World’s weirdest hotel room

Sure, everyone loves the opulent luxury of a stay at The Four Seasons. Or, the opposite, equally soothing effect of sleeping in tent under the stars. But when you want to get a little weird, there are hotel rooms around the world geared towards the strange and downright bizarre. Some cater to a curiosity for the occult, while others top out the trappings. Whether you want to sleep suspended from a tree or drink Merlot five floors below the ground, these hotels have a special room just for you.

The Mine Suite at the Sala Silvermine
Vdstmanland County, Sweden

For that inner spelunker in all of us, the kind folks at the Sala Silvermine created a romantic getaway 500 feet beneath the Earth’s surface. The deluxe underground cavern is appointed with opulent familiars, including a king-sized bed, plush duvets, the soothing glow of candles and complimentary platter of wine and cheese. The worldly comforts stop there, however. The rest of the décor inside – walls, ceiling and floor – consists of the cavern’s solid, stark, black rock. Temperatures hover at a consistent 38 degrees this far below the ground – a perfect way to ensure that complimentary wine and cheese remains cool. An intercom radio allows for communication, should you need to request fresh linens, more champagne, or immediate evacuation upon realizing you suddenly suffer from claustrophobia.

Bonus: It’s handicapped accessible.
Approximate Cost: $560 per night

 

source link: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/world-s-weirdest-hotel-rooms-20120720.html?page=all

New York Times says in talks to sell About.com

The New York Times Company has confirmed it is in talks to sell off its how-to website About.com, but insisted that no definitive deal had been reached.

“The negotiations are ongoing and there can be no assurances that an agreement will be reached or that a transaction will be completed,” the media group said in a statement Wednesday.

“No definitive agreement has been reached.”

An article on the newspaper’s Media Decoder blog, citing a person familiar with the deal, said the company had a letter of intent to sell the site to rival Answers.com for $270 million.

The group took a major hit in the second quarter, posting a $88.1 million loss in part due to a $194.7 million writedown of About.com. But chairman and interim chief executive Arthur Sulzberger insisted the company would see better results in the second half thanks to a repositioning strategy.

The media group, which also publishes The Boston Globe, bought About.com for more than $400 million in 2005.

Selling off the website would fit into the strategy followed by the Times in recent months, which included the sale of its remaining stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and of its regional newspaper group.

“Given the performance of About.com over the last few quarters, this doesn’t come as a surprise to us,” said Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar, adding that an eventual sale would allow the Times to have no net debt.

Shares in the New York Times Company rose 6.06 percent to close at $8.57 after reports emerged about the potential sale.

 

source link: http://news.ph.msn.com/sci-tech/new-york-times-says-in-talks-to-sell-aboutcom-1

 

Boy, 17, crowned America’s fastest texter

 

A 17-year-old boy retained his title as America’s fastest texter Wednesday in a duel of the thumbs staged before yelling fans in New York’s Times Square.

 

Austin Weirschke took home $50,000 in prize money for the second time in two years when he bested 10 other texting demons in feats of thumb speed, memory and fluency in texting shorthand.

One round was performed with contestants blindfolded and having 45 seconds to type the verse: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.”

The event, sponsored by LG Electronics and using the company’s cell phones, took place on a traffic island in Times Square.

About 200 onlookers, including cheering relatives and mostly teenage texting aficionados, gathered around the stage.

Weirschke said he became a prolific texter thanks to practice with his mother, whom he dubbed “my texting coach.”

But when asked to describe his victory, he must have wished he could text his reply. Facing a microphone, the humble winner could only manage: “I don’t really know what to say.”

Weirschke faced some mean competition — 10 whiz kids from around the country, with the oldest just 24 years old and the majority in their teens.

Several contestants said they typically send hundreds of texts a day. But far from wasting their time gossiping over the miniature keyboard, these youngsters were in the cellphone equivalent of a harsh training camp.

“It’s like the Olympics of texting,” the upbeat presenter of the event said.

One young female contestant theatrically fanned herself in the New York summer heat, worrying after one round that she’d slipped up and lost the chance for that $50,000 check.

“I accidentally added a letter,” she said. “It could change your life.”

Another said: “I feel like I’m having a heart attack.”

The last two survivors of the elimination rounds, Weirschke and Kent Augustine, 16, shook hands solemnly before their final sudden-death bout.

Winning the texting championship has made Weirschke something of a star in his world.

“It’s been crazy. I’ve got to have done a lot of stuff a normal 17-year-old might never get to do in his life,” he said, mentioning being flown to Los Angeles and doing media interviews.

 

source link: http://news.ph.msn.com/weird-news/boy-17-crowned-americas-fastest-texter

 

Billionaire Rinehart is World’s Richest Woman, BRW Says

 

Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart became the world’s richest woman as her fortune almost tripled to A$29.2 billion ($28.6 billion), according to a ranking of the nation’s wealthiest people by BRW magazine.

Rinehart, who controls Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd., soared past Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)’s Christy Walton, whose wealth is estimated at A$26 billion, BRW said in a statement today.

The 58-year-old Australian, who had a fortune of A$10.3 billion last year, remained at the top of the list of Australia’s 200 wealthiest people for the second consecutive year, helped by foreign investment in new projects, increased production and a recovery in iron-ore prices, BRW said. Rinehart is ranked the 31st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $18.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“If the demand for natural resources remains strong, additional multi-billion mines are almost inevitable,” Andrew Heathcote, BRW Rich List editor, said in the statement. “There is a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the world but the richest person in the world.”

Mexican Carlos Slim now holds that position, with a personal fortune of $66.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Mining Assets

Rinehart inherited mining assets from her father, Lang Hancock, who discovered iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in the 1950s, and has been expanding them to help feed growing demand for resources from countries including China.

Rinehart has an agreement with Rio Tinto Group under which she collects royalties on some properties in Western Australia mined by Rio. She agreed in August to sell coal projects in Queensland to GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd. (GVKP) for $2.2 billion.

Rinehart is also expanding her media holdings, increasing her stake in Fairfax Media Ltd. (FXJ) to 12.6 percent in February from 4.9 percent earlier. She first ventured into media in 2010 after buying a 10 percent stake in Ten Network Holdings Ltd. (TEN) and gaining a seat on the company’s board.

She is fighting a lawsuit by three of her children who have accused her of abusing her role as trustee of a multi billion- dollar fund and have sought to have her removed.

Rinehart has given her children the option to remove assets from the trust, making further litigation unnecessary, her lawyer Paul McCann said on May 10.

 

source link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-23/billionaire-rinehart-is-world-s-richest-woman-brw-says.html

Lawyers: Colo. suspect is mentally ill

CENTENNIAL, Colo.–James Holmes, the 24-year-old charged in last month’s deadly Aurora, Colo., theater shooting, is mentally ill, his lawyers disclosed during a court appearance that featured an unusual outburst on Thursday.

Chief District Judge William Sylvester heard testimony from representatives of more than 20 news organizations asking for search warrants and other records related to the case to be unsealed.

Both the prosecution and defense argued that releasing such information would jeopardize their respective cases.

“The prosecution’s duty in this case is to ensure a fair trial with a just outcome,” Jacob Edson, an attorney for the prosecution, said. “We are not even three weeks from the date of this crime. Law enforcement has been working very hard to interview witnesses and victims. This is not an ordinary case.”

“The public is completely in the dark about what is going on in this judicial proceeding,” Steven Zansberg, the attorney for several media organizations, told the judge.

Sylvester, who had issued the gag order, said he would not decide on the matter until next week.

Holmes, the former Ph.D student, looked as he has in previous court appearances: his hair dyed orange, dressed in a maroon prison jumpsuit. He did not speak during the hearing, but had “the same dazed demeanor,” the Associated Press said.

There was some drama during Thursday’s mostly procedural hearing. A woman seated in the second-to-last row of the courtroom stood up and said she had evidence of judicial misconduct on behalf of the public defender.

“I tried to deliver information vital to the defense of James Holmes to the public defender,” the woman–in a red dress with a shaved head–said, her voice shaking.

The woman, who was held by two deputies, said the defense team told her they were not willing to speak to Holmes about that information.

“It will do the victims’ families justice to have this information,” the woman, who identified herself as Allison Michelle Ernst, said as she was led out of the courtroom.

Twelve people were killed and 58 others injured in the July 20 massacre at a midnight screening of “Dark Knight Rises.”

source link: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/holmes-court-appearance-outburst-colorado-214127367.html

Curiosity rover ng NASA, tagumpay na lumapag sa Mars

Tagumpay na nakalapag sa Mars ang National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) rover na ‘Curiosity.’

Sinlaki ng kotse ang robotic explorer na ‘Curiosity rover’ na lumapag sa gale crater ng red planet.

Ipinadala ng NASA ang $2.6 bilyong halagang rover sa Mars upang pag-aralan ang mga bato at mineral doon, at upang maghanap ng mga clue kung kaya bang mabuhay doon ng small life forms na microbes.

Ito na ang ika-pitong pag-landing sa Mars ng NASA matapos ang ilang beses nang pagtatangka.

source: DZMM

China media tell US to ‘shut up’ over West Philippine Sea tensions

BEIJING – China’s state-run media ramped up condemnation of the United States on Monday over tensions in the West Philippine Sea (also called South China Sea), with the Communist Party’s top newspaper telling Washington to “Shut up” and charging it with “fanning flames” of divison in the region.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s over the weekend condemned a U.S. State Department statement that said Washington was closely monitoring territorial disputes in the West Philippine (South China) Sea, and that China’s establishment of a military garrison for the area risks “further escalating tensions in the region.”

The mosaic of rival territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea has become Asia’s worst potential military flashpoint.

Beijing has said its disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines and other southeast Asian claimants should be settled one-on-one, and it has bristled at U.S. backing for a multilateral approach to solving the overlapping claims.

“We are entirely entitled to shout at the United States, ‘Shut up.’ How can meddling by other countries be tolerated in matters that are within the scope of Chinese sovereignty?,” said a commentary in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, an offshoot of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s top newspaper.

The main, domestic edition of the newspaper was equally harsh, and accused Washington of seeking to open up divisions between China and its Asian neighbors.

“Fanning the flames and provoking division, deliberately creating antagonism with China, is not a new game,” said a commentary in the People’s Daily domestic edition. “But of late Washington has been itching to use this trick.”

The ire from Beijing shows the potential for tensions over the South China to fester into a wider diplomatic quarrel, even outright military confrontation remains unlikely.

Last week, the People’s Daily said China’s “core interests” were at stake in its territorial claims across the South China Sea — language that puts such claims on a similar footing with China’s claims of indisputable sovereignty over Tibet and Xinjiang in its west.

On Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. embassy in Beijing, Robert Wang, to make “serious representations” about the issue.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang also repeated that China had absolute sovereignty over much of the sea and its myriad islands, and had every right to set up a city for the region, which it did last month.

source: GMA News

China hits back at US over South China Sea

China warned Saturday that American criticism of its decision to set up a new military garrison in the South China Sea sent the “wrong signal” and threatened peace in the hotly disputed waters.

Washington on Friday accused Beijing of raising tensions in the sea after it announced last week the establishment of the tiny city of Sansha and a garrison on an island in the disputed Paracel chain.

The move has infuriated Vietnam and the Philippines who accuse Beijing of stepping up harassment at sea.

But China reacted angrily to the American intervention, with the foreign ministry voicing its “strong dissatisfaction and opposition”, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

In a strongly worded statement, ministry spokesman Qin Gang warned that the US remarks had sent a “seriously wrong signal” which could undermine efforts aimed at “safeguarding the peace and stability of the South China Sea”.

China says it controls much of the sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim portions.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement Friday the US was “concerned by the increase in tensions in the South China Sea and are monitoring the situation closely”.

Ventrell said the establishment of the garrison and Sansha “runs counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region”.

He also pointed to “confrontational rhetoric” and incidents at sea, saying: “The United States urges all parties to take steps to lower tensions.”

Also on Saturday, a commentary on Xinhua said the US accusations were “groundless and irresponsible” and urged Washington to “draw back its meddling hand from the South China Sea disputes”.

The United States has rallied behind Southeast Asian nations, expanding military ties with the Philippines and Vietnam. In April, the first of 2,500 US Marines touched down in Australia in a further show of US power in Asia.

The US Senate approved a resolution late Thursday that “strongly urges” all regional nations to exercise self-restraint and to refrain from permanently inhabiting points in the South China Sea until a code of conduct is reached.

The resolution, sponsored by senators from both major parties, declared that the United States was committed “to assist the nations of Southeast Asia to remain strong and independent”.

During a 2010 visit to Vietnam, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the United States had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, through which half of world cargo passes.

The State Department statement on Friday reiterated that the United States has an interest in stability and “unimpeded lawful commerce” in the South China Sea but that Washington does not take a position on rival claims.

Southeast Asian nations faced deep divisions last month during annual talks in Cambodia, preventing them from issuing a customary joint communique and holding up progress on reaching a code of conduct with China.

The code of conduct would aim to set rules to reduce the chances of a spat over fishing, shipping rights or oil and gas exploration tipping into an armed conflict.

source: yahoo.com

North Korea says nearly 170 died in recent floods

SEOUL, South Korea —North Korea says recent floods have killed nearly 170 people and left 400 missing across the country.

 

The official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that floods also displaced about 212,200 people and submerged more than 65,000 hectares (160,000 acres) of farmland between late June and the end of July.

 

The flooding occurred on the heels of a severe drought and renewed concerns about North Korea’s ability to feed its people. In June, the United Nations said two-thirds of the country’s 24 million people were facing chronic food shortages.

The World Food Program said earlier this week that it is sending emergency food aid to the North’s flood-ravaged parts. – Philippines Daily Inquirer

US criticizes new China garrison in tense sea

The United States accused China of raising tensions through a new military garrison in the South China Sea as it called on all sides to lower tensions in the hotly contested waters.

China announced last week that it was establishing the tiny city of Sansha and a garrison on an island in the disputed Paracel chain, infuriating Vietnam and the Philippines which have accused Beijing of intimidation.

“We are concerned by the increase in tensions in the South China Sea and are monitoring the situation closely,” US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement, released on Friday.

“In particular, China’s upgrading of the administrative level of Sansha city and establishment of a new military garrison there covering disputed areas of the South China Sea run counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region,” he said.

Ventrell also pointed to “confrontational rhetoric” and incidents at sea, saying: “The United States urges all parties to take steps to lower tensions.”

China says it controls much of the South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim portions. Vietnam and the Philippines have accused China of stepping up harassment at sea.

The United States has rallied behind Southeast Asian nations, expanding military ties with the Philippines and Vietnam. President Barack Obama has decided to send Marines to Australia in a further show of US power in Asia.

The US Senate approved a resolution late Thursday that “strongly urges” all regional nations to exercise self-restraint and to refrain from permanently inhabiting points in the South China Sea until a code of conduct is reached.

The resolution, sponsored by senators from both major parties, declared that the United States was committed “to assist the nations of Southeast Asia to remain strong and independent.”

During a 2010 visit to Vietnam, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the United States had a national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, through which half of world cargo passes.

The State Department statement on Friday reiterated that the United States has an interest in stability and “unimpeded lawful commerce” in the South China Sea but that Washington does not take a position on rival claims.

China also has separate disputes with US ally Japan in the East China Sea, an issue discussed by Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto on a visit Friday to Washington.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, addressing a joint news conference with Morimoto, voiced hope for further progress in a code of conduct on the South China Sea.

“The last thing we want is to have direct confrontation in the South China Sea with regards to jurisdictional issues,” Panetta said.

“Those should be resolved peacefully, and they should be resolved pursuant to a code of conduct. And the United States will do whatever we can to work with Japan and others to ensure that that is the approach we take,” he said.

Southeast Asian nations faced deep divisions last month during annual talks in Cambodia, preventing them from issuing a customary joint communique and holding up progress on reaching a code of conduct with China.

The code of conduct would aim to set rules to reduce the chances of a spat over fishing, shipping rights or oil and gas exploration tipping into an armed conflict.

Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former US government strategist, said that China may have set up the garrison as a way to counter the recent US military focus on Asia.

“To be sure, China is well aware that its assertiveness is not well received in East Asia, and tends to lead smaller nations to tilt to the US to balance China,” Manning wrote in an essay released by his think tank.

“But Beijing seems to be calculating that despite the more robust US military posture in the region, China can throw its weight around and the US response will be limited to diplomatic reprimand,” he wrote. afp news