Pakistan in the spotlight after string of terror attacks

A string of deadly attacks in Pakistan has made the country the focus of Washington's campaign to contain violence in Afghanistan, which many suspect is spreading from the tribal lands of its nuclear-armed neighbour.

Scientists develop dream recorder

A Japanese science lab is developing technologies to visualise images and dreams - and eventually read people's minds.

Naked Paris vaulter seeks sponsors

A French pole vaulting champion has posted a video of himself running naked with his pole through the streets of Paris in a bid to attract new sponsors.

In his video, Mesnil is seen naked, running with his pole as if preparing for a vault, in Paris tourist spots like Montmartre and the pedestrian Pont des Arts bridge crossing the River Seine by the Louvre museum.

In shots where he is seen from the front, a small black square covers his private parts.

The cheeky stunt has drawn him global attention.

Eiffel Tower, 120 years old, gets facelift

One hundred twenty years after its completion, the Eiffel Tower is a getting a facelift -- a paint job that will take 18 months to outfit the monument from tip to toe in a new coat of coppery brown.

Twenty-five painters are on the job to cover 250,000 square metres of metal of monument.

The 324-metre-high tower receives more than six million visitors per year.

Music therapy for Russian children

Disabled children in Russia are being offered the chance to learn through music.

A new centre has just been set up in the North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz, giving disabled children a chance to overcome physical and emotional challenges through music.

Race to save UK honey bee

A British couple are teaching Londoners how to keep bees in a bid to save the native honey bee from possible extinction. Alison Benjamin and her partner Brian McCallum launched their bee-keeping mission earlier this year from their south London home.

A deadly virus is wiping out bee colonies in Britain and some scientists are warning that bees - so vital for the pollination of most of our crops - face extinction within ten years.

Unemployed compete in their own "Olympics"

New Yorkers gathered for an unusual olympiad Tuesday, the first ever Unemployment Olympics.

Participants were required to show proof of unemployment to compete.