To boldly go: 98 base jumpers take part in 400m plunge off Malaysian tower

Plummeting through the air off the top of a 421m tower is not everyone’s idea of fun, but for these base jumpers it was an experience of a lifetime.

Some 98 of the extreme sports enthusiasts took part in the 2009 International Tower jump in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today.

The structure was built in 1995 for communication purposes and is currently the fifth tallest freestanding tower in the world.

Maldives government highlights the impact of climate change... by meeting underwater

The Maldives government has made an eye-catching plea for climate change action by holding the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.

Politicians from the Indian Ocean island nation donned scuba gear this morning to send a message to world leaders ahead of December's UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.

The nation's president Mohammed Nasheed has voiced fears the archipelago will be swamped by raising sea levels unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions.

Strange But Cool Britain's oldest newlyweds who have combined age of 181

Two pensioners with a combined age of 181 became Britain's oldest ever newlyweds after they married in a quiet ceremony yesterday.

Sheila Walsh, 87, and Les Atwell, 94, both from Paignton, Devon, met four years ago after Mr Atwell's cleaner suggested he meet a friend of hers.

Ms Walsh said: 'She told me about Les and I thought he sounded nice, but when she said: "he's 90", I thought "oh no, I'm not so sure".

'But when we met, that was it. It was love at first sight.'

Amazing and Strange 22lb Fat Cat Socrates is signed up to the PDSA's Pet Fit Club

His owner apparently hadn't noticed that Socrates was getting a little pudgy.

As you can see from her face however, the vet's nurse realised straight away.

At a whopping 22lb, the black and white heavyweight in Jenny Doig's arms is more than double the size of a normal cat.
Owner Bill Duncan, 52, had taken Socrates to the vet worried by his lack of get-up-and-go.

The verdict, not surprisingly, was that he was simply too fat to move, possibly because of his taste for cheese and onion crisps.

Twice a day, regular as clockwork, he had managed to stagger to his paws and miaow for his breakfast and tea.
Now however, meals are a little disappointing. Five-year-old Socrates has been chosen as one of nine finalists in Pet Fit Club, the PDSA animal charity's annual diet competition.
With just 100 days to reach his target weight of 9.9lb, he gets two 50g helpings of prescription diet food a day. That's about half of what he used to eat.

'Because he's long-haired I hadn't noticed how big his belly was getting,' said Mr Duncan from North Shields, Tyne and Wear.

'When I feed him now, he scoffs it down and looks at me as if to say, "Where's the rest of it?" '

'I'm giving up my cigarettes...after 95 years!' 102-year-oldest woman says

She lit her first cigarette as the lights were going out over Europe at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Since then she has reached for her trusty Player’s Navy Blue (or, latterly, Embassy) through the ups and downs of all the following decades.

Until now. At the astonishing age of 102, Winne Langley has kicked the habit after 95 years because she ‘didn’t fancy it any more’.

Mrs Langley, who would share cigarettes with her friends at infant school, reckons she hasn’t contracted cancer because she does not inhale.

The former laundrette worker, who lives in Croydon, South London, said: ‘Everyone used to smoke in those days, you did it to cope. We didn’t know about the health problems. I just don’t fancy it any more.

‘My eyesight is failing so in a few years’ time I might not be able to see the pack.’

Since her first puff in 1914, Mrs Langley averaged five cigarettes a day, giving a total of more than 170,000 in her lifetime.

Her cigarettes were always to hand during the Depression and the Second World War.

‘I lived close to Biggin Hill and you could hear the German rocket bombs’ engines cut out,’ she said.

‘Some bombs used to land pretty close to me. You needed a smoke after that. ‘We didn’t know if we were going to be alive from one day to the next, so we thought you might as well enjoy yourself while you’re alive.’

Mrs Langley has outlived her husband Robert, who died in 1968, and
her son, who died four years ago aged 72.

She said: ‘I’ve cut down in recent years and only had one every few days after dinner or in my bedroom. I can just about afford it but the price of cigarettes is disgusting, and the smoking ban is disgusting. You should be able to smoke where you want.’

Mrs Langley’s step-grandson Clive, 53, said: ‘Her doctors have told her there’s not much point stopping now. If she’s got to 102 without getting cancer I don’t
think she ever will.’

Awesome giant anvil-shaped cloud photographed by Space Station

A giant, anvil-shaped cloud bubbles up towards the Earth's stratosphere, looming over West Africa.

The amazing formation would be invisible to anyone on the ground and would even be obscure from a regular passenger jet since they can reach up to 75,000ft.

But astronauts captured the astonishing picture from hundreds of miles up as they orbited the globe on the International Space Station.

Anvil clouds are formed mostly from ice and normally form in the upper parts of thunderstorms. They get their shape from the fact that rising warm air in thunderstorms expands and spreads out as the air bumps up against the bottom of the stratosphere.

Streaks of snow are often seen falling out of the edges of anvils. This light snow usually evaporates as it falls through the relatively dry air surrounding the upper part of the thunderstorm.


Images released today showed Tom Marshburn and Christopher Cassidy doing final maintenance work on the exterior of the complex ahead of their departure today.

The four-hour and 54-minute procedure involved rewiring, camera setup, tidying cables and installing handrails and a portable foot restraint to aid future spacewalkers.

The five spacewalks together spanned a total of 30 hours.

The team from the visiting Endeavour shuttle fitted Japan's new outdoor experiments platform with television cameras, completing the final task for the £1.45 billion Kibo complex.

'Congratulations, you guys just completed the ... assembly,' Mission Control radioed once the second camera was secured.

'I can verify from up close it is, indeed, a beautiful laboratory.'

Space shuttle Endeavour's astronauts are inspecting their ship to make sure it's safe for Friday's landing.

The survey of the wings and nose, being conducted Wednesday morning, is standard before a shuttle returns to Earth.

Nasa wants to make sure Endeavour's heat shield was not pierced by micrometeorites or space junk during its two weeks in orbit. The astronauts used a laser-tipped boom to check for damage.

Endeavour and its crew of seven left the international space station Tuesday.

As the inspection was under way, an unmanned Russian vessel carrying several-thousand pounds of supplies docked at the station. Commander Gennady Padalka had to manually guide the craft in because of a problem with its automatic system.

Most Diabolical Strange Fish On Earth

The hardest golf shot in the world.

It's the golfing equivalent of climbing Everest.

This is the hole that has taken over the mantle of the world's toughest.

From the top of a mountain in South Africa, players must hit a shot 400m over a near forest onto a green 400m below.

If you manage to overcome vertigo tracking your ball through the air, looking to see where it landed requires a mountaineer's bravery.

And the gauntlet has been thrown down to the world's best golfers: anyone who gets a hole-in-one will win an astonishing $1million (£671,000).

The Extreme 19th hole is part of the Legend Golf and Safari Resort at Entabeni in the Limpopo province in South Africa.

It's so high that it takes the ball 30 seconds to reach the green.

And you can forget golf carts - players willing to take their chances on the million-dollar prize have to take a helicopter to get there.

It is both the longest and the highest par-three on the planet.

'I think this hole is awesome,' reigning Open champion Padraig Harrington said.

'This is the type of innovation and excitement we need to get more people playing golf.

'There aren't many new innovative ways to play the game - but this is certainly one of the best.'

To launch the hole - which does not form part of the round - double Open champion Padraig Harrington and fellow pro Raphael Jacquelin, from France, were drafted in to give it their best shot.

Incredibly, they both managed to hit the green - but a hole in one was beyond even their illustrious reach.

At a towering 8ft, is this the world's new tallest man?

At 8ft tall, Zhao Liang stands head and shoulders above the competition.

Which is lucky, as the 27-year-old is in the running to be the world's tallest man.

The current title holder is Bao Xishun ('the Mongolian mast'), who measures in at a measly 7ft 9in - a whole three inches shorter.

Mr Liang's claim came to light when he was admitted to Tianjin hospital, in China, for a routine operation on an old muscle tendon injury to his left foot.

Doctors confirmed his height as 8ft 0.7in. But his claim to be the world's tallest man has not yet been verified by Guinness World Records.


Mr Liang, who is now seeking official recognition, had been training as a basketball player when he sustained the foot injury over a decade ago.

He remained unemployed until 2006, when an art troupe in Jilin province employed him to perform magic tricks and play the saxophone and flute.

Mr Liang's parents are of normal height, with his father measuring 5ft 9in and his mother, 5ft 5in.

His mother Wang Keyun said that her son had a big appetite, eating eight hamburger-sized steamed buns as part of a three-course dinner.

'But I am so worried about his marriage, job and his health that my hair has turned white,' she added.

Liu Yuchen, a surgeon at the hospital, declared the operation on Mr Liang's foot a success.

He said that he would be able to walk normally in two months' time, but advised against any intense physical exercise.

Dr Yuchen said that Mr Liang was in good health and has no complications in relation to his height.

Girl of five who is the youngest to be given hi-tech legs

No wonder five-year-old Ellie Challis is facing life with an extra spring in her step.

She has become the youngest person in the world to be fitted with the flex-run feet used by leading paralympians including Oscar 'Blade Runner' Pistorius.

Ellie, who lost her hands and lower legs to meningitis as a toddler, had spent the last two years walking on conventional prosthetic limbs. But she complained that she struggled to keep up with her twin sister Sophie.

Her parents Paul and Lisa contacted the world-renowned prosthetic limb centre Dorset Orthopaedic, and managing director Bob Watts agreed to make a junior version of the carbon-fibre blades.

Mr Watts said: 'We were worried that she wouldn't be able to balance properly on them, but she has made amazing progress.'

Ellie, from Little Clacton, Essex, was struck down with meningitis at the age of 16 months.

At one point her heart stopped and doctors called in her parents to say their last farewells.

'Paul and I just stood at the end of her bed shouting at her to survive,' said 35-year-old Mrs Challis, who works as a carer for adults with learning difficulties.

'We thought we were going to lose her, but amazingly she pulled through and her heart started again.'

Over the next four days, however, Ellie's legs and arms started to turn black and the couple were told they would have to be amputated.

'The operation took six hours and I was just so shocked when I saw her - there was so little left of her,' said Mrs Challis. 'I just kept crying.'

Ellie was inspired to overcome her handicaps by Sophie, her constant companion. And well-wishers raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help her.

She was fitted with NHS prosthetic limbs a few weeks after the operation, but found them too painful.

Mrs Challis said: 'She would wear them for 20 minutes maximum each day as they weren't flexible and they caused her pain.'

In December 2006 Ellie was given new legs with moving knee joints, which were a great improvement.

But the flexible blades will change her life. They helped South African Pistorius race to world records in his 100, 200 and 400-metres events.

Mr Challis, 45, said: 'Ellie can walk twice as fast on these new legs - it really is amazing to see. She is so full of determination.'

The legs cost £10,000 for a pair and will need to be replaced every two years. Mr Watts added: 'We didn't know if it would be possible to make some small enough.

'But now Ellie is the youngest in the world to have such legs - and there is no holding her back.'

The mother of all baby bumps: Octuplets mum bares her ENORMOUS stomach just eight days before giving birth

There are baby bumps and then there are baby bumps.

But there must be few women in history who have ever had a baby bump quite like octuplets mother Nadya Suleman.

These extraordinary pictures show the 33-year-old baring her stomach eight days before having her brood.

Smiling proudly, the mother-of-14 hoists her green patterned smock to show off her hugely distended stomach to the camera.

The photographs, which first went up on tmz.com, show the strain her body was under as she reached the end of her record-breaking pregnancy.

Single mother Suleman, who already had six children by IVF, used a fertility doctor to give birth to her babies.

The new pictures surfaced on the day it emerged she had fled her house in Whittier, California, to go into hiding with her older children after receiving death threats.

She has even taken on the services of a security firm to ensure the safety of her family.

Her publicist Michael Furtney said: 'There has been some really nasty stuff about wanting to physically harm Nadya, and outrageous statements about both her and her children.

'We have a security firm that we've been working with and they have certainly made contact with the police about the threats. I don't know where that will go, but we'll see'

Much of the anger surrounds the eight babies' conception by IVF.

Yesterday, Suleman launched a website, encouraging readers to give her money via credit cards and send parcels.

The American mother, who already receives a raft of state handouts to care for her growing brood, also left a message to well-wishers.

'We thank you for the love and good wishes sent to us from around the world,' she said.

And she adds that the octuplets, born on January 26, are 'all healthy and growing stronger by the day.'

The babies have been named Noah, Maliah, Isaiah, Nariah, McCai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Miss Suleman has three disabled children

Despite previously insisting that she will not be claiming benefits, her publicist confirmed that she already receives food stamps and child disability payments to help feed and care for her six other children.

But he would not disclose the nature of the disabilities, or the type or sum of the payments.

The news came as it was revealed that all of Suleman's children were conceived with help from the same fertility doctor - Dr Michael Kamrava.

The 57-year-old, who runs a clinic on glamorous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, is being investigated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Dr Kamrava, who helped pioneer embryo implantation, is a controversial figure in the field.

'He's tried some novel techniques and some of those methods have been controversial,' said Dr John Jain, founder of Santa Monica Fertility Specialists.

He criticised the decision to implant so many embryos, saying: 'I do think that this doctor really stepped outside the guidelines in a very extreme manner, and as such, put both the mother and children at extra high risk of disability and even death.’

Dr Jeffrey Steinberg, a professional acquaintance of Dr Kamrava's, said he worked to develop an embryo transfer device that allows doctors to implant an embryo - or sometimes sperm with an unfertilised egg - directly into the uterine lining.