A pair of Great Tits birds, (Parus major), that have made their nest in a cigarette ashtray in the entrance to 'The Foresters' restaurant and bar in Yoxall, Staffordshire, United Kingdom on Friday May 30, 2008. The owner, Richard Glass was astonished when he found the pair and has erected a sign to warn customers about using the box.  EPA/STEVE WOODS

No jokes about seeing a pair of Great Tits outside the pub on Friday...

Gorilla baby Ubongo looks on in the arms of its mother Zazie at the zoo of Hanover, Germany, 30 May 2008. Ubongo was born in January.  EPA/JOCHEN LUEBKE

Another cute animal.

Akela, a one month old jackal cub is held by a keeper at Szeged Game Park, Szeged, 170 kms south of Budapest, Hungary, 30 May 2008. Akela is one of two young jackals raised by keepers in Szeged.  EPA/GYOERGY NEMETH

Well it is Friday, so a couple of cute animal photos...

Space shuttle Discovery sits on launch pad 39-A (L)  during the morning sunrise at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, 30 May 2008. The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) is scheduled to rollback into the lock position, 30 May 2008 with liftoff of Discovery scheduled for no earlier than 31 May 2008 at 5:02 P.M. EDT.  EPA/GARY I ROTHSTEIN

A landslide falls on the road that connects the Colombian capital, Bogota with the city of Manizales at Savinas, 29 May 2008. Rains and floodings leave 16 deads and more than 124.000 affected people in the departments of Antioquia, Tolima, Nariño, Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, Arauca and Meta.  EPA/John Jairo Bonilla

Indian airforce helicopters are pictured during an air display at the International Aerospace Exhibition and Conferences (ILA) at the airport Berlin-Schoenefeld in Berlin, Germany, 26 May 2008. The Berlin Air Show will take place from 27 May until 01 June 2008 at the airport area south of Berlin.  EPA/WOLFGANG KUMM

The 16 contestants for the title 'Miss Euro 2008'.

16 women one of each participating country will compete in the beauty contest. At first they will present the jersey of their national team and later they will wear beach wear and evening dresses. The women have to be at least 18 years of age.  EPA/PATRICK SEEGER

I am amazed they still do this sort of thing. Harmless fun or...?

Two members of the Queen's Cavalry walk past rows of deckchairs designed by well known British artists and celebrities in London's Hyde Park, Britain, 29 May 2008. Part of a high profile charity initiative, 'Deckchair Dreams' 2008, is being launced by the Royal Parks Foundation to help raise funds for London's eight Royal Parks.  EPA/ANDY RAIN

Only in the UK...

A man look over artifacts from an exhibit, 'Treasures of the English Church' in London, Britain, 29 May 2008. The exhibit looks at 1,000 years of sacred gold and silver from the year 800 to 2000.  EPA/ANDY RAIN

Not short of a bob or two then.

A Nepalese young woman with the words  'Long Live Nepal Republic' painted on her face takes part in a victory rally outside the Narayanhiti Royal Palace after the Royal flag was remove from the Royal Palace in Kathmandu, Nepal. 29 May 2008.

Nepal has become a Federal Democratic Republic 29 May, after the Constituent Assembly overwhelmingly voted for abolition of the country's 240-year-old monarchy giving King Gyanendra 15 days to quit his palace.  EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHA

A composite image showing the Rialb's reservoirs, in Lleida, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, pictured on 15 January 2008 (top) and 29 May 2008. The water levels of the reservoir has risen considerably after recent rains in the Catalonia region during the last weeks.  EPA/LAURENT DOMINIQUE

Some photos I have seen show entire villages, drowned when the reservoirs were built, visible again.

Young rice plants grow in an irrigated paddy field near Lopburi, 150 km north of Bangkok, Thailand, on 26 May 2008.

Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter and might profit from an improved process developed by Chinese scientists to turn rice straw, the unused stalk and leaves of the rice plant, into biogas.

According to ScienceDaily.com the scientists achieved a more than 60 percent increase in biogas production from rice straw with a pre-treatment with caustic soda opening up a new inexpensive and renewable form of biofuel.  EPA/BARBARA WALTON

Australian rock musician Nick Cave performs during his concert in Petoefi Hall in Budapest, Hungary, 26 May 2008.  Cave's European tour will next move on to Italy, Serbia, Greece and France.  EPA/PETER KOLLANYI

Still has an edge after all these years.

A picture made available 27 May 2008 shows a woman standing on the rooftop of a building damaged by the 12 May 2008 earthquake, as workers behind begin to dismantle a water tower that threatens to collapse in Zhundao town, Mianzhu, Sichuan province, China, 26 May 2008.  EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

A very determined looking lady.

An artist's impression of a 1,000-kilowatt tidal power plant that the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced on 27 May 2008 will be set up in the Myeongnyang Channel in South Jeolla Province by the end of the year. The tidal plant, to be the world's biggest, will be 16 meters long, 36 meters wide and 48 meters high.  EPA/YNA

Not strictly a photo I know, but first-time I have seen how these might look on a large scale.

Ash rises from Ecuador's Tunguharua volcano, South of Quito, 26 May 2008. The Tungurahua has increased its activity during the last three weeks. Credit: Jose Jacome

A devotee wearing locks in his neck attends annual gatherings at the shrine of Sufi Saint Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi Mashhadi, more known as Bari Imam in Islamabad Pakistan 26 May 2008. Thousands of people visited the shrine on the first day of the Urs which will continue till May 29.

People were seen eating rice and bread that was being distributed at the Langar Khana. The Bari Imam Urs has become one of the main events of the capital as thousands of devotees from all over the country take part in it every year. EPA/T. MUGHAL

This image, one of the first captured by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice.

A picture made available on 26 May 2008 showing a man standing amidst debris 11 May 2008 in Yekyaw , near Labutta, Myanmar 11 May 2008, hit by Cyclone Nargis. Myanmar military supremo Senior General Than Shwe assured United Nations Secretary Gernal Ban Ki-moon 23 May 2008 that the regime would allow "all" foreign aid workers unhindered access to the country and disaster zones.  EPA

I doubt we will ever know the full toll in Burma.

An Photo released by Foto Hofer on 26 May 2008 shows the controversial work depicting a crucified frog. A sculpture of a crucified frog that went on show in a Bolzano museum this weekend has sparked a backlash from local clerics and politicians who want the work removed.

The metre-high work by late German artist Martin Kippenberger belongs to his Fred the Frog series and depicts a warty, pop-eyed amphibian nailed to a cross with a frothing mug of beer in one hand.

Curators at Bolzano museum of modern art Museion said that Kippenberger's work was a self-portrait of the artist 'in a state of profound crisis', but their explanation has been given short shrift by local bishop Wilhelm Egger. 'The crucified frog has shocked many visitors to the Museion and has hurt their religious feelings,' Egger said. EPA/FOTO HOFER/HANDOUT