France marks the start of its six-month presidency of the European Union by lighting up the Eiffel Tower in Paris June 30, 2008
France marks start of 6-month rotating EU presidency
Good bye, Bill Gates
Bill Gates in 1965. Bill Gates steps down on June 27, 2008 from the daily duties at Microsoft
Bill Gates (last row, central) in 1966 with his school football teammates
Bill Gates (R) in 1969 with his classmate Paul Allen
Bill Gates' business card during 1975-1979
Bill Gates in 1977 when he was arrested for driving with overspeed
It's the original 11 Microsoft employees at their office in Albuquerque, N.M., in 1978. Gates is sporting a toothy smile in the bottom left corner
Bill Gates in 1979
Bill Gates (L) in 1985
Bill Gates (R 1) in 1986
Bill Gates (C) in 1991
Bill Gates (R) in 1993
Bill Gates (L) in 1993
Bill Gates in 1994 dress himself as Superman
Bill Gates (R) in 1994 with his newly married wife Melinda French
Bill Gates in 1995 with children who won in a writing contest supported by Microsoft
Bill Gates visits China in 1995
Bill Gates (R) in 1996 with then U.S. president Bill Clinton
Bill Gates and his wife top Times "Person of the Year" in 2005
Bill Gates on cover of newsweek in 2008
Bill Gates in Vietnam
Bill Gates in Vietnam
Bill Gates in Vietnam
Bill Gates in Vietnam
Bill Gates in Vietnam
"The New York City Waterfalls" art installation pictured at Brooklyn Bridge
This artist's rendering courtesy of Olafur Eliasson and the Public Art Fund shows a view of Governors Island from "The New York City Waterfalls", a major new work of public art by internationally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson to be on view in New York's East River from late June through mid-October 2008. New York on Thursday inaugurated this latest open air art installation
Artist Olafur Eliasson's "Waterfalls" art installation is pictured at the Brooklyn Bridge crossing the East River in New York June 26, 2008
This artist's rendering courtesy of Olafur Eliasson and the Public Art Fund shows a view of Governors Island from "The New York City Waterfalls", a major new work of public art by internationally acclaimed artist Olafur Eliasson to be on view in New York's East River from late June through mid-October 2008. New York on Thursday inaugurated this latest open air art installation
Artist Olafur Eliasson's "Waterfalls" art installation is pictured at the Brooklyn Bridge crossing the East River in New York June 26, 2008.
NASA spacecraft reveals largest crater in solar system
New analysis of Mars' terrain using NASA spacecraft observations reveals what appears to be by far the largest impact crater ever found in the solar system, the U.S. space agency announced on Wednesday.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor have provided detailed information about the elevations and gravity of the Red Planet's northern and southern hemispheres.
An artistic representation, created from simulations, of the impact that gouged out a hole 5,200 miles (8,500km) across and 6,500 miles (10,600km) long in Mars. The giant crater made by an asteroid or comet explains why Mars is so lopsided, with a basin on one hemisphere and high terrain on the other, three separate teams of scientists said on June 25, 2008
A new study using this information suggests that a giant northern basin that covers about 40 percent of Mars' surface, sometimes called the Borealis basin, is the remains of a colossal impact early in the solar system's formation, which must have been at least 3.9 billion years ago.
This may solve one of the biggest remaining mysteries in the solar system: why does Mars have two strikingly different kinds of terrain in its northern and southern hemispheres?
The mystery of the two-faced nature of Mars has perplexed scientists since the first comprehensive images of the surface were beamed home by NASA spacecraft in the 1970s. The main hypotheses have been an ancient impact or some internal process related to the planet's molten subsurface layers.
The impact idea, proposed in 1984, fell into disfavor because the basin's shape didn't seem to fit the expected round shape for a crater.
The newer data are convincing some experts who doubted the impact scenario.
"We haven't proved the giant-impact hypothesis, but I think we've shifted the tide," said Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He and other co-authors reported the new findings in the journal Nature this week.
At about 8,500 km across, the Borealis basin is about four times wider than the next-biggest impact basin known, the Hellas basin on southern Mars.
The Borealis basin on the northern hemisphere is also one of the smoothest surfaces found in the solar system. The southern hemisphere is largely high, rough, heavily cratered terrain, which ranges from 4 km to 8 km higher in elevation than the basin floor.
An accompanying report calculates that the impacting object that produced the Borealis basin must have been about 1,930 km across, which is larger than the size of Pluto.
"This is an impressive result that has implications not only for the evolution of early Mars, but also for early Earth's formation," said Michael Meyer, the Mars chief scientist at NASA.
Rotating skyscraper to be built in Dubai
This artist rendering released by Dynamic Architecture shows a rotating skyscraper that is to be built in Dubai, in various stages of movement. An Italian architect said he is poised to start construction on the new skyscraper that will be 'the world's first building in motion,' an 80-story tower with revolving floors that give it an ever-shifting shape
This artist rendering released by Dynamic Architecture shows a rotating skyscraper that is to be built in Dubai, in various stages of movement. An Italian architect said he is poised to start construction on the new skyscraper that will be 'the world's first building in motion,' an 80-story tower with revolving floors that give it an ever-shifting shape
Red dragonfly fancies lotus flower
A red dragonfly sits on a lotus flower in Karachi on July 1, 2008
A red dragonfly rests on a blade of a lotus flower at a lake on the outskirts of Agartala, capital of India's northeastern state of Tripura December 8, 2006
A red dragonfly clings onto a branch at Salah Eddin park in Amman September 16, 2006
Grain field circles seen in N Czech
An aerial view shows circles created in a grain field near the north Czech town of Liberec, 110km (70 miles) north of Prague, in this picture taken from a remote helicopter June 30, 2008. The origin of the circles remains unknown
An aerial view shows circles created in a grain field near the north Czech town of Liberec, 110km (70 miles) north of Prague, in this picture taken from a remote helicopter June 30, 2008. The origin of the circles remains unknown
Pridefest celebrates gay unity
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Pridefest celebrates gay unity
Participants attend the 39th Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Parade along the Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, June 29, 2008
A participant performs during the 39th Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Parade along the Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, June 29, 2008
Participants attend the 39th Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Parade along the Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, June 29, 2008
Participants attend the 39th Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Parade along the Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States, June 29, 2008
Man in Australia sells "life" for $383,000
A man in Australia who has been selling his "life" over the Internet since June 22 said Sunday he had settled the deal for 399,000 Austrian dollars (383,230 U.S. dollars).
British-born Ian Usher, 44, decided to sell his house in the western city of Perth along with his car, motorbike, jet ski and all his other goods as a way of moving on after breaking up with his wife.
The sale package also included the opportunity to take on his former job as a carpet salesman and the chance to meet some of his friends.
"The final price was 399,000 Australian dollars," Usher said after the seven-day sale on Internet auction site eBay ended.
He said the bid was "pretty good" although he had said earlier his near-new three-bedroom house was valued more.
"I thought it might have gone a bit higher at the end. But it's a sale."
The bidding opened on June 22 at one dollar and offers quickly shot up to more than 2.2 million dollars. But Usher soon found the highest bids were not genuine as a registration system for bidding on the site had not been activated.
Bidding went back down to 300,100 dollars after the fake bids were removed.
"It's been a pretty crazy week, but quite entertaining," said Usher
He had promised to retain nothing of his old life beyond his passport, wallet and the clothes on his back.
He did not reveal where he planned to start his new life.
Eddie Murphy not retiring
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Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy has quashed rumors he is quitting Hollywood to return to stand-up comedy.
His spokesperson said: "Eddie is not retiring. 'Beverly Hills Cop IV' is in development." The 'Nutty Professor' star is desperate to rescue the 'Beverly Hills Cop' franchise after the "horrible" third instalment.
Speaking to MTV, Eddie said: "The third 'Beverly Hills Cop' was horrible! I didn't want to leave it like that. The first two were cool and the third one was s****y. Let's get the franchise fixed again, clean up this old mess and do a good movie. "Don't just leave Axel with his thumb up his a*s from the last movie.
"Whatever happened to Axel Foley? He's sitting in Detroit with his thumb up his a*s since 'Beverly Hills Cop III.' Let's take those thumbs out and make a great movie!"
Eddie, 47, admits he is still proud of playing the wisecracking detective because of the widespread recognition it brought him.
He said: "When I go overseas they still call me Axel Foley - kids call me Axel Foley. "I think that character, it resonated like no other movie, like nothing that I've done before."
His spokesperson said: "Eddie is not retiring. 'Beverly Hills Cop IV' is in development." The 'Nutty Professor' star is desperate to rescue the 'Beverly Hills Cop' franchise after the "horrible" third instalment.
Speaking to MTV, Eddie said: "The third 'Beverly Hills Cop' was horrible! I didn't want to leave it like that. The first two were cool and the third one was s****y. Let's get the franchise fixed again, clean up this old mess and do a good movie. "Don't just leave Axel with his thumb up his a*s from the last movie.
"Whatever happened to Axel Foley? He's sitting in Detroit with his thumb up his a*s since 'Beverly Hills Cop III.' Let's take those thumbs out and make a great movie!"
Eddie, 47, admits he is still proud of playing the wisecracking detective because of the widespread recognition it brought him.
He said: "When I go overseas they still call me Axel Foley - kids call me Axel Foley. "I think that character, it resonated like no other movie, like nothing that I've done before."
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