“An electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, is an electrical device that simulates the act of tobacco smoking by producing an inhaled mist bearing the physical sensation, appearance, and often the flavor and nicotine content of inhaled tobacco smoke; though without its odor, and intended to omit its health risks. The device uses heat (or in some cases, ultrasonics) to vaporize a propylene glycol- or glycerin-based liquid solution into an aerosol mist, similar to the way a nebulizer or humidifier vaporizes solutions for inhalation”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Owner of a shop that sells electronic cigarettes demonstrates how to use one on March 1, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The German government has announced that it classifies the liquids used in electronic cigarettes as pharmaceuticals because the liquids contain nicotine, and that sale of the liquids requires certification. (Photo Illustration by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

This artist's scoreboard displays a fictional game between Mars and Earth, with Mars in the lead. It refers to the success rate of sending missions to Mars, both as orbiters and landers. Of the previous 39 missions targeted for Mars from around the world, 15 have been successes and 24 failures. For baseball fans, that's a batting average of .385. The United States has had 13 successes out of 18 attempts, or a “batting average” of .722. NASA's Curiosity rover, set to land on the Red Planet the evening of Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT), will mark the United States' 19th attempt to tackle the challenge of Mars, and the world's 40th attempt. (Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech)

“Horst Faas (28 April 1933 – 10 May 2012) was a German photo-journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He is best-known for his images of the Vietnam War”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A U.S. crewman runs from a crashed CH-21 Shawnee troop helicopter near the village of Ca Mau in the southern tip of South Vietnam, December 11, 1962. Two helicopters crashed without serious injuries during a government raid on the Viet Cong-infiltrated area. Both helicopters were destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands. (Photo by AP Photo/Horst Faas)

It’s a classic tale of dictatorship gone wrong and the fight for freedom. Like in any good battle, there’s fire, albeit from firecrackers, but the ammunition in this one is – flour. It takes place in a Hemingway-esque Spanish village. The battle of “Enfarinats” in celebration of the Els Enfarinats festival, rages on on December 28, 2012 in Ibi, Spain. Citizens of Ibi annually celebrate the festival with a fight using flour, eggs and firecrackers. The battle takes place between two groups, a group of married men called “Els Enfarinats” who take the control of the village for one day pronouncing a number of ridiculous laws and fining the citizens that infringe them and a group called “La Oposicio” who try to restore order. At the end of the day the money collected from the fines is donated to charitable causes in the village. The festival has been celebrated since 1981 after the town of Ibi recovered the tradition but the origins remain unknown.

Photo: A Reveller smokes during the battle of “Enfarinats”, a flour fight in celebration of the Els Enfarinats festival. (Photo by David Ramos)

A Somali police officer arrests a suspected rebel member of the al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab among beach goers in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for today's pre-dawn attack on a Kenyan university campus near the Somali border. The following gallery examines who is al Shabaab. Here: Somali police officer (R) arrests a suspected rebel member (L) of the Al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab among beach goers at the Lido beach north of Somalia's capital Mogadishu March 23, 2012. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

Sustainable development goal target 12.5 is to reduce waste. But with a planet increasingly dependent on technology, is that even possible? As of today, over 30m tonnes of electronic waste has been thrown out so far this year, according to the World Counts. Most e-waste is sent to landfills in Asia and Africa where it is recycled by hand, exposing the people who do it to environmental hazards. Kai Loeffelbein’s photographs of e-waste recycling in Guiyu, southern China show what happens to discarded computers. (Photo by Kai Loeffelbein/laif Agentur)

“A dazzling exhibition featuring jewelry made with the world’s largest diamond will be part of the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. The jewelry was made with a 3,106-carat diamond discovered in 1905 at the Cullinan Diamond Mine near Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. The diamond was so large that miners initially thought it was a worthless crystal and almost threw it away”... – Vidya Kauri via News.nationalpost.com

Photo: Caroline de Guitaut, Curator of Royal Collections, holds the Cullinan III and IV Broach and the Cullinan VII Delhi Durbar Necklace and Cullinan Pendant at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace on May 15, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid)

A British space-exploration company has revealed its aim to fly the public to the moon from 2015 – providing they have £100m for a ticket.

Photo: Jenn Sander from Red Robin PR, wearing a spacesuit once worn by US Astronaut Peggy Whitson, sits inside a re-entry capsule owned by Excalibur Almaz outside the Queen Elizabeth II Centre on June 19, 2012 in London, England. The company today announced their plan to fly people to the moon on what is the 40th anniversary year of the Apollo 17 moon landing. (Photo by Rosie Hallam)