Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri flies home from US - Telegraph

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent
Shahram Amiri
Shahram Amiri had "left American soil" on and was on his way back to Iran via a third country, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Before he left the Iranian interests section of the Pakistan embassy in Washington, where he had sought refuge, he gave an interview to Iranian television denying he had gone to America voluntarily, as Washington claims.

Taliban attacks kill 12 Nato troops in Afghanistan - Telegraph

TV and movie lovers rejoice:

TV and movie lovers rejoice: Comic-Con takes place this weekend, inviting fans around the world to meet stars from their favorite shows and hear about what it's like behind the scenes. Swarms of fang-bearing True Blood followers, honorary Glee club members -- frequently off-key or tone deaf -- and aspiring wizards from the abundant pool of Harry Potter admirers will descend on San Diego for four days. Heightened anticipation continues to build for the annual convention, which frequently stirs concerns of overcrowding, drawing over 125,000 people last year. Tickets for the gathering have been sold out for months, but Comic-Con is sponsoring a last-chance sweepstakes for tickets. Click here for the entry form; winners will be drawn Friday. [Jaunted]

A new deal for urban explorers promises authentic, cultural day trips in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco, all offered with a two-for-one special. Now travelers can bring a friend for free when they buy an Urban Adventure, including a stroll around Hollywood's most infamous bars and movie locations, a glimpse of New York's immigrant heritage through food tastings in Chinatown and Little Italy, and a walking tour through San Francisco's Mission District and Chinatown, ending with a catamaran cruise around the city's scenic bay . Offers are good through September 1.

Photo: Fans embrace their inner geek-dom at the 2009 Comic-Con, scragz via Flickr.

Eclipse "Frown"

• Solar Eclipse Over Chile

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
  During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
  The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
  
  Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
  
  —with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Easter Island Eclipse Watcher

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  One of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
  Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Eclipse Halo

  Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty Images

  During Sunday's total solar eclipse, the moon covered the sun over Easter Island, so that only the faint, white ring of the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, was visible.
  
  Eclipse expert and National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, was on Easter Island to witness his 51st solar eclipse. According to Pasachoff, eclipses offer scientists unique opportunities to study the corona, parts of which are invisible even to sun-watching satellites.
  "On the days of eclipses—and only on those days—can we supply high-quality images of the inner and middle corona that fill in the gaps in spacecraft coverage," Pasachoff told National Geographic News last week. "We can learn about the sun's magnetic field and the relation of the sun and the Earth by studying eclipses."
  (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty Images

  The sun seems to create a frown in the sky over Easter Island as just a small crescent of light remains visible during Sunday's total solar eclipse.
  Thousands of people gathered on Easter Island—a UN World Heritage site—to watch the eclipse, billed as one of the most remote that will happen this century.
  
  "The most noteworthy aspect of this eclipse is how little land it crosses and the sparse population areas in the path," eclipse chaser and astronomer Alan Dyer, of the Telus World of Science-Calgary in Alberta, told National Geographic News last week.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

Easter Island Eclipse Watcher

• Solar Eclipse Over Chile

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
  During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
  The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
  
  Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
  
  —with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  One of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
  Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

Eclipse Halo

• Solar Eclipse Over Chile

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
  During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
  The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.
  
  Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.
  
  —with reporting by Andrew Fazekas
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Easter Island Eclipse Watcher

  Photograph by Eliseo Fernandez, Reuters

  One of Easter Island's famous stone statues, or moai, seems to turn its back on the total solar eclipse Sunday, while a woman uses a special filter for safe eclipse viewing. (Watch video: "Solar Eclipse to Darken Easter Island.")
  Looking directly at the sun—even during an eclipse—can permanently damage human eyes. Eclipse experts recommend wearing sun-safe glasses and watching the spectacle only for short periods.
  

  Published July 12, 2010

• Photograph by Martin Bernetti, AFP/Getty Images

  During Sunday's total solar eclipse, the moon covered the sun over Easter Island, so that only the faint, white ring of the sun's upper atmosphere, or corona, was visible.
  
  Eclipse expert and National Geographic grantee Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, was on Easter Island to witness his 51st solar eclipse. According to Pasachoff, eclipses offer scientists unique opportunities to study the corona, parts of which are invisible even to sun-watching satellites.
  "On the days of eclipses—and only on those days—can we supply high-quality images of the inner and middle corona that fill in the gaps in spacecraft coverage," Pasachoff told National Geographic News last week. "We can learn about the sun's magnetic field and the relation of the sun and the Earth by studying eclipses."
  (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
  

  Published July 12, 2010

Solar Eclipse Over Chile

The moon takes a bite out of the sun Sunday over the seaside town of Valparaiso, Chile, during a partial solar eclipse. The photographer created the effect by shooting the top part of the picture through a piece of exposed x-ray film.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes completely between Earth and the sun, casting a circular shadow over the planet. On the ground, viewers in the full shadow's path—aka the path of totality—see the moon cover the sun's disk for several minutes. Only the sun's faint upper atmosphere, or corona, remains visible.
The full effect of Sunday's total solar eclipse was visible to just a few people along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band of the Pacific Ocean. Starting north of New Zealand, the path of the moon's shadow swept over a few remote islands—including the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Isla de Pascua)—and ended over the southernmost tip of South America.

Sky-watchers flocked by the thousands to Polynesian islands or booked passage on cruise ships to see the total solar eclipse. Viewers in Valparaiso, 75 miles (121 kilometers) northwest of Santiago, were among those in the Pacific Basin and in South America able to see a partial eclipse.

—with reporting by Andrew Fazekas

Published July 12, 2010

Afghanistan’s Lithium Wealth Could Remain Elusive

 

The Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia is one of the world's large untapped reserves of lithium, a key metal for batteries. Geologists say Afghanistan has similar lithium wealth, but as in Bolivia, politics likely will be the deciding factor in resource development.
Photograph by Noah Friedman-Rudovsky, Bloomberg/ Getty Images
By Henry J. Reske
for National Geographic News
Published June 16, 2010
This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.
Somewhere in the trackless lands that make up much of Afghanistan (map), just to the right or left of the Old Silk Road, there are apparently huge caches of untapped wealth in the form of metal and stone prized in both the ancient world and the modern: gold, copper, and lapis lazuli, to name a few.

Secret Tunnel Uncovered in Pharaoh's Tomb

• 
  

  Photograph by Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Reuters

  Standing on wooden steps that protect a 3,300-year-old stone staircase, Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass poses in 2009 in a mysterious tunnel that links the ancient tomb of Pharaoh Seti I to ... nothing.
  
  After three years of hauling out rubble and artifacts via a railway-car system (rails visible at left), the excavators have hit a wall, the team announced last week. It seems the ancient workers who created the steep tunnel under Egypt's Valley of the Kings near Luxor (map) abruptly stopped after cutting 572 feet (174 meters) into rock.
  
  Hawass, also a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, believes work on the tunnel began during the pharaoh's 15-year reign (1294-1279 B.C.), but after the tomb above it was already complete. Work may have stopped when Seti I died.
  
  Archaeologist Mustafa Waziri, regional director for the Egyptian antiquities council, said: "I think they were planning to make another burial chamber down there. Suddenly they stopped. But the condition of the stairs is amazing."
  
  (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)
  
  —Andrew Bossone and Ted Chamberlain
  

  Published July 7, 2010

Tombs Emerge From Egypt Sands

• Photograph courtesy Egypt Supreme Council of Antiquities

  Workers and archaeologists stand at the 4,200-year-old site of two rock-hewn Egyptian tombs recently excavated near Cairo and unveiled Thursday.
  Featuring boldly painted false doors, the tombs are the last resting places of Shendwa, head of the royal scribes under Pharaoh Pepi II, and his son Khonsu, also a scribe. Both were members of the literate ruling class during ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (2686 to 2160 B.C.), during which most of Egypt's pyramids were built (ancient Egypt time line).
  Occupying a thousand-square-foot (300-square-meter) site, the tombs were found in the royal burial ground at Saqqara (map)—strangely far from the tomb of Pepi II."We never expected to find a tomb that belongs to [the period of] that king" at the dig site, said Abdul Hakeem Karar, director of the Saqqara necropolis for Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
  (Related King Tut pictures: "DNA Study Reveals Health Secrets.")
  —Andrew Bossone in Cairo
  

  Published July 9, 2010