China has sent its first woman into space on a mission to dock with an orbiting station, the latest step in an ambitious programme to go to the moon and on to Mars.

Photo: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, waves during a sending off ceremony before she departs for the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, Saturday, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman and two other astronauts into space Saturday to work on a temporary space station for about a week, in a key step toward becoming only the third nation to set up a permanent base in orbit. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

The CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year competition – now in its ninth year – encourages professional and amateur photographers to capture cities at work. Here: Dog Walker – 15:00. The competition allows photographers to enter up to 24 images, one representing each hour of the day. (Photo by Johanna Siegmann)

A thrill-seeking snapper has shot a powerful series of images featuring people carrying out everyday chores in front of giant storms. Benjamin Von Wong's surreal scenes include individuals ironing, barbecuing, playing video games and even sitting on the toilet – seemingly unaware of the threatening situations approaching. The project was initiated to raise awareness about climate change, and the the storms appearing across six different states in the U.S. Von Wong, 29, started the project in Colorado, before traveling to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and Nebraska for the unusual images. Here: Models pose in front of a storm in Cheyenne Wyoming. (Photo by Benjamin Von Wongs/Caters News)

Leilani Franco has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest human backbend walk, traveling in a backbend position a distance of 20 meters (65 ft 7.2 in) in a time of 10.05 seconds. (Photo by PA Wire)

A giant Rubber Duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman is towed along Hong Kong's Victoria Habour Thursday, May 2, 2013. Since 2007 the 16.5-meter (54 feet)-tall Rubber Duck has traveled to various cites including Osaka, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Amsterdam. (Photo by Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

The "Wedding Palace" (Bagt Kosgi) is located in the southwest of Ashgabat. while the building was designed in a sphere shape surrounded by the eight-corner "Oguzkhan Star" on the corners of the building. There is a map of Turkmenistan on the outer space of the sphere whose radius is 32 meters and it can be seen from far away as the sun reflects off it.

July 23, 2013 – Kampala, Uganda. Helene and Diana train daily more than 2.5 hours by Innocent Kapalata, a passionate and ambitious former boxer. Amidst the shanty homes a group of ambitious fighters are trying to reach for a better life. (Photo by Peter Bauza/ZUMA Press/VISUAL Press)