It's the famous 'Tomatina' fiesta in Buñol today

The fiesta ignores the recession and 120,000 kilos are being thrown in the streets today.

Today sees the famous ‘Tomatina’ festival in Buñol, Valencia, held annually on the last Wednesday in August.
40,000 people are taking part in the festival and 120,000 kilos of tomatoes are being thrown to create a river of red in the streets.
Buñol councillor, Rafael Pérez, said despite the recession the amount of tomatoes prepared was the same as last year. The fiesta is expected to bring as much as 300,000 € to Buñol.
The Town Hall has called a ‘a reference worldwide’.
Indeed last year saw visitors from Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India. (typicallyspanish.com)

Second World War bomb found in Amsterdam airport

One of Europe's busiest airports has been evacuated after a bomb was discovered.

The explosive device was found by workers digging near one of the runways at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam.
Experts think that the bomb may be from World War Two, when the airfield was used by Nazi Germany.
It has now been taken away by a bomb disposal team to be detonated safely.
Unexploded bombs from the Second World War are found quite often in parts of Europe.
Earlier this week, an American bomb was detonated by bomb experts in the German city of Munich. (CBBC Newsround)

First Man on Moon Dies Aged 82

Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the Moon, has passed away at the age of 82. The legendary U.S. astronaut died from complications following heart surgery he had earlier this month. He made history on July 20, 1969 as commander of the Apollo 11 Moon-landing mission. As he stepped onto the Moon's surface, he famously spoke the words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He was 38 at the time of his historic walk and instantly became one of the most famous people on the planet. However, he spent the rest of his life trying to avoid the spotlight and downplay his achievement. He later said he never understood why people focused so much on what he did.
Armstrong was born in 1930 and grew up fascinated with flying after taking a plane at the age of 6. He began making model planes and collecting books and magazines on aviation. As a teenager, he got his pilot's license before his driving license. In 1949, he became a Navy pilot, and flew combat missions in the Korean War. In 1958, he joined the organisation that became NASA and became a test pilot. Years after his Moon landing, Armstrong was asked how he felt about knowing his footprints would stay on the Moon's surface for thousands of years. He said: "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and cleans them up." When asked about the Moon, he said: "It's an interesting place to be. I recommend it." (Breaking News English)

Good or well?

Barcelona Ranked in Top 50 of World’s Best Cities to Live

Barcelona has been ranked 40th in the 50 cities with the best quality of life in the world. Madrid made it to 43rd. Other European cities on the list include Viena and Zurich.
The report studied 221 cities around the world, taking New York (which occupies 47th place) as the reference to compare various levels of quality of life, such as public services, the offer of nightlife and accommodation, the socio-cultural atmosphre, economic, political, social, educational and environment.
Those at the bottom of the list include Monterrey (104), San Jose (105), Asunción (112), Lima (118), Ciudad de Mexico (121), Quito (124), Santo Domingo (129), Bogota (130), Guatemala (142), La Paz (147), Caracas (164), Managua (166), San Salvador (168) and La Habana (189).
According to Mercer, which undertook the study, these rankings help multinational companies and governments to establish the levels of aid that they need to facilitate workers and expatriates. (Spanish News)

Prince Philip leaves Aberdeen hospital after five nights

The Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, has been allowed to go home after spending five nights in hospital.

Prince Philip, who's 91, has been treated for a bladder infection at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary - his third hospital stay in nine months.
He was taken to hospital on Wednesday during the royals' annual summer break at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire.
It is not yet known if he will be fit to attend the Paralympics opening ceremony with the Queen on 29 August. (CBBC Newsround)

Arctic ice melting to new low

The amount of ice in the Arctic could melt to an all time low by the end of the month according to the latest satellite pictures.

Scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center say 100,000 sq km is melting each day on average.
The satellites show the ice is covering a much smaller area than on the same day in 2007, the previous low point.
It's been melting rapidly since late June and is expected to continue until mid-to late September.

Arctic sea ice extent on 19 August 2012 (orange line shows the 1979-2000 average)

Ice melt

The Arctic sea ice plays an important role in helping keep polar regions cool and controlling the earth's climate.
As the ice has a bright surface, it reflects about 80 per cent of the sunlight that hits it back into space.
When the sea ice melts, it reveals more of the dark ocean surface, which absorbs 90 per cent of the sunlight, making the Arctic ocean warmer.
Scientists think that if this warming continues the Arctic could be left without any ice during the summer months by 2030. (CBBC Newsround)

'Vertigo' Named Best Movie Ever

Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Vertigo has been named as the best movie of all time by the British Film Institute (BFI). The 1958 film replaced Orson Welles' movie Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time, a position it had held for an incredible 50 years. The BFI poll has taken place once every ten years since 1962. Its panel is made up of 846 international film critics, movie directors, academics and writers. They voted for 2,045 different movies in this decade's survey. Nick James, a BFI spokesman, said the voting "seems to be not so much about films that…use cinema's entire arsenal of effects to make a grand statement, but more about works that have personal meaning to the critic".
Hitchcock called Vertigo his most personal. It is about a retired police detective suffering from acrophobia (a fear of heights) who is hired as a private investigator to follow the wife of a close friend to find out the reasons for her bizarre behaviour. The film received mixed reviews upon its initial release, but has gone on to amass considerable acclaim over the decades. The BFI said: "Vertigo is the ultimate critics' film because it is a dreamlike film about people who are not sure who they are but who are busy reconstructing themselves and each other to fit a kind of cinema ideal of the ideal soul mate." A separate poll of 358 international film directors chose Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953) as its greatest ever movie. (Breaking News English)