Jump to April 2012 archive page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 17

  • Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano rumbles through a starry, starry night

    Yuri Cortez / AFP - Getty Images

    Incandescent materials, ashes and smoke are spewed from the Popocatepetl Volcano in Santiago Xalitzintla, in the Mexican central state of Puebla, on April 26, 2012.

    Residents at the foot of Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano no longer sleep soundly since the towering mountain roared back into action two weeks ago, spewing out a hail of rocks, steam and ashes, Agence France Presse reports.

    The volcano, Mexico's second highest peak at 5,452 meters, started rumbling and spurting high clouds of ash and steam on April 13, provoking the authorities to raise the alert to level five on a seven-point scale.

    A ghostly image captured by a NASA satellite, below, shows the erupting volcano at night, OurAmazingPlanet.com reports. It's a thermal image, snapped at 10:53 p.m. local time on Wednesday. The lighter areas are warmer, the darker areas cooler. The white dot in the center of the image is a hotspot within the volcano's summit crater. 

    Jesse Allen / NASA Earth Observatory

    NASA's Terra satellite captured this nighttime view of the Popocatépetl volcano eruption at 10:53 p.m. local time (04:53 Universal Time) on April 25, 2012.

    Take a look at more photos of the Popocatepetl volcano on PhotoBlog.

    4 comments

    Show more
    Explore related topics: , , , , ,

  • Fire crews called in after paratroopers get stuck in trees

    Lacey Fire District Three via AP

    An army paratrooper tangled in a tree on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on April 26, 2012. Lacey Fire District Three aided in the rescue of two paratroopers who were blown into trees during a training exercise.

    Lacey Fire District Three via AP

    Lacey Fire District Three's tall ladder being used to reach one of the trapped paratroopers.

    KING 5 News reports — Two Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) paratroopers were back on solid ground Thursday evening after getting blown into trees during a training exercise.

    Lacey Fire District Three was called to the scene in Thurston County, Wash., by the JBLM Fire Department to assist with the rescue.  

    Army beefs up leadership at troubled Lewis-McChord base

    One paratrooper was safely pulled from a tree before the Lacey crews arrived. The second paratrooper was higher up in a tree and JBLM didn't have a ladder capable of reaching him. Lacey firefighters were able to get close enough with the ladder truck to rescue him.

    Both paratroopers are okay. 

    Video: NBC’s Miguel Almaguer reports on the troubled past of Joint Base Lewis-McChord

    Lacey Fire District Three via AP

    One of the paratroopers is helped to the ground.

  • Colts take Stanford QB Andrew Luck to open draft

    Chris Chambers / Getty Images

    Andrew Luck (R) from Stanford holds up a jersey as he stands on stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after Luck was selected #1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, April 26, 2012 in New York City.

    AP reports: NEW YORK - Six weeks after saying goodbye to Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts handed Andrew Luck a blue and white jersey and the daunting task of leading a rebuilding team as its quarterback for the next decade.

     Luck couldn't have chosen a tougher act to follow - all Manning did was win an unprecedented four MVP awards and a Super Bowl for Indy. But many believe he is the most NFL-ready passer to enter the league since Manning went No. 1 overall in 1998.

     

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

     

    Related:

  • Artists, bohemians, descend on Karoo desert for AfrikaBurn

    Kim Ludbrook / EPA

    Two Burners jump on a trampoline at AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert, Tweefontein, South Africa, on April 26.

    The AfrikaBurn festival is based on Burning Man in the United States and sees thousands of people gathering in the desert to construct a temporary community.

    The event, which began in 2007, is part rave, part trance party, part Pagan gathering, part arts festival. Thousands of participants erect structures, share ideas, trade goods and burn effigies on the final night.

    There must be no trace of humans after the event is finished and a sharing community is formed as there is no money allowed as participants have to bring their own food, water and tents.

    --EPA

    Kim Ludbrook / EPA

    Two Burners drive a home-made trike at AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert on April 26.

    Kim Ludbrook / EPA

    A burner wears a mask at AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert on April 26.

    Kim Ludbrook / EPA

    A Burner jumps over standing water after a huge storm at AfrikaBurn festival.

    Kim Ludbrook / EPA

    Werner Strauss rides his bicycle with LED lights after arriving at the AfrikaBurn festival in the the Karoo desert on April 26.

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Russian military preps for Victory Day parade

    Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

    Russian military vehicles make their way down a Moscow street on April 26 during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place in Red Square on May 9. The parade commemorates the 67 years since victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

    Mikhail Voskresensky / Reuters

    Russian soldiers practice on April 26 in Moscow's Red Square for a Victory Day military parade marking 67 years since victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

    Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

    A Russian soldier stands guard in heavy rain during a rehearsal on April 26 for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow.

    Mikhail Voskresensky / Reuters

    Russian soldiers practice on April 26 in Moscow's Red Square for a Victory Day Military Parade marking 67 years since victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.The parade is scheduled for May 9.

    Sergei Chirikov / EPA

    Russian military servicemen are pictured on top their armored personnel carrier as they travel down Tverskaya street to Red Square during the evening Victory Day parade rehearsal in Moscow on April 26. The parade, to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945, is scheduled for May 9.

     

    Related Content:

    NBC News article on Texan teen graduating from premier Russian ballet school 

    When Joy Womack arrived at Moscow's elite Bolshoi Ballet Academy at 15, she spoke limited Russian and was one of a number of foreigners allowed to train at the school. Now 17, she is poised to become the first American to graduate from the Russian academy.

    

     

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • John Gress / Reuters

    His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet laughs while wearing a Loyola University visor during a speech on non-violence at the university's Lake Shore Campus in Chicago on April 26. The Dalai Lama, who was in Chicago for the three-day World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, received an honorary degree from Loyola.

    Dalai Lama shows some school spirit

    AP reports Dalai Lama was in Rochester, MN for check-up

    Related story on Dalai Lama visit to San Diego

  • Abbottabad - One year after Osama bin Laden

    Akhtar Soomro / Reuters

    Six-year-old Anum, poses for her uncle for a picture while visiting the site of the demolished compound of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad almost a year ago, on May 2. All photographs captured by Reuters photographer Akhtar Soomro between April 20-23.

    Slideshow: After the raid: Inside bin Laden's compound

    Farooq Naeem / AFP - Getty Images

    U.S. forces found and killed the al-Qaida leader in the affluent Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where he had been living in a large compound.

    Launch slideshow

    On May 1, 2011 Abbottabad, a small town in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, gained world attention when President Barack Obama announced the words, "Justice has been done," indicating the death of Osama bin Laden.

    Reuters photographer Akhtar Soomro travelled to Abbottabad a year after the raid on bin Laden's compound to take pictures of the town and document what had happened to the house where bin Laden was killed.

    The compound has now been flattened and has found a new lease of life as a cricket pitch, a source of concrete blocks for any villagers with a big enough hammer, and a tourist site where people have their photo taken. 

    --Reuters

    A combination photograph shows Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on two different dates. The top image was captured on May 5, 2011 after a United States military raid resulted in the death of bin Laden. The bottom image from April 22, 2012 show's bin Laden's compound missing from the skyline.

    Yasir, 12, uses a hammer to break a concrete block to scavenge for iron from the demolished compound of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

    A man with an umbrella guides his herd of goats past a boundary wall of the demolished compound of Osama bin Laden, in Abbottabad.

    Residents offer Friday prayers in an open yard of the Jamia Masjid Mandian in Abbottabad.

    A man exercises in a gym in Abbottabad.

    A man pauses while cooking pakoras at a stall in Abbottabad .

    A man carries a tray with cups and pots to sell tea while crossing a road near a market in Abbottabad.

    A view of a wholesale vegetable market in Abbottabad.

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Independence Day picnic - Israeli style

    Jim Hollander / EPA

    An Israeli family enjoys a picnic underneath the wing of an old military transport plane in The Defender's Forest, near Kibbutz Nachson on Israel's 64th Independence Day. All photo's shot by EPA's Jim Hollander on April 26.

    Children play on an old Israeli military transport in The Defender's Forest as a kettle steams on a charcoal fire as families visit the area for a picnic on Israel's 64th Independence Day.

    Israelis flocked to beaches and parks for barbecues across the nation to mark the country's 64th Independence Day.

    This plane located in Defender's Forest, near Kibbutz Nachson, was used by the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six Day War as a troop transport aircraft, and was placed in the park as a tribute to fallen soldiers.

    While Independence Day is a joyful celebration in Israel, Palestinians will mark the creation of the Jewish state in mid-May with a day of mourning.

    --The Associated Press contributes to this post

    An Israeli family enjoys their Independence Day picnic underneath the wing of an old Israeli military transport plane in The Defender's Forest, near Kibbutz Nachson.

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Struggling to meet demand for sacred frozen eagles

    Rick Wilking / Reuters

    Dennis Wiist, Wildlife Repository Specialist walks through a freezer containing eagles ready for shipment at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado March 26. Eagles are sacrosanct for many tribes, and employees at the National Eagle Repository provide them with feathers, wings and talons - and in some cases whole carcasses - for religious rituals. But the Indians' demand outstrips the repository's supply. Each year the repository receives about 2,300 dead bald and golden eagles, gathered by wildlife agents and others.

    Rick Wilking / Reuters

    Dennis Wiist, Wildlife Repository Specialist, inspects a Bald eagle at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado on March 26. The feathers from a bird such as this are the most sought after by Native American Indian tribes.

    Rick Wilking / Reuters

    Dennis Wiist, Wildlife Repository Specialist, inspects the feathers around an eagle's foot at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado on March 26.

    Reuters reports -- A wildlife specialist splays the wings of a dead golden eagle shipped in from New Mexico and is pleased by what he sees.

    "This one is an awfully good bird," Dennis Wiist of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says. "There's not too much damage, which is extremely rare."

    Wiist will bag the eagle, freeze it and then have it delivered to a waiting Native American Indian tribe.

    Eagles are sacrosanct for many tribes, and Wiist and his colleagues at the National Eagle Repository provide them with feathers, wings and talons - and in some cases whole carcasses - for religious rituals. But the Indians' demand outstrips the repository's supply.

    Rick Wilking / Reuters

    Dennis Wiist, Wildlife Repository Specialist (background), inspects an eagle at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado on March 26, as adult Golden eagle wing feathers ready for shipping are displayed in the foreground.

    Each year the repository receives about 2,300 dead bald and golden eagles, gathered by wildlife agents and others. But it gets more than 3,000 requests a year for whole birds or parts. There are some 6,000 entries on the waiting list.

    "We just don't have the supply. Our inventory is stretched," said Bernadette Atencio, supervisor of the program for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

    The repository, located about 10 miles from downtown Denver, was established in the 1970s to meet the needs of American Indians but some don't want to rely on it because it can take so long to get a bird, even as the population of bald eagles has largely recovered from the threat of imminent extinction.

    Read the full story.

    Rick Wilking / Reuters

    A sign at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Eagle Repository shows the numbers of requests for eagle parts in 2011 in Commerce City, Colorado March 26.

     

  • Taking a job search to the streets, resumes in hand

    Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

    Kelly Edwards, 54, who was laid off 4 years ago, holds a sign at a street corner in Pasadena, California April 25, 2012. Edwards has resorted to handing out resumes at street corners and accepting money from strangers to provide for his family.

    Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the latest week, but a more accurate gauge of labor market trends -- the four-week moving average -- deteriorated, raising further worries about the recovery.

    The Labor Department reported that seasonally adjusted jobless claims slipped by 1,000 to 388,000 in the week ended April 21. The four-week moving average, however, rose by 6,250 to 381,750.

    Both claims' gauges remain below 400,000, at least for now, but have been edging closer to a number that economists believe is a crucial signpost for the health of the job market.

    Continue reading...

    -- msnbc.com staff and news wires

    Squawk Box host Andrew Ross Sorkin and his twins, Henry and Max Sorkin, along with CNBC's Rick Santelli and Steve Liesman break down the latest numbers on jobless claims and what it indicates about the U.S. economic recovery.

  • Marking the Chernobyl disaster 26 years later

    Ivan Sekretarev / AP

    Russian veteran fire fighters lay flowers at Mitino Memorial to commemorate those who died after the Chernobyl 1986 nuclear disaster, in Moscow on April 26. Russians marked the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which was the world's worst ever nuclear accident.

    Gleb Garanich / Reuters

    Men walk near a containment shelter for the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26. Belarus, Ukraine and Russia mark the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the world's worst civil nuclear accident, on Thursday.

    Sergei Supinsky / AFP - Getty Images

    Victims of Chernobyl nuclear accident's widows hold pictures of their late husbands during a memorial ceremony at the Chernobyl victims memorial in Kiev on April 26.

    AP reports -- "The Chernobyl disaster underscored that mankind must be extra careful in using nuclear technologies," Ukraine's president Viktor Yanukovych said during a ceremony Thursday inaugurating the initial assembly of a gigantic arch-shaped steel containment building to cover the remnants of the exploded reactor. "Nuclear accidents lead to global consequences. They are not a problem of just one country, they affect the life of entire regions."

    The April 26, 1986, explosion spewed a cloud of radiation over much of the northern hemisphere, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes in heavily hit areas of Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia. The Soviet government initially tried to hush up the explosion and resisted immediately evacuating nearby residents. It also failed to tell the public what happened or instruct residents and cleanup workers on how to protect themselves against radiation, which significantly increased the health damage from the disaster.

    A shelter called the "sarcophagus" was hastily erected over the damaged reactor, but it has been crumbling and leaking radiation in recent years and a new confinement structure is necessary.

    Yanukovych said 2 million people have been hurt by the tragedy and it was the state's obligation to protect and treat them.

    But his reassurances fell flat with some Chernobyl cleanup workers and victims. About 2,000 protesters staged an angry rally Thursday outside parliament in Kiev, demanding an increase in compensations and pensions.

    Read the full story.

    Photojournalist documents Chernobyl aftermath for nearly two decades, then creates an iPad app to tell the story

    Sergei Supinsky / AFP - Getty Images

    A Chernobyl's handicapped person cries in front of the Chernobyl victims memorial in Kiev during a memorial ceremony on April 26. Ukraine launched today construction of a new shelter to permanently secure the stricken Chernobyl plant as it marked the 26th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

    Andrew Kravchenko / EPA

    The widow of a victim holds a child during a ceremony, commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 26. On April 26, 1986 reactor number 4 blew apart at the Chernobyl power station. Facing nuclear disaster on an unprecedented scale Soviet authority tried to contain the situation by sending thousands of men into a radioactive area.

  • At least four killed as two bombs hit Nigeria newspaper offices

    /

    A car destroyed by the bomb sits outside the premises of ThisDay Newspapers bombed in Abuja on Thursday.

    By Reuters

    Suicide car bombers targeted the offices of Nigerian newspaper This Day in the capital Abuja and northern city of Kaduna on Thursday, killing at least four people in apparently coordinated strikes.

    This Day is based in southern Nigeria and is broadly supportive of President Goodluck Jonathan's government - the main target for Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, which has killed hundreds of people this year in shootings and bombings.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks.

    At around 11 a.m. one bomber drove a jeep into the daily's office in Abuja, killing himself and two others, witnesses and the state security service (SSS) said.

    At the same time, 90 miles north in Kaduna, a car was stopped from getting into This Day's offices and one of the attackers jumped out.

    Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP – Getty Images

    A policeman stands in front of the premises of ThisDay newspapers bombed by suicide bombers early in Abuja on Thursday.

    "He was immediately challenged by two gallant Nigerians, following which he threw the bomb at them and it detonated, killing them instantly," the SSS said in a statement.

    It identified the bomber as Umaru Mustapha, from Maiduguri in Borno state, the home of Boko Haram in the remote northeast of Africa's most populous nation.

    Thousands of Nigerians protest fuel prices, as government fears 'anarchy'

    Later in the day, authorities reported another explosion in Kaduna. There were no further details.

    Boko Haram, whose name in the Hausa language means "Western education is sinful", has not previously targeted the press in its bombings. Last October, the sect killed a reporter for state-run television who it said was an informant.

    Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP – Getty Images

    Police officers scan debris of the engine of the Jeep used to bomb newspaper offices in Abuja, Thursday.

    Boko Haram has been fighting a low level insurgency for more than two years and has become the main security menace in Africa's top oil producer. Most attacks have been in the largely Muslim north, well away from the southern oil fields.

    This Day angered Muslims a decade ago when one of its columnists suggested the Prophet Mohammad might have wanted to marry a beauty queen. At least 100 people were killed in ensuing riots.

    "Horrendous and wicked"
    President Jonathan, in Ivory Coast for talks with other West African leaders on a crisis in Mali, said in a statement the attacks on This Day were "misguided, horrendous and wicked."

    "The President urged media practitioners not to be dissuaded from carrying out their fearless campaign for peace, justice and equity, as democracy cannot flourish without press freedom," the statement from his media adviser said.

    At least 27 lay dead at a Christian church in Nigeria after a bombing there that was part of a wave of blasts across the country  on Christmas Day. An Islamist group claimed credit. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports.

    In August last year, Boko Haram carried out a suicide car bombing at the United Nations building in Abuja that killed 25 people and prompted a ramp-up in security measures.

    At the scene of the Abuja blast on Thursday, sirens wailed as police and fire fighters rushed in. Smoke billowed from the building, whose windows were all smashed.

    Soldiers and police cordoned off the area, while emergency workers evacuated wounded on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

    "The suicide bomber came in a jeep and rammed a vehicle into the gate," said Olusegun Adeniyi, chairman of the This Day editorial board. "Two of our security men died, and obviously the suicide bomber died too."

    This Day's publisher, Nduka Obaigbena, is a celebrity in Nigeria and puts on music, art and fashion events in cities in around the world.

    More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

    Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

     

  • Thousands sing song of peace to protest Norway killer Breivik

    Kyrre Lien / EPA

    Labour Party youth leader Eskil Pedersen speaks as thousands of people turn up in poor weather to participate in the singing of a popular children's song at Youngstorget Square in Oslo on April 26, 2012.

    Reuters reports — Up to 40,000 Norwegians staged an emotionally-charged sing-along in Oslo on Thursday near the court house where Anders Behring Breivik is on trial for the murder of 77 people in a protest organizers said showed he had not broken their tolerant society.

    "It's we who win," said guitar-strumming folk singer Lillebjoern Nilsen as he led the mass sing-along and watched the crowd sway gently in the rain. Many held roses above their heads, and some wept.

    Norwegians to protest mass-killer, singing song he hates

    The crowd chose to sing a song - "Children of the Rainbow" - that extols the type of multicultural society Breivik has said he despised and one that he specifically dismissed during the trial as Marxist propaganda. Read the full story.

    Kyrre Lien / Scanpix via AFP -Getty Images

    Kyrre Lien / EPA

    Of the many people who turned up in poor weather to participate in the singing of "Barn av Regnbuen" ("Children of the Rainbow"), quite a few went on to place flowers for the victims near the entrance to the Oslo courthouse, where the trial of Anders Behring Breivik continued.

    Tens of thousands of people gathered in Oslo to sing a children's song calling for peace, as a protest against mass killer Anders Behring Breivik. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Friends and family of his victims looked on Friday as Anders Breivik calmly describes chasing down and killing dozens of teenagers during a shooting spree last year on Utoya Island in Norway. Msnbc.com's Al Stirrett reports.

    Slideshow: Norway mourns after massacre

    The nation looks to rally after a bombing and shooting spree leaves 77 people dead.

    Launch slideshow

  • Echoes of war: A journey around Sierra Leone

    A U.N.-backed court on Thursday convicted ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor of war crimes during the conflict in Sierra Leone, making him the first former head of state to be found guilty by an international tribunal.

    In advance of the ruling, Reuters photographer Finbarr O'Reilly traveled around Sierra Leone to examine the legacy of the 1991-2002 war, which left over 50,000 people dead and became a byword for gratuitous violence, especially the amputation of limbs.

    A decade later, the West African nation is peaceful, but remains among the world's poorest. It is due to hold elections in November. 

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    A woman uses a net to catch fish in a pool of water near the city of Makeni in Sierra Leone on April 20, 2012.

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    Komba Nyanku, left, 12, who wants to become a lawyer, and his friend, Abdoulaye Marrah, 12, who dreams of being a pilot, pose for a portrait in the town of Koidu on April 21, 2012. Neither of the boys has the money to pay school fees.

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    Kadiatu Kauma, 24, sits in a hospital with gunshot wounds to her arm, stomach and back after police opened fire on a crowd of protestors in the mining town of Bumbuna on April 19, 2012. A woman was shot and killed and several others were wounded when police opened fire on a crowd protesting wages and working conditions at the British mining company African Minerals, according to witnesses, hospital staff and police officials.

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    A headstone marks a mass grave of rebel victims in the village of Bomaru, where the conflict started in 1991, on April 22, 2012.

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    Guests attend a wedding in Koidu on April 21, 2012.

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    A worker carries charcoal through a slashed and burned area in eastern Sierra Leone, April 20, 2012. Logging is illegal in Sierra Leone, but remains the leading cause of environmental degradation, according to the European Union. Population pressure, common slash and burn methods and illegal logging mean the country's bountiful forests could disappear by 2018, according to the Forestry Ministry.

    Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

    The remote border post between Liberia and Sierra Leone, where fighters from Liberia entered on March 23, 1991 and triggered the start of the civil war, is seen in the village of Bomaru, eastern Sierra Leone, on April 22, 2012.

  • Analysts say North Korea's new missiles are fakes

    Ng Han Guan / AP, file

    In this photo taken on April 15, 2012, what appears to be a new missile is carried during a mass military parade at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. The photo shows the warhead's surface is undulated, suggesting it's a thin metal sheet unable to withstand flight pressure, analysts say.

    The Associated Press reports — Analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean missiles showcased recently at a lavish military parade say they were fakes, and not very convincing ones, casting further doubt on the country's claims of military prowess.

    The weapons displayed April 15 appear to be a mishmash of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel components that could never fly together. Undulating casings on the missiles suggest the metal is too thin to withstand flight. Each missile was slightly different from the others, even though all were supposedly the same make. They don't even fit the launchers they were carried on.

    Ng Han Guan / AP, file

    Adding more doubt to North Korea's claims of military prowess after its flamboyant rocket launch failure, analysts say the half dozen missiles showcased at the military parade were low-quality fakes.

    "There is no doubt that these missiles were mock-ups," Markus Schiller and Robert Schmucker, of Germany's Schmucker Technologie, wrote in a paper posted recently on the website Armscontrolwonk.com that listed those discrepancies. "It remains unknown if they were designed this way to confuse foreign analysts, or if the designers simply did some sloppy work." Read the full story.

    David Guttenfelder / AP, file

    North Korean civilians, some weeping, wave flowers as they look up at Kim Jong Un, unseen, at the end of the military parade on April 15, 2012.

    Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, shares a rare and revealing look inside the reclusive kingdom of North Korea.

    Slideshow: North Korea continues celebrations

    /

    Launch slideshow

     

  • Northern lights blaze again on video

    Fresh solar winds made for a spectacular light show on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News




    Skywatchers as far south as Colorado and Kansas witnessed a quick flare-up of the northern lights this week, which called to mind the brilliant, beautiful displays that northerners saw earlier this year. The skies have settled down — for now — but developments on the sun suggest we could be in for another wave of auroral glories.

    The greenish glow over Lake Superior, recorded from Michigan's Upper Peninsula at 2 o'clock in the morning by Shawn Malone of LakeSuperiorPhoto.com, was impressive enough to make NBC's "Nightly News" on Tuesday night. In an email, Malone told me that the "intensity caught me off guard."

    "Check out the passing freighter for scale," Malone said in his comments on the Vimeo version of the video. "What a view those sailors must have had!"

    Mark Riutta had a similar view from Copper Harbor Cabins on the Upper Peninsula, as the time-lapse video below illustrates. Riutta told me over the phone that he and his girlfriend were getting the cabins ready for the summer season and were surprised by how bright Tuesday's display turned out to be. "We were just about to go to sleep, when we looked out and wondered, 'Why is it so light out there?' he said.

    Aurora Borealis over Copper Harbor - April 24th, 2012 from Defined Visuals on Vimeo.

    SpaceWeather.com provides a roundup of auroral images from a dozen U.S. states, mostly in the Midwest but also including the top state for the northern lights, Alaska. And speaking of Alaska, here's an unconventional view of the aurora that was recorded from a height of 90,000 feet during "Project Aether: Aurora," a scientific experiment that took place this month:

     

    A GoPro HD Hero2 camera captured this view of the northern lights, set against a backdrop of the curving Earth and the glow of sunlight at the horizon. A second Hero2 camera was placed in the frame and illuminated to serve as a reference point for the camera exposure (as well as a plug for GoPro).

    Project Aether, led by University of Houston physicist Ben Longmier, sent up almost two dozen weather balloons laden with high-definition cameras and scientific instruments to monitor auroral activity near Fairbanks. Most of the payloads have been recovered, but the student researchers are still on the lookout for a few that haven't yet been located. If you happen to be in the Fairbanks area and find one of them, you could win a prize.

    More prizes could be in store for aurora-watchers: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center reports that we're currently in the midst of a minor geomagnetic storm, which could spark another wave of northern lights. What's more, an active region of the sun known as AR1465 has developed the type of magnetic field that's associated with stronger X-class outbursts.

    To keep tabs on the solar weather report, check in with SpaceWeather.com as well as the Space Weather Prediction Center's website and Facebook page. And to watch some classic auroral videos, check out the gallery offered by NASA's Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

    More auroral glories:

    Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto,"my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

  • Lightning over Cali, Colombia

    Luis Robayo / AFP - Getty Images

    A flash of lightning illuminates the night sky during a thunderstorm in Cali, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies of Colombia has predicted heavy rain, some thunderstorms and winds of high intensity for this year's rainy season in Colombia.

     

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

     

  • Elementary school kids in Virginia host Second Lady Biden

    Amanda Lucier / The Viginia-Pilot / AP

    Zyaire McLeod, 5, tucks his shirt in as he prepares to help lead the Pledge of Allegiance at Lee Hall Elementary School in Newport News, Va. on April 25 during a visit by Dr. Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States. )

    Amanda Lucier / The Virginia-Pilot / AP

    Dr. Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States, visits with students in a classroom at Lee Hall Elementary School in Newport News, Va., on April 25. Biden highlighted an Old Dominion University education partnership with Newport News Public Schools to boost academic achievement and addressed the social and emotional challenges that children of service members face from deployments and other issues.

    Amanda Lucier / The Virginia-Pilot / AP

    Breanna Summers, 8, rests in the arms of her father, Army helicopter mechanic Damion Summers, during a program to honor military families at Lee Hall Elementary school in Newport News, Va. on April 25.

    Amanda Lucier / The Virginia-Pilot / AP

    Jaelen Franco, center, a student at Lee Hall Elementary who was chosen to introduce Dr. Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States, seated to his left, yawns while listening to remarks by Admiral James E. Winnefeld, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a program to honor military families at the school in Newport News, Va. on April 25.

    From Amanda Lucier, photojournalist for The Virginia-Pilot

    My first experience at a newspaper was at the Dubois County Herald in Jasper, Indiana, where I learned that on the edges of every assignment, there was a great picture waiting to happen. It's the same everywhere, no matter how big the market. I saw Zyaire McLeod nervously waiting to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and I just know something was going to happen, so I stayed with him and when his teacher asked him to tuck in his shirt, I had my picture. It's a great joy, to have a job in newspaper photojournalism these days, because we get to witness small and wonderful moments like these.

     Read more on Dr. Biden's visit to VA school

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Students clash with police during demonstations in Chile

    Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

    Student protesters take cover from jets of water spray during a demonstration against the government in Santiago, Chile on April 25. Chilean students have been protesting against what they say is profiteering in the state education system and are demanding changes.

    Eliseo Fernandez / Reuters

    A student throws a bottle of paint during a protest against the government to demand changes in the public state education system in Valparaiso city, about 75 miles northwest of Santiago, Chile on April 25.

    Carlos Vera / Reuters

    An injured student is arrested by riot policemen during a demonstration against the government in Santiago, Chile on April 25. Chilean students have been protesting against what they say is profiteering in the state education system.

    Carlos Vera / Reuters

    Student protesters take cover from jets of water spray during a demonstration against the government in Santiago, Chile on April 25. Chilean students have been protesting against what they say is profiteering in the state education system and are demanding changes.

    Hector Retamal / AFP - Getty Images

    Thousands of students take part in a protest April 25 in Santiago, Chile. The students are demanding that the government of President Sebastian Pinera provide high quality and free public education.

    Ivan Alvarado / Reuters

      Related PhotoBlog photo on protests

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • 40,000 little pieces make one big art installation

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    Local volunteers Francis Aitken, right and Deborah Westmancote, left, place clay figures that make up Antony Gormley's "Field for the British Isles" art installation at the National Trust's Barrington Court on April 25 near Ilminster, England.

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    Artist Antony Gormley's "Field for the British Isles" consists of 40,000 of these clay figures. The acclaimed work, on loan from the British Arts Council Collection, is being exhibited in three rooms of the National Trust's Barrington Court near Ilminster, England.

    Matt Cardy / Getty Images

    A photographer takes a picture on April 25 of some of the 40,000 clay figures that will make up Antony Gormley's "Field for the British Isles" art installation that is being installed in three rooms at the National Trust's Barrington Court near Ilminster, England. The acclaimed work, on loan from the Arts Council, is part of the Trust New Art program.

     

     

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Medical staff flee troubled Guinea-Bissau

    Andre Kosters / EPA

    A doctor tries to save a young boy suffering with malaria at the Simao Mendes hospital in Bissau, capital of the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, on April 25. All image captured by EPA's Andre Kosters on April 25.

    A mother holds her child after being treated at Simao Mendes Hospital.

    A mother watches her child receiving medical treatment at Simao Mendes Hospital.

    West African regional bloc ECOWAS plans to send more than 600 troops to Guinea-Bissau in coming days with orders to protect people and institutions after a military coup there earlier this month, a senior ECOWAS source said on Wednesday.

    Reports state several doctors and nurses have fled the city making it a complicated to receive medical attention because of the action.

    On April 12 a group of Guinean military personnel attacked the residence of Prime Minister and presidential candidate, Carlos Gomes Junior of PAIGC arresting him and the President. 

    --EPA & Reuters contributed to this blog post.

    Andre Kosters / EPA

    A man waits for medical treatment at Simao Mendes Hospital..

    •Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

Jump to April 2012 archive page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 17