Professor builds dream mountain villa where he can get away from it all. Only problem is, it’s on top of a Beijing apartment block (and the people underneath aren’t too happy)

Rocky style villa on the roof of a tower block, Haidian, China - 12 Aug 2013A Chinese man has spent six years building his dream mountaintop villa – on top of a Beijing apartment block.

Eccentric Professor Zhang Lin shifted tons of rubble and rock onto the roof of the building to construct the outrageous home which looks like it has been carved from a mountainside.

The property even has a rocky mountain garden, complete with rubble and shrubbery.

But his distraught neighbours are less than impressed with the project and fear the building is about to collapse.

The rooftop home, which never received planning approval, has caused cracks to appear in his neighbours’ ceilings and walls while some have had to put up with leaks from broken pipes and drains.

They have also been forced to live with the noise and disturbance caused from the building work.

One resident said their apartment is constantly flooded while another described the academic as a ‘menace’.

Mr Lin could now be ordered to tear down his mountain penthouse if it is deemed unsafe.

‘It has come to our attention that Professor Zhang did not apply for permission for this structure. So unless he can prove it is safe, it will have to come down,’ explained an city official.

 

Dutch Prince Friso dies 17 months after avalanche

dutch-prince-frisoDutch Prince Johan Friso died Monday, more than 17 months after he suffered a severe brain injury in an avalanche, the Dutch royal family announced on its website.

Prince Friso, 44, was in what the family called “a state of minimal consciousness” after he was caught in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort in February 2012.

He was skiing with friends outside the bounds of the Lech am Arlberg ski resort when the avalanche hit him, and he suffered a lack of oxygen while he was under the snow before being rescued, officials said. His doctor at the time said he had suffered brain damage.

After receiving treatment in Austria, he was transferred to a London hospital, where he stayed for more than a year. He was discharged last month and was sent to The Hague, where he continued to receive medical care at home.

His brother, Willem-Alexander, is king of the Netherlands.

India unveils home-built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant

ins-vikrant1India launched a 37,500-ton indigenous aircraft carrier Monday in its bid to join a select group of nations capable of building such warships.

The carrier INS Vikrant, meaning courageous, was unveiled at a shipyard in Kochi in southern India, defense ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar told CNN.

The warship will undergo extensive tests in the next few years before it is commissioned into the navy, he added.

The INS Vikrant, which is 260 meter (853 feet) long and 60 meter (196 feet) wide, can carry MiG 29K fighters and light combat aircraft, he said.

Only the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and France have the capability to design and build such warships, Kar said.