming the coming government are a must," he said in remarks carried by the state-owned National Media Centre. "Coalition with the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and the Kurdish coalition is an important issue in building the country. These blocs enjoy historical relations that the political process and national unity need." Maliki's comments were the clearest signal yet that his State of Law coalition hopes ...
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pitched for investment in his economy and closer petroleum sector cooperation with Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the second day of a visit to the Middle East oil giant. The first Indian premier to visit Saudi Arabia in 28 years, Singh said his country's growth opens huge opportunities for trade and investment. India, which receives 20 percent of its oil from Saudi Arabia, wants to deepen that relationship, he said. "We deeply value Saudi Arabia's role as a reliable partner in meeting our energy needs," he told businessmen gathered at the Saudi Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry. "We believe ...
A New Zealand inventor has put a bizarre floating machine that can also take to the skies up for sale. Mechanic Rudy Heeman took the model of a hovercraft to create the WIG or “wing in ground effective vehicle”. It rides like a normal hovercraft but, once it reaches a speed of 70km an hour, it becomes airborne. It took Mr Heeman more than a decade to complete the machine. Over those years, he taught himself to laminate fibreglass,... [more]
Ellie Goulding feels she has been so hyped up that some people don’t want to like her music. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter topped the BBC Sound Of 2010 poll and won the Critics Choice Award at the 2010 Brits, but claims it hasn’t necessarily been the advantage it sounds. Ellie said: “People want to not like me because I’ve been so hyped up.” She explained: “A journalist came to a gig a few weeks ago... [more]
Hundreds of civilians are feared to have died in a surge of fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in the turbulent Darfur region, a U.N. source told Reuters on Monday. A Sudan army spokesman denied any fighting was taking place in Darfur’s mountainous Jabel Marra region and accused insurgents of harassing and attacking locals. Reports of clashes throughout last week have marred Khartoum’s announcement of a new peace... [more]
The European Union urged Greece on Monday to announce new austerity measures within days to tackle a debt crisis that has shaken the euro zone and promised to help Athens overcome the problem. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn made the call after a first round of talks with Greek officials amid growing market expectations of a trade-off between new deficit cutting steps and practical EU support for Greek borrowing. “I’m... [more]
492 St. Felix III ends his reign as Catholic Pope 492 St. Gelasius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope 705 John VII begins his reign as Catholic Pope 743 Slave export by Christians to heathen areas prohibited 918 Balderik becomes bishop of Utrecht 1260 Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis, conquerors Damascus 1382 French Maillotin uprises against taxes 1420 Pope Martinus I calls for crusade against the hussieten 1434 Jacoba of Bavaria marries... [more]
Archaeologists have unearthed a massive red granite head of one Egypt’s most famous pharaohs who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Sunday. The head of Amenhotep III, which alone is about the height of a person, was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh’s mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor. The leader of the expedition that discovered the head described it as the... [more]
Greek police arrested two men trying to sell several artifacts, including a bronze sculpture of emperor Alexander the Great from the 4th century B.C., for which the asking price was euro7 million ($9.5 million), authorities said Sunday. Police identified the suspects as a 48-year-old Thessalonikibusinessman and a 51-year-old farmer, but did not provide their names. The men were arrested Saturday morning near the town of Kavala, east... [more]
Jacques Audiard’s powerful prison drama “Un Prophete” (A Prophet) swept the board at the “Cesar” awards on Saturday, picking up the best film, best actor and best director prizes at France’s annual version of the Oscars. “A Prophet,” one of the outstanding films at last year’s Cannes film festival, was named as best foreign film at the BAFTA awards last week and is in the running in... [more]
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki acknowledged on Sunday that he would probably need partners to gain a majority after the election on March 7, and said he was ready to join with Kurdish or other Shi’ite groups. “Alliances in forming the coming government are a must,” he said in remarks carried by the state-owned National Media Centre. “Coalition with the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and the Kurdish coalition... [more]
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pitched for investment in his economy and closer petroleum sector cooperation with Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the second day of a visit to the Middle East oil giant. The first Indian premier to visit Saudi Arabia in 28 years, Singh said his country’s growth opens huge opportunities for trade and investment. India, which receives 20 percent of its oil from Saudi Arabia, wants to deepen that relationship,... [more]
