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Los Angeles (AFP) - Just down the street from where the worst mass shooting in US history took place, the first major league Las Vegas sports team made an emotional tribute to survivors and first responders.

Nine days after a gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds more, the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights played the first home game in club history, defeating Arizona 5-2 Tuesday to become the first NHL expansion team to begin with a 3-0 mark.

Given the tragedy that gripped the city and drew the world’s attention to the US gambling hub, the Golden Knights decided their debut needed to be something special and the tribute did not disappoint.

The names of all 58 victims who died when struck by a hail of bullets while attending a country music concert were projected onto the ice at T-Mobile Arena. There was a 58-second moment of silence in respect to those who were killed.

Before each player was introduced in the darkened arena, the spotlight literally fell upon first responders as police and medical personnel walked onto the ice, each joined by a player, coach or executive from the Golden Knights.

Several survivors of the massacre gathered at center ice for the ceremonial dropping of the first puck, after which Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland, a Las Vegas resident for the past 15 years, made an emotional speech to the crowd, closing with “We are Vegas Strong.”

To emphasize the message and the desire to help the city heal, the usual advertising along the sideboards was replaced with the words “Vegas Strong” over and over again.

Engelland did his part on the ice as well, scoring a goal to give Vegas a 2-0 lead.

“We always say we want to help the city start to heal,” Engelland said. “Hopefully we’re doing that. I’ll take (goals) when I can get them. I couldn’t be more happy than to get one tonight.”

James Neal scored twice for the Golden Knights and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves foe his third triumph of the campaign, but the healing was more important than the score on this night.

“It’s a process,” Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said. “It’s a tough deal that happened nine days ago, but we’re trying to do our part. Our players are trying to do their part.”

The Knights scored four goals in the first 11 minutes after the emotional ceremony.

“I thought the start might be tough for us,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “I thought it might be the exact opposite. But our guys knew what was at stake.”

Video “Vegas Strong” messages were played from a number of celebrities, including Keith Urban, Adam Levine and Imagine Dragons.

Tokyo (AFP) - Glistening with sweat, Satoko Yamanouchi’s biceps ripple and the veins in her neck throb as if about to pop as she strikes a fearsome pose at the Japan bodybuilding championships.

An hour later, the pint-sized Nagoya housewife is close to tears after narrowly failing to retain her title from a field of 34 bronzed and impressively buff ladies, most of them in their fifties.

“I was pathetic!” the 56-year-old Yamanouchi told AFP backstage at the close of the event earlier this week, sporting a skimpy gold bikini.

“A silver medal means nothing to me,” sniffed the sinewy ex-champ, who stands just 1.58 metres (5 feet, 2in) tall and weighs 50 kilograms (110 pounds). “It just means you’re the best loser.”

A self-confessed gym rat, Yamanouchi is the poster girl for Japan’s growing number of female bodybuilders, helping break down gender stereotypes in a country obsessed with the “kawaii” (cute) fluffiness of its ubiquitous pop culture.

“I want to help change perceptions so that more people can appreciate the beauty of a muscular woman,” said the five-time national champion after a punishing two-hour workout a week before the competition.

“When I tell people I’m a bodybuilder, it freaks them out,” added Yamanouchi, who became hooked on the sport in her late forties after looking for a way to keep fit.

“My husband didn’t like it when I started either, his wife wearing a bikini in public, but he came around.”

- ‘Regular housewife’ -

The number of bodybuilders registered with Japan’s national federation has almost doubled over the past six years to around 3,000, with women making up 10 percent as part of a nationwide fitness boom, officials said.

In ageing Japan, female bodybuilding is dominated by women in their forties and fifties, as many usually only start after their children have grown up.

Yamanouchi, who takes around 10 different supplements a day to boost muscle growth and aid recovery, insists she knows where to draw the line, despite her bulging physique.

“I don’t want to look like the Hulk,” she said, taking a gulp of protein shake.

“I want to look beautiful and keep my femininity. I just don’t feel like a regular housewife,” added Yamanouchi. “I’m always striving to create the perfect body.”

Women’s bodybuilding is a serious business.

The oldest competitor at the Japan championships, 64-year-old Mariko Takamatsu, stormed off after failing to make the top 12.

The eventual winner, Megumi Sawada, struck a series of eye-popping poses to the theme tune of Godzilla, stunning Yamanouchi to take the title.

“It’s unbelievable I’ve won,” gasped the 56-year-old gym instructor, who used to compete in secret to avoid upsetting her mother.

“I want to create the kind of body that stops people in the street,” laughed Sawada, sporting a bob hairstyle and silver nail polish.

“I don’t care what people think – you can express feminine beauty with this kind of body.”

- Horsemeat for breakfast -

Other bodybuilding sub-genres have sprung up in Japan, including “bikini fitness” – a category that has turned Yuri Yasui into a magazine cover girl.

A two-time Japan champion, the statuesque 33-year-old is another who caught the workout bug after initially wanting to lose weight.

“When I started training seriously, my parents were dead against it – even my friends were,” said Yasui, a bank employee from Nagoya, a city southwest of Tokyo, who won her first national title less than a year after taking up the sport.

“They didn’t want me up there in front of strangers in a bikini flashing my bottom.”

“At long last women are starting to work out regularly, but Japanese men still don’t really accept muscle-bound women,” added Yasui after lifting weights at a Tokyo gym.

“It’s important to change attitudes. The way to a feminine body – getting that tiny waist and a round bum – is by building muscle.”

Yasui eats horsemeat for breakfast and lunch to help keep her body fat low and models her striking figure on an American feminist icon.

“Ever since I was at college, I adored Wonder Woman,” said the 1.73 metre tall Yasui, who even wears a star-spangled bikini on the cover of her official video.

“I wanted that hour-glass body with the tight waist, big breasts and buttocks. You can get it – you just have to work at it.”

Singapore (AFP) - A baby white rhino has made his first foray into the spotlight, galloping into a public enclosure at Singapore Zoo after being given a name – Oban, which means “King” in the African Yoruba language.

The calf had spent the first few weeks of his life bonding with his mother in private, but when he reached one-month old, zookeepers decided it was time to introduce Oban to the public enclosure, home to another six white rhinos.

After moving in early Wednesday morning, the curious youngster frolicked around and chased birds as he got know his new surroundings.

His mother Donsa, who is 32-years-old and has had 11 calves, kept a watchful eye.

Initially he will spend just two hours a day in the public eye before his time in the spotlight is gradually increased.

His name in the African language of Yoruba was chosen as a nod to the white rhino’s roots.

White rhinos used to be critically endangered, but conservation efforts have had some success and they are now classified as “near threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

South Africa is home to around 20,000 white rhinos, about 80 percent of the worldwide population, but many have been lost to poaching in recent years.

Its horn is highly prized in China and Vietnam for use in traditional medicine.

Calves born in Singapore have been sent to zoos in Australia, Indonesia and Thailand as part of conservation efforts.