Singaporean Teacher Jailed for sex with student

A 32-year-old female Singaporean teacher was sentenced to a year in jail on Monday for having sex with a 15-year-old boy in her school, local media reported.

The teacher, who was married with two children, started a relationship with the student last year after she started counselling him, the Straits Times daily reported on its website.
Their names were withheld to protect the minor's identity.
The court was told that she wooed the boy with gifts including a copy of the bestselling book "Eat, Pray, Love", which dealt with a divorced American woman's adventures and was made into a film starring Julia Roberts in 2010.
The two continued their relationship for more than a month, during which they had consensual sex at the teacher's flat before the student's parents found out about the affair and reported her to the school.
In passing sentence, district judge Eugene Teo warned those who viewed schools "as acceptable venues for such illicit pursuits, and our students as acceptable partners in lust" will be punished, the Straits Times reported.
Another news portal, channelnewsasia.com, said the judge noted that psychiatrists found "no predatory paedophilic tendencies" in the teacher, which led to the comparatively light sentence.
Under Singapore law, an adult found guilty of engaging sexual intercourse with anyone under the age of 16 -- even if it's consensual -- faces up to 10 years' imprisonment, a fine or both.

A planet with four sun

An international team of amateur and professional astronomers has discovered a planet whose skies are lit up by four suns -- the first known case of such a phenomenon.

The planet, located about 5,000 light years from Earth, has been dubbed PH1 in honor of Planet Hunters, a programme led by Yale University in the United States, which enlists volunteers to look for signs of new planets.
PH1 is orbiting two suns, and in turn is orbited by a second distant pair of stars. Only six planets are known to orbit two stars, researchers say, and none of those are orbited by other distant stars.
"Circumbinary planets are the extremes of planet formation," said Yale's Meg Schwamb, lead author of a paper presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in Nevada.
"The discovery of these systems is forcing us to go back to the drawing board to understand how such planets can assemble and evolve in these dynamically challenging environments."
US citizen scientists and Planet Hunters participants Kian Jek and Robert Gagliano were the first to identify PH1. Their observations were then confirmed by a team of US and British researchers working in Hawaii.
PH1 is a gas giant with a radius about 6.2 times that of Earth, making it slightly larger than Neptune. It orbits a pair of eclipsing stars that are 1.5 and 0.41 times the mass of the Sun roughly every 138 days.
The two other stars are orbiting the planetary system at a distance that is roughly 1,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.
The Planethunters.org website was created in 2010 to encourage amateur astronomers to identify planets outside our solar system, using data from the US space agency NASA's Kepler space telescope.
Kepler, launched in March 2009, is NASA's first mission in search of Earth-like planets orbiting stars similar to our Sun.
The discovery of PH1 was made available online Monday at the site arxiv.org and has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal for publication.
"It still continues to astonish me how we can detect, let alone glean so much information, about another planet thousands of light-years away just by studying the light from its parent star," Jek said.
Last week scientists reported the discovery of a "diamond planet" twice the size of earth and orbiting a sun-like star.
Up to one-third of the planet's mass and much of its surface is believed to consist of diamonds, implying that distant rocky planets can no longer be assumed to have the same features as Earth.

Cardboard bike in Israel

MOSHAV AHITUV, Israel (Reuters) - A bicycle made almost entirely of cardboard has the potential to change transportation habits from the world's most congested cities to the poorest reaches of Africa, its Israeli inventor says.

Izhar Gafni, 50, is an expert in designing automated mass-production lines. He is an amateur cycling enthusiast who for years toyed with an idea of making a bicycle from cardboard.
He told Reuters during a recent demonstration that after much trial and error, his latest prototype has now proven itself and mass production will begin in a few months.
"I was always fascinated by applying unconventional technologies to materials and I did this on several occasions. But this was the culmination of a few things that came together. I worked for four years to cancel out the corrugated cardboard's weak structural points," Gafni said.
"Making a cardboard box is easy and it can be very strong and durable, but to make a bicycle was extremely difficult and I had to find the right way to fold the cardboard in several different directions. It took a year and a half, with lots of testing and failure until I got it right," he said.
Cardboard, made of wood pulp, was invented in the 19th century as sturdy packaging for carrying other more valuable objects, it has rarely been considered as raw material for things usually made of much stronger materials, such as metal.
Once the shape has been formed and cut, the cardboard is treated with a secret concoction made of organic materials to give it its waterproof and fireproof qualities. In the final stage, it is coated with lacquer paint for appearance.
In testing the durability of the treated cardboard, Gafni said he immersed a cross-section in a water tank for several months and it retained all its hardened characteristics.
Once ready for production, the bicycle will include no metal parts, even the brake mechanism and the wheel and pedal bearings will be made of recycled substances, although Gafni said he could not yet reveal those details due to pending patent issues.
"I'm repeatedly surprised at just how strong this material is, it is amazing. Once we are ready to go to production, the bike will have no metal parts at all," Gafni said.
Gafni's workshop, a ramshackle garden shed, is typically the sort of place where legendary inventions are born. It is crammed with tools and bicycle parts and cardboard is strewn everywhere.
One of his first models was a push bike he made as a toy for his young daughter which she is still using months later.
Gafni owns several top-of-the-range bicycles which he said are worth thousands of dollars each, but when his own creation reaches mass production, it should cost no more than about $20 to buy. The cost of materials used are estimated at $9 per unit.
"When we started, a year and a half or two years ago, people laughed at us, but now we are getting at least a dozen e-mails every day asking where they can buy such a bicycle, so this really makes me hopeful that we will succeed," he said.
A ride of the prototype was quite stiff, but generally no different to other ordinary basic bikes.
"GAME CHANGER"
Nimrod Elmish, Gafni's business partner, said cardboard and other recycled materials could bring a major change in current production norms because grants and rebates would only be given for local production and there would be no financial benefits by making bicycles in cheap labor markets.
"This is a real game-changer. It changes ... the way products are manufactured and shipped, it causes factories to be built everywhere instead of moving production to cheaper labor markets, everything that we have known in the production world can change," he said.
Elmish said the cardboard bikes would be made on largely automated production lines and would be supplemented by a workforce comprising pensioners and the disabled.
He said that apart from the social benefits this would provide for all concerned, it would also garner government grants for the manufacturers.
Elmish said the business model they had created meant that rebates for using "green" materials would entirely cancel out production costs and this could allow for bicycles to be given away for free in poor countries.
Producers would reap financial rewards from advertisements such as from multinational companies who would pay for their logo to be part of the frame, he explained.
"Because you get a lot of government grants, it brings down the production costs to zero, so the bicycles can be given away for free. We are copying a business model from the high-tech world where software is distributed free because it includes embedded advertising," Elmish explained.
"It could be sold for around $20, because (retailers) have to make a profit ... and we think they should not cost any more than that. We will make our money from advertising," he added.
Elmish said initial production was set to begin in Israel in months on three bicycle models and a wheelchair and they will be available to purchase within a year.
"In six months we will have completed planning the first production lines for an urban bike which will be assisted by an electric motor, a youth bike which will be a 2/3 size model for children in Africa, a balance bike for youngsters learning to ride, and a wheelchair that a non-profit organization wants to build with our technology for Africa," he said.
CHEAP AND LIGHT
The bicycles are not only very cheap to make, they are very light and do not need to be adjusted or repaired, the solid tires that are made of reconstituted rubber from old car tires will never get a puncture, Elmish said.
"These bikes need no maintenance and no adjustment, a car timing belt is used instead of a chain, and the tires do not need inflating and can last for 10 years," he said.
A full-size cardboard bicycle will weigh around 9 kg (about 20 lbs) compared to an average metal bicycle, which weight around 14 kg.
The urban bicycle, similar to London's "Boris bikes" and others worldwide, will have a mounting for a personal electric motor. Commuters would buy one and use it for their journey and then take it home or to work where it could be recharged.
He said that as bicycles would be so cheap, it hardly mattered how long they lasted.
"So you buy one, use it for a year and then you can buy another one, and if it breaks, you can take it back to the factory and recycle it," he said.
Gafni predicted that in the future, cardboard might even be used in cars and even aircraft "but that is still a way down the road."
"We are just at the beginning and from here my vision is to see cardboard replacing metals ... and countries that right now don't have the money, will be able to benefit from so many uses for this material," he said.

The world biggest airport to set on 2017 in Beijing

Master plans for the new mega airport in Beijing were released Thursday by Dutch Airport Consultancy firm NACO. Located just outside Beijing, it will have capacity for 130 million passengers per year, 23 million more than JFK and London Heathrow combined.

The new airport will provide a second hub for the city, whose current airport handles almost 75 million passengers a year. The current airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, will be reaching its capacity within a few years.
The new airport, to be called Beijing Daxing International Airport, is scheduled to open in 2017. The recently released plans show a new hub that will cover 55 square kilometers (about 21 square miles) and include eight runways.
Plans also show an integrated ground transportation hub, which will shuttle passengers into Beijing with a journey time of 30 minutes on a high-speed railway. A slower route on the city's underground will also be available.
Atlanta is currently the busiest airport in the world, transporting more than 89 million passengers per year, followed by Beijing's current airport which transports more than 73 million passengers and Heathrow which transports around 65 million passengers.
NACO is one of the world's leading independent airport consultancy and engineering firms. In recent years the firm has been involved with over 550 airports of all sizes in more than 100 countries.
Recently NACO has collaborated with Viracopos-Campinas International Airport in Brazil which processed 7.5 million passengers in 2011 and is expected to grow to 15 million.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, another of the firm's projects, is frequently named as "the best airport in the world." NACO has been working on its development since 1960. Recently the firm assisted the airport expand its capacity from 18 million to 48 million passengers annually.

Photo of a mars surface

 

British astrophotographer Damian Peach captured this series of stills of the surface of Mars - offering a complete picture of the hostile world currently being explored by Nasa's Curiosity rover. It shows the gleaming north polar cap of frozen water and carbon dioxide, the red equatorial deserts and the darker southern highlands. The photographer has captured an amazing level of detail, including wispy clouds in the thin Martian atmosphere.

the 'Witch's Broom' nebula

American photographer Robert Franke used narrowband filters to increase the detail in this image of the 'Witch's Broom' nebula - the remnants of an ancient explosion in deep space. Part of the Veil Nebula, the ‘Witch’s Broom’ is the glowing debris from a supernova explosion – the violent death of a massive star. Although the supernova occurred several thousand years ago, the gaseous debris is still expanding outwards, producing this vast cloud-like structure.

Icy photo

Japanese photographer Masahiro Miyasaka captured an icy scene in Nagano, Japan, with the blue stars of the Pleiades glowing overhead. Despite the icy glow, blue stars are actually much hotter and more massive than red stars.

a light of a town photo

Photographer Tunç Tezel captured the earthly lights of towns and villages, spread out beneath the heavenly glow of one arm of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Making the most of an August night, the photographer got this shot after trekking out to the Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey.

Mars passing the sun

Australian photographer Paul Haese captured a spectacular view of Venus passing in front of the sun in the rare 'transit' in June this year. This is a spectacular view of the active Sun, streaked and blotched with filaments, sunspots and prominences. Venus, a world almost exactly the same size as the Earth, seems dwarfed by the scale and power of our local star.

Galaxy photo

Australian photographer Martin Pugh captured this image of the Whirlpool Galaxy which combines fine detail in the spiral arms with the faint tails of light that show its small companion galaxy being gradually torn apart by the gravity of its giant neighbour. A closer look shows even more distant galaxies visible in the background.

Austrian break record the space jump

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner became the first man to break the sound barrier in a record-shattering, death-defying freefall jump Sunday from the edge of space.

The 43-year-old leapt from a capsule more than 24 miles (39 kilometers) above the Earth, reaching a top speed of 833.9 miles per hour, or 1.24 times the speed of sound, according to organizers.
The veteran skydiver was in freefall for four minutes and 20 seconds before opening his red and white parachute and floating down to the desert in the US state of New Mexico, said Red Bull Stratos mission record keeper Brian Utley.
Mission control erupted in cheers as Baumgartner sprung from the capsule hoisted aloft by a giant helium-filled balloon to an altitude of 128,097 feet (39,044 meters), even higher than expected.
"I think 20 tons have fallen from my shoulders. I prepared for this for seven years," he told German-language ServusTV in Austria in his first interview after the leap.
Referring to a helmet problem that nearly forced him to abort at the last minute, Baumgartner said: "Even on a day like this when you start so well, then there's a little glitch.
"And you think you'll have to abort -- what if you've prepared everything and it fails on a visor problem. But I finally decided to jump. And it was the right decision."
Shortly before jumping, in footage beamed live around the world -- on a crackly radio link recalling Neil Armstrong's first words on the Moon -- he had said: "Sometimes you have (to go) up really high to (understand) how small you are."
The Austrian took more than two hours to get up to the jump altitude. Baumgartner had already broken one record before he even leapt: the previous highest altitude for a manned balloon flight was 113,740 feet, set in 1961.
He had been due to jump from 120,000 feet, but the balloon went higher than expected.
One of the first people to congratulate him was Austrian President Heinz Fischer, who hailed the "great success."
"Austria is proud of your accomplishment," he wrote on his Facebook page.
The Red Bull Stratos mission was the second attempt for the skydiver after an initial bid Tuesday was aborted at the last minute due to winds.
The biggest risk Baumgartner faced was spinning out of control, which could have exerted excessive G-force and made him lose consciousness. A controlled dive from the capsule was essential, putting him in a head-down position to increase speed.
As things transpired millions of transfixed viewers around the world looked on in agony as the Austrian started tumbling chaotically for what seemed like an eternity before finally achieving the right position.
More gruesomely, the skydiver's blood could have boiled if there were the slightest tear or crack in his pressurized spacesuit-like outfit, due to instant depressurization at the extreme altitude.
Temperatures of 90 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 68 Celsius) could also have had unpredictable consequences if his suit somehow failed.
The helmet problem as Baumgartner ascended added to the sense of alarm: the heater failed on his faceplate, meaning it became fogged up when he exhaled.
After considering the options, the nerveless Baumgartner and his entourage decided to go ahead with the jump.
Baumgartner's 100-strong backup team includes retired US Air Force colonel Joe Kittinger, who had held one of the records the Austrian was trying to break: the highest freefall jump, which Kittinger made from 102,800 feet in 1960.
"Let the guardian angel take care of you," Kittinger told Baumgartner shortly before he leapt into the void.
Speaking after the feat, Kittinger declared: "I'd like to give a special one-finger salute to all the folks who said he was gonna fall apart when he went supersonic."
Baumgartner holds several previous records, notably with spectacular BASE jumps from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He recalled the emotions sweeping through his body when he stepped out of the capsule at an altitude of 128,100 ft (39,045 meters) over the New Mexico desert.
"When you're standing there on top of the world you become so humble... The only thing is you want to come back alive," he told reporters in Roswell, where the launch mission was based.
His launch coincided with the 65th anniversary of American pilot Chuck Yeager breaking the speed of sound.

Photograph worth of $126 Billion

THE $126 BILLION PHOTOGRAPH

In this epic group photo taken on June 26, 2012 by Michael Prince for Forbes Magazine, we see twelve well known philanthropists with a total net worth of $126 billion. This photograph, which graces the cover of the 30th anniversary issue of the Forbes 400, crowned an incredible event. In June, 161 billionaires and near-billionaires came together in New York at the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, a chance for the most successful people on the planet to use their resources and the mind-set that built that success to try to solve the world’s most intractable problems.

From left to right we have: Warren Buffett (who has pledged 99% of his net worth to charity), Oprah Winfrey, Bill & Melinda Gates (who have given away an estimated $28 billion so far), Peter Peterson, Leon Black, Jon Bon Jovi (who Forbes ranked the most charitable celebrity last year), Marc Beinoff (pledged $100 million toward a new Children’s Hospital), David Rubenstein, Steve Case, and Marc & Laura Andreessen (who has pledged to give away more than half of his VC earnings).

The New wonder's of the World

Germany’s Bayreuth Opera House isn’t exactly a household name, but you’ll be hearing more about it and for good reason. This opulent 18th-century theater has been singled out by UNESCO — and will host events celebrating the 200th birthday of composer Richard Wagner in 2013.
Every summer, UNESCO names new cultural and natural wonders to its World Heritage List for their outstanding universal value. It’s a way to raise awareness of the preservation of places important to mankind, but also drives tourism and brings fascinating places to the attention of travelers wondering where to go next. This year’s crop of new wonders — some obscure, some already famous — spans the globe and suggests the range of human experience and achievement.

Check out the list of new wonders, but be warned: you may have another dream trip to add to your own list.

Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, Palau
This gorgeous lagoon counts 445 uninhabited limestone, volcanic-origin islands, some in the shape of mushrooms, over 247,000 acres. It represents the world’s greatest collection of marine lakes (seawater lakes separated from the ocean) — and also boasts a reef system with more than 385 species of coral. Human traces stretch back more than 3,000 years, including 17th- and 18th-century stoneworking villages abandoned due to climate change and population pressure on the fragile ecosystem.

Bali Province’s Subak System,  Indonesia
Bali won points with UNESCO this year not for its beaches but for its inland farming regions, specifically five rice terraces and connected water temples that make up a water management and irrigation system of subaks (canals). This setup dates back to the ninth century and includes the Royal Water Temple of Pura Taman. The subak system is itself a philosophical concept harmonizing the spiritual, natural, and built world, and represents the exchange of ideas between Bali and India. Locals say it’s a major reason why Balinese rice growers are among the most successful in Indonesia.

Margravial Opera House,  Bayreuth, Germany
A fantastic model of German Baroque, the 500-seat Margravial Opera House was commissioned by Margravine Wilhelmine in the mid-1700s. Designed by architect Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, complete with paintings and intricate carvings, it paved the way for the grand public operas that proliferated across Europe a century later. In 2013, the theater will host events for the 200th anniversary of the birth of German composer Richard Wagner.

Landscape of Grand Pré, Canada
The archaeological remains in this bucolic setting testify to hardy European farmers who used dykes and the aboiteau wooden sluice system, a labor-intensive method that prevented saltwater tides from flooding the Pré marshland of Nova Scotia — one of the world’s most extreme tidal regions. The preserved area is more than 3,200 acres and was first developed by 17th-century Acadians of what was New France.

Rio de Janeiro’s Carioca Landscapes Between the Mountain and the Sea, Brazil
The most famous of the wonders chosen by UNESCO in 2012, the Carioca Landscapes is crowned by the 1930s Art Deco statue of Christ atop Corcovado. It gazes down at the native Atlantic forest growing in Tijuca National Park — as well as Rio’s see-and-be-seen beaches.

Sangha Trinational, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Congo
These untouched wilds of tropical Africa stretch through adjacent national parks in three different countries — Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Congo — in the northwestern Congo River Basin. The total covers more than 1.85 million acres. Waters here teem with giant tigerfish and Nile crocodiles, while on land, elephants, gorillas, and chimpanzees roam the forests along with many endangered African species.

Site of Xanadu, China
Xanadu was a real place north of China’s Great Wall, first described to westerners by Italian explorer Marco Polo. As the capital of Kublai Khan’s empire, Xanadu was designed to combine the Mongolian nomadic, warrior culture with the sophistication of the native Han Chinese and was planned using feng shui principles in 1256. The city’s role as a religious center helped spread Tibetan Buddhism through northeast Asia. Today, remains of temples, palaces, and tombs spread over nearly 62,000 acres.

Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy,
Bahrain
The Persian Gulf nations now bring to mind skyscrapers and air-conditioned shopping malls, but long before oil was discovered, pearl diving was the region’s main source of wealth. Seventeen buildings and the Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress complex in Muharraq City make up this site, along with three oyster beds and a section of the seashore. Visitors will find traditional shops, a mosque, and the former residences of merchants made rich by the pearl trade, a mainstay from the second century until the 1930s, when the Japanese invented cultured pearls.  

Lakes of Ounianga, Chad
Saline and freshwater lakes are scattered within this portion of the Sahara desert to dramatic effect. There are four lakes in Ounianga Kebir, the largest being Yoan at roughly 885 acres and a depth of more than 88 feet. High in salt content, it supports primarily algae. Ounianga Serir is the other section, with 14 fauna-filled freshwater lakes amid sand dunes.  

Mammoth of the century discovered by Russian boy

An 11-year-old boy from Russia's north has stumbled upon a well-preserved wooly mammoth, in what scientists describe as the best such discovery since 1901.

Yevgeny Salinder, whose family lives near a polar station in the northern Taimyr Peninsula, discovered the frozen animal when he was strolling along the banks of the Yenisei River in late August.
"He sensed an unpleasant odour and saw something sticking out of the ground -- it was the mammoth's heels," said Alexei Tikhonov, director of the Saint Petersburg-based Zoological Museum, who rushed to the tundra after the boy's family had notified scientists of the historic find.
Tikhonov said the mammoth had died aged 15-16 around 30,000 years ago, adding his tusk, skin, an eye and an ear were clearly visible.
"His one-metre-long penis is also intact so we can conclude that this was a male," Tikhonov told AFP.
Tikhonov said it was the best preserved adult mammoth discovered in more than 100 years.
"So far we can say it is the mammoth of the century," Tikhonov said.
It took scientists five days to dig out the animal which was then transported to the northern city of Dudinka.

Spidery black objects seen on Mars

Someone alert Ziggy Stardust, there appear to be spiders on Mars.
Strange black objects seen from 200 miles above the surface of Mars are generating interest and speculation that the unidentified objects could be anything from geysers to sunbathing colonies of microorganisms.
NPR presents several photos of the objects, including one taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 27, 2010, that appears to show "little black flecks dotting the ridges, mostly on the sunny side, like sunbathing spiders sitting in rows."
The objects were first spotted in 1998. Interestingly, they appear when the surface of Mars begins to warm, showing up in the same location most of the time. And then when the Martian winter approaches, they disappear with the same precise regularity. The images have been brought into greater detail by Michael Benson in his book "Planetfall: New Solar System Visions."
Most scientists, including teams from the U.S. Geological Survey, Hungary and the European Space Agency, have their own theories, but the leading explanation is that the objects are geysers of CO2 exploding from underneath the planet's surface.
"If you were there, you'd be standing on a slab of carbon dioxide ice," Phil Christensen of Arizona State University told NPR. "All around you, roaring jets of carbon dioxide gas are throwing sand and dust a couple hundred feet into the air. The ground below would be rumbling. You'd feel it in your space boots."
And while the geyser theory is the most popular explanation, it has yet to be verified.
In the meantime, there are some interesting alternative theories, including one from a group of Hungarian scientists, who have speculated that the objects are actually colonies of photosynthetic Martian microorganisms that emerge each year to sunbathe in the warm weather.

Top 10 best beaches in the world

 Earth’s surface is 71 percent water, and our oceans are dotted with spectacular islands—tens of thousands of them—but some capture our imaginations more than others.

In Travel + Leisure’s annual World’s Best survey, readers ranked their favorites, and the results show that no distance is too great when a fabulous island waits as your reward.

So whether your island hopping takes you across the country or around the world, here’s where to go to find secluded beaches, wildlife encounters, and luxurious pampering.


No. 1 Boracay, Philippines

This tiny tropical island in the  Philippines is making a big splash. After debuting at No. 4 in the World’s Best Awards last year, it has taken the top prize, appealing to travelers with its natural beauty and still-under-the-radar status—chances are you haven’t “been there, done that.”
Best Beach: White Beach, a 2.5-mile stretch of powder-white sand—often cited as the world’s softest—lapped by the translucent Sulu Sea.
Where to Stay: Discovery Shores for modern suites with huge windows, an infinity pool, and the full-service Terra Spa.

No. 2 Bali, Indonesia

It may be one of 17,500 islands in the Indonesian archipelago, but this paradise known for its temples is the country’s crown jewel, offering travelers glimpses into Balinese Hindu history thanks to a vibrant cultural scene filled with music and dance.
Best Beach: To watch the sun come up over the water, head to Sanur. For gorgeous sunsets, upscale resorts, and lively nightlife, stay along Seminyak.
Where to Stay: Amandari, the only Indonesian resort ranked in the 2012 T+L 500, is near a sacred river outside Ubud and arranged like a local village—albeit one with 30 suites that feature private plunge pools and rice-paddy views.

No. 3 Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

T+L readers prove once again that this exotic chain of isolated Pacific islands 600 miles off of South America is one of the ultimate dream trips. Where else can you spy a blue-footed booby or short-feathered penguins?
Best Beach: Here, the best beach is where sea lions catch some rays. Snap hordes of them on Santa Fe Island’s white-sand beach.
Where to Stay: The ideal way to see these islands is on a ship, such as the 90-passenger Celebrity Xpedition, which sails seven- and 10-night cruises year-round.

No. 4 Maui, Hawaii

This year, T+L readers chose Maui as the golden child among Hawaii’s island siblings (up from No. 9 in 2011). After all, there’s always something new to explore, from the resort-lined stretches of Kaanapali and Wailea to Haleakala’s volcanic crater to the funky surf town of Paia.
Best Beach: Napili Beach, a crescent of golden sand lapped by blue-green sea, is slightly out of the way, but well worth the detour.
Where to Stay: Fairmont Kea Lani, a 22-acre oasis of white-washed Moorish architecture, right on Wailea Beach.

No. 5 Great Barrier Reef Islands, Australia

Pure white sand and coral reefs teeming with fish are the hallmarks of these castaway islands off of Australia’s northeastern coastline. More familiar islands, including Lizard, Hayman, and Bedarra, are havens for divers, as they provide easy access to potato cod fish and gaping giant clams—and they’re home to ultra-chic hideaway hotels.
Best Beach: Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays is the reef’s most photogenic beach: a 4.5-mile stretch of sand that seems to go on forever.
Where to Stay: Lizard Island Resort, a five-star enclave that counts 40 contemporary suites and 24 private beaches.

No. 6 Santorini, Greece

The cliff-top village of Oia, with its blue-domed churches, sugar-cube houses, and stone pathways leading to caldera vistas, is one of the most idyllic—and photographed—spots  in the Greek Isles.
Best Beach: For drama, you can’t beat the black sand and palapa-shaded chaises at Perissa Beach, where cafés are perfect for people-watching.
Where to Stay: The 27 white-washed rooms and suites of Oia’s Katikies Hotel are situated in a free-form style around two infinity pools.

No. 7 Kauai, Hawaii

Sleepy Kauai’s old-school charms and serene landscape will soothe even the most frantic urbanite. Two must-see sights: the dramatic Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon, both layered with scenic hiking trails.
Best Beach: If you crave sun and fun, stay on Poipu Beach in the south; for an untamed panorama, stroll Lumahai Beach, between Princeville and Hanalei.
Where to Stay: Koa Kea Hotel & Resort is Poipu’s newest boutique property. Its 121 rooms and suites have a relaxed vibe that’s in line with Kauai’s less-is-more mantra.

No. 8 Big Island, Hawaii

Hawaii’s wild child is an adventure zone, with invigorating lava treks (its volcano, Kilauea, is still active), stargazing atop 13,796-foot Mauna Kea, and night dives with manta rays.
Best Beach: The Big Island has 80 beaches, but there’s no reason to settle for ivory and blue when you can unwind at black-sand Punaluu Beach or green-hued Papakolea Beach.
Where to Stay: Four Seasons Resort, Hualalai—voted the No. 1 resort in Hawaii in 2012’s World’s Best Awards survey—is even more indulgent after a multiyear renovation that added an adults-only pool and expanded the Hawaiian-centric spa.


No. 9 Sicily, Italy

The sun shines on Sicily 300 days per year, illuminating an island rich in history (Greek and Roman ruins in Agrigento, for starters) and culinary traditions. Cannoli are made here, as are arancini, decadently golden fried rice balls, and all kinds of dishes showcasing the day’s fresh catch of fish.
Best Beach: San Vito Lo Capo, near Trapani on the northwestern coast, is on a curved bay flanked by photogenic rock formations along the Mediterranean.
Where to Stay: One of the rooms overlooking Mount Etna at Grand Hotel Timeo, convenient for exploring the ancient city of Taormina and surrounding vineyards.

No. 10 Vancouver Island, British Columbia

A playground for kayakers, hikers, and whale-watchers, Vancouver Island is covered in stately pine forests that shelter endangered birds and surrounded by waters filled with oysters, crabs, and other shellfish. It’s a short ferry (or seaplane) ride over from the city of Vancouver.
Best Beach: Chesterman Beach in Tofino is ideal for quiet strolls in summer and big-wave-watching in winter. No matter the season, brave surfers can’t stay away from those chilly Pacific swells.
Where to Stay: Wickaninnish Inn is all about rustic luxury, with 75 rooms, a restaurant with 360-degree water views, and a nature-inspired spa.

Diamond Covered Planet Revealed

A planet which really does twinkle like a diamond in the sky has been discovered by scientists - its surface is littered with the precious stones.

The planet - called 55 Cancri e - has a radius double the size of Earth’s, and weighs eight times more.

Whilst Earth’s surface is covered in water and granite, the new planet is thought to be covered in diamonds and graphite.

A new study estimates that at least a third of the planet’s mass - the equivalent of the weight of three Earths - could be diamond.

This is the first time astronomers have identified a likely diamond planet around a sun-like star and unearthed its chemical make-up.

'This is our first glimpse of a rocky world with a fundamentally different chemistry from Earth,' said lead researcher Nikku Madhusudhan.

'The surface of this planet is likely covered in graphite and diamond rather than water and granite.'

The diamond planet orbits at hyper speed - its year lasts just 18 hours, in contrast to Earth’s 365 days.

But with a blazingly hot temperature of about 3,900F, researchers say it will not live on.

It one of five planets orbiting a sun-like star, 55 Cancri, that is located 40 light years from Earth yet visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer.

The planet was first observed orbiting its star last year, allowing astronomers to measure its radius for the first time.

This new information, combined with the most recent estimate of its mass, allowed Madhusudhan and colleagues to determine its chemical make-up.

Research suggests the planet has no water at all, and appears to be composed mainly of carbon (as graphite and diamond), iron, silicon carbide, and, possibly, some silicates.

'By contrast, Earth’s interior is rich in oxygen, but extremely poor in carbon - less than a part in thousand by mass,' says co-author and Yale geophysicist Kanani Lee.

The identification of a carbon-rich super-Earth means that distant rocky planets can no longer be assumed to have compositions similar to that of Earth.

David Spergel, professor of astronomy and chair of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University, said: 'This ‘diamond-rich super-Earth’ is likely just one example of the rich sets of discoveries that await us as we begin to explore planets around nearby stars.'

The paper reporting the findings has been accepted for publication in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.