Friday, December 21, 2012

Branson to be AirAsia stewardess after losing Grand Prix bet

AFP Relax – 3 hours ago

Virgin boss Richard Branson (AFP Photo)

British billionaire Richard Branson will finally wear a red skirt and serve as a stewardess on Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia in May after losing a Grand Prix bet with the founder of the airline.

Virgin boss Branson and AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes had agreed in 2010 that whichever of their teams (then Virgin and Lotus) finished lower in the constructors' championship in their debut season, the losing owner would serve on the other's airline.

Branson lost as Lotus finished 10th and Virgin 12th, but the trip was postponed in early 2011 after he injured himself while skiing.

Fernandes said Branson had contacted him to honour his bet.

"He will be an Airasia stewardess in May on Airasia. 2 years late but main point he hasn't forgotten," Fernandes tweeted.

Fernandes had previously said that Branson would strut down the aisle to offer coffee, tea or other food and beverages to guests on a special 13-hour Kuala Lumpur to London flight.

The tickets for the flight would be auctioned off for charity.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for sale at $41 million makes bid for world’s most expensive car

By Justin Hyde | Motoramic – 14 hours ago

Just six months ago, a green 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO built for Sir Stirling Moss traded hands for $35 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold. That record may not stand another month if an anonymous American seller gets his asking price of $41 million for his 250 GTO — a sign that the market for Enzo Ferrari's most famous race cars may soon overheat.

Offered for sale by a London broker, there's little public detail about which one of the 39 known GTOs has been put on the market. It's one of 29 Series I GTOs, and one of 22 left-hand-drive versions, and the broker claims it has "great provenence and a very well cared for history by past and current owners," which only means it likely hasn't been burned in a wreck on the track.

When Ferrari built the V-12, 170-mph GTOs to race, with wins at Le Mans and around the world, there was never a thought that the cars would someday turn into near-venerated objects. Even a decade after their heyday, GTOs were often considered worn-out sports cars by collectors. Only in recent years, as the world's wealthy have begun to see collector cars as pieces of art, profit and coolness combined have their prices risen to stratospheric heights. By comparison, the most expensive new car for sale in the world — the Bugatti Veyron, starting at $2 million — seems a downright bargain.

The world of people who keep track of GTOs and their owners will know if and when a buyer puts down the $41 million. If no one bites, the collector car world will know that there's at least a temporary ceiling to demand for the right cars. If someone does pay for it, the question then becomes where the top really is, and who else might be willing to pay tomorrow's price for a 50-year-old Ferrari today.

Photo: Lamboshane via Flickr

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The World’s Best Places To Live

By Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani | CNBC – 14 hours ago

@cnbc on Twitter

Can there be a city that is crime and pollution free, with excellent public transport and great schools to boast?

Human resources consulting firm Mercer has put together a list of cities that come closest to offering you all that. In its 2012 Quality of Living report it looks at living conditions in 221 cities worldwide and ranks them against New York as a base city in 10 categories - economy, socio-cultural environment, politics, education, and healthcare.

Cities in some of the world's biggest economies like the U.S. and Japan don't make the cut. So, which are the world's best places to live in? Read ahead to find out.

1. Vienna, Austria
Austria's most populous city – Vienna – has won the title of the world's best city for quality of life since 2009. It is also one of eight European cities to make the top 10 list, showing the region's dominance in the survey.

Vienna is the cultural, economic, and political center of the country. It has the highest per capita GDP among all Austrian cities at over $55,000. Vienna's ability to transform old infrastructure into modern dwellings won the city the 2010 United Nations urban planning award for improving the living conditions of its residents. Under a multimillion-dollar program, the city refurbished more than 5,000 buildings with nearly 250,000 apartments. Vienna is also the world's No. 1 destination for conferences, drawing five million tourists a year — equivalent to three tourists for every resident.

The country's economy has, however, not been immune to the crisis plaguing Europe, and shrunk 0.1 percent in the third quarter of the year, as the European Union entered its second recession since 2009.

2. Zurich, Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, keeps the number two spot from last year after holding the title of the city with the best quality of life in the world previously. It is also one of three Swiss cities to make the top 10 rankings – tying with Germany for the most number of cities on the list.

Known as a global financial center, one out of every nine jobs in Switzerland is based in Zurich. Its low tax rates attract overseas companies and the assets of the 82 banks based there are equivalent to more than 85 percent of the total value of assets held in Switzerland. The city is also the country's biggest tourist destination, famous for its lakeside location and chain of hills that run from north to south, providing an extensive range of leisure activities.

The cost of living in Zurich is the sixth highest in the world, according to Mercer. Both Zurich and Geneva make Switzerland the most expensive country to live in in Western Europe. The city also attracts people to buy luxury properties here, because of its low taxes, safety record and good education system, according to real estate firm Knight Frank.

3. Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand's largest and most populous city, Auckland, offers the best quality of life in the Asia-Pacific region, now for the second year in a row. It has been consistently placed within the top five best places to live in for the past six years.

Auckland is uniquely set between two harbors, with 11 extinct volcanoes and numerous islands making it the city with the world's largest boat ownership per person. Auckland is New Zealand's economic powerhouse - its 1.4 million people account for more than 30 percent of the country's population and contribute 35 percent to the country's GDP. Auckland is also home to the most educated people in the country, with nearly 37 percent of its working population holding a bachelor's degree or higher.

In March, the city launched a 30-year initiative called "The Auckland Plan" to make it the world's most livable city. The plan aims to tackle challenges in transport, housing, job creation and environment protection. However, the city has been impacted by the global economic slowdown. In the third quarter New Zealand's unemployment rate hit a 13-year high of 7.3 percent.

4. Munich, Germany
Munich is Germany's third largest city and one of the country's key economic centers. It is also one of three German cities to dominate the top 10 rankings for the best quality of life.

Holding on its fourth spot from last year, Munich is home to some of Germany's most notable businesses, including engineering firm Siemens and insurer Allianz. The city generates nearly 30 percent of the gross domestic product of the State of Bavaria. Munich's per capita purchasing power was more than $33,700 in 2011, the highest among all German cities and 30 percent above the national average. Drawing immigrants to its industries from all over the world, more than a fifth of the city's residents are foreigners.

Munich ties fellow German city Frankfurt for having the second best infrastructure in the world, according to Mercer. In total, four German cities including Dusseldorf and Hamburg dominate the top 10 infrastructure rankings highlighting the country's first-class airports and high standard of public services.

5. Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is the only Canadian and North American city to make the top 10 list this year, similar to 2011.

Vancouver has made it to a number of rankings on the world's most livable cities over the past decade and has been among the top five in the Mercer quality of living survey for the past six years. Home to one of the mildest climates in Canada, Vancouver is also its greenest city with the smallest carbon footprint of any major city in North America. Surrounded by water and snowy mountains, Vancouver's government constantly promotes green building, planning, and technology with the ambition of becoming the world's greenest city by 2020.

In terms of infrastructure, Vancouver also tops the rankings for North America at ninth with Montreal and Atlanta landing in 13th place. Overall, Canadian cities still dominate the top of the rankings for North America despite only Vancouver making it into the global top 10. Ottawa comes in at 14, Toronto at 15 and Montreal at 23, while it's closet U.S. competitor is Honolulu at 28 globally.

See the full list: The World's Best Places to Live

Sunday, December 9, 2012

American Killed in Raid to Free Doctor From Taliban

(ABC)

One of the Special Operations troops involved in the raid to free an American doctor from the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan died of his wounds today.
“I was deeply saddened to learn that a U.S. service member was killed in the operation, and I also want to extend my condolences to his family, teammates and friends,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement released today. “The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy’s grip. They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night. In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld. The torch of freedom burns brighter because of them.”
President Obama also praised the Special Operations force for their bravery.
“Yesterday, our special operators in Afghanistan rescued an American citizen in a mission that was characteristic of the extraordinary courage, skill and patriotism that our troops show every day,” he said today.
“Tragically, we lost one of our special operators in this effort,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, just as we must always honor our troops and military families. He gave his life for his fellow Americans, and he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free.”
Dr. Dilip Joseph and two colleagues were kidnapped Dec. 5 by a group of armed men while returning from a visit to a rural medical clinic in eastern Kabul Province, according to a statement from their employer, Colorado Springs-based Morning Star Development. The statement said the three were eventually taken to a mountainous area about 50 miles from the border with Pakistan.
Morning Star’s crisis management team in Colorado Springs was in contact with the hostages and their captors almost immediately, the statement said.
On Saturday evening in Afghanistan, two of the three hostages were released. Morning Star did not release their names in order to protect their identities. Dr. Joseph remained in captivity.
Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, ordered the mission to rescue Joseph when “intelligence showed that Joseph was in imminent danger of injury or death”, according to a military press release.
Morning Star said Joseph was in good condition and will probably return home to Colorado Springs in the next few days.
A Defense Department official told ABC that Joseph can walk, but was beaten up by his captors.
Joseph has worked for Morning Star Development for three years, the organization said, and travels frequently to Afghanistan.
“Morning Star Development does state categorically that we paid no ransom, money or other consideration to the captors or anyone else to secure the release of these hostages,” the organization said.

SHOWS: World News

Friday, December 7, 2012

Radio Pranksters Who Posed as Queen Pulled Off Air After Nurse's Death

By CHRISTINA NG | Good Morning America – 4 hours ago

@GMA on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

The two Australian radio hosts who prank called the hospital where Kate Middleton was being treated have been pulled off the air "until further notice" after the hoaxed nurse was found dead today.

"Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII's Hospital and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family and all that have been affected by this situation around the world," the radio station said in a statement posted on their Facebook page.

The station's chief executive spoke with the DJs, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, and "they are both deeply shocked," the statement said. The parties agreed that the hosts would not comment on the situation.

"SCA and the hosts have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy," the statement said.
In the Tuesday morning prank call, information about the duchess' condition was released by a nurse to Greig and Christian when they pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles looking to speak to Middleton, who was being treated at the hospital for acute nausea related to her pregnancy.
When the royal impersonators called the hospital, Saldanha put through to a second nurse who told the royal impersonators that Kate was "quite stable" and hadn't "had any retching."
"It is with very deep sadness that we confirm the tragic death of a member of our nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement released today.
"We can confirm that Jacintha was recently the victim of a hoax call to the hospital," the statement said. "The hospital had been supporting her throughout this difficult time."
The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the hospital for more than four years. They called her a "first-class nurse" and "a well-respected and popular member of the staff."
The hospital extended their "deepest sympathies" to family and friends, saying that "everyone is shocked" at this "tragic event."
"She will be greatly missed," the hospital said.
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha," a spokesman from St. James Palace said in a statement.
"Their Royal Highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time," the statement said.
Police were called to an address near the hospital at about 9:35 a.m. GT today to "reports of a woman found unconscious," according to a statement from Scotland Yard.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. "Inquiries continue to establish the circumstances of the incident. Next of kin have been informed," the statement said.
Circumstances of the death being investigated, but are not suspicious at this stage, according to police.
The duchess spent three days at the hospital undergoing treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, severe or debilitating nausea and vomiting. She was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.

The Tuesday morning prank call came from Australian DJ's Mel Greig and Michael Christian. They impersonated the royals, complete with exaggerated accents. They even enlisted two co-workers to bark like the queen's pet corgis.
The Sydney radio station, 2DayFM, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Twitter accounts of both radio personalities have been deactivated, but it is unknown when the accounts were shut down. The DJ's are being heavily criticized on Twitter, with many people calling for them to resign or be fired.
"I'm just after my granddaughter, Kate. I want to see how her little tummy bug is going," the radio host said in the prank call, suppressing laughter.
"She's sleeping at the moment, and she has had an uneventful night and sleep is good for her," the nurse said. "She's been getting some fluids to rehydrate her because she was quite dehydrated when she came in, but she's stable at the moment."
The fake royals went on to ask when would be a good time to visit and were told that "anytime after 9 o'clock would be suitable."
"She's quite stable at the moment. She hasn't had any retching ... since I've been on duty. And she has been sleeping on and off. I think it's difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well," the nurse said.
The hospital apologized for the mistake.
"The call was transferred through to a ward, and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement. "King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."

"This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore," John Lofthouse, the hospital's chief executive, said in the statement. "We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously, and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."

The radio station also apologized for the prank call.

"2Day FM sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the inquiry to Kate's hospital. The radio segment was done with lighthearted intentions," the station said in a statement.

"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," the radio hosts said in the statement. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues, and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well. We wish Kate and her family all the best."

ABC News' Bruno Roeber contributed to this report.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Raphael drawing fetches $47.8 million in auction

Major drawing by Raphael fetches $47.8 million at auction in London, smashing estimates

Associated Press – 11 hrs ago

LONDON (AP) -- One of the most significant drawings by Italian master Raphael in private hands sold for 29.7 million pounds ($47.8 million) in London Wednesday, smashing pre-sale estimates for the black chalk work.

"Head of an Apostle" was expected to fetch between 10 million pounds and 15 million pounds, and Sotheby's auction house said the sale set a record for any work on paper sold at auction.

Sotheby's said the winning bid was placed over the phone following an intense battle among four bidders.

"Head of an Apostle" was created in preparation for Raphael's Biblical painting "The Transfiguration," which hangs in the Vatican Museum in Rome.

"If you are lucky, at some point in your career a work like this comes along," said Gregory Rubinstein, worldwide head of Old Master drawings at Sotheby's.

He called Raphael — who died in 1520 — a genius.

The piece had been part of a collection at the Duke of Devonshire's Chatsworth House home in Derbyshire since the 1700s.

Chemical scare is a cloak for intervention, says Syria

By Erika Solomon | Reuters – 39 mins ago

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western powers are whipping up fear of chemical weapons as a pretext to intervene in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's government said on Thursday, after several Western countries said they feared Assad might use poison gas.

"Syria stresses again, for the tenth, the hundredth time, that if we had such weapons, they would not be used against its people. We would not commit suicide," Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Maqdad told Lebanon's Al Manar television, the voice of the pro-Assad Hezbollah movement.
"We fear there is a conspiracy to provide a pretext for any subsequent interventions in Syria by these countries that are increasing pressure on Syria."

As darkness fell in the embattled capital, the highway to Damascus international airport was closed by fighting, witnesses said. Rebels said they would not storm the airport but would encircle it to stop flights supplying the army.

Fighting in Syria's 20-month civil war has intensified around the capital in the past week, prompting Western commentators to speak of an "end-game" that could soon see Assad toppled soon.
Several Western countries have issued coordinated warnings this week to Assad's government not to use chemical weapons, many citing secret intelligence that U.S. officials said showed the Assad government might be preparing to use poison gas.
Syria has not signed the international chemical weapons treaty that bans the use and storage of poison gas, but has repeatedly said it would never use such arms on its own people.
NATO also decided this week to send U.S., German and Dutch batteries of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Turkey's border with Syria, meaning hundreds of American and European troops deploying to the frontier for the first time.
Western countries have so far resisted conducting the sort of intervention in Syria's civil war that saw NATO air strikes help topple Libya's Muammar Gaddafi last year.
Germany approved the Patriot missile mission on Thursday. NATO says it is a defensive step to prevent cross border missile strikes on alliance member Turkey, but Syria fears it could be a prelude to imposing a no-fly zone over its territory.
With conditions worsening on the ground, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi were in Dublin on Thursday to try to put get a U.N. peace process on track.
Russia, backed by China, has so far blocked U.N. resolutions against Assad in a war that has killed more than 40,000 people. But there are signs that Moscow's patience with its ally may be wearing thing.
A Russian lawmaker and ally of President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said "time has shown" that Syria's government has lost the strength to function as it should.
AIRPORT BLOCKADE
Rebel spokesman Abu Nidal said the army was pinned down along the airport highway by nightfall on Thursday by rebel fighters maneuvering to mount a blockade. The airport is not closed but commercial traffic has almost ceased.
"We know that arms have been going to the regime through the civilian airport," he said. A blockade would be "a good tool to put more pressure on the regime, which is part of strategy of trying to drain their strength".
Western powers have shown no enthusiasm for armed intervention in Syria, preferring economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure and limited aid to rebel forces, who get most of their guns and ammunition paid for by sympathetic Arab powers.
Britain said on Thursday it will increase practical support for the rebels to include training and equipment such as body armor and night-vision goggles. But they will not get the anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles they are crying out for.
Exactly what Syria's army has done with suspected chemical weapons to prompt a surge of Western warnings over the past two days is not clear. Reports citing Western intelligence and defense sources are vague and inconsistent.

Clinton said on Wednesday Washington was concerned both about the possible use of chemical arms by "an increasingly desperate" Assad, and about the government losing control of such weapons to extremist armed groups.

While Western countries support the rebel aim of toppling Assad, they are also uncomfortable with some rebel groups, which espouse radical Sunni Islamist views. The prospect of some rebels obtaining chemical weapons could be more frightening to Western policymakers than Assad.
U.S. officials said the Obama administration was considering blacklisting Jabhat al-Nusra, an influential rebel group accused by other rebels of indiscriminate tactics that has advocated an Islamic state in Syria and is suspected of ties to al Qaeda.
An explosion at the Damascus headquarters of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent killed at least one person on Thursday, Syrian state television said. It blamed "terrorists from al Qaeda" - a term the government often employs to refer to rebel forces.
Opposition activists said army artillery pummeled several eastern suburbs of Damascus, where the rebels are dominant. Suburbs have been cut off for weeks from water and electricity, rebels say, accusing the government of collective punishment.
Residents of the cosmopolitan capital - until now largely spared the ravages of a war concentrated in the provinces and other cities - speak of a city under siege.
"I wanted to run a simple errand, to pay my cell phone. It should have taken 7 minutes but it took 25 because they've blocked the main road and the detour road," said one woman. "So we took a route all the way round the city that was very crowded with the traffic of everyone trying to get home. People are very resentful - and the VIPs must be very scared."
Rebels say they have also surrounded an air base 4 km (2-1/2 miles) from the centre of Damascus, a fresh sign the battle is closing in on the Syrian capital.
Maqdad denied that. "What is sad is that foreign countries believe these repeated rumors," he said.
Rebel and state claims about the military situation cannot be verified independently. But residents in the capital say the sound of shelling on the outskirts has become a constant backdrop and many fear the fight will soon come to Damascus.
Fighting was reported on Thursday in the rural outskirts of Damascus and in many parts of the country. A crucial supply line for the army, the Damascus-Aleppo road, was hit by clashes.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman and Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, Andrew Quinn and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Peter Graff)