The world’s Most Expensive Motor Home Has Gone On Sale In Dubai, Covered In Gold And Worth £2m

The space-age eleMMent Palazzo comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace. But the most impressive piece of luxury is the ‘Sky Lounge’ – at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting.

The luxury motor home comes in gold and white.
At the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting.
The private jet on wheels is designed to cater for businessmen on the road, wealthy families on their travels or global superstars on tour.
The master bedroom has a 40 inch TV, with warm water floor heating system & full air conditioning.

Forbidden America: Cold War-Era Map Shows No-Go Zones For Soviet Tourists

If you think security is tight now, imagine what it was like for Soviet tourists who came to the United States during the Cold War. Although a select few private Soviet citizens were granted permission to visit the Land of the Free in the 1950s, the U.S. government was very specific about the places these tourists could and could not visit. A map that surfaced on Slate's new history blog, The Vault, details those forbidden places, which are shaded in green above.

The U.S. barred the admission of all Communists in 1952. According to Slate, tourists had to produce a detailed itinerary and get it approved before obtaining a visa to visit the U.S. Most ports and coastlines were off-limits to these travelers, as well as anywhere near weapons facilities or industrial centers. It seems these restrictions mirrored Soviet constraints on American travel to the USSR after World War II, with the only exceptions being journalists and government officials. These travel restrictions stayed in place until the Kennedy administration lifted them in 1962 as a symbol of the openness of American society.

A Quick Recap On World Events Occurring On Tuesday, The 26th Of February, 2013

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
  • A rocket is fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, marking the first such attack since a truce was signed in November 2012. (The New York Times)
• Mexican Drug War:
  • Gunmen break into a prison in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, and liberate 12 inmates. (KRGV)
• Nigerian Sharia conflict:
  • Gunmen kill seven guards guarding a marketplace in Yobe State, Nigeria. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Low-lying parts of the Western Australian town of Port Hedland are evacuated with Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty expected to reach the coast tomorrow. (AAP via SBS News) (ABC News Australia)
• 2013 Luxor hot air balloon crash: A hot air balloon crashes near the Egyptian town of Luxor killing 19 Asian and European tourists. (BBC)(Reuters) (CNN) (USA Today)
• February 2013 Great Plains blizzard: A 71-year-old man is killed in Woodward, Oklahoma, United States, when his roof collapsed after a powerful winter storm affecting much of the central United States. (Koco.com) (Huffington Post)

Health and environment

• A study finds that sleep loss can alter gene behavior, which may explain why it often precedes medical problems such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. (Bloomberg)
• Pediatric clinical trials of Amgen's Sensipar, used to treat various hyperparathyroidism problems resulting in abnormal levels of serum calcium, are halted in the United States after a 14-year-old patient dies. (MedPage Today)

International relations

• Representatives of six major world powers – China, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia and the United States – meet with Iranian officials to discuss the nation's nuclear program. (JTA)

Law and crime

• Mexican teacher's union leader Elba Esther Gordillo is arrested on corruption charges. (BBC)
• 2013 Santa Cruz shooting: Two police officers are fatally shot in Santa Cruz, California, United States. The suspect is shot and killed. (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Politics and elections

• National Salvation Front, Egypt's main opposition party, announces it will boycott the upcoming parliamentary election. (Xinhua)
• Chuck Hagel is confirmed by the Senate as the United States Secretary of Defense. (The New York Times)

Science and technology

• United States researchers announce a flexible battery that can be charged wirelessly and will continue to work when folded, twisted, or stretched. (UPI)

Sport

• El Clásico: Real Madrid inflicts a 3–1 defeat on rivals FC Barcelona, completing a 4–2 aggregate win in the 2012–13 Copa del Rey semifinal.(The Guardian) (BBC)
• The group stage of the 2013 AFC Champions League officially starts. Tractor Sazi defeats Al Jazira 3–1 at their first match played in the history of AFC Champions League. (the-AFC)
• In team handball, the draw for the 2012–13 EHF Champions League Round of 16 is held in Vienna, Austria. Defending champions THW Kiel will play Chekhovskiye Medvedi. (EHF CL)

A Quick Recap On World Events Occurring On Monday, The 25th Of February, 2013

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Terrorism in Thailand:
  • At least 4 people are dead and 20 injured after a homemade bomb is detonated at a Buddhist festival in Thailand's Maha Sarakham Province. (AAP via News Limited)
• Syrian civil war:
  • For the first time since the start of the Syrian civil war, President Bashar al-Assad's government offers to talk with rebels in hopes of a diplomatic solution to the conflict. (Christian Science Monitor)
  • The Syrian opposition agrees to attend an international summit in Rome, Italy, after foreign aid pledge. (BBC)

Business and economy

• Telecommunications giant BT expands its investment in sports broadcasting with the purchase of ESPN's channels in Britain and Ireland. (The Guardian)
• BlackBerry, the company formally known as Research in Motion, launches its BlackBerry Z10 smartphone in India, where it costs 43,490 rupees, or roughly US$800. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty intensifies to Category 2 status with concerns that it may intensify further before crossing the West Australiancoast later this week. (AAP via The Australian)
• 2013 Eastern Australia floods: Heavy rain causes flooding in the Australian state of Queensland with one man reported dead in the northernBrisbane suburb of Caboolture. (Brisbane Times)
• A 6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Tokyo, Japan, with no injuries reported. (Voice of America)

Health and environment

• 2013 meat adulteration scandal: Ikea withdraws Swedish meatballs from sale in 14 countries after tests in the Czech Republic revealed traces of horse meat. (BBC)
• A study from Spain published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that following a Mediterranean diet high in olive oil, nuts, fish and fresh fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of heart disease. (Reuters)
• Former United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop dies at the age of 96. (Bloomberg)

International relations

• NATO says it has found no evidence to back the Afghan claim of misconduct by United States forces. (CNN)

Law and crime

• The retrial of Vicky Pryce, the ex-wife of former UK Cabinet Minister Chris Huhne begins hearing evidence. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• The centre-left alliance Italy. Common Good led by the Democratic Party wins the Italian general election. However the number of seats will not guarantee the majority in the Senate, paving the way to instability. (BBC) (Reuters) (The Telegraph) (Deutsche Welle)
• Park Geun-hye is sworn in as the first female President of South Korea in the capital Seoul. (Radio Australia)
• President of Cuba Raúl Castro announces he will not seek another term as president when his current one expires in 2018. He also states he will seek to put term limits and age caps for political offices in Cuba, including the presidency. (The New York Times)

Religion

• Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns as the Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh due to allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour towardspriests in the 1980s. (BBC)

Science and technology

• Scientists announce they have found fragments of Rodinia, an ancient "lost" continent, in what is now the Indian Ocean. (BBC)
• Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches Indo-French satellite SARAL using PSLV rocket from the spaceport in Sriharikota,Andhra Pradesh, India. (Zee News)
• British explorer Ranulph Fiennes abandons The Coldest Journey expedition, his attempt to cross Antarctica in the heart of the region's winter due to a case of frostbite. (BBC) (The Telegraph) (AP via USA Today) (Sky News)

A Quick Recap On Global Events Occurring On Sunday, The 24th Of February, 2013

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • French freelance photographer Olivier Voisin, who was wounded near Idlib in January 2013, dies in Antakya, Turkey, after surgery.(France24)
• Northern Mali conflict:
  • 10 Chadian soldiers and 28 Islamist insurgents are killed in heavy fighting in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains of northern Mali. (Reuters)
• War in Afghanistan:
  • Three people are dead following suicide bombing attacks in Afghanistan while a terrorist attack on the National Directorate of Security is foiled. (Los Angeles Times)
  • President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai orders the United States to leave Wardak province amid allegations of torture associated with US special forces. (BBC)
• Nigerian Sharia conflict:
  • At least six people die in an attack in Ngalda, Yobe State, Nigeria. (AP via Google)
• M23 rebellion:
  • Eleven African nations including all the members of the African Great Lakes region sign a United Nations brokered peace deal for the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC)

Arts and culture

• The 85th Academy Awards are held at the Dolby Theatre in the Los Angeles district of Hollywood. (CNN)
  • Argo wins the Academy Award for Best Picture. (BBC)
  • Ang Lee wins the Academy Award for Best Director for Life of Pi. (AP)
  • Daniel Day-Lewis wins his third Academy Award for Best Actor for Lincoln. (Reuters)
  • Jennifer Lawrence wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook. (AFP via The Australian)

Health and environment

• Anemia drug Omontys is recalled due to reports of fatal anaphylactic reactions in 0.02% of patients. (Medpage Today)

Politics and elections

• Voters in Italy go to the polls for the first day of a general election. (Business Insider)
• Nicos Anastasiades of the conservative Democratic Rally party wins the Cypriot presidential election. (Bloomberg)
• Raúl Castro is elected by the National Assembly of People's Power to a second term as the President of Cuba with Miguel Díaz-Canelannounced as the First Vice-President of the Council of State. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• A new study finds that chimpanzees will solve puzzles for the fun of it. (The Telegraph)

Sport

• In stock car racing, Jimmie Johnson wins the 2013 Daytona 500. Pole winner Danica Patrick finishes eighth, marking the highest ever finish by a woman. (USA Today)
• In association football, Swansea City beat Bradford City 5–0 to win the 2013 Football League Cup Final. (BBC)
• Derby della Madonnina: Inter Milan and AC Milan battle to a 1–1 draw in their 2012–13 Serie A local derby. AC Milan's striker Mario Balotelliwas the target of racial abuse from fans of his ex-club Inter Milan. (Goal.com) (BBC)
• Slovenian alpine ski racer Tina Maze secures the ladies overall title in the 2013 Alpine Skiing World Cup with nine races still remaining. (AP viaThe New York Times) (Eurosport)