Gold Christmas tree for a mere $4.2 million in Tokyo

 
TOKYO: For those seeking a glow to their Christmas this year, a jewelry store in downtown Tokyo has just the answer: a pure gold revolving "tree" covered in Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell and Cinderella.
The tree-like ornament is made of 40 kg (88 pounds) of pure gold, standing about 2.4 meters (7.9 ft) high and 1.2 meters in diameter. It is decorated with pure gold plate silhouette cutouts of 50 popular Disney characters and draped with ribbons made of gold leaf.
The price tag? A mere 350 million yen ($4.2 million).
But the ornament is actually a deal, said Tomoko Ishibashi, in the marketing department of Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry, which runs the Ginza Tanaka jewelry store.
"Right now gold is over 4,400 yen per gram. We used pure gold and had an expert craftsman form each Disney character by hand," she said of the decoration, which took 10 craftsmen two months to complete.
The combination of gold and Disney characters had spectators mesmerized.
"It is very vivid and the gold is very pretty," said Takashi Miura, a 36-year-old jeweler. "The characters on it are also really cute and it really looks like a Christmas tree."
For those with less ready cash, the store offers a scaled-down version that features 20 Disney characters and stands 25 cm high for a mere 2 million yen ($243,000).
While nobody has yet made a down payment on the larger tree, the miniature has already found buyers, Ishibashi said. (Reuters)

4D scans show fetuses yawn in the womb

 
LONDON: Growing into a fully formed human being is a long process, and scientists have found that unborn babies not only hiccup, swallow and stretch in the womb, they yawn too.
Researchers who studied 4D scans of 15 healthy fetuses also said they think yawning is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors a new way to check on a baby's health.
While some scientists have previously suggested that fetuses yawn, others disagree and say it is nothing more than a developing baby opening and stretching its mouth.
But writing in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday, British researchers said their study was able to clearly distinguish yawning from "non-yawn mouth opening" based on how long the mouth was open.
The researchers did this by using 4D video footage to examine all the times when fetuses opened their mouths.
Nadja Reissland of Durham University's department of Psychology, who led the study, said the function and importance of yawning in fetuses is still unknown, but the findings suggest it may be linked to fetal development and could provide a further indication of the health of the unborn baby.
"Unlike us, fetuses do not yawn contagiously, nor do they yawn because they are sleepy," she said. "Instead, the frequency of yawning in the womb may be linked to the maturing of the brain early in gestation."
The study was carried out on eight female and seven male fetuses from 24 to 36 weeks gestation. The researchers found that yawning declined from 28 weeks and that there was no significant difference in how often boys and girls yawned. (Reuters)

Twitter unveils email sharing

 
SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter on Thursday introduced a new feature to the globally popular one-to-many text messaging service -- the ability to email "Tweets" directly from the message stream.
The new feature made its debut as the San Francisco-based firm rolled out improved applications for using the service on iPhones or smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software.
"You can retweet any (Twitter messages) to your Twitter followers, but sometimes you want to share with another group, like your college roommates or your parents or a friend who isn't yet on Twitter," engineer Stefan Filip said in a blog post.
"That's why we're introducing the ability to email a Tweet directly from twitter.com."
The feature will be rolled out to all users of Twitter -- which allows its members to post brief comments, links or pictures -- in the coming weeks, according to Filip.
Updates to Twitter applications for iPhone and Android were designed to improve search results and highlight photos, videos and news shared at the service. (AFP)

Elton John dedicates Beijing show to Ai Weiwei

 
BEIJING: Pop-rock balladeer Elton John dedicated his Beijing show to Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei -- a controversial move the artist said Monday was unlikely to make the nation's cultural minders happy.
After the Icelandic singer Bjork chanted "Tibet, Tibet" at a 2008 concert in Shanghai, authorities refused numerous Western acts permits to perform in China for years.
Concert-goers said John told his audience of more than 12,000 people on Sunday at the Wukesong arena, built to host the basketball tournament at the Beijing Olympics, that the show was dedicated to Ai.
"I met him before the show, he didn't say anything about it," Ai told.
"When he did it, it was a big surprise."
The Ministry of Culture, he added, "are probably not too happy about this, but there is not much that they can do about it. He is a very popular singer who has a lot of influence".
Ai, 55, is a world-renowned conceptual artist and outspoken critic of China's communist government.
He disappeared into police custody for 81 days last year, drawing worldwide headlines and casting a spotlight on the government's growing concern over social unrest, especially as "Arab spring" street protests rocked the Middle East.
After being released he was convicted of tax evasion, fined $2.4 million by the Beijing tax bureau and barred from leaving the country for one year.
He has described such treatment as the government's way of quelling his social activism and efforts to protest a wide range of alleged official abuse.
It was unclear whether John's public support for Ai would have consequences for other Western acts hoping to perform in China.
At a 2008 concert in Shanghai, Bjork chanted "Tibet, Tibet" at the end of her song "Declare Independence", in a public protest against China's rule of the Himalayan region and open support for the Tibet independence movement.
A number of Western acts were subsequently refused permits to perform in the country by China's cultural minders.

AFP

US actor Larry Hagman dies at 81: family

LOS ANGELES: US actor Larry Hagman, who became famous for his role of J.R. Ewing in the US television show "Dallas," has died at the age of 81 after losing a battle with cancer, his family said. "When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones," the family said in a statement. "It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for." According to the statement, Hagman died late Friday afternoon at Medical City Dallas Hospital from complications from cancer. No other details were given. (AFP)

Rolling Stones turn back clock with hit-filled comeback

LONDON: The Rolling Stones rocked London on Sunday as they thrilled a 20,000 crowd in the first of five concerts to mark their 50th anniversary.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were joined by their original bass player Bill Wyman at the O2 Arena as the ageing rockers performed their first major concert for five years.
Lead singer Jagger made light of criticism of the ticket prices for the sold-out gig, with fans paying up to £406 ($650, 500 euros) for a standard seat, and thousands of pounds more on ticket re-selling sites.
"How're you doing in the cheap seats? They're not that cheap though, that's the problem," Jagger joked as the concert began.
The band opened with "I Want to be Your Man", with 69-year-old Jagger strutting around the giant stage dressed in a silver jacket and trilby, before launching into "Get Off of My Cloud".
US soul diva Mary J Blige joined Jagger to sing the female lines of "Gimme Shelter" and legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck joined the four-piece to play "I'm Going Down".
The Stones welcomed another former member, guitarist Mick Taylor, on to the stage to play on several songs.
Tickets for Sunday's gig and the second London concert on Thursday were snapped up in seven minutes last month.
They are the first part of the "50 And Counting" performances to mark the Stones' half century in the music business, with a concert in New York and two in Newark, New Jersey to follow next month.
Diehard fans seemed undeterred by the cost of the tickets, with some believing it might be their last chance to the see their heroes in action.
Jill Roberts, a 52-year-old housewife from England who was making her way into the O2 for the concert, said: "It's hard to justify that kind of money but a lot of people were prepared to pay it.
"It's an awful lot of money but I guess it's just a one-time thing. I don't think I'll be coming again anyway."
She first saw the Stones play eight years ago. "I want to experience it again, because they are such good musicians," she said.
The band have been rehearsing in Paris, where they played a concert for just 350 people at a small club on October 26, although tickets for that surprise gig were priced at just 15 euros (£20).
US music magazine Billboard reported in August that the Stones would earn a total of $25 million for the four shows -- and that was before the extra date in New York's Barclays Center on December 8 was added to the itinerary. (AFP)

'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' earns Rs120 crore in six days

MUMBAI: 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' (JTHJ), legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra's last directorial venture, is raking in the moolah at the box-office -- the romantic saga has collected over Rs.120 crore worldwide in just six days of its release. The film, which came out on Diwali alongside Ajay Devgn-starrer 'Son of Sardaar', has earned Rs.80.73 crore at the domestic box office. In India, it earned Rs.15.23 crore (Tuesday), Rs.19.54 crore (Wednesday), Rs.14.45 crore (Thursday), Rs.11.17 crore (Friday), Rs.10.38 crore (Saturday) and Rs.9.96 crore (Sunday). The Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma-starrer is also minting money in the overseas market where it has collected Rs.41.7 crore. AFP