Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Cable cars pass over the River Thames on May 16, 2012 in London, England.

Engineers have been testing a new cable car system crossing the River Thames, Getty Images reports. The gondola-style cable cars will carry commuters between the Greenwich Peninsula and East London. 

The system, which is estimated to be costing nearly £60 million ($95 million), is expected to open to the public this year but doubts have been raised over whether it will be ready in time for the opening of the Olympic Games on July 27.

Related content:

• London beefs up security ahead of Olympics
• Video: Countdown to the Olympic Games
• Slideshow: When the Olympics is your neighbor
• Full Olympic coverage on NBCOlympics.com and TODAY in London

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Lefteris Pitarakis / AP

The 1 km (0.62 mile) cable car line crosses the river from the Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks, linking two important Olympic sites. Up to 34 gondolas, each carrying a maximum of 10 passengers, will transport people across the river.

Bay Ismoyo / AFP - Getty Images

Afghan cardiologist Rahima Stanikzair, 43, travels to her private clinic after finishing work at the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC) in Kabul on May 13, 2012.

Agence France Presse reports — Afghan cardiologist Rahima Stanikzair works 14 hours a day serving dozens of patients with heart problems at a private clinic as well as at the French Medical Institute for Children in Kabul.

When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, she continued working as a doctor as male medical personnel were banned from examining women.

Previously on PhotoBlog:

• In rural Afghanistan, the doctor arrives on the back of a donkey
• Childbirth in the country that is statistically the worst place to be a mother

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Bay Ismoyo / AFP - Getty Images

Rahima Stanikzair monitors an infant's heart at the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC) in Kabul on May 13, 2012.

Bay Ismoyo / AFP - Getty Images

Rahima Stanikzair leaves her office during her lunch break on May 13, 2012.

Andrew Biraj / Reuters

A man salvages his belongings after a fire in a slum at Shyamoli in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, on May 16, 2012.

At least 10 people were injured, including a firefighter who sustained burns, and more than 150 shanties were burned down as a blaze swept through a Dhaka slum, Reuters reports. The local fire department said the cause of the blaze had yet to be ascertained.

Bangladeshi photographer Abir Abdullah, who took the photo below, has been documenting the havoc created by Dhaka's frequent fires for several years. He spoke to The New York Times about the project last month.

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Abir Abdullah / EPA

A woman cries holding her child after she lost her shanty house in the fire.

Munir Uz Zaman / AFP - Getty Images

Firefighters work to control the blaze.

Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

German riot police carry a demonstrator covered in paint as police clear the camp of a group of occupy protestors in front of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on May 16, 2012.

More on the European financial crisis:

• Spaniards keep up anniversary rally against economic crisis
• 'Say your prayers': Attempts to form new Greek government fail

ESO

The galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is pictured in this image, taken with by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile. With a total exposure time of more than 50 hours, this could be deepest view of Centaurus A ever created.

Astronomers are taking a long, deep look at one of the best-known galaxies beyond our own Milky Way, to learn more about what happened when it gobbled up another agglomeration of stars that got too close.

The entrails of the gobbled galaxy are prominent in this view of Centaurus A, a galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The bright haze of stars is the typical signature of an elliptical galaxy, but the dark, swirling band of dust around the center is a tip-off that the "A" in Centaurus A stands for "atypical."

Scientists believe the band represents the dusty leftovers of the galaxy that has been consumed in a gravitationally driven merger. Flashes of fresh hot stars can be seen along the edges of the band. It's thought that an energetic black hole, 100 million times as massive as our sun, is blasting out strong radio emissions from the center of the haze.

Much of this has been seen before, in previous images of Centaurus A. But today's image, captured by the Wide Field Imager on the European Southern Observatory's MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in Chile, reveals extra details. That's because the camera exposure lasted for more than 50 hours, making this one of the deepest views of Centaurus A ever produced.

One reddish filament of material is visible above the left edge of the dark band. A fainter filament can be made out near the upper left corner of the picture. These filaments, hotbeds for infant stars, appear to line up with radio-emitting jets that are being spewed out from the central black hole. Such features can help astronomers reconstruct how Centaurus A gobbled a galaxy in the first place, and how the remains are being digested. Further studies, involving ESO's ALMA Observatory, will shed additional light on the scene.

More about the gobbling galaxy:

• Hubble spies a firestorm of starbirth
• Giant galaxy caught in mid-gobble
• Snapshot reveals a black hole's jets
• Cosmic collision probably spawned huge galaxy
• Scientists find 'normal' black hole in Centaurus A

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 and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Ben Nelms / Reuters

Anna-Rae Douglass (left) and Robin Pickell climb into a dumpster behind an organic grocery store in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Ben Nelms / Reuters

Anna-Rae Douglass sorts through a dumpster for edible food.

Ben Nelms / Reuters

May Wollf a practicing 'freegan', holds a sandwich that is made entirely out of found or donated food.

Ben Nelms, photojournalist for Reuters writes: I never thought I would say “that’s delicious” after taking a bite out of expired and moderately warm cashew ice-cream. This was one of the many presumptions that would be broken in my time spent with this intriguing group of “urban gleaners.”

A “Freegan” is someone who gathers edible food from the dumpster bins of grocery stores or food stands that would otherwise have been thrown away. This is usually due to being past an expiration date or being damaged. Bread, fruit and vegetables, canned goods and even ice-cream is found and given a second chance.

I first met Robin through another story I was working on at a young women’s shelter in downtown Vancouver. Robin, who works there part-time, mentioned that she had quite different food habits than the normal 23-year-old city girl in Vancouver. I asked if I could photograph her on one of her “grocery shopping” outings and the rest fell together from that moment on.

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Ben Nelms / Reuters

May Wollf (center) and Robin Pickell (right) sort through food they plucked out of a dumpster behind an organic grocery store in Coquitlam, British Columbia on Thursday night.

Ben Nelms / Reuters

Anna-Rae Douglass looks through her fridge of scavenged food at her house.

Juan Medina / Reuters

People banging saucepans with spoons shout slogans during a gathering marking the one year anniversary of Spain's Indignados (Indignant) movement in Madrid's Puerta del Sol on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 15: A demonstrator with Spain's Indignant movement dressed in costume representing a banker burns a Euro note during a rally at Puerta del Sol on Tuesday, May 15 in Madrid, Spain.

Reuters reports: MADRID - Spaniards kept up protests against politicians' handling of the economic crisis in Madrid's Puerta del Sol on Sunday after police evicted people from the central square in the pre-dawn hours and made 18 arrests.

As civic activists lamented Spain's worsening economy, authorities sought on the first anniversary of the grassroots "Indignados" movement to pre-empt a repeat of last year's encampment in the square that went on for a month.

Police arrested 18 people in Puerta del Sol overnight for resisting an order to leave. Protesters rallied anew in the square during the day calling for the release of the 18, chanting: "We're not all here!"

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Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images

Protesters with Spain's Indignant movement raise their hands in the air during a rally at Puerta del Sol on Tuesday.

NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI

The Saturnian moon Daphnis and Pan stir ripples in the giant planet's rings due to their gravitational effect. Five-mile-wide Daphnis (lower left) is perturbing particles in Saturn's A ring, while 17-mile-wide Pan (upper right) has kicked up dark wakes in the ring propagating toward the middle of the image. This picture was taken in visible light by the Cassini spacecraft's narrow-angle camera on June 3, 2010, at a distance of about 329,000 miles from Saturn.

This image from NASA's Cassini orbiter shows why Daphnis and Pan are known as "shepherd moons": The gravitational influence of those tiny satellites help keep Saturn's giant rings in line, creating subtle ripples and waves in the process.

Five-mile-wide Daphnis, at lower left, makes its circuit around Saturn in the Keeler Gap, an open space in the planet's A ring. As it passes through, it perturbs the particles along both sides of the gap, sculpting the edges. To learn more about Daphnis' influence and watch a movie showing the shepherd at work, check out this Web page from the Cassini mission's imaging team.

Meanwhile, 17-mile-wide Pan performs a similar function in the A ring's Encke Gap at upper right. You can see the dark waves left in the moon's wake by its gravitational influence on the icy particles in the disk. The images on this Web page provide additional perspectives on Pan. Such effects, documented in detail during Cassini's eight years in the Saturnian system, explain why Daphnis was named after a shepherd in Greek mythology, while Pan was named after the god of shepherds.

More about Saturn's moons and rings:

• Saturn moons star in dark drama
• Spot the specks of Saturn's moons
• Video: Guided tour of Saturn's rings
• Slideshow: Greatest hits from Cassini

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 and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Frank Van Beek / EPA

Melanie Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus, Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Enviroment, drives Wubbo Ockels Superbus in Valkenburg, The Netherlands on 15 May 2012 after the RWD, the institution that provides the registration of motor vehicles, provided the registration for the bus. The Superbus project aims to develop high speed coaches capable of speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph) together with the supporting infrastructure including special highway lanes constructed separately next to the nation's highways.

Frank Van Beek / EPA

Melanie Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus (L), Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Enviroment and Dutch physicist Wubbo Ockels (R) sit inside Ockels' Superbus in Valkenburg.

Frank Van Beek / EPA

Melanie Schultz van Haegen-Maas Geesteranus, Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Enviroment places a license plate on Wubbo Ockels' Superbus in Valkenburg.

According to the project's web site, the bus is electrically powered and weighs 20,000 lbs.

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Fredy Builes / Reuters

Former Colombian Interior Minister Fernando Londono, who is injured, walks as he is guarded by a bodyguard after an explosion in a central avenue in Bogota on Tuesday. A bomb attack in a commercial district of Colombia's capital Bogota killed two people on Tuesday and injured Londono who was the target, President Juan Manuel Santos said.

Ricardo Mazalan / AP

Pedestrians look at the scene after a bomb exploded in Bogota.

John Vizcaino / Reuters

Police officers, who are explosives experts, stand at the cordoned scene of an explosion in a central avenue in Bogota.

Fredy Builes / Reuters

Injured people, with blood on their faces, walk at the scene of an explosion in a central avenue in Bogota. A bomb attack in a commercial district of Colombia's capital Bogota killed two people on Tuesday and injured a former interior minister who was the target, President Juan Manuel Santos said.

Ian Johnston writes on msnbc.com's World News blog that 19 were injured in the blast in Bogota:

President Juan Manuel Santos condemned the attack. "This government will not be put off course by these terrorist attacks," he said, according to Reuters. "This was an attack against former minister Fernando Londoño." 

The TV images showed Londoño being escorted, walking but stunned, from the SUV in a suit and tie with blood stains on part of his chest. One of his bodyguards was holding a gun.

"Fortunately, Dr. Londono is stable. He's in the hospital," Santos said, The Associated Press reported.

Read more...

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Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

Yawalapiti youth chief Anuia (front) leads a dance in the Xingu National Park, Mato Grosso State on May 7. In August the Yawalapiti tribe will hold the Quarup, which is a ritual held over several days to honour in death a person of great importance to them. This year the Quarup will be honouring two people - a Yawalapiti Indian who they consider a great leader, and Darcy Ribeiro, a well-known author, anthropologist and politician known for focusing on the relationship between native peoples and education in Brazil.

Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

Yawalapiti tribe members catch fish in the Xingu National Park.

Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

Yawalapiti men wrestle in the Xingu National Park, Mato Grosso State.

Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

Yawalapiti children play over the Xingu River.

Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

An aerial view of the Yawalapiti village is seen in the Xingu National Park.

Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters

An aerial view of a portion of the Xingu National Park that is deforested from agriculture and logging is seen in Mato Grosso State.

Reuters photographer Ueslei Marcelino describes his time visiting the "village of joy:"

The mood was one of celebration. The Yawalapiti, one of the 14 tribes living inside the Xingu National Park, were preparing a new “quarup,” a ritual held over several days to honor in death a person of great importance to them. In its original form, the quarup was a funeral ritual intended to bring the dead back to life. Today, it is a celebration of life, death and rebirth. From the very oldest to the very youngest, all the members of the Yawalapiti tribe participate in the preparations.

The Yawalapiti are living in new times. During the meetings of tribal leaders that I observed, they demonstrated a preoccupation with preserving their culture and with the devastation of the Xingu’s forests. They discussed policies that could be implemented in a new project called Xingu+50, in reference to last year’s 50^th anniversary of the creation of Xingu National Park.

Aritana, the Yawalapiti cacique, who immediately struck me as witty, serene and wise, told me that a man should be like a good, old tree; he should give fruit throughout his lifetime, and towards the end produce a huge shadow to shelter others.

Without a doubt, it was a great experience to live with the Yawalapiti for a few days. They made me ponder my own coexistence with mankind in my corner of the world in urban Brasilia, and our relationship with nature.

Read more...

See more images from the Amazon Basin in PhotoBlog.

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Enrique Calvo / Reuters

Paralympic swimmer Xavi Torres, 37, of Spain carries his orthopaedic legs after a training session on the Balearic island of Palma de Mallorca on May 15. This summer, Torres, who has previously won 16 paralympic medals, will participate in his sixth paralympic games. He currently owns four world swimming records in different categories.

Enrique Calvo / Reuters

Paralympic swimmer, Xavi Torres, 37, of Spain attends a training session on the Balearic island of Palma de Mallorca on May 15.

Enrique Calvo / Reuters

Paralympic swimmer Xavi Torres, 37, of Spain stretches before a training session on the Balearic island of Palma de Mallorca on May 15.

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Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

A policeman keeps watch as angry COSATU supporters chant slogans during a march by the Democratic Alliance (DA) South Africa's main opposition party in Johannesburg, May 15. The march by South Africa's main opposition party on the headquarters of leading union federation COSATU descended into chaos on Tuesday, with police firing tear gas to disperse crowds of rock-throwing protesters.

Themba Hadebe / AP

An injured opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) supporter is helped by fellow members after being hit by a stone during their protest march against the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) for opposing the youth wage subsidy in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday May 15. An opposition party march in Johannesburg turned violent Tuesday after union supporters hurled rocks at the leader of South Africa's main opposition party.

About 1,000 members of the opposition Democratic Alliance marched through downtown Johannesburg in support of a government plan to subsidize the wages of young people in a bid to ease chronic unemployment among the unskilled youth.The group was met by angry COSATU (trade union coalition) members who blocked the streets, sparking a violent confrontation that had to be broken up by police. 

Full story.

Santosh Sherchanstrdel / AFP - Getty Images

Onlookers and rescuers are seen near the wreckage of an Agni Air Dornier Do 228 aircraft at the crash site in Jomsom, west of Kathmandu, on May 14, 2012. A small plane crashed near a treacherous high-altitude airport in northern Nepal May 14, killing 15 people while six others miraculously survived, police said. The aircraft belonging to local carrier Agni Air ploughed into the ground just outside Jomsom airport, a gateway to the Annapurna mountain range, shortly after the pilot reported a fault.

Prakash Mathema / AFP - Getty Images

Danish couple Emily Jorcensen and Andrees Rosch, survivors of yesterday's Agni Air crash in Jomsom, recuperate at the Manipal Hospital in Pokhara on May 15, 2012.

Santosh Sherchanstrdel / AFP - Getty Images

The wreckage of an Agni Air Dornier Do 228 aircraft plane is seen at the crash site in Jomsom, May 14, 2012.

Prakash Mathema / AFP - Getty Images

Indian child Siparda, a survivor of yesterday's Agni Air crash in Jomsom, recuperates at the Manipal Hospital in Pokhara on May 15, 2012.

The pilot was attempting to return to Pokhara shortly after taking off, detecting technical problem with the plane. The right wing struck the hillside and crashed, killing 15 people, but miraculously, six people survived.  Full story

Bollywood child star killed in plane crash

List of passengers and more information on The Himalayan Times

Carlos Barria / Reuters

A view of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, right, and downtown Shanghai seen through the haze on May 15, 2012.

Aly Song / Reuters

A young man wearing a mask walks along the Bund in Shanghai on May 15, 2012.

The U.S. Consulate in Shanghai began posting hourly air quality readings for the city this week, with data showing "very unhealthy" conditions at times on Tuesday afternoon.

The consulate's classification reflects U.S. pollution standards but operates on a different scale than the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau, which called conditions "slightly polluted". 

Denied access to official data, Chinese citizens take their own pollution readings

A similar monitor on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has long been seen as the most reliable source of information on air quality in the Chinese capital.

Bathed in smog: Beijing's pollution could cut 5 years off lifespan, expert says

Read more about the Shanghai monitor at the US Consulate's website and find the latest readings on their dedicated Twitter feed.

Reuters contributed to this report

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Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Palestinian women scuffle with Israeli policemen as they try to stop them from arresting a relative in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Issawiya on May 15, 2012, as Palestinians took to the streets to mark Nakba day.

Palestinians held a series of events and protests Tuesday to mark the Nakba ("catastrophe") of Israel's founding in a 1948 war, when hundreds of thousands of their brethren fled or were forced to leave their homes.

On Monday, a Palestinian official said a deal had been reached with Israel to end a weeks-long high-profile hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Read an analysis of the background to the hunger strikes by NBC News correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin.

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Ammar Awad / Reuters

A Palestinian suspected of throwing stones is detained by undercover Israeli police officers in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya May 15, 2012.

Mohamad Torokman / Reuters

A boy holds up a door key as Palestinians take part in a rally marking Nakba in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 15, 2012.

Abir Sultan / EPA

A Palestinian youth shoots fireworks at Israeli policemen in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Issawiya on May 15, 2012.

Ahmad Gharabli / AFP - Getty Images

Israeli riot policemen arrest a Palestinian boy in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Issawiya on May 15, 2012.

Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images

The head of Gaza's Hamas government, Ismail Haniya (blue polo shirt), takes part in a marathon in Gaza City on May 15, 2012 to mark Nakba day.

AFP - Getty Images

Family members grieve during a funeral for the victims of the violent hailstorm and torrential rain that swept through Minxian in northwestern China's Gansu province. Pictures taken on May 13, 2012 and made available today.

Funerals are being held for forty people killed when a brief but violent hailstorm and torrential rain swept through a mountainous region of northwestern China, Agence France Presse reports.

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AFP - Getty Images

Family members carry a coffin during the funeral procession. 29,300 people were evacuated after rain and hail battered the county.

AFP - Getty Images

Family members grieve during the funeral.

Laurent Cipriani / AP

French President Francois Hollande waves from his car as he drives down the Champs Elysees in Paris after his inauguration on May 15, 2012.

Christophe Ena / AFP - Getty Images

French President-elect Francois Hollande arrives for his inauguration on May, 15, 2012 at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

Reuters reports — Francois Hollande became French president on Tuesday in an official handover ceremony that makes him the country's first Socialist leader since Francois Mitterrand.

Outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted Hollande on the steps of the Elysee presidential palace, and took him inside to transfer nuclear codes and other secret files ahead of a short swearing-in ceremony attended by around 400 guests.

Hollande was due to fly to Berlin later in the day for his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

'Monsieur Normal' takes office ... unmarried

French economy stalls, posing challenge for new president

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Fred Dufour / AFP - Getty Images

Hollande is awarded "Grand Maitre" in the Order of the Legion of Honor, from chancellor of France's National Order of the Legion of Honor, General Jean-Louis Georgelin.

Mehdi Fedouach / AFP - Getty Images

Hollande, right, walks on the red carpet towards his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy prior to the start of the investiture ceremony.

Lionel Bonaventure / AFP - Getty Images

Sarkozy, left, welcomes his successor Hollande upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace.

Jacques Brinon / AP

Hollande's partner Valerie Trierweiler, right, shakes hands with Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy before the presidential handover ceremony.

Jacky Naegelen / Reuters

Journalists work as a man sweeps the red carpet in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace.

Patrick Kovarik / AFP - Getty Images

Sarkozy and his wife leave the Elysee Palace after the formal investiture ceremony.

Reuters

Hollande stands up in his car as he rides in the rain up the Champs Elysees.

Bill Ingalls / NASA via AFP - Getty Images

The Soyuz TMA-04M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 15, 2012.

Yuri Kochetkov / EPA

The Soyuz TMA-04M rocket blasts off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday night.

Mikhail Metzel / AP

U.S. astronaut Joseph Acaba, left, Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka , center, and Sergei Revin, right, crew members of the mission to the International Space Station.

Bill Ingalls / AP

An Orthodox Christian priest blesses members of the media shortly after blessing the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch pad Monday.

Space.com reports: A Russian rocket launched three astronauts toward the International Space Station late Monday night, kicking off a two-day journey to the huge orbiting lab.

The Soyuz is slated to dock with the space station shortly after midnight ET Thursday. Once aboard, the three spacefliers will bring the orbiting complex back to its full complement of six residents. Their fellow Expedition 31 crew members — NASA's Don Pettit, Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko — have had the station to themselves since April 27.

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Matt York / AP

An air tanker drops retardent on a fire Monday, May 14, 2012, near Crown King, Ariz.

msnbc.com news services reports: Firefighters battled two wildfires in northern Arizona Monday night that have forced residents from their homes.

A fire in Crown King has forced 350 residents from their homes in a historic mining town just weeks ahead of the busy tourist season. There, the fire began on private land Sunday and has grown to 1,300 acres, destroying two buildings and one trailer, Prescott National Forest spokeswoman Debbie Maneely said.

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