THE west has again gone in to bat to help children in disadvantaged villages of Samoa.Eleven people returned this month from a mission to deliver much-needed supplies and equipment to six Samoan schools.

Glengala Primary School principal and Rotary Club of Sunshine member Frank Dri, behind the initiative, said the items were donated by western suburbs schools, businesses and residents.He has been organising the trips, now four, since 2005. They followed a visit to Glengala in Sunshine by a Samoan youth cricket team.

Mr Dri said after the visit the primary school formed a sister relationship with a Samoan school, Salepaga.It was among schools to receive computers, printers, books, desks, chairs, schoolbags and more on the recent visit.

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As outlying sagebrush was quickly devoured by starter homes and chain stores, Las Vegas began grappling with the kinds of problems that long have vexed California: Crowded classrooms. Packed freeways. Not enough water. Immigrants who struggle to learn English. Rising poverty.Similar issues have bedeviled the areas around Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque. By 2040, Las Vegas and its four brethren will grow by nearly 12.7 million people.While a booming population is turning the Intermountain West into an economic force and political battleground, a Brookings Institution report released today suggests that without help from the federal government, its major cities are headed for trouble.

"These places are going to be overwhelmed if they're left to go it alone," said Mark Muro, policy director of the nonpartisan think tank's Metropolitan Policy Program.

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For the past couple of years the family holidays have been spent in Greece, a country with which, gastronomically, I have a love/hate relationship. At first I love it. Then I hate it. I like a good, creamy non-DayGlo tarama and a basket of fresh hot bread with which to shovel it away.

I think a bright, spiky tzatziki is a thing of beauty, and I barely need to tell you how happy bits of chargrilled animal on sticks make me. The thing is, they only make me happy for about three days. On day four I open the menu and sigh. By day five I am repeating the famous dictum by the American food writer Jeffrey Steingarten: never take advice on matters culinary from a people who 'pickle their cheese and put tree sap in their wine'.

The new penthouse of the 62-story Trump International Hotel & Tower on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is expected to sell for $790 million

Breaking property records is one thing, but when the property happens to be in Dubai Dubai, it's another ball game entirely. The AED 2.9 billion (around USD$790 million) contract for the construction of the spectacular 62 storey tall Trump International Hotel & Tower on Palm Jumeirah was announced earlier this month and with pre-sales of some properties fetching as much as $3000USD, real estate developer Nakheel and the Trump Organization expect that the tower's exclusive penthouse will break property records. The 270 meter tall design which features two towers that merge at the 40th floor will include 378 hotel rooms and suites, 385 condominiums, 12 townhouses, 45,000 square feet of retail and 60,000 square feet of office space along with a private beach and super-marina. Public sales of the residences began on June 23 and Donald J. Trump himself has already reserved an apartment in the Tower which is expected to be completed in May 2011.

To be constructed in a joint venture between Al Habtoor/Murray & Roberts, the Tower will be the centerpiece of the 560 hectare Palm Jumeirah which is among the world's largest man-made islands (the nearby The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira the only bigger ones). To put the scale of this construction in perspective, the amount of sand and rock used is enough to build a two meter high, half meter wide wall that would circle the globe three times!

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London has the highest living costs in the Western World, followed by Moscow and Dublin, and the Czech capital Prague ranks 8th in the West in terms of living costs, the most recent survey by the Economic Research Institute (ERI) has shown.

An average three-member family spends about GBP38,880 a year (about Kc1.18m) to secure its basic needs, while a family in Prague needs GBP28,748 (around Kc871,000).

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World famous British couture designer Bruce Oldfield has in collaboration with Crosley Diamonds of London created the world’s most expensive abaya (Islamic dress).

The abaya that Bruce has created is covered in 4,668 individual diamonds with a gold weight of 359.7 grams of white gold. The total carat weight of the diamonds is 85.13 carats, and the colour of the stones is g/h and clarity is vs quality. The diamonds are supplied by bespoke London diamond dealer Harriet Crosley of Crosley Diamonds.

The abaya that Bruce Oldfield has created will be on sale at £175,000 with a donation going to Islamic Relief, (a global relief charity) at a major British luxury brands trade fair, taking place at InterContinental London Park Lane on Saturday, August 2nd and Sunday, August 3rd 2008, titled ‘The Gulf Luxury Trade Fair’.

Other iconic brands and designers who were represented at the press conference to promote the trade fair included Harrods, Sotheby’s Realty, Aston Martin, Soane, Donna Karan, James Purdey & Son, Mathaf Gallery, Kashket & Partners, Asus, Louise Mariette Hat Couture, HSBC Premier, Conduit Capital Liquid Funds and Ammonite 2000. There will be over 56 companies exhibiting at the event.

The trade fair is in conjunction with the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, and has been created to boost and create new business opportunities for British and Britain based companies, in the luxury brands sector, who are aiming to develop or further develop business with the affluent Gulf consumers during this difficult economic climate.

Electronic violinist and former model Linzi Stoppard (daughter-in-law of Academy Award winner Sir Tom Stoppard) modelled the abaya at a photo call and press reception today at the InterContinental London Park Lane.

Remember that rumored $90 million listing at 15 Central Park West? It was nothing.

Dolly Lenz, New York City's most gargantuan real estate agent, broke astounding news at the Four Seasons Pool Room this morning: "There are a few apartments on the market at 15 CPW, a new development on Central Park West, asking somewhere between $80 and $125 million--three different apartments--and one quietly on the market at $150 million," she said.

Wowzah. Brokers have already made it known that two condos in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed blockbuster building are being offered at $80 and $90 million, so Ms. Lenz's quote not only means that there's a third apartment on the market in the building for somewhere between $80 and $125 million, but that there's a fourth spread whose owner wants $150 million.

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HSV today revealed that its fastest, most powerful car ever will also be the most expensive.

HSV’s 500 horsepower, V8-powered, Holden Commodore-based HSV W427 will cost $A150,000, plus on-road costs.

The price was confirmed by HSV founder and owner Tom Walkinshaw at a press conference in Melbourne this morning, giving at least some relief to would-be buyers, who were told the W427 could cost as much as $170,000.

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There exists a certain type of filmgoer (I know him intimately, for he is me) whose weakness can be summed up in four words: "Robots with Human Emotions." This sort of film fan grew up on movies like Short Circuit, thrilled to videos like Bjork's "All Is Full of Love," and even has been caught defending A.I. Artificial Intelligence (you take the good with the bad, people). A 30-second clip of Pixar's Wall-E could drive a man like this to tears, but for the other 99% of the population it will provoke nothing but head-shaking, for the $180 million Wall-E contains virtually no dialogue.

How will moviegoers react to a CG hero who isn't voiced by Jack Black or Will Smith a character who can say little besides a chirping recitation of his own name? Sound designer Ben Burtt hopes they'll take a cue from decades past:

While we have faith in the Pixar brain trust to solve such a problem, we hope they won't follow in the footsteps of Short Circuit 2's notorious, cut-for-TV robot hate crime. Johnny Five...dead...?

Angolan capital of Luanda is the most-expensive city in the world for expatriates ahead of Paris and London for second consecutive time, a survey by ECA International has revealed.

According to the report, which compare cost living in 370 cities around the world, the presence of many African cities in top spots was due to the fact that many expatriates purchase imported products at high prices, thus inflating cost of living.

"The fact that Luanda lead the top of the list may surprise some," said Lee Quane, ECA International, adding that this is because "the study includes goods and services typically purchased by expatriates, which can be very expensive in places like this, but not exceeding the local market."

In addition to Luanda, the capital of Gabon, Libreville, Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo, Abidjan in Ivory Coast and in Abuja, Nigeria, are listed among 25 countries with higher cost of living for expatriates.

The findings are used by multinational companies to calculate allowances paid to officials abroad.

The second most expensive city is Oslo, capital of Norway, followed by Stavenger, also in the same country.

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