Pictured: Flaming stuntmen wow the crowds at mega car show

Classic cars... Extreme modifications... and a whole lot of stunts involving fire have hit Moscow for a week-long festival.

But watch where you park, because at any one time half of the 5,000-exhibit Arena Drive seems to be alight with master stuntmen proudly showing off their gravity-defying, let along death-defying, tricks.

The festival - one of the largest events held in the city - brings together an international community of car lovers, with 45 car clubs expected to visit the week-long festival, which kicked off on Sunday.

The event was kicked off by world-famous rapper Xzibit, with many dance acts including Paul Van Dyk, Markus Schulz, Cosmic Gate, Marco V, Marcel Woods, Yoji, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Matt Darey, and Agnelli & Nelson performing.

But it was the spectacle of men putting their bodies and their vehicles to test which wowed the crowd.

THESE extraordinary new pictures show the world's first pregnant man—captured just four weeks from the birth of his baby girl.

"I feel fantastic," he said. "I cannot wait to see my baby's face."

In a tender and intimate moment, Thomas shares a cuddle with wife Nancy—before telling the News of the World of his secret hopes for the future.

With four weeks to go, he sensationally reveals the couple are ready to have MORE BABIES after the birth of their daughter.
And as well as posing for these amazing world exclusive pictures, Thomas opens up his family album to show unseen snaps of his life as a teenage beauty queen.

Thomas—who changed sex ten years ago but kept his ovaries and womb so he could have children—told us: "I feel on top of the world.

"I'm 36 weeks now and almost due but I feel fantastic. Every day Nancy a

nd I think about how we just cannot wait to hold our daughter for the first time, to finally get to touch her and see her face.

"We have her nursery ready and her diapers are lined up in her bedroom. Everything is ready to go.

"We have even picked a name which we both love—although we're waiting until she is born before we tell anyone. All the people who really know us and love us, our friends and family, have been incredibly supportive.

"So much so we might even have more children. We will just see what the experience is like with our daughter's arrival first and then give it some thought."
BUBBLING WITH JOY: Thomas with pregnancy pigmentation lines showing

Thomas, 34, posed naked for our fascinating new pictures which show just how extraordinary this pregnancy is as he even SHAVES while resting his elbow on his baby bump.


And the photos from his past document his transformation from a Hawaiian beauty called Tracy Lagondino into the man he is today.

Brave Thomas has caused worldwide controversy over the "reverse" pregnancy, which was the only way he and Nancy could have children.

But at the centre of the storm, all has been calm, as Thomas explains: "Everything has been excellent. I have been so lucky. I didn't have any discomforts or ailments.

"In fact when I found out I was pregnant I went online and read how a lot of women suffer back pain but I haven't had any. It has been remarkably easy.



"And when Nancy and I saw the first scans it was just such an incredible emotional experience we did not care what some people were saying about us.

"To be able to see her face, her lips, her body made all the abuse we have endured worthwhile.

"She went from being a figment of hope to a real person, our baby and the experience has been magical.

"Starting a family was a dream Nancy and I had shared for some time, and in four weeks our dream is about to come true. We just cannot wait."

Thomas had his breasts removed ten years ago but chose to keep his female reproductive organs because Nancy, 45, had undergone a hysterectomy.

When the time came, he had to stop taking his sex-change testosterone hormone so he could start ovulating again.

He fell pregnant with twins on his first attempt using donor sperm bought from a cryogenic sperm bank. Thomas was inseminated by Nancy at home using a special syringe from a VET who looked after their pet birds—because a baby clinic turned them away.

"I asked for a syringe without a needle," said Nancy. "They gave us one and we got our container of sperm."

Thomas had an ectopic pregnancy and lost the embryos and a fallopian tube. But against the odds a second try worked—and the baby will be delivered by caesarean section by obstetrician Dr Kimberly James on July 3.

"It was always a clear decision that we wanted to have children and for me not to remove my organs," said Thomas.

"Wanting to have a child is neither a male nor female desire but a human desire." Pregnant man Thomas Beatie
Bubbles

Meanwhile at their detached home in Bend, Oregon, Nancy and Thomas—who run a T-shirt business—are keen to portray an air of everyday normality.

Our photographs show Thomas having his daily shave then taking a bath, lying in the bubbles, gazing at his bump.

He poses lovingly with Nancy, clearly showing the scars from his breast operation and pregnancy pigmentation lines on his abdomen.

And he plays with his pet birds, perching them on his arm. Then the amazing couple got out their family albums, revealing just how beautiful Thomas was as Tracy from her early school years to her teens.

Tracy and her two brothers were raised in Hawaii by their father after their mother committed suicide.

The young beauty was a model—even making it to the finals of Miss Hawaii Teen USA.

There are also pictures from their happiest day—when they wed in Hawaii in 2003 five years after they met in Honolulu.

Thomas has no regrets about becoming a woman. He still has female organs but says he and Nancy manage to have a healthy sex life.

Now he is looking forward to a bright future as a father.

"We have come so far together and our daughter will be the icing on the cake for us," Thomas told us. "Finally we will be a complete family."

Surgeons left metal bar in my head

Surgeons left a 10cm (4in) metal bar inside a teenager's head.Donovan McGowan lived with the piece of metal inside him for three months after an operation.The 18-year-old suffered from blinding headaches and also had an unsightly lump on the side of his head.Eventually, he demanded a scan and it was then doctors found the bar. They said, “This is quite embarrassing but there is something metallic like a tube still in your head.”It's been more than embarrassing for me having to walk about with this lump,' said Mr McGowan, from Glasgow.

The rod was left behind during an operation at Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, in March after he was hit by a car.A hospital spokesman apologised and said it was an 'unfortunate error'. The ex-football steward, who gave up his job because of the pain, may now seek compensation from the trust.

Footloose and fancy-free, the elephant whose landmine injury has been fixed with a fake leg

It may not be very elegant, but this fake leg is just the thing for a war-wounded elephant.

Baby elephant Mocha is pictured being fitted with the jumbo prosthetic after she stepped on a landmine in Burma and lost her foot.

The patching-up of the pachyderm was carried out by staff at the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in Lampang, northern Thailand.

Mocha received her false leg three years after vets at the hospital pioneered the procedure on a 440-year-old adult elephant, Motala, who had lost his leg in a landmine blast while working at a logging camp.

With the wide use of the massive beasts as draft animals in Thailand, the Lampang hospital has treated thousands of elephants for various ailments.

36MMM breasts scoop world record

Who says porn stars lack amb­ition? Maxi Mounds has made a huge name for herself – by having the largest breast implants in the world.

Her 36MMM bust – each weighing 9kg (20lbs) – finally mawde it into the record books years after she learned there was a category for natural breasts.

'I contacted Guinness World Records and asked if they had a category for implants, but they said no, so I let it go,' she said.'Then they asked me if I was interested as they were creating a category. Eventually they told me I won.' Ms Mounds – not her real name – became a lap dancer in Florida in the 1990s.It was then the one-time ballet dancer and horse rider decided to enhance her figure.

had the old-style silicone imp­lants,' she explained. 'But then came all the scare stories, so I had them replaced with overfilled saline.'

But her chest began to sag, so she had tubes put in her armpits so she could be topped up.

In 2000, she had her implants ­removed and the pockets filled with plastic string – a procedure which has been banned. A solution was injected to make the breasts produce fluid and 'inflate' – but they kept on growing.

She doesn't have a fella now: 'It takes a very special type of person to be with someone who looks like me because of the reactions I get from people whenever I'm out in public.

'I've seen some pretty funny things happen. Men walking into things and getting slapped by their girlfriends because they were staring so hard.'

Chinese Man Sticks 2008 Needles In His Head To Mark Beijing Olympic Games

In a bizarre publicity stunt, Dr Wei Sheng pierced the decorative needles in his head, face, hands and chest in the five colours of the Olympic rings.

The picture of Dr Sheng’s was taken in Nanning, Southern China, and demonstrates the patriotic fervour among the Chinese people in the build up to September’s Games.
Dr Sheng’s latest stunt was not the first time he had gained notoriety for sticking pins in his body.

In 2004 he secured a Guinness World Record after piercing 1790 needles into his head.

Mr Sheng had planned his latest needle stunt in advance, booking a room for the Olympics in Beijing last year.

In China, people with tattoos and piercings are widely frowned upon and viewed as social outcasts.

Caught on camera: Peeping through the window, is this the image that proves aliens DO exist?

Are we alone? A question which endlessly fascinates people around the world. But while most might dismiss aliens as being as fictional as the sci-fi television programme the X-Files, one man in Denver is hoping to prove with a three-minute video - and this image below - that they are out there. A grainy, black and white video showing a shadowy creature peeping over a windowsill was released this morning at Tivoli Student Union Auraria campus in Denver.

Denver resident Jeff Peckham organised the screening of Stan Tiger Romanek's clip to re-spark the debate on alien life, saying "we believe this will be somewhat of a historic news conference". Some have already denounced the footage of a white creature with a balloon-shaped head popping up and down at a windowsill eight feet above ground as a fake. But Alejandro Rojas, education director of Mutual UFO Network, who spoke out the conference, is adamant the creature with the white face and large black eyes is real. He said: "If it was a puppet, it would be a very elaborate and sophisticated puppet. I don't believe they have the ability or the motivation to fabricate a hoax." Rojas explained Romanek had claimed to have had more than 100 encounters with aliens, including being abducted by extraterrestrials who inflicted red marks on his back and arms. He apparently took the video on July 17 2003 in Nebraska after setting up a camera because he though people were looking into his house at his two teenage daughters.

Woman who lived inside an iron lung for 60 years killed because of a power cut

A woman who defied medical odds and spent her life living in an iron lung died after a power cut shut down the machine helping her breathe.

Dianne Odell, 61, had been confined to the 7ft-long metal tube since contracting polio when she was three.

Her home near Memphis, Tennessee, suffered a lengthy power failure and relatives were unable to start a back-up generator।

Brother-in law Will Beyer said: ''We did everything we could do but we couldn't keep her breathing.

''Dianne had got a lot weaker over the past several months and she just didn't have the strength to keep going.''

Ms Odell was diagnosed with "bulbo-spinal" polio several years before a vaccine was discovered that stopped the spread of the crippling disease affecting children.

Despite being confined inside the iron lung, she managed to get a high school diploma, take courses at a college and write a book.

Iron lungs - or negative pressure ventilators - were first used in the 1920s.

They work by producing pressure on the lungs that causes them to expand and contract so that patients can breathe.

Odell's iron lung, similar to those used during the US polio epidemics that peaked in the 1950s, was a cylindrical chamber with a seal at the neck.

She lay on her back with only her head exposed and made eye contact with visitors through an angled mirror.

Odell, who was cared for by her parents and other family members, operated a television set with a small blow tube and wrote on a voice-activated computer.

Authorities said the electrical failure had been caused by a tree falling on a power line.

Pictured: The amazing portraits of TV favourites made entirely from food

Artwork celebrating some of the nation's favourite television programmes was unveiled today - with the exhibits made entirely from food.

Artist Prudence Emma Staite has swapped oils and pastels for sausages and tomatoes to create the TV Dinners display, which includes a depiction of presenter Anne Robinson made entirely from cakes and biscuits, and a life-sized Doctor Who Dalek made from spaghetti bolognese.

The Have I Got News for You team, including London Mayor and former guest presenter Boris Johnson, have been immortalised with a TV dinner of curry, rice and naan bread.

The edible exhibition also sees the famous EastEnders title scene recreated with sausages and mashed potato, and the Top Gear presenters represented using beans on toast.

The works were commissioned by Virgin Media to celebrate the launch of BBC iPlayer on its on-demand television service.

In a survey conducted earlier this month, Virgin Media found that over a quarter of people in the UK eat their evening meal in front of the television every night.

The research also found that sandwiches were the most common food eaten while on the sofa, followed by pizza and spaghetti bolognese.

The TV Dinners exhibition will be going on display next month at Virgin Media headquarters in Hook, Hampshire.

Pictured: Photographer's moment of madness as he leaps across 8ft gap in the Grand Canyon

This is the heart-stopping moment a daring photographer leapt between two rocky outcrops over the Grand Canyon - with drop of nearly a mile beneath him.

A crowd of onlookers gasped in horror as the man - who was wearing flimsy flip-flops - risked his life to capture a stunning shot of the Arizona sunset.

Minutes earlier, the unknown daredevil had been casually sunbathing on a rock column.

He had already made the leap once to get to the smaller rock - although that act of daring went unwitnessed.

Once there, he made the most of it by downing a six-pack of beer while relaxing on the outcrop for several hours.

However, as sunset approached, a crowd of tourists gathered and watched as the man took a perfect shot of the canyon.

To their astonishment, he then simply tucked the camera and tripod under his arm and leapt back across the 8ft gap.

He grasped hold of the opposing rock face with just one hand and momentarily lost his grip before climbing to safety.

For those who find their heart skipping a beat just looking at these photographs, it may of some comfort to know that the two rocks are actually joined together lower down.

However, there is still a life-threatening drop of around 20ft on the near, 'safer' side of the rocks. On the far side, the drop is about 0.6miles.

The photos were taken by amateur Dutch photographer Hans van de Vorst, 47, who visited the spot on holiday.

When he arrived at the scene the man, dressed in jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops, was lounging on the rock column around 15ft from the edge of the canyon.

Mr van de Vorst, a marketing consultant from Veenendaal in central Holland, watched as the man set up his tripod and captured the last minutes of the sunset, before
casually finishing his beer, packing up his equipment and making the leap.

'When we arrived he was just taking in the scenery and people were discussing how he managed to get on there in the first place,' he said.

'Nobody even bothered with the sunset - everyone's eyes were on this man and how he was going to get off the rock.

'He looked really relaxed and casually stood up before jumping across the gap.
'There was complete silence as he packed his things up and then a few gasps when he jumped.

'He didn't grab the rock properly the first time and slipped back about 50cm (20 inches) before clinging onto it. Even then he didn't look fazed.'

Mr van de Vorst posted the pictures on the Internet in a bid to track down the mystery man, but no-one has come forward.

The Grand Canyon - which straddles the Colorado River - is 277 miles long and ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles with a depth of more than a mile at its deepest point.

It is one of the deepest in the world and is famous for its array of bright reds and oranges, which are caused by the unusual geological formations.

The dramatic pictures were taken at The Grand Viewpoint at the Grand Canyon's South Rim.

Oops! Learner pilot comes in to land ON TOP of neighbour's plane

For a learner pilot, it is embarrassing enough that you have brought your plane in to land on top of another aircraft that was on the runway.

But when that other plane belongs to your next-door neighbour, the situation reaches a whole new level of humiliation.

Despite the odds, that is exactly what happened at Roanoke airport near Dallas in Texas when one rookie pilot attempted to touch down.



The only problem was that his neighbour, at the controls of a smaller, red aircraft was on the runway and preparing for take off.

A quick chat over the radio and both men thought they had it clear - the other one was going to give way.

Unfortunately of course, neither did, and the undercarriage of the learner's plane became wedged in the top of the second plane's wing when he landed regardless.

Both propellors also smashed together and the planes were badly damaged, although luckily no one was injured.



Roanoke Airport is the largest airport under private ownership in the U.S. and has over 550 aircraft based there.

But the lack of a control tower means pilots are forced to navigate in and out using the radio.

Pictured: The amazing moment a horse did a perfect somersault

If it had been an equestrian gymnastics event, she would have scored a perfect 10.

After all, it's not every day you see a horse perform a gravity-defying flip of such dizzying proportions.

The four-year-old mare, called Schattenlady, who had lost her rider moments into a race, went into these spectacular acrobatics as she tried to dislodge her loosened saddle as well.

With crowds at the course in Hanover, Germany, watching in horror, she somersaulted right over before falling flat on her back.

But the show was not quite over for Schattenlady, or Shadowlady, as she is known in English.

Happily was only shaken and bruised and walked away soon after.

And amazingly, both horse and jockey emerged from the acrobatics unscathed.

Meet ‘The Beast’ of guitars

Guitarist Shane Churchill gets to grips with The Beast – a six-headed guitar which has 40 strings and costs £739 – at Weymouth Music Shop in Dorset.

There are only of 12 of the US-made instruments in this country. We're sure Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World would love it...

This round's on me, lads

We're not saying that the years of dedication, intensive training and hard work that must have gone into this woman's skills amount to nothing more than a good pub trick. But she certainly would be useful to have around in a crowded bar.

Defendant too fat to enter court

A suburban New York music shop owner accused of selling knockoff Gibson Les Paul guitars had to be arraigned in a pickup truck in a courthouse parking lot, after his lawyer said the 500lb defendant could not walk into the courthouse.

State Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle said the man's 'severe weight problem', which prompted the unusual proceeding Thursday in Riverhead. A defense lawyer also had given the court a doctor's letter saying the defendant suffers from osteoarthritis.

The shopkeeper has been released without bail after pleading not guilty to trademark counterfeiting and criminal simulation. He says the case and health problems have forced him to close his store.

He is accused of selling bogus Gibsons for $1,500 (£760) to buyers who thought they were far more valuable genuine versions of the classic electric guitar.

Face of Jesus appears on cider bottle to amazement of pub drinkers

As miracles go, it is hardly in the same league as turning water into wine.

But Michael Cartwright was still pretty impressed when Jesus appeared in the foil wrapping of his cider bottle down at the pub.

"When I saw it I got goose pimples," 35-year-old Mr Cartwright said yesterday. "I have no doubt it is the face of Jesus. You can even see his beard and hair."

Mr Cartwright, a taxi driver from Darlington, noticed the extraordinary image while drinking with a group of friends at his local, the Tanners Hall.

"As the barmaid removed the cap to the cider I suddenly realised what was staring back at me," he added.

One of Mr Cartwright's friends took a photograph. It was only the following morning that he realised how clear the image was. But by then it was too late to retrieve the bottle.

"It ended up getting collected by a barmaid when no one was paying attention and thrown away," said Mr Cartwright.

"I'm not sure what message Jesus was sending and maybe now we'll never know."

Had they only held on to the bottle it could have been worth considerably more than the £2.49 it cost over the bar.

Four years ago on eBay, American Diana Duyser sold a piece of ten-year-old toasted cheese sandwich - which appeared to feature the face of the Virgin Mary - for £15,000.

The Uno: Motorcyle Meets Segway

Think the Segway is just too geeky for your Born to Be Wild bad boy lifestyle?
Then check out this cool new motorcycle born at the intersection of Geek Street and Hog Heaven Avenue.The Uno is a self-balancing motorcycle that uses a pair of gyroscopes to constantly keep its rider upright.
Designed by 18-year old inventor Ben J. Poss Gulak (and built with the help of a team of bike builders and engineers), the 120-pound motorcycle is so easy to ride, its only control is a single on-off switch. To ride forward, lean forward, to reverse, simply lean back. The degree to which you lean increases or decreases your velocity. By using a pair of wheels, the bike can also make turns based on your side-to-side movements.

The one-of-a-kind motorcycle was recently demonstrated at the 2008 National Motorcycle Show in Toronto, Canada. Its current whereabouts are unknown, but I’m pretty sure you’ll recognize it if you see it coming down the road.

Mop-top mutt set to wipe the floor with the other pups at international dog show

Crowds at a dog show made a double take when they witnessed what looked like an escaped mop-head leaping hurdles and bounding through an obstacle course.

But this is no mop - it is in fact a pedigree Hungarian sheepdog named Fee, who will be making a bid for stardom at an international dog show in Germany, next week.

The mutt's rastafarian tresses obscure most of its face, but that hasn't stopped him sweeping through the course without a hitch.

Fluffy Fee will take on 6,000 other dogs at the Dortmund show next week and owner Eva Meyer says she is confident he will wipe the floor with the competition.

World's Ugliest Dog

14-year-old pedigreed Chinese crested owned by Susie Lockheed of Santa Barbara, California won the "World's Ugliest Dog" title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair contest for the third consecutive year on 2005.

Sam has no hair, if you don't count the yellowish-white tuft erupting from his head. His wrinkled brown skin is covered with splotches, a line of warts marches down his snout, his blind eyes are an alien, milky white, and a fleshy flap of skin hangs from his withered neck. And then there are the Austin Powers teeth that jut at odd angles. He's so ugly that even the judges recoiled when he was placed on the judging table.

Unfortunately, Sam suffered from a number of age-related ailments (congestive heart failure, lung and kidney problems) and eventually cede his crown.

Cigarette packs patch up hole in chest

Never mind nicotine patches - a DIY patient is using cigarette packets to cover up a gaping hole in his chest.

Rao Jiacang plastered the packets over himself after running out of money for crucial heart surgery.

Somehow he has survived for ten years, despite his beating heart being gruesomely visible through the paper folds.

But he is now desperate for a donor to come forward to pay for proper treatment to cover over the wound measuring seven by three inches.

Part of his ribs and skin were hacked away by surgeons in 1998, hoping to remove part of his infected lungs.

But the 51-year-old, from Taining in China's Guangdong province, says he was unable to afford the rest of the treatment after stitches were taken out.
He said: "I had the operation in 1998. I was then laid up for almost five years but gradually got used to the wound, and since 2003 I have been back on my feet.

"But no-one would give me a job and people were scared of me with the big hole in my chest.

"Because of that, I haven't dared to go outside, in case people get frightened."

He says he keeps the plaster coverings sterile, and changes the cigarette boxes several times each day.

Local doctor Wan Fi said: "It's a miracle that Rao could have lived so many years with such a massive opening in his chest."

His friend Xi Lin, 35, who was present when the plaster was changed, said: "I did not know what to expect but then I saw a heart through the hole in his chest, and it was actively beating."

An estimated one in 8,000 people are dextrocardiac - that is, their heart is not on the left hand side of their body, but slightly to the right.