When the new Formula-1 season gets underway in Manama/Bahrain (12-14 March 2010), it will mark the debut of the most spectacular and powerful Official F1TM Safety Car of all time. The job of the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which will be launched on 27 March 2010, is to ensure maximum safety in Formula 1. The “gullwing” model replaces the SL 63 AMG, which was used as the Official F1TM Safety Car in 2008 and 2009. As in the last two years, the C 63 AMG Estate will be used as the Official F1TM Medical Car for the coming season. For 14 years AMG has continuously provided the Official F1TM Safety Car and the Official F1TM Medical Car in the top flight of international motorsport.

Istanbul is a 100km megalopolis that is home to almost 15 million people, doubling every decade. In 2007 there were 48 regeneration areas listed in Istanbul, which will result in the demolition of 1 million buildings, relocating huge numbers of people in order to make room for expensive residential developments and office and retails complexes.

Self-taught photographer and architecture graduate Ali Taptik has taken to the streets of his hometown to capture a city in flux. Here are images of the neighborhoods of Sulukule, Tarablasi, Gulensu-Gecekondu and the new high rise landscape in Atasehir. More…

It is said that all good things must come to an end, but we figure that “good” can also be replaced with “tacky,” “strange,” or “just plain bad” and still remain applicable. So it is in Dubai where it appears that the end of the absurd building boom there has begun to come to an end (or at least slow to a pace more suitable to common sense). Following a recent plunge in Dubai’s economic markets, layoffs have swept through the many development firms and projects have been placed on immediate hold. So it looks like we won’t get to look forward to many more iPod towers or dynamic buildings by highly suspect doctors anymore.

Adrian Smith’s Burj Dubai tower might be the tallest building in the world, but what use is the title if no one can even enter it? A while back, we’d heard that the Burj was set to open in September. Then that was moved back to early December. And now the latest update puts its opening on January 4th, delayed to help mark the anniversary of Dubai’s ruler’s appointment as head of the emirate. Given their track record, we’re not going to hold our breath. In other Dubai news, despite what has seemed like a total collapse of their economy, with construction stopping and developers fleeing and the aforementioned ruler of the emirate calling for massive investigations into bounced checks, Dubai has announced that they will begin discussing putting in a bid for the 2020 Olympics. Seems like maybe not the wisest move, considering all the troubles they’ve had over this past year and a half, but they certainly do have ample lodging available…..

THE rickshaw driver pulls in to the side of the road to allow us to take shelter from torrential rain. There, under a shop’s awning, a small crowd is waiting for the weather to break. The group includes Sapna Sharma and her brother-in-law, Sanjay. Sanjay is holding his 18-month-old nephew, Anshul, who has kohl-rimmed eyes and silver bracelets on his ankles.

As we stand talking, some of the people start pointing to the child’s hands and feet while speaking animatedly to us in Hindi, and then Sapna explains through our translator that her son was born with 12 toes and 12 fingers. More…

Designed by Hermann Tilke, the architect behind many of the recent grand prix circuits, including in neighboring Bahrain, the Yas Marina Circuit is 3.4 miles long and has 21 turns. “It looks like it will be quite a demanding circuit for the drivers as there are over 20 corners in the lap — and some of them look very challenging,” said the Renault driver Fernando Alonso earlier in the week. Alonso and the other drivers got their first on-track taste of Yas Marina during practice this morning.

BBC Sport has a great 3-D animation of Yas Marina Circuit here.

An old saying goes that the time to live in New York is when you’re young and poor, or old and rich—otherwise, you’re better off somewhere else. That wisdom is getting an update this week from a study by the Empire Center for New York State Policy that shows middle-class people leaving the state in droves.

Between 2000 and 2008, the Empire State had a net domestic outflow of more than 1.5 million, the biggest exodus of any state, with most hailing from New York City. The departures also have perilous budget consequences, since they tend to include residents who are better off than those arriving. Statewide, departing families have income levels 13% higher than those moving in, while in New York County (home of Manhattan) the differential was even more severe. Those moving elsewhere had an average income of $93,264, some 28% higher than the $72,726 earned by those coming in. More…

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The day which Spanish fans have been waiting for is finally here. Ferrari has announced a 3 year deal with two time world champion Fernando Alonso. Although Kimi Raikkonen’s contract covered the 2010 season, will no longer be a Ferrari driver and will mostly drive for McLaren, but that is yet to be confirmed. Alonso will therefore leave Renault at the conclusion of the present season. 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will complete the three remaining races of the season with Ferrari before making place for Alonso.

The face of Ernesto “Che” Guevara is one of the most reproduced images of all time. It’s instantly recognisable, a bearded, beret-wearing revolutionary, staring into middle distance from millions of T-shirts and walls. The eyes are determined, even fierce, but also soulful. The long hair inevitably suggests Jesus Christ, Che’s only serious competitor for worldwide brand penetration. Unlike Christ, Che doesn’t have a globalised bureaucracy doing his PR. Instead, he achieved ubiquity because … well, why exactly? More…

The difference between 230,000 and 2,752 is the difference between West and East, between Asia and America, between brown and white, between natural and manmade.

This “unauthorised” World Wildlife Fund (WWF) commercial which compares the toll in the September 11 attacks on New York City with the December 26 Asian tsunami, and shows an array of aircraft pounding Manhattan to put the number in perspective, has been termed “tasteless“.

Or is it simply a mere fact…being portrayed for the average stupid human to understand..?

It is Force India’s first ever points in their F1 career, and what a way to bring them in! Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella finished the Belgium Grand Prix less than a second behind race winner Kimi Raikkonen in a dramatic race which even saw Rubens Barrichello’s car on fire moments after after he went past the finish line!

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on Sunday won the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps course to give his team their first victory since last year’s Brazilian GP. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who started from pole, gave the Force India team their first-ever point by finishing a sensational second, while German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel was third.

Fisichella looked to have the pace to compete with Raikkonen despite the Finn’s Ferrari car packing the kers system, but Force India team owner Vijay Mallya will walk away from Spa a happy man tonight having seen his team finally break their 29-race duck. More…

One section of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is only a few days away from being opened for use (it is likely to open between the 23rd to 29th of June). At an average speed of 80kphh, the approximately 5km-long bridge (4.7 km without the lead in and lead out) will take a mere six minutes to traverse as against 30 to 40 minutes needed to fight your way through Mahim traffic. However, traffic authorities have indicated that the speed limit is likely to be more like 50 or 60kmph. This is a shame as the bridge has been designed and built to be traversed at a minimum of 80kph, which might prove prudent with the monsoons just around the corner.

The most prominent feature of this bridge is the cable stay tower at the Bandra-end that towers 43 floors high, just off the shoreline. One way toll is likely to be Rs 50, but two- and three-wheelers are banned on the bridge due to the exposure to strong winds from the sea. The Hindustan Construction Company, who built the bridge, say the other lane will be opened by November or December. HCC reckons that it has already used up enough steel in this project to go around the earth at least once. While the final phase of this project has yet to be started, the proposal is to link the bridge right up to Nariman Point at the end of Marine Drive.

The islands of the Maldives, a string of iridescent pearls stretching across the Indian Ocean, are best known for luxury breaks and honeymoons, but now, the Government has announced plans to make the country carbon-neutral within ten years, in a bid to combat climate change and appeal to green tourists… More…

No media debate on Asia is complete without comparing India to China, or vice-versa. Even among middle-class media consumers, there is a barely disguised contempt for the slow pace of growth in democratic India, for all the “obstacles” in the path of progress and development, compared with the frenetic pace in The Middle Kingdom.

But is there a comparison to be made at all?

Is China really in India’s league, notwithstanding the growth rate, the forex reserves, etc?

On  top is a CNN video of its Beijing correspondent attempting to go to Tiananmen Square on 4 June 2009, the 20th anniversary of the massacre, before being engulfed by umbrella-weilding “undercover” police.