At top, on a clear morning, the downtown Denver skyline with the front range peaks of the Rocky Mountains in the background and Cherry Creek Reservoir in the foreground, is seen looking northwest from near Parker, Colo., March 20, 2004. At bottom is the same view on a smoggy morning at the same time just two days later, March 22, 2004. Denver was included in a new pollution watch zone by the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, April 15, as failing to meet federal health standards for smog-causing ozone.
This image, courtesy of the journal 'Science,' shows perforated tick shell beads (Nassarius kraussianus). A collar made of shell beads estimated to be 75,000 years old and found in a cave in South Africa is believed to be the oldest known jewelry, appearing 30,000 years before what had previously been considered the first signs of civilization, researchers said
Undated photograph taken from the Northern Marianas website shows the Anatahan island, part of the Mariana Islands. The US Geological Survey warned that ash from a freshly active volcano in the Northern Mariana Islands in the South Pacific could pose a serious threat to aviation
The east crater of Anatahan Volcano in the Northern Mariana Islands is seen in this September 2003 file photo. The north Pacific volcano may kick up enough ash to threaten aircraft flying in the area, U.S. geologists warned on April 15, 2004. The U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement that Anatahan had begun oozing lava and was causing a 'swarm of very small earthquakes.'
An avalanche. Two men have been killed in an avalanche in Sweden's northern Lapland region
A North Korean freighter off the Japanese coast. Japan tightened a marine pollution insurance law in a move which could see almost all North Korean ships barred from its ports, adding to recent legislation aimed at pressuring the Stalinist state.
Leonid Stadnik, 2.53 meter (8,3 feet) tall, Ukrainian veterinarian, left, pulls a cart as he approaches his house in the village of Podoliantsy, Ukraine's northwestern Zhytomyr region, 212 kilometers (131.74 miles) west of the capital Kiev, Friday, April 16, 2004. Stadnik, 33, said to be the world's tallest man, is still growing up.
Richard Doverspike, left, of Fairmont City, Pa. checks out one of the thousands of handguns on display while he was attending the first day of the NRA convention in Pittsburgh on Friday, April, 16, 2004. The NRA is creating a news corporation, starting an Internet talk show and preparing to buy a radio station. They are taking the step to operate free of political spending limits. It hopes to use unlimited donations to focus on gun issues and candidates' positions despite the law's restrictions on softmoney-financed political ads close to elections.
Rifle and gun enthusiasts look over some of the thousands of weapons on display while attending the first day of the National Rifle Association convention in Pittsburgh on Friday, April, 16, 2004. The NRA is creating a news corporation, starting an Internet talk show and preparing to buy a radio station. They are taking the step to operate free of political spending limits. It hopes to use unlimited donations to focus on gun issues and candidates' positions despite the law's restrictions on soft money-financed political ads close to elections.
David Rose, president of Ambient Devices, demonstrates the Ambient Executive Dashboard, at his company headquarters, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Friday, March 26, 2004. The device shows trends in three different subjects which are transmitted via the Internet. The plastic inserts are customized to gauge the data in a manner appropriate to the what is being measured.
David Rose, president of Ambient Devices, displays an Ambient Orb, at his company headquarters, in Cambridge, Mass., Friday, March 26, 2004. The orb changes colors to reflect trends in information on a particular subject which is transmitted via the Internet.
Astronomers scanning the universe for giant asteroids that could collide with Earth have switched their search to the southern skies where they say they may find the biggest space rocks yet. Here an impact crater in Australia's Northern Territory.
A rare edition on Shakespeare's works was auctioned at Christie's for 623,500 dollars, up to four times initial estimates.
A top Russian ballerina, sacked for being too heavy, lost a damages claim for $1 million against the chief of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater on April 15, 2004, local media reported. Prima ballerina Anastasia Volochkova, fired by the theater in September for being too bulky for her partners to lift, sought the damages from the Bolshoi's general director Anatoly Iksanov for harming her personal and professional reputation. Volochkova is shown performing at Ukraine's Opera House in Kiev
Catapult clashes : An unidentified Nepalese woman prepares to fire a catapult at riot police during a demonstration in Kathmandu.
