Sunday, November 18, 2012

"While it is tempting to document such a huge country from a helicopter or plane (in fact, it has been done several times) I wanted to get closer to the heart of the land. Two inches off the ground seemed about right.
High Water, British Columbia: taken at Roche Lake Provincial Park, near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Picture: Jeff Friesen / Rex Features

Monday, August 13, 2012

London 2012


Fireworks explode over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremonyPicture: Rob Carr/Getty Images
 Fireworks explode over the Olympic Stadium at the end of the closing ceremony
 The Spice Girls perform during the closing ceremony 
Picture: EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL

 Lily Cole, Karen Elson, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell perform in the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony
Picture: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages

 Jamaica's triple gold medallist Usain Bolt and Britain's double gold medallist Mo Farah adopt each other's celebratory poses in the Olympic Stadium 
Picture: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/GettyImages

 Mo Farah poses with his two Olympic gold medals 
Picture: Martin Rickett/PA

 Tom Daley is thrown into the pool by the British diving team after he won the bronze medal in the men's 10m platform final at the Aquatics Centre
Picture: REUTERS/Michael Dalder 

 The Bulgarian team compete in their group all-around rhythmic gymnastics final at Wembley Arena 
Picture: REUTERS/Mike Blake


Daniel Smith drops to one knee and proposes to Australian athlete Beki Lee at Pall Mall, after she competed in the 20km walkPicture: Brett Costello/Newspix / Rex Features
Daredevils enjoy a drink on top of an abandoned radio tower in Moscow, Russia. Russian roof-topper Max Polazov, 22, took a series of vertigo-inducing shots with the help of his band of danger-addicted friends.Picture: Max Polazov / Barcroft Media

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Gopher finds home near Soyuz rocket launch pad in Kazakhstan

Video of a gopher living under the rocket launch pad at Baikonur has become an internet sensation.

A video of a gopher living under the rocket launch pad at Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan has become an internet sensation in the former Soviet Union.
The footage was shot by TSENKI Baikonur - a department of Russian official space agency responsible for Baikonur launches.
The YouTube clip, called "He lives at Baikonur cosmodrome", has been watched by more than 140,000 people to date.
A trio of Russian, Japanese and US astronauts blasted off from Baikonur aboard a Soyuz spaceship for a four-month mission on the International Space Station only last Sunday.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

People at Times Square watch the phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge where twice a year the setting sun aligns with the streets of ManhattanPicture: Martin Roe / Barcroft Media
This image of the sun provided by NASA'a Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows gigantic sunspot AR 1520. One of the biggest sunspots in years, AR1520, is turning toward Earth. Forecasters estimate an 80% chance of M-flares and a 25% chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours.Picture: NASA/SOHOHO/AFP/GettyImages
Bizarre plans to transform the The Gherkin into The Penguin could see a giant Humboldt penguin towering over Londoners this summer. Bosses at ZSL London Zoo commissioned a production team to draw up a dramatic redesign of the landmark to remind visitors to the capital not to miss the zoo's Penguin Beach in 2012.Picture: Construction Photography

Traffic fence in China collapses like row of dominoes

China's state broadcaster has released surveillance video showing a fence dividing traffic in the city of Jinhua falling like a giant row of dominoes.
The almost mile-long fence on Shuanglong Bridge tumbled over in just 30 seconds on Tuesday.
It was the second time in ten days that it had collapsed, according to the deputy head of Jinhua traffic police, Shao Zhichang.
"The main reason is the strong wind as the dividing fences are not fixed to the ground," Mr Shao said.
Police had to lift the fence back up section by section.
The municipal administration said it plans to install a new barrier with a wind-resistant design by the end of July. 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Cassie Bell, 13, cools off in a swimming pool in Blakely, Pennsylvania, USPicture: The Scranton Times-Tribune, Butch Comegys/AP

Homeless couple hand in £6,500 found in rubbish bag

A homeless Brazilian couple who live under the bridges of Sao Paulo found a rubbish bag filled with 20,000 reals (£6,500) on a sidewalk on Monday – and promptly turned it into the police. 





















Officials said the pair were out for a dawn stroll when they heard an alarm.
They walked closer to see what was going on and stumbled on a briefcase and a rubbish bag full of money. The pair alerted a nearby security guard, asking him to call the police.
"When we arrived, the couple gave us the money. It might be the money stolen last week from a Japanese restaurant," said Bruno dos Santos, a Brazilian military police spokesman.
The homeless pair "had the opportunity to flee with the money, but they called a security guard and asked him to call the military police. What they did is commendable," the spokesman said.
Jesus Silva Santos, the man who found the money, told the press that he earned a little more than £5 a day from recycling rubbish.
"My mother taught me never to steal," he said.
Source: agencies

Monday, July 9, 2012

A woman performs in Fitting, a world premiere creation by Austrian choreographer Willi Dorner, in Saint-Etienne, FrancePicture: PHILIPPE MERLE/AFP/GettyImages
A rainbow forms above a flooded car park in Weymouth, DorsetPicture: GEOFF MOORE/DORSET MEDIA SERVICE
Nine Team GB Lego mini figures are placed on the top of the world's tallest Lego tower at Legoland Windsor. The tower, which stands at 32m, beats the previous record set in Seoul earlier this year.Picture: Steve Parsons/PA

Thursday, July 5, 2012

A lorry competes in the 2012 Shaanqi Cup Super Lorry rally in Xintian, southern ChinaPicture: Quirky China News / Rex Features
A full moon is seen behind the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilPicture: Felipe Dana/AP
The Empire State Building, illuminated with red, white and blue lights, is seen from the Queens borough of New York, backlit by fireworks over the Hudson River, during the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks showPicture: Frank Franklin II/AP
Joey Chestnut competes in the 2012 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Eating Contest at Coney Island, New York. Chestnut ate a record-tying 68 hot dogs to take the men's crown.Picture: REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Calluses, caused by years of training, cover the hand of a kung fu master at the Shaolin and Wu Dang Martial Arts Extravaganza in Ngong Ping Village, in Hong KongPicture: Kin Cheung/AP
An underground shopping centre car park in Tianjin has introduced a ladies-only parking zone. The area is clearly marked with neon signs, bright pink shopping-themed decor, and hazard bumpers in each space. Other car parks in China have designed special ladies-only parking zones - with extra wide bays, added lighting, and female parking attendants.Picture: China Foto Press / Barcroft Media