Proof that your work day never ends

Veep's Amy is never, ever away from her phone. Source: Supplied

THE traditional nine-to-five work day has been completely thrown out the window.

Gone are the days when you can switch off when you walk out the office. Instead, more and more Australians are being stalked by their work emails or tasks everywhere they go because of those little devices we take with us everywhere — smartphones.

A new study from Microsoft found 76 per cent of Australians now use a smartphone while 45 per cent use a tablet. With mobile technology literally at your fingertips, it's not surprising that your work life and your leisure life have become increasingly blurred.

The Microsoft study found 42 per cent of working or studying Australians do work-related tasks such as emails before they leave the house in the morning. Almost a quarter (23 per cent) are engaged in work-related activities on their devices while they're out socialising with their friends. Thirty-eight per cent are doing more work when they get home at night while 38 per cent are doing it on the weekend.

The trade-off is Australians are doing non-work stuff while they're at work. Forty-one per cent have engaged in fun such as online shopping or playing games at work while the same amount completed organisational things including online banking while they were at work.

This is what Microsoft has called the "reinvention of the workday".

There's no doubt technological advances have facilitated some better working practices such as more flexible working conditions for people who have other commitments such as children. And it has enabled connections such collaborating with someone on the other side of the world, the kind of things once only available to big companies with deep pockets.

Or you could do what the Workaholics guys do instead... Source: Supplied

But what about the individual worker in this new reality? Seventy-eight per cent of Australians said they believe technology has increased their productivity while 39 per cent of those aged between 18 and 35 said they don't mind being contactable 24/7.

However, work balance consultant Barbara Holmes, director of Work|Life Balance International, told news.com.au: "People feel as if they have to check their emails or voicemails because otherwise they won't be seen as being committed to their workplace or job. There's this demand they've got to do it. It's difficult for people to put boundaries around their personal time.

"The other reason is they know if they don't keep following up, there will be this backlog when they get into the office."

Ms Holmes argued that individuals should have a real choice in where they set those boundaries. For those who have flexible working conditions, it's important that the situation works for them. Ms Holmes gave the example of an email footer she recently saw which was along the lines of "We work flexibly and may be sending this email outside of work hours but I don't expect you will respond in that time frame." She said: " It was very respectful of an individual's choices and we don't do that enough. When it comes to the point where [doing work outside of normal hours] is imposed or there's an expectation, then I don't think that is healthy.

"You just have to look at the incidence of mental health issues in the workplace. People are not able to take a good break and have that downtime."

Don't let work take over your life. Source: Supplied

A 2013 study from the Australian Psychology Society found 47 per cent of workers cited issues in the workplace as being a source of stress. At the time, Professor Lyn Littlefield from APS said there had been a decline in workplace wellbeing since the studies began two years previously, the ABC reported.

Foad Fadaghi, head of technology research firm Telsyte, said in the study: "Once you're connected, there's no going back. As technology advances, the lines between the different parts of our lives are going to become more blurred.

"You can understand if people feel overwhelmed by technology sometimes. You have to consciously switch off because you're always connected by default now. Whereas in the past it was the reverse — we had to consciously switch on. You had to sit down and boot up the computer and consciously choose to switch off, to put the phone down and watch the sunset or read a book instead."

Recently, France grabbed headlines when it introduced legislation that would ban employers from compelling workers in certain sectors to check work emails after 6pm.

In another twist, Mexican billionaire, and the world's second richest man, Carlos Slim recently said the world should move to a three-day working week.

What do you think? Do you check work emails outside of office hours? Is it a drain on your work/life balance? Is work/life balance still relevant?

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The bodily things which leave us red-faced

Bloating can make us uncomfortable in more ways than one. Source: ThinkStock

Natural Remedies: An A-Z of Cures for Health and Wellbeing by Mim Beim. Source: Supplied

WHETHER it's making a stink or creating some gassy noise, let's face it our bodies can be pretty embarrassing at times.

And while conditions such as excess gas and sweat may be pretty natural bodily functions, they can also make many of us squirm in our seats.

According to naturopath Mim Beim, you're not alone if this applies to you.

The naturopath, who is based between Sydney and Kangaroo Valley, has written Natural Remedies, an A-Z look at some of the common health problems which can leave us red-faced.

And according to Ms Beim it's was time people started to talk about them more as they could be a sign of something more serious or on the other hand could be something solved quite easily.

And the first thing she reckons we need to be doing is talking a lot more erm, poo, literally.

"People shouldn't be embarrassed," she said. "We really need to give it a lot more attention.

"For example if the colour of the stool is light, or it floats that can indicate a lack of bile in your system and can be a sign your liver needs some attention."

She said simple things like adding lemon in hot water, or dandelion root tea could help liver and digestion.

But poo isn't the only embarrassing thing people come to see her about

"Flatulence is obviously a big one, but excess sweating as well as skin issues also cause people a lot of grief," she said.

Something stinks, was it you? Source: ThinkStock

"A pimple on the face for example always feels 20 times worse than on the backside and something like a cold sore can really affect people's moods."

According to her some of the most embarrassing things people come to see her about include:

• Bad breath:

If your friends and colleagues are reeling back in horror every time you talk, it could be a sign of an underlying health issue, Ms Beim said.

It could be caused by blocked sinuses, post-nasal drip or even helicobacter pylorus — a stomach bacteria responsible for mouth ulcers among other things.

Avoiding sugar, cutting dairy and drinking plenty of water can all help.

• Body odour

Everyone sweats, but constant body odour cannot only leave some people embarrassed but also self-conscious.

According to Ms Beim a variety of things can cause it, including meat and animal fats and natural chemicals in food.

But she reckons a constant odour can be a sign of illness and hormone changes.

Drinking more water, trialling a vegan diet for a short time and wiping your body with a cloth saturated with lemon juice or vinegar before bed can all help.

• Cellulite:

Most women admit to having at least some of this on their bodies and while totally natural can make them self conscious too.

Ms Beim said cellulite was normally a female issue, with age and poor blood and lymphatic circulation all playing a part.

Simple things such as drinking more water, eating more raw food, and less salt and fried food could all play a part in reducing it.

• Cold sores/herpes

They can be a romance and confidence killer which can be trigged by a range of factors including stress, infection and hormones which allow the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV1) to flourish.

Taking immune acids such as L-Lysine and avoiding coffee, alcohol and sugar are simple ways to help fight the virus.

If you're constantly constipated, there's a lot you can do about it. Source: ThinkStock

• Constipation:

If you're not making friends with your loo and having regular bowl movements at least three times a week, that's a sign something isn't right, Ms Beim said.

It can be caused by several factors including not drinking enough water and not having enough fibre in your diet.

"Eating at regular times can help the bowel get into routine," Ms Beim writes in her book.

"Chew each mouthful well and avoid sugar, white-flour products and even try gluten free for a month."

• Dandruff:

If your scalp is shedding dry, white scales chances are you've got this condition and while it's not contagious or a sign of poor hygiene can make you avoid wearing dark clothes.

Cutting out certain hair product and increasing your range of good oils such as olive and cold-pressed nut oils can all help keep the white flakes at bay.

Naturopath Mim Beim reckons we need to start talking about conditions we see as embarrassing. Source: Supplied

• Diarrhoea:

Nature's way of ridding your body of toxins can be a real pain in butt, literally and can be caused by a range of things including stress, food poisoning, excess alcohol or a food sensitivity.

Ms Beim said long-term chronic diarrhoea can be treated but the cause had to be found first which could take time and require dietary changes.

• Flatulence:

It's normal for most of us to fart, but poor eating habits and not chewing food properly could exacerbate the problem for some people.

Again it can be caused by a range of things including a food intolerance or eating with your mouth open and allowing excess air into the digestive tract.

There's not a lot to stop nature but cutting sugar and eating more probiotic food such as yoghurt could help reduce gas.

• Haemorrhoids:

Also known as piles, haemorrhoids which are inflamed veins cause aching pain and itching and can sometimes be caused by constipation or long periods of time or sitting.

But there's plenty people can do to help including eating more fibre, taking more vitamin C for better vein health and using softer toilet tissue.

Fungus and warts make many of us squirm. Source: ThinkStock

• Warts:

Caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) warts are generally painless but feel unsightly for those who have them.

Avoiding sugar which suppresses the immune system and eating unprocessed foods and eating more garlic can help as it has massive antiviral properties.

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Michael’s meltdown: Block star storms off site

News.com.au's Alison Stephenson talks to The Block's Glasshouse contestant Michael Carlene about this year's show.

Michael and Carlene are finding out how hard The Block can be. Source: Supplied

IT'S very rare that you come up against Keith 'The Blockinator' Schleiger and come out on top, but he may have met his match in Michael.

"I get on well with Keith, I love Keith," he told news.com.au, "but this particular week though, I don't know what happened, I had a meltdown."

Michael well and truly lost the plot on tonight's episode after Keith told him his fire proofing didn't "make code" and he would have to pull the part of his wall down to ensure it complied.

Michael and Carlene, the QLD couple from The Block, in Cairns. Picture: Stewart McLean Source: News Corp Australia

"What he was asking me to do I didn't want to do, I didn't have time to do it and I didn't think it was worth doing. But that's obviously not my job to say, and I got to a point where I was like 'nope, I've had enough' and we had a blow up.

"I went and sulked in the pub."

Coupled with water leakage from a concrete cutter and his unhappiness at the size of his master suite, Michael had had enough.

"This is the worst day I've had on the block so far," he said after he was delivered the bad news.

The Block's foreman Keith Schleiger. Source: News Limited

"I've got Keith wanting me to do this stupid wall, I've got these boys cutting concrete down here, I've got to prime these walls so the wallpaper guy can start at 3.30pm and I still haven't finished framing.

"I think it's a load of crap. The whole way through it, that firewall it's a common wall, has been his responsibility, we've got two days to reveal, there's no way I'm pulling that out."

He then told Keith: "You're asking me to do a task that's irrelevant and doesn't need to be done."

But the resident foreman had other ideas.

Channel 9's The Block Gold Coasters Michael and Carlene. Photo: Kit Wise Source: News Corp Australia

"He's a bit grumpy ... All I'm trying to do is impose the plan and Michael's not playing ball.

"Michael just get up there and bloody do it."

But the father-of-two who's normally cool, calm and collected wasn't having a bar of it.

"I'm going to the pub to have a beer, because this is a nightmare," he said before storming off site.

But Michael didn't stop at one, sinking beers well into the night, which didn't go down well with wife Carlene, who says she also had a meltdown.

"As a result of Michael walking off site, one did result from that," she admitted.

Michael was "in trouble" the next morning and on the receiving end of a fair amount of shade from his wife after abandoning her for the evening.

The master suites are revealed this Sunday at 6.30pm.

Michael and Carlene have two young children. Source: News Corp Australia

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Did Google Street View kill a dog?

Do these images from Google Street View show a canine copping it from one of the search giant's mapping cars? Source: Supplied

GOOGLE doesn't let mountains or oceans get in the way of mapping the world and it seems it won't stop at animals either.

Images from a street view car in Chile show what appears to be one of its camera-bearing cars running over a dog and leaving it for dead.

If you take a trip down Meza Bell 2815, Chile on Google Maps you can re-live the moment, shot-by-shot, when a little canine trots in front of the path of the oncoming car — the next images seen from the car's rear-facing camera show it lying on the road not moving.

Watch out! The little fella totally forgets his crossing code. Source: Supplied

News.com.au followed the Google car's path as it kept on driving and looking back as far as the zoom could stretch and did not see the pooch hop to its feet. Closer inspection of the more immediate images do show the dog moving in one image but it's hard to tell whether this is a last struggle of life or whether he is just laying in the sun and having a stretch.

One of the images of the dog. Source: Supplied

A closer look and it's still hard to tell whether the dog is dead or laying in the sun. Source: Supplied

A person can be seen at the side of the road where the 'accident' occurred but they didn't rush to the rescue — perhaps a sign that the dog was in no danger? Or perhaps it's another local who is used to the many stray street dogs in the area and this is not an unusual occurrence.

This image shows the dog rolled over. A sign of hope, perhaps? Source: Supplied

Way down the road, this zoomed in shot shows it still in the same position. Source: Supplied

This sort of thing also isn't unusual for Google. In January last year it was accused of running over a donkey in Botswana after images on street view walking alongside the vehicle one moment then lying still on the ground the next. It was swiftly proven by Google that this wasn't a hit-and-run and that the images were not as they appear.

The Botswana donkey. Source: Supplied

Google has said it is investigating the images regarding the dog to "understand and inform what happened" and reassure they "have guidelines in place to protect people and animals" as they map places around the world.

To us, it looks like the dog has simply chosen a paw place to take a lie down.

What do you think? Did Google kill this dog? Tweet us your opinion @newscomauHQ

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‘My fiance faked his death to avoid marrying me’

Tucker was the man of Alex's dreams. Until he broke her heart and trust by faking his own death, that is. Photo: Snapper Media Source: Supplied

ALEX Lanchester would have been on her honeymoon today ... if her fiance hadn't faked his own death to break off their engagement that is.

Ms Lanchester, 23, from the United Kingdom met her ex-fiance Tucker Blandford in August 2012 at a college in Connecticut, USA. The pair hit it off straight away and became quickly besotted with each other.

"He was such a gentleman. He showered me with jewellery," Ms Lanchester told The Mirror. "We would go out for a posh dinner on the tenth of every month to celebrate the day we got together."

According to Ms Lanchester, Mr Blandford was a perfect gentleman when they were dating. Photo: Snapper Media Source: Supplied

But Ms Lanchester was studying abroad on a student visa and when her time in America came to an end, she and Mr Blandford said a tearful goodbye at the airport. Her tears soon became smiles though, when he went down on one knee and proposed.

"I said yes straight away," she said. "I was super happy and smiling like an idiot."

She still had to return to England, but Mr Blandford promised to visit in a few months and the couple began planning their wedding. Or so she thought.

While Ms Lanchester booked venues, spent over $1000 on invitations and shopped for her dream gown, Mr Blandford cancelled plane tickets and called to apologise. To placate his fiancee, he set the wedding date for August 15, 2014.

Alex and Tucker had planned their life together. Photo: Snapper Media Source: Supplied

As the wedding date neared, an excited Ms Lanchester received a gut-wrenching call from her fiance's 'dad'.

"Alex, this is Tucker's dad. There's no easy way to say this ... I am sorry to say that Tucker is dead."

He went on to tell the bride-to-be that his son had depression and had "thrown himself in front of a car" to end his life. Understandably devastated, Ms Lanchester got off the phone in tears, but later called Tucker's mum to make sense of what she'd heard.

That's when she discovered the lie.

His mum had no idea that her son was dead, and Ms Lanchester soon realised that the 'dad' she'd spoken to was in fact her gutless fiance, too scared to ring her and break up himself.

To add insult to injury, Mr Blandford's parents didn't even know the couple were engaged.

Alex knows she's better off without him now. Source: Supplied

"All I ever did was love him," said heartbroken Alex. "After this I'm not sure I can trust a man ever again."

Eventually she called Tucker, who initially wouldn't answer her calls, but finally sent her a text admitting his shocking deceit.

She is in the United States this week on what would have been her honeymoon, refusing to waste yet another plane ticket.

"It may be our wedding day but I'm going to spend it making my own awesome memories — without him."

Alex has started a business making wedding favours. Source: Supplied

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Is he too young for Formula One?

Verstappen won't need an L-plate next year in F1. Source: Getty Images

AT just 16 years old, Max Verstappen would only be on his L-plates driving on Australian roads.

He wouldn't even be able to drive a car on his own, never mind one with over 700 horsepower under the throttle.

But the Dutch teen will exactly that when he becomes the youngest Formula 1 driver in history after landing a seat with Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2015 season.

"We consider Max to be as one of the most skilled young drivers of the new generation," Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost said.

"We believe he has the necessary maturity and mental strength to take on this challenge successfully."

So how can a 16-year-old be handed the keys to an F1 car?

Max Verstappen. Source: Supplied

OBTAIN A RACING LICENCE
Just like on the roads, you need a racing licence to compete in any form of motorsport. You don't need to have an instructor sitting next to you as you turn laps, but your driving is observed by officials to ensure you are competent and capable of controlling a racecar and that you are able to race around other cars safely.

However, you don't need a regular driver's licence to hold a racing licence.

Is 17 too young to race a Formula 1 car?

In Australia you can apply to the Confederation of Australian Motorsport for a racing licence that allows you to hit the track from the age of 14 in individual events, before progressing to races against fields of other cars when you turn 16.

To race in major international championships you need an FIA International Driver's Licence, handed out by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the worldwide governing body of motorsport.

There are several grades depending on the power-to-weight ratio of the car you are driving, ranging from Grade D for cars that have 3 kilograms/horsepower up to Grade A for cars with less than or equal to 1kg/hp.

The highest licence grade in the FIA system is the Super Licence, preserved only for drivers who will race in Formula 1.

Verstappen on his way to a karting world title last year. Source: Supplied

Verstappen started his car career in the Florida Racing Series. Source: Facebook

HOW DOES VERSTAPPEN QUALIFY FOR A SUPER LICENCE?
Verstappen doesn't have a Super Licence yet as he has not completed a single lap in a Formula 1 car, never mind the required 300km.

The 16-year-old is in the middle of his very first season of car racing, having graduated from karting at the end of 2013. As the winner of the 2012 CIK-FIA Karting World Championship in the KZ class, he qualified for a Grade B international licence.

After testing several lower-class cars, Verstappen had his first car races in January in the Ferrari-backed Florida Winter Series, one of the lowest rungs on the ladder to F1. He finished third in the series with two wins and eight top-five finishes out of 12 races, qualifying him for an upgrade to a Grade A licence.

Verstappen's next move was into the European Formula 3 European Championship, where his speed was a revelation.

Despite his near-total lack of racing beyond karts Verstappen sits a remarkable second in the championship after 27 of 33 races, with eight race wins, five pole positions and five fastest race laps.

Among them was a hot streak of six consecutive race wins that put him on the radar of F1 teams, with Mercedes and Red Bull battling over his signature.

Verstappen was unveiled as the latest member of the Red Bull Junior Team just last week, putting him on the same path that led Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo to stardom.

Toro Rosso will no doubt give Verstappen more than enough testing opportunities to allow him to qualify for a Super Licence to ensure he is more than qualified by the time his debut at Albert Park comes around next March.

Verstappen (30) on his way to victory at the Nurburgring. Source: Supplied

IS 17 TOO YOUNG TO RACE A FORMULA 1 CAR?
This is the question that everyone has been asking today.

What must be remembered is that unlike learner drivers, many of whom have their first experience of controlling a car after they have earned their licence, most young karters have been racing for almost a decade before they step into bigger machinery.

Verstappen, who turns 17 in September, is no different. He started karting at age seven, logging hundreds upon hundreds of races and notching up many wins and titles along the way.

He does, however, lack car racing experience, but that doesn't necessarily indicate that he isn't suited for a graduation to Formula 1.

Is this man too young for F1? Source: Supplied

Originally published as Is he too young for Formula One?

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Did Botham expose his beefy?

Ian Botham may have exposed his middle stump on Twitter. Source: News Limited

ENGLAND cricket legend Sir Ian Botham was trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons Monday night after a lewd picture was sent from his account.

The picture, which has since been deleted, shows a fully naked man lying on his back on a bed.

It leaves nothing to the imagination.

There was also a message, which may yet prove rather ironic: "What are you thinking," it read.

Moments after the picture was sent to his 309,000 followers, the 58-year-old Botham claimed his account had been hacked.

Robbie Savage informed Botham: "mate think you been hacked."

To which Botham responded: "Yes mate just changed my password !!! There's some idiots out there !!"

Botham added later...

Either way, the Twitterati weren't going to let the image go unnoticed.

Botham is regarded one of England's finest ever cricketers — and one of the greatest all-rounders of all time — scoring 5,200 runs and taking 383 wickets in 102 Tests.

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Assange wants assurance from UK

After being confined to the Ecuadorian Embassy for over two years, Julian Assange will now consider leaving the embassy and may surrender to British Police. Courtesy: Sky News

On the balcony ... Wikileaks founder Julian Assange looks on at the media and his supporters from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange is ready to leave the Ecuadorian embassy bolthole where he has been in political exile for more than two years.

However, a spokesman for Assange sought to clarify his boss' position saying that when he said he was leaving "soon" that did not mean a surrender but rather hoped law changes would be more conducive to a political solution.

"The plan (as always) is to leave as soon as the UK government decides to honour its obligations in relation to international agreements," he said.

Earlier this year the law was changed to bar extradition if there's no prosecution decision in the requesting territory. So far Sweden has not made a prosecution decision but rather upheld an arrest warrant.

It was yet another oblique lengthy press conference from Assange who uses certain press to push the Wikileaks agenda but avoid any real questioning; yesterday he refused to answer or clarify his move to leave.

Mr Patino added EU law reforms had made a "better climate" for an agreement and he hoped to set up a meeting with his British foreign counterpart Philip Hammond soon.

Assange made the announcement during a press conference at the embassy, but did not say exactly when he would go.

He declined to elaborate on that answer or detail how and when he would be leaving the embassy but a European-wide warrant for his arrest still exists and police are waiting for him outside.

Media reports had suggested the 43-year-old Australian, who has been holed up at the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations, needs hospital treatment for heart and lung problems.

Assange has said he fears that if he goes to Sweden he will be extradited on to the United States to face charges for publishing classified material.

He told the media conference: "I can confirm I am leaving the embassy soon."

Assange confirmed tonight he had developed "certain difficulties" since he had been in asylum but did not directly respond to reporters questions about his reported ill health.

After two years of being detained inside ... Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Back in 2012 ... Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Assange, sitting with Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, told a hastily organised press conference inside the embassy, attended by hand- selected members of the media, he had been pursued by authorities not just for two years of asylum but two years prior.

He said his freedoms had been restricted for too long and he had been kept from his family contrary to human rights. In the time he had been in the embassy both his stepfather and grandfather have died.

He said his health had suffered.

"As you can imagine being detained in various ways in this country without charge for four years and now in this embassy for two years with no outside area and no sunlight as a result of the obstruction that is presently in place by the UK … any healthy person would find themselves soon enough with certain difficulties they would have to manage," he said.

He would not detail his illnesses but an embassy official said he was dispirited and health complaints included a heart condition, lung complaint, poor eyesight and high blood pressure.

Instead, he said his imminent departure was for other reasons — without saying what they were.

Assange also gave no indications about what arrangements had been made for him to leave the embassy.

He said throughout the time has been there he has only had an hours exercise a day within a very confined space.

It had been almost four years since his ordeal began and two years since he sought political asylum.

Fighting for justice .... Julian Assange inside the Equadorian embassy in London last year. Picture: Ella Pellegrini Source: News Limited

But throughout all that time he had not been charged, he said, and asked how it could be possible that a person like himself could be held while the US Government built its case against him.

" I have not been charged with an offence here in the UK or in Sweden at any time."

"The basis under which asylum was granted is the ongoing investigation into me and Wikileaks. That investigation, led by the US Department of Justice, ... Has now been going more than four years."

Assange said there had been "significant" misreporting of his case.

The media attending his press conference were selected and vetted by Assange and included Russian and Ecuadorean press but excluded mainstream media including the British BBC and Sky.

Mr Patino said the British Government would only look at the legal side of the argument not the political one and regrettably negotiations to release Assange on political grounds had failed.

He said two years was simply too long.

Secre and safe ... the Embassy of Ecuador in London where WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange took refuge and is seeking political asylum. Picture: AP Source: News Limited

"These two lost years for everyone, two years of great uncertainty and lack of legal protection … it is time to free Julian Assange, it's time for his human rights to be respected," he said.

Assange sought and was granted asylum in 2012 after being pursued by Swedish authorities for questioning over two alleged sexual assault allegations. The activist has denied the claims, yesterday maintained neither women had directly accused him of rape or assault and accused the Swedes of acting in concert with US authorities who want to prosecute him for the tens of thousands of confidential military and diplomatic files he publicly released through Wikileaks.

He claimed political asylum at the embassy and had hoped to travel to Ecuador but instead became trapped inside the small building at the rear of the loading dock to Harrods department store in up-market Knightsbridge in London's south west.

He has remained in the confines of the embassy with British Police setting up a 24hr permanent watch about his premises with a British court order for his immediate arrest if on the street still in effect. The cost of guarding the fugitive has cost taxpayers more than AUD$12.5 million.

He has since become something of a cause célèbre with a host of celebrity visitors including entertainers Lady Gaga, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and actors John Cusack, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.

From the embassy he has broadcast numerous televised messages to his worldwide supporters and continued to lead the Wikileaks group.

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Could it have been his piercing looks?

German Rolf Buchholz shows his face with 168 piercings as he visits the 20th Tattoo Convention in Berlin. Source: AP

ROLF Buchholz, the world's most pierced man, has been barred from Dubai, where he was turned back at the airport on his way to a hotel appearance, a newspaper reported.

Airport officials gave no reason for refusing entry to the 53-year-old German, who sports 453 piercings plus two horns on his forehead, local daily Al-Emarat Al-Youm said.

They put him on a flight to Istanbul, it said.

A spokesman for the hotel where Buchholz was scheduled to appear said its management had failed "despite all its attempts" to win permission for him to enter the emirate, the report added.

Dubai is considered the most open of the conservative Gulf monarchies.

Vowing never to return to Dubai though his luggage was still there, Buchholz said on Twitter: "At the end I got an answer why I can't enter Dubai.

"The immigration thought I am Black Magic."

The information technology worker was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records in 2012 as the world's most pierced man.

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Lost Mayan cities unearthed

Mayan cities have been uncovered, including this "monster" mouth doorway. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

THEY were lost for centuries under thick vegetation in a Mexican jungle, but now archaeologists have located two ancient Mayan cities.

Unearthed in the southeast of the Mexican state of Campeche, the cities were barely accessible to the research team. But the challenging journey reaped great rewards, with the discovery of the ruins of a pyramid, palace, altars and a huge doorway, Discovery News reported.

The cities of Lagunita and Tamchen had been first been discovered by archaeologist Eric Von Euw in the 1970s, however he didn't specify their location and they remained quite the mystery.

Now, for the first time, they are out in the light and could provide crucial information in understanding the Mayan civilisation.

Ivan Sprajc, of the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) said it was a difficult hunt, and they relied on aerial photographs to help locate the sites.

Sprajc's team had been exploring the area around Chactun, the site of a large Maya city discovered last year.

What lies beneath? Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

"The information about Lagunita were vague and totally useless," Sprajc said. "In the jungle you can be as little as 600 feet (182 metres) from a large site and do not even suspect it might be there; small mounds are all over the place, but they give you no idea about where an urban centre might be."

An item found at the lost city. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

He said that anomalies in the vegetation aroused their interest, pointing them in the right direction. The identity of Lagunita, a city spanning about 3000 square metres, was confirmed by comparing the newly discovered area and monument with drawing by Euw.

Hieroglyphic inscriptions. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

The most impressive find was a giant door carved in the shape of a "monster" mouth, which is believed to represent a Mayan deity of fertility of the land.

"These doors symbolise the entrance to a cave, and in general, to a watery world, the place of origin of maize and mythological abode of the ancestors," explains Sprajc.

Exploring within. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

There was also a ball court and a temple spanning nearly 20 metres high. They were surrounded by stone shafts and three stone alters.

The journey was challenging but rewarding. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

There was also a ball court and a temple spanning nearly 20 metres high. They were surrounded by stone shafts and three stone alters. Plus hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Experts believe they may have been built in the Preclassic era (300BC-250AD).

The discovery was a crucial one. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

They are ancient sites. Picture: ZRC SAZU Source: Supplied

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