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)

Arisha, 9, takes instructions from coach Younus Qambrani during an exercise session at the first women's boxing coaching camp in Karachi, Pakistan February 19, 2016. For the past six months about a dozen girls, aged 8 to 17, have gone to the Pak Shine Boxing Club after school to practice their jabs, hooks and upper cuts. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

“The 8th annual Water War on Friday in the center of Tel-Aviv, Israel turned into a battlefield, quite literally. As two thousand people were having fun in the square, some water-fighters took to more radical behavior, targeting passing cars, motorcycles and public buses”. – iReport.cnn.com (Photo by Sergey Demyanchuk)

“The Spanish Civil War (The Crusade among Nationalists, Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans) was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. An estimated total of 500,000 people lost their lives as a consequence of the War”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Women were among the Republican combatants during the Spanish Civil War. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1936

This greedy piglet was isolated from the rest of its litter by the farmer who named it Hitler after it tried to grab all the food at feeding time. (Photo by R J Lewis/Getty Images). 1942

Some lost at sea memorials are touched by genius. The images they convey are timeless and universal – like all great art. The designer and sculptor of this unforgettable memorial in Wales is Brian Fell.

Ethiopian Airlines female pilots prepare the plane before takeoff at Bole international airport in the capital Addis Ababa, November 19, 2015. Ethiopia Airlines on Thursday, dispatched its first ever all-female operated flight. Every aspect of the journey was handled by women, from the ground crew, aircraft maintenance to traffic controllers. Gualu and her co-pilot were charged with flying the crew and passengers to Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Arab Israeli contestant Tallinn Abu Hana poses for the judges during auditions for the first Miss Trans Israel beauty pageant in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 3, 2016. The winner will represent Israel at a Miss Trans Star International pageant to be held in Spain in August. Tel Aviv has emerged as one of the world's most gay-friendly travel destinations, standing in sharp contrast to most of the rest of the Middle East, where gays can face persecution. (Photo by Ariel Schalit/AP Photo)