Miss World axes bikinis

Contestants at this year's Miss World beauty pageant will not wear bikinis in the parade in a bid to avoid causing offence in Muslim-majority Indonesia, organisers confirmed Wednesday.

The 137 women taking part in the September contest will swap bikinis for more conservative attire, such as traditional sarongs, for the beach fashion section.

The contest is being held on the resort island of Bali, where foreign tourists flock in their millions and the beaches are packed with women sunbathing in skimpy swimwear.

But Miss World Organisation chairwoman Julia Morley insisted that none of the...

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An international beauty context shows one way to handle cultural differences in a globalizing world.

Japan to give US$1b in aid to Sahel

Japan said on Sunday it would give $1 billion in aid to help stabilise the Islamist-infested Sahel region of Africa, months after the deaths of 10 Japanese in a hostage crisis there.

The money is part of a $14 billion aid package to be given to Africa over five years, which Abe announced on Saturday at the start of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

"Japan will provide 100 billion yen ($1 billion) in assistance over five years for the development and stability of the Sahel," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a gathering of African leaders in Tokyo.

The cash comes in addition to a $120 million aid pledge Tokyo announced in January, days after...

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Japan is making efforts to help Africa. A large donation will go towards making the region more stable.

Wrestling may still be an Olympic sport

People who like the sport of wrestling can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. Wrestling has passed the first test to get back on the schedule for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Wrestling was allowed to reapply, along with squash, sport climbing, karate, the Chinese martial art of wushu, roller sports, wakeboarding, and a combined application from baseball and softball.

Representatives from all eight sports made a presentation to a committee in St. Petersburg, Russia about why their sport should be included in the 2020 Olympic Games. The committee voted by secret ballot and decided that wrestling, squash, and baseball/softball would advance to the next level.

The International Olympic Committee will decide in...

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The International Olympic Committee is thinking about eliminating wrestling from the event. Wrestling needs more fans if the sport is going to continue being part of the Olympics.

European Union prepares to adopt 24th official language as costs mount, calls for English rise

In the European Union, every language is an official language. Government officials speak in the official language of their country, and those comments are then translated into 22, soon to be 23, other languages. All of that costs $1.4 billion per year — and that total will increase when Croatian becomes an official language later this year.

The Treaty of Rome in 1957 founded what is now the European Union, and was supposed to be the beginning of the end of nationalism in Europe.

But over a half-century later, walking through any of the EU buildings in Brussels, it feels like nationalism never went away.

Officially, deputies and delegates will only speak in their national languages, as a matter of principle. Attending them is a small army of translators and interpreters who assure their...

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English maybe spreading around the world but the E.U. functions in all 23 languages of its member nations. It costs about 141,661,254,000.00 yen a year to translate official communications from one language into all the others. That's a lot of money!

Tokyo denies ghost fears keeping PM out of official residence

The Japanese cabinet has formally denied months-long rumours that prime minister Shinzo Abe has not moved into his official residence over fears the mansion is haunted.

The conservative leader took office in December but has yet to move into the 11-room brick home in central Tokyo.

According to local media, it is the longest holdout among any of his predecessors.

Several former prime ministers have reported experiencing unusual phenomena at the mansion, which was centre-stage for two...

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Have you heard that the official residence of the Japanese prime minister is haunted? That is what is being reported in Australia. Maybe it was a slow news day...

The astronauts yous should start following on Twitter

When astronaut Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Monday, he brought home something unique: more than 800,000 Twitter followers. Over the past five months, the Canadian commander has spent much of his free time tweeting pictures from space, interacting with his fans, and capturing video—of himself, his crewmates, and anything floating by in zero gravity.

Though Hadfield is probably the most famous astronaut on Twitter, he isn't the only one experimenting on social media. In fact, many astronauts—including those slated for upcoming missions—are actively engaging with people on sites like Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter. So who's worth following from down here on Earth?

Space fans might want to start with NASA Mission Specialist Karen Nyberg, who's the next astronaut slated to go into space on May 28 aboard the Russian Soyuz. It'll be Nyberg's second mission to the International Space Station and...

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SNS are really an amazing invention. It is now possible for you to follow news from people around the world, including those that travel to space. What an opportunity!

Denmark's Emmelie de Forest wins Eurovision

Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won the Eurovision Song Contest with a barefoot performance backed by flutes and drums.

The 20-year-old won with the song Only Teardrops, competing against 25 other countries in a final held in Malmo in southern Sweden.

Denmark was widely tipped to win the annual music competition and delivered in a glittering ceremony watched by an estimated international audience of 125 million people.

The Scandinavian country last won the contest in 2000 with Fly on the Wings of Love by Olsen Brothers, also in Sweden.

De Forest performed the winning entry barefoot - as has been her trademark since she...

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The Eurovision Song Contest brings the countries of the European Broadcasting Union together through music. Each country enters a song that is performed live. Then listeners in each country vote. This year an artist from Denmark won. Watch the video and see what you think.

The mighty Zambezi

The mighty Zambezi was calling our name so we ventured up river to see The Falls from a different perspective. Our tented camp was right on the edge of the river. We spent our days listening to the one million liters of water thundering each second and watching the smoke it created hover over our heads.

One afternoon we went into town and visited a school. It is hard to imagine 60 students in one class with just one teacher, but in Africa there are often larger classes. Even though the school was built of four simple walls, all the kids were happy and learning. We wanted to do our part to help so we went to the school supply store and bought tons of paint sets, pencils, colored pencils, exercise books, erasers, and glue sticks. They all seemed so incredibly happy about our small contribution.

While we were in town we also went to the craft market. At every stop in Africa we have seen extraordinary crafts, but in Zambia the collection of artists and crafts was outstanding. To our right there were vibrant fabrics, to our left there were...

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Eleven-year old Aubrey is traveling through Africa with her family. Although she not attending a traditional school, she is getting an unique education. What an experience she seems to be having!

City gardens provide food and income

Today we are talking about cities and countrysides. Or, to say it another way, urban and rural areas. The World Bank recently reported that people who live in urban areas are more likely to be a little richer and a little healthier than people in rural areas. We will talk about why that is later.

Right now, Karen Leggett tells us about something people in African cities sometimes do not have – fresh fruits and vegetables. But urban gardening is changing that.

City gardens are beginning to provide income and healthy food for people in several African countries. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reported last year that...

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Reading this story got me interested in growing my own vegetables. I think I will start with tomatoes.

California seeks China's help in going green

California Governor Jerry Brown wants to increase partnerships between his state and China. The governor traveled to China last week to seek Chinese investment in things like high-speed rail, renewable energy and electric vehicles.

The California governor spoke at China’s Tsinghua University. He called for a partnership between the United States and China to develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gases.

“China has been instrumental in driving down the costs, and making available that technology. So there is a real connection.”

Mr. Brown met with Prime Minister Li Keqiang and China’s minister of environmental protection, Zhou Shengxian. Mr. Brown and Mr. Zhou signed a nonbinding agreement to share information about...

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The state of California is looking for ways to be more environmental-friendly. The governor recently visited China in the hopes of establishing a partnership.

World Health Organization urges countries to vaccinate children

The World Health Organization says vaccinations against disease save the lives of two to three million children every year. The WHO says almost 80 percent of babies are vaccinated against diseases like diphtheria, measles and whooping cough. But 20 percent -- or about 22 million children -– are not protected. That is why many efforts to end polio and measles have not succeeded, says WHO Director of Immunization Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele. But Dr. Okwo-BEle also says the cost of newer vaccines is too high for children in poor countries.

“The newer vaccines that are available against the two top killers of children – pneumonia and diarrhea – these vaccines are not accessible to the majority of children in the world. And, we know that child deaths will be reduced by an additional one to one and one half million deaths with increased access to all vaccines.”

The WHO says most of the UN-vaccinated children live in countries in Africa and southeast Asia. Eighty percent of those who are not vaccinated against...

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The WHO is working to help the 20% of the world's children that do not receive vaccinations. Concerned citizens are cooperating internationally to try and make vaccinations more accessible to everyone.

Older populations are a fact of life for many countries

The number of young people in Africa is growing. So is the number of older people in Asia. In fact, the United Nations says that, very soon, every fifth person in the world will be over the age of sixty.

This week, we tell how some areas are dealing with changing populations.

How should countries prepare for the world’s aging population? A United Nations report is urging countries to answer that question.

Japan has the world’s oldest population. Thirty percent of Japanese are older adults. The UN report says by the middle of this century, sixty-four countries will have that level of...

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People around the world are living longer. Aging populations present various challenges. Governments and industry are trying to adapt to the changing dynamic.

Rocket reaches space station in record time

A new Russian-American crew has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) after an express trip from Earth of under six hours, the fastest ever journey to the orbiting laboratory.

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts opened the hatches of their Soyuz-TMA spaceship and floated into the ISS to a warm welcome from the three incumbent crew.

Russia's Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and American Chris Cassidy are now expected to spend the next five months aboard the station after a hitch-free launch and docking.

Their record-breaking trip from blast-off at Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to docking with the ISS lasted just...

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The newest arrivals to the International Space Station made it in record time - less time than it takes to go from Tokyo to Nagasaki on the Shinkansen.

In Austin, film offers global perspective

International films often challenge American viewers to look at life from different perspectives. That was obvious at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas, where many films from other countries were being featured.

Movies such as the Turkish film "Zayiat," or Casualties, is the story of a son searching for his father.

Audience members watch "Big Easy," a film at the Paramount Theater during the South by Southwest festival, Austin, Texas, March, 17, 2012. ​​Staying with relatives in Istanbul and using friends as
actors, New York-based director Deniz Tortum made what he calls a no-budget film.

“The budget of the film was two thousand dollars, so it was pretty much no budget," he says, explaining that he shot in neighborhoods where...

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An aspiring young director from Turkey caught the attention of his audience at a film festival in the US. He shot the film in places he grew up in with the help and support of friends and family.

Asia overtaking Europe in clean power

A new report says the low-carbon market has shifted from Europe and is now being dominated by the emerging economies of Asia.

The Climate Institute's global climate leadership review analyses 20 indicators to measure a country's carbon competitiveness, with the main focus on investments in clean energy.

It says Australia has slipped in its ranking among G20 countries since the last review from 16th to 17th.

France, Japan, South Korea and the UK were in the top five, with China climbing to...

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As economies become more global, markets are becoming more competitive. Many nations are investing in the development of environmentally-friendly energies and some countries in Asia are leading the way.

Hacking used to create detailed map of the internet

An anonymous researcher has used illegal hacking techniques to create what some are calling the most accurate map yet of the internet and internet activity.

The researcher built a botnet, a loose network of computers that can be harnessed to perform specific tasks, comprised of some 420,000 unprotected computers and other connected devices around the world. The researcher then uploaded a small program onto the devices, which monitored their activity.

The result was what the researcher called “the largest and most comprehensive IPv4 census ever.” The animated map shows relative usage of IP addresses over a 24-hour period. IPv4 is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol, a system of numbers used to identify devices on the Internet. A newer Internet Protocol, IPv6, will replace IPv4, but IPv4 still carries the majority of Internet traffic.

The researcher justified using hacking techniques to...

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A new map of the world has been created by hacking into computers. The researcher was able to gather data remotely from 400,000 unprotected computers.

The Pope who loved soccer

Pope Francis roots for the Saints, not the Devils.

The Saints of San Lorenzo de Almagro, that is — one of Argentina’s top five soccer teams.

The first Latin American pontiff grew up near the team’s stadium in Flores, a middle class neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

This screen shot image released by the San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer team shows a copy of the club's identification card belonging to Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. ​​The new pope is a card-carrying member of the team’s  club and has his own Saints jersey, presented to him in 2011 after he said Mass at the team’s own chapel.

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It appears that the new Pope, Pope Francis I, is a soccer fan. He is a member of the Saints of San Lorenzo de Almagro fan club, a team he grew up watching and cheering.

Twitter hit by 'sophisticated' cyber attack

Twitter says the passwords of about 250,000 users have been stolen stolen in a sophisticated cyber attack similar to those that recently hit major Western news outlets.

Twitter's information security director Bob Lord says the security breach appeared to be similar to attacks suffered recently by other American media and technology companies including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," Mr Lord said in a blog post.

Mr Lord referred to an "uptick in large-scale security attacks aimed at US technology and...

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We hear more and more about the activity of hackers these days and 'cyber security' is becoming an important topic. The search for a way to ensure website security is ongoing.

At CES in Las Vegas, TVs were the stars

The latest in high-tech gadgets were on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. We have gotten used to bigger TVs with clearer images and it seems that the trend is going to continue.

Why the US, other countries refused to sign Internet treaty

The Internet has changed the way we exchange information. National governments have particular ideas about how to regulate these exchanges. What kind of regulations do you think are necessary?