Edinburgh on the Fringe

Every year, thousands of performers descend on this beautiful Scottish town. Watch as the Frugal Traveler tries to uncover the diamonds in the rough.

World's deepest swimming pool

The undated photo shows Nemo33, the world deepest swimming pool with a depth of 33 meters (105 feet), on the outskirts of Brussels. It is designed by Belgian John Beernaerts.

The undated photo shows Nemo33, the world deepest swimming pool with a depth of 33 meters (105 feet), on the outskirts of Brussels. It is designed by Belgian John Beernaerts.

U.S. scientists one step closer to cloaking device

A Klingon's warship in "Star Trek" -- a Bird of Prey used a cloaking device to become invisible.

U.S. scientists are getting closer to engineering material that could make three-dimensional objects invisible to the human eye, though they're nowhere close to duplicating the "cloaking device" used by alien Klingons in "Star Trek," according to media reports Monday.

Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.

The findings, by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Xiang Zhang, are to be released later this week in the journals Nature and Science.

Cloaking uses metamaterials to deflect radar, light or other waves around an object.

Metamaterials are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic, Teflon or fiber composite. They are designed to bend visible light in a way that ordinary materials don't. Scientists are trying to use them to bend light around objects so they don't create reflections or shadows.

Brightman, Liu duet for the world

Cheers from the 90,000-strong crowd reverberated through the National Stadium, when Chinese vocalist Liu Huan and British songstress Sarah Brightman presented the theme song for the night, You and Me, at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics last night.

Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan sing the theme song during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony on August 8, 2008 at the National Stadium in Beijing.

Flashlights and countless camera flashes offered the backdrop to a towering globe on which Liu and Brightman sang their duet, written and composed by France-based Chinese songwriter Chen Qigang.

"I think the show has succeeded in sending the message ... communicating with the world in harmony," Liu said after his performance.

"Being up there was one of the biggest thrills in my life," Brightman said.

She also performed the theme Amigos para Siempre at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games with Spanish tenor Jose Carreras.

The 48-year-old soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer wowed Chinese audiences in a concert in Beijing on May 30, 2004, at the Capital Gymnasium.

Brightman has also toured other cities in China, such as Shanghai and Guangzhou.

She gained fame through performances in hit musicals such as Andrew Lloyd Weber's Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.

Her style of blending classical vocals and pop-inspired instrumentation and arrangement has earned her 150 gold and platinum awards in 34 countries.

Similarly, Liu Huan is one of the most popular singers in China.

As composer of the One World, One Dream Olympic song, and one of the country's best known musicians, the stocky 45-year-old Tianjin native majored in French and is a self-taught singer-songwriter.

Liu first became known for composing music for Chinese TV dramas, including the TV series Beijingers in New York, a huge hit in the early 1990s.

Top UK Olympic medal hopefuls pose naked for photos, United Kingdom

Rower-turned-cyclist Rebecca Romero of the U.K. poses nude for photographs in London before the Beijing Olympics. Romero, together with another two Britain's top Olympic medal hopefuls, triple jumper Phillips Idowu and Scottish swimmer Gregor Tait, shows off her enviable physiques by posing naked. The images will form the basis of an advertising campaign during the Games.

Scottish swimmer Gregor Tait poses nude for photographs in London.

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu poses nude for photographs in London. Idowu dyed his hair red as he believes the color can bring him good luck during the Beijing Olympics.

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu poses nude for photographs in London.

Fierce competition ahead

The cartoon shows two 110m hurdles athletes, Liu Xiang from China, Robles from Cuba , who will compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The cartoon shows two male gymnasts, Li Xiaopeng from China and Kim Dae Eun from the Republic of Korea, who will compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The cartoon shows three famale marathon athletes, Zhou Chunxiu from China, Radcliffe from U.K. and Mizuki Noguchi from Japan, who will compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The cartoon shows two female gymnasts, Cheng Fei from China and Hong Un-Jong from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, who will compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The cartoon shows two female gymnasts, Jiang Yuyuan from China and Shawn Johnson from the U.S.A. , who will compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.