Space shuttle's final mission

The US space shuttle Atlantis will blast off for the last time on Friday 8 July ending NASA's 30-year programme. Four crew members will be dropping off a year's worth of supplies at the International Space Station. They'll be in orbit for 12-days and travel 6.5 million kilometres during the sortie. In total, 355 astronauts will have flown on the shuttle since the inaugural mission in 1981. blast off dropping off in orbit sortie inaugural

Chavez appears on Cuban TV

New pictures and video footage of Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez have been shown on Cuban television. The normally loquacious Mr Chavez had been uncharacteristically quiet since having had an emergency operation while on a trip to Cuba on the tenth of June, prompting speculation about his state of health. video footage loquacious an emergency operation prompting speculation state of health

First child of an infant nation

First the birth of a nation and then the arrival of its first citizen. The weekend saw South Sudan usher in independence after decades of civil war. As revellers were marking the newborn countrys secession from the north, Josephine Alphanes gave birth to her son, who she named Independence. Nurses and midwives joined in the celebrations. usher in revellers secession gave birth to midwives

Hong Kong's hive of industry

It may be a concrete jungle but Hong Kong has more similarities with the great outdoors than you might think. 14 storeys up a skyscraper, you can find one of 11 urban beehives around the city. Like many conurbations, Hong Kong has enough flora for bees to pollinate and harvest nectar from. Following Chinese tradition beekeepers in Hong Kong dont wear any protective gear. concrete jungle storeys beehives conurbations to pollinate

African ivory up in smoke

5 tonnes of contraband ivory has been torched in a ceremony in Kenya. It was seized in Singapore nearly 10 years ago and traced back to Africa by DNA tests. Its destruction follows an agreement in May by Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya to fight poaching. Some 335 tusks and more than 40,000 ivory carvings, together worth 16 million dollars, went up in smoke. contraband - torched seized - traced poaching

South Korea's internet addicts

Internet addiction in South Korea's got so bad the government's banned teens from going online after midnight. Web junkies have been going without food, drink and sleep for days because they're hooked on computer games. The authorities have been hedging their bets by putting money into a variety of solutions. One scheme monitors people's brainwaves, while another tries to get youngsters involved in more traditional forms of entertainment. addiction junkies hooked on hedging their bets brainwaves

Indonesian track treatment

People suffering from various ailments in Indonesia's capital Jakarta have been using an unusual and potentially deadly therapy. They claim lying on train tracks allows an electric current to pass through their bodies curing a variety of illnesses. The trains are in fact powered by overhead lines. Despite this, and the obvious dangers, some people believe it is the best and most affordable remedy. ailments therapy claim curing remedy

Underwater volcano
Shimmering hot water seen coming out of an undersea volcano off the coast of Oregon. During a routine visit to the area last month, researchers found lava coming out of a vent that was formed on the seafloor. Scientists who have been studying it for over a decade predicted that it would erupt before the year 2014. According to them it's the first successful forecast of an underwater eruption. Shimmering erupt forecast lava a vent

Swiss cable guy

A Swiss daredevil's climbed the highest mountain in Germany in an unusual way. He scaled the 3000-metre peak using a cable car wire as a tightrope. Freddy Nock gained nearly 350 metres in altitude as he walked the kilometre-long route without a balancing pole or a safety harness. The stuntman's trying to break seven world records in a week, raising money for charity in the process. daredevil tightrope altitude safety harness stuntman

Destination: Afghanistan
The turquoise waters of Afghanistans very first national park. The authorities here are trying to attract tourists to Bamian, the same place where the Taliban blew up a giant Buddha ten years ago. Its hoped once security concerns are addressed tourism can form the backbone of the Afghan economy. Last year even saw ski slopes open for business and the countrys first international skiing competition. the authorities: the group of people with official power in an area, like the government blow up: destroyed with a bomb or explosives security concerns: worries about safety and the threat of terrorism

the backbone of: the most important part of something which holds the rest together slopes: areas on the sides of mountains, hills and artificial hills used for the sport of skiing

Title: 9/11: Ten Years On

The defining moment of a new century Preparations are being made to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks which resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 people. US president George W. Bush addressed the nation promising to punish those behind the attacks and any country which harboured terrorists. This precipitated the bombing of Afghanistan and the pursuit of the Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. defining moment: event which changes the course of history addressed the nation: made a speech to his countrymen harboured: gave shelter to precipitated: brought about the pursuit of: the relentless search and capture of

Giraffe On the High Seas

Travelling long distances can be a pain in the neck But Jelani the giraffe didnt seem to mind as he took to the seas inside a custom-made, 4.2 metre-high shipping crate. It took five days to transport him from Auckland Zoo in New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia. After a few days in quarantine, Jelani will take part in a breeding programme. a pain in the neck: idiom meaning 'very annoying' took to the seas: started travelling across the ocean custom-made: designed according to special needs shipping crate: large box designed especially for delivering items

Palestinians in UN bid
The site of the most intractable conflict in the modern era... This land, occupied by Israel since 1967, has been fought over in two Palestinian uprisings. Now their officials have launched a campaign to join the United Nations as a full member state. The ideas strongly opposed by Israel and its close ally, the United States, who say theyll veto the move. intractable: difficult to manage or resolve uprisings: violent protest against a higher authority

launched a campaign: started a series of activities to reach a goal ally: country which supports another veto: power to prevent a move

Laughter Yoga
A good laugh is equal to 10 prescriptions" or so the Vietnamese say. These fitness fans in Hanoi are hoping there is some truth to the saying as they take part in an early-morning 'laughter yoga' session. The combination of a good guffaw and exercise is said to stretch muscles and trigger endorphins - the chemical in the brain known for its feel-good effect. prescriptions: a prescription is an official document from a doctor stating which medicine you should have saying: a saying is a well-known phrase or expression which states something wise or true about life a good guffaw: a strong and noisy laugh trigger: to cause something to happen quickly here, the release of particular chemicals in the body feel-good effect: ability to make you feel happy and positive about life

Search for the stars

A new image of two galaxies colliding. At a facility in the Atacama desert the world's most powerful radio telescope begins the quest to view the origins of the universe. The telescope consists of an array of giant antennae on top of one of the highest plateaus in Chile. It's able to detect light which emanated from stars created hundreds of millions of years ago

A facility: a group of buildings and structures that are used for a particular purpose, often scientific or military quest: a long and hard search for something that is difficult or maybe even impossible to find an array of: a group of similar items, often an impressive collection of objects plateaus: a plateau is an area of flat land that is higher than the land around it. The plural can also be spelt 'plateaux'. emanated from: came from, was produced by

Dancing into history

An historic leap! American David Hallberg will soon be in the limelight as the first foreign principal dancer of Russias Bolshoi ballet company. At the height of the Cold War, 50 years ago, when Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West, an American dancer in Moscow would have been unimaginable. But now Hallberg has the opportunity to wow the Bolshois fans. leap - a leap is a big jump but it can also be used to suggest a sudden change. in the limelight - limelight was originally a form of stage lighting before electricity. The expression in the limelight now means being the centre of attention. at the height of - at the time when the situation was at its most intense. defected - left a country with a particular political regime in order to escape that system. to wow - to please, to impress.