Picture News
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wah seh...looks like a niduOriginally posted by BabyLover:
Battling the haze
A policeman dons a face mask in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Malaysia said it would declare a state of emergency that would shut down offices, schools and factories if air quality reaches a critically hazardous level.. -- AFP
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Rejected cub
A newborn male panda cub is kept in an incubator at the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Research Centre in Xian, China, on Tuesday. He was abandoned by his mother, an 18-year-old giant panda, who had given birth to twins and kept only the female cub. -- AFP -
Originally posted by poon cho tang:wah seh...looks like a nidu
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War hurts
This painting in Hong Kong depicts a fight between a Chinese man and a Japanese soldier during World War II. It is part of an exhibition organised by the National Museum of China to mark the 60th anniversary of the victory over Japan on Aug 15. -- AP -
Discovery returns
The space shuttle Discovery is towed along the tarmac after a successful landing at the Edwards Air Force Base in California on Tuesday. Its return had been delayed by bad weather for 24 hours. -- AP -
Drought in the UK
Dry spell
Parts of the UK are enduring drought conditions, with southern and south-east England particularly badly hit because of a dry winter.
It's the 10th-driest year in England since records began, with the least rainfall since 1996.
Inevitably, it's not a uniform picture, and northern Scotland is currently in its fourth-wettest period. -
Drought in the UK
The South East
Southern and south-eastern England have suffered the most, with rivers and reservoirs well below normal levels and drought measures in place in parts of Kent and Sussex.
The nine months from last November are the sixth-driest, and the driest since 1975/6 - the record drought year. -
Drought in the UK
Regional variations
There are marked contrasts in rainfall between different parts of the country - and even between successive months.
While northern England and Northern Ireland had particularly dry Junes, Scotland was very wet.
Yet the Scots had an exceptionally dry July while rainfall in parts of England was well above average. -
Drought in the UK
Drought map
Despite a particularly wet fortnight in July, the South remains short of water.
Reservoirs are well below their expected levels at this time of the year, the legacy of an especially dry winter and below-average rainfall for much of the summer so far. -
Drought in the UK
Impact
The Weir Wood reservoir, in East Grinstead, West Sussex, is at about 40% of capacity - half its seasonal average.
The impact can be seen in these photos taken 12 months apart by a BBC News website reader.
She says the nature reserve shown contains no more than a few puddles from recent rain and says the effect on bird life has been catastrophic. -
Drought in the UK
Water usage
While hosepipe bans are still rare, all users are being urged to use water sparingly.
Each person uses about 150 litres a day, but can reduce consumption by having showers instead of baths, not leaving taps dripping or running unnecessarily and fitting water-saving devices to toilet cisterns.
Showers instead of baths can save 400 litres a week. -
Drought in the UK
Water waste
While the public are being urged to save water, the country's pipes continue to leak billions of litres a day.
Watchdog Ofwat points out repairs have to be cost-effective to avoid hefty price rises, and most water companies are meeting targets.
Water UK says the ageing network and varying ground conditions have contributed to the problem. -
Haze emergency in Malasia
The pollution is at such a bad level that it is endangering people's health. School children are being given masks to wear. -
Haze emergency in Malasia
While lessons are continuing for now, the government have said that schools will be closed if the problem gets worse. -
AFP - Thu Aug 11,12:02 PM ET
Rock on : One-day-old baby Tomas listens to music as a part of an experimental program that uses musical therapy to stimulate communication, adaptation and ease the stress after birth at the first private hospital in eastern Slovakia. (AFP/Joe Klamar) -
AP - Thu Aug 11, 9:31 AM ET
Song Atmin from the Chinese State Circus, Thursday Aug. 11, 2005 breaks bricks on his head during their show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Famed for launching the careers of countless standup comics, the Edinburgh Fringe festival, which runs alongside the older but smaller Edinburgh International Festival each August, has discovered its serious side, with unsettling topics such as Iraq and the war on terror providing grist for playwrights, comedians and even composers. For many who attend the Fringe and Edinburgh's International festival, the sheer diversity of offerings, from good to bad to ugly, is the biggest attraction. (AP Photo/ David Cheskin/PA) -
AP - Thu Aug 11, 4:52 PM ET
This photo provided by Jeep shows 140 vehicles positioned by Jeep owners in the form of an American flag Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005, in Mount Pocono, Pa., to promote the National Anthem Project, a national effort to re-teach Americans the words to 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' Two out of three Americans do not know the words to the National Anthem, according to a Harris Poll survey. The flag, measuring 73 feet wide by 191 feet long, was created to celebrate the first year of this multi-year national education initiative of which Jeep is a national sponsor. (AP Photo/Jeep, Stuart Ramson) -
AFP - Tue Aug 9, 5:21 PM ET
During the downpour : Spectators protect themselves from the rain during the 10th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. (AFP/Gabriel Bouys) -
AFP - Wed Aug 10, 8:49 PM ET
Getting ready : Pakistani labourers clean the street lights in Islamabad as a part of the preparations to celebrate the country's Independence Day. (AFP/Jewel Samad) -
AFP - Wed Aug 10, 8:45 PM ET
Gatlin guns it : US Justin Gatlin competes during the men's 200m semi-final at the 10th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. (AFP/Oliver Morin) -
AFP - Wed Aug 10, 8:51 PM ET
Bangalore catwalk : An Indian model walks down the ramp during a fashion show to showcase the latest trends in lycra wear in Bangalore. (AFP/Dibyangshu Sarkar) -
AFP - Wed Aug 10, 8:41 PM ET
Manning the guns : Specialist Joseph Preston from Fort Rucker, Alabama of 3/117 FWD1 of Fieild Artillery, stands guard in an armoured Humvee in Camp Anaconda as his team escort the convoy from Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad. (AFP/Liu Jin) -
AFP - Wed Aug 10, 8:43 PM ET
Ready, set... : An athlete gets ready to start during the men's 200m semi-final at the 10th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. (AFP/Oliver Morin) -
AFP - Wed Aug 10, 9:02 PM ET
Jump in the river : A boy poses after a jump into the polluted Bourgreg river in Rabat, Morocco. (AFP/Abdelhak Senna) -
AFP - Thu Aug 11, 5:41 PM ET
MIDEAST-GAZA-PULLOUT NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (AFP) - An Israeli settler youth : An Israeli settler youth grabs onto a barbed wire fence surrounding the southern Gaza Strip Gush Katif settlement of Neve Dekalim during a staged human chain in a show of support for the settlers. (AFP/David Furst)