The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing, China from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony to take place at 8 p.m. on August 8, 2008 (08-08-08-08; the number 8 is associated with prosperity in Chinese culture). Some events, like beach volleyball, sailing, and swimming's new marathon 10km events, will be held in the coastal city of Qingdao.

The annual UNICEF Photo of the Year Contest once again in 2007 left millions speechless, inspired, shocked, and enticed into action.

This years winning image looks harmless at first, a man and a young girl sitting side by side, that is until you realize this is not a photo of a father and daughter, but an engagement photograph. The by photographer Stephanie Sinclair, is of a 40-year-old groom sitting beside his 11-year-old future bride, taken last year in Afghanistan. The legal age to wed for a girl in Afghanistan is 16, however child marriages are still common in many areas. Sinclare, asked the child bride what show she felt, she responded, “Nothing, I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?”. According to UNICEF some 60 million children are forced to enter into marriages before they are of legal age, half of which are in South Asia. The problem of child brides is the greatest in Rajasthan, India, where 15% of girls are under 10 years old when they married. Child marriages lead to higher instances of domestic violence and early pregnancies, which leave girls at high risk for death in childbirth, complications, and low birth weights.

Palm Island. Three artificial islands in the shape of palm trees shelter nearly 500 apartments, 2 000 villas, 25 hotels and 200 shops of luxury. Palm Jumeirah, the most advanced, has been completed as of the end of 2005. Hundred twenty-five kilometers of coast additional will be thus created.