World's top 10 most intriguing billionaire heiresses 全球前10位「最迷人」億萬女繼承人

Vanisha Mittal Bhatia, Daughter of Lakshmi Mittal, $51 billion, India.

Delphine Arnault Gancia, Daughter of Bernard Arnault, $26 billion, France.

Marta Ortega Perez, Daughter of Amancio Ortega, $24 billion, Spain.

Georgina Bloomberg, Daughter of Michael Bloomberg, $11.5 billion, U.S.A.

Samantha Kluge, Daughter of John Kluge, $9.5 billion, U.S.A.

Amanda Hearst, Daughter of Anne Hearst, niece of Patty Hearst, great granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, $8.7 billion (for entire Hearst clan on the Forbes 400).

Alannah Weston, Daughter of Galen Weston, $7.9 billion, Canada.

Josie Ho Chiu Yi (AKA Josie Ho -- 澳門賭王何鴻燊之女何超儀), Daughter of Stanley Ho, $7 billion, Hong Kong.



Hind Hariri, Daughter of Rafik Hariri, sister of the Hariri billionaire brothers, $5.5 billion, Lebanon.

Dylan Lauren, Daughter of Ralph Lauren, $4.7 billion, U.S.A.

Sporty, arty and business savvy. A ranking of the world's top 10 most intriguing billionaire heiresses by website Forbes.com shows daughters of the rich aren't all just socialites and can be hard workers.

While hotel heiress Paris Hilton hit the headlines for spending time in jail and making a sex video with a boyfriend, Forbes.com said the women on its list were "proving themselves every bit as tenacious and ambitious as their namesakes."

In top spot on the list is Vanisha Mittal Bhatia of India, who has a masters degree in South Asian studies and sits on the board of Mittal Steel, owned by her father Lakshmi Mittal, estimated by Forbes to be worth 51 billion U.S. dollars.

"She's perhaps best known -- dare we say infamous -- for the 60 million dollars wedding her father threw her and 1,000 of their closest friends in 2005. A performance by pop star Kylie Minogue capped the week-long Parisian affair," said the website.

The women on the list are all under 40 and ranked according to their father's or mother's most recent net worth on either Forbes' World's Billionaires list, the Forbes 400 list of the Richest Americans, or Forbes Asia's 40 Richest Indians.

Coming in at No. 2 is Delphine Arnault Gancia of France, daughter of Bernard Arnault who runs the Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) luxury goods empire. Gancia is a former McKinsey consultant and the first woman to be named a director on the LVMH board, Forbes.com said.

Third is Marta Ortega Perez, youngest child of Spain's richest resident Amancio Ortega, worth an estimated 24 billion dollars and chairman of Inditex, owner of the Zara clothing chain.

"Marta is being groomed to succeed her father, and she's learning the how-to's of retail by working the floor -- stocking shelves, assisting customers -- in some of the family's stores," Forbes.com said.

Georgina Bloomberg, daughter of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- majority owner of Bloomberg LP financial news and data company and estimated to be worth 11.5 billion dollars -- comes in at No. 4. She is vying for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic equestrian team.

Samantha Kluge takes No. 5. She is the "sometimes wild child" of communications mogul John Kluge, estimated to be worth 9.5 billion dollars, and boasts 12 tattoos and two annulled marriages, Forbes.com said.

"The neo-socialite, a former style editor for Glamour magazine, now runs her own jewellry and accessories design firm in Los Angeles," Forbes.com said. (Xinhuanet.com/Random Citations)

British woman banned from entering New Zealand because she is too fat 英婦女因太胖遭紐西蘭禁止入境

A British woman planning to start a new life with her husband in New Zealand has been banned from entering the country - because she is too fat.

Rowan Trezise, 33, has been left behind in England while her husband Richie, 35, has already made the move down under leaving her desperately trying to lose weight.

When the couple first tried to gain entry to the country they were told that they were both overweight and were a potential burden on the health care system.

Mr Trezise managed to shed two inches from his sizeable waistline to fulfil criteria set out as part of his visa application to work as a technician in the country.

His wife however has had no such luck and faces a desperate battle to shed the pounds before Christmas, at which point the couple say they will abandon their overseas plans.

New Zealand officials assess people's weight using Body Mass Index which measures fat by comparing the height and weight of an individual.

Mr Trezise, a submarine cable specialist and former member of the army said his BMI was measured at 42 making him well over the limit of 25 which is regarded as overweight.

Robyn Toomath, a spokesman for New Zealand's Fight the Obesity Epidemic and an endocrinologist said that obese people should not be victimised, but agreed with the restrictions.

"The immigration department can't afford to import people who are going to be a significant drain on our health resources.

While the New Zealand Immigration Service could not say how many peolpe had been refused entry on similar grounds, the Emigrate New Zealand website revealed that many people had been banned for being obese.

Nowadays, Rowan Trezise has to stay alone at home and still struggling to lose weight before she can join her husband Richie in New Zealand till Christmas - the deadline they've set themselves. (Daily Mail)

Singaporean youth uses coffin as bed 新加坡青年以棺材為床

22-year-old Singaporean youth Bai Zhixiang (name transliterated) has been sleeping in a coffin for up to four years now, despite not being dead.

Surprisingly, Bai’s girlfriend was fine with him having what is often seen as a “taboo” item around his house. Sometimes, she would even spend the night at his place. Unfortunately, the two of them broke up in the end.

However, it had nothing to do with the coffin and everything to do with his job as a medium. Once, when Bai was performing a ritual, his back was pierced by ten metal rods. His girlfriend couldn’t bear it and they broke up after that.

“I really treasure the relationship. Perhaps she worried that I would get hurt and didn’t want me to put myself at risk.” However, Bai is a medium, and incidents such as him getting pierced by metal rods are bound to happen.

In the interview, Bai revealed the reason why he slept in a coffin. Around four years ago, a deity had spoken through the medium saying that they wished to reside in a coffin.

Worshippers bought a coffin for Bai and he put it in his house. He’s perfectly fine with being in the same room with it and even sleeps in it. (Sin Chew Daily)

Two suns shine in Harbin 雙太陽照哈爾濱

To many people's surprise, two suns shined simultaneously Wednesday afternoon in the sky of northeastern China's city of Harbin, with the real sun brighter than the mock one.

The professional photographic group China Foto Press recorded the rare but fantastic celestial phenomenon.

It reported that the two sun phenomenon began at 3 pm local time and that within 40 minutes the mock sun, to the south of the normal sun, had became dimmer and dimmer as it receded into a piece of rosy cloud and finally disappeared.

The special phenomenon, according to scientists, is a solar halo, or "mock sun", which results from the refraction of ice crystal particles contained in clouds.

The addition of a mock sun is a common sight in polar regions but very rare in other places. (CRIENGLISH.com)

Woman with half a brain 半腦女

Doctors treating a Chinese woman who complained of feeling weak discovered she only had half a brain.

The woman, 39, from Wuhan city, has lived a perfectly normal life and only came into hospital after she complained of feeling weak and stiff.

Zhang Linhong, director of Neural Rehabilitation Department at the local hospital, said: "On the MRI scans we were surprised to see that she only has grey matter on the right side.

"Our usual understanding is that the left brain controls language. But this patient has no problem communicating with people."

The woman's mother said her daughter lives a very normal life.

"She graduated from high school with good marks. Her memory is very good. She remembers phone numbers and names immediately." (Ananova.com)

China recycling used condoms as cheap hair bands 中國回收用過的保險套做成廉價髮帶髮圈

Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China, threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, China’s state media reported.

In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, these recycled hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.

"These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said.

Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said.

"People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, as saying.

A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for just 25 fen (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said.

A government official was quoted as saying recycling condoms was illegal.
China's manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets.

In response, it launched a public relations blitz this summer aimed at playing up efforts to strengthen monitoring systems. (AFP)

One in three think Everest is in Europe 三分之一的英國人認為聖母峰在歐洲

One in three Brits thinks Mount Everest is in Europe, according to a new survey.

And half of us do not know the Nile is the world's longest river, reports the Guardian.

The survey was carried out to mark National Geographic's awareness week.

It found that the most visited local "landmark" for many British adults is their nearby DIY store.

A third of people thought Mount Everest was either in the Alps or the UK - it is in Nepal - and only half of respondents knew the Nile was the world's longest river.

Asked which facility had been visited the most during the past month, the DIY superstore came top with 39%, with the local museum bottom with only 9%.

David Lambert, chief executive of the Geographical Association, said: "Geography helps us make sense of the world and face vital issues such as climate change, energy, food production, the 'war on terror', water and poverty." (the Guardian)

$210,000 white truffle 價值21萬美元的白松露

Truffle lovers worldwide put in bids for a 750-gram white truffle from Alba in Italy.

Bids came in from New York and Berlin but it was a $210,000 bid from Hong Kong that won the auction.

The Italian truffle market has been more expensive lately after having a dry summer.

Sunday’s truffle auction raised a total of $535,000.

Back in November of 2006 another white truffle was purchased by a Hong Kong resident for $160,000. I guess they really love truffles in Asia. (AP)

Sex for the disabled 為殘障人士提供性服務

A Swiss welfare group is recruiting volunteers to have sex with disabled people.

The Basel-based Welfare Group for Disability and Sexuality already arranges erotic massages for people with disabilities.

But it is now providing full sexual intercourse and is also signing up gay volunteers to have sex with homosexual disabled people.

The group's leader Aiha Zemp said it was a subject that "needed to be tackled."

She said: "It's a big taboo that needs to be broken. Having sex is a basic human need like eating and drinking and we have to fight for this right for the disabled."

At present three men and one woman offer an erotic 'touching service,' and nine new volunteers have come forward to offer sex at £65 per hour.

Among the new recruits are four men, two of them homosexuals.

Zemp rejected criticism that the group were simply training up prostitutes.

"The big difference between the assistants and prostitutes is that the assistants show tenderness and are conscious of the needs of the disabled, rather than rushing and just taking the money," she said. (Ananova.com)

Ring found after 89 years 89年前的一枚婚戒被發現

A sailor's engagement ring has been returned to his family - after 89 years on the bottom of the sea.

Stanley Cubiss drowned when his ship sank during the First World War, reports the Daily Mail.

Amateur diver Peter Brady, 51, spotted the engraved engagement ring from his sweetheart Florence half-buried on the seabed.

It was during a dive around the wreck of HMS Opal, off the Orkney Islands, two months ago.

Initially, Mr Brady thought it was a piece of the ship's machinery, but on closer inspection he realised it was a ring bearing the inscription: "To Stanley from Flo, March 1916."

Mr Cubiss, 25, who worked in the ship's engine room, perished with 187 other men when the Opal, along with HMS Narborough, ran aground in a snowstorm on January 12, 1918.

Mr Brady and diving partner, Bob Hamilton, 61, found the ship's casualty list on the internet and managed to track down Stanley's 78-year-old nephew, Malcolm Cubiss.

"I received a call out of the blue telling me that divers had found this ring," said the retired brigadier from York.

"My uncle is often spoken of in the family and I know the tragedy of the Opal well. They came to show me the ring and I was astonished. It's a million-to-one chance."

Mr Brady added: "When I got to the surface I realised it was a ring and it was perfectly preserved. It was an amazing moment." (Daily Mail)-- Click here to see the Chinese version