The “African Queen” is a 100-year-old steam boat famed for its role in the 1951 movie of the same name. 
The movie starred legends of the silver screen, Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, and brought Bogart his only Oscar. 
The boat fell into a state of disrepair after the death of its previous owner in 2001. 
The ship has been repaired and refitted by husband and wife team Lance and Suzanne Holmquist (pictured). 
The restoration process has seen a new steel hull and boiler installed on the African Queen. 
Humphrey Bogart’s son, Stephen, has given the restored vessel his blessing. - The African Queen is a steam boat that featured in a 1951 movie of the same name
- The film starred Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn
- After the death of its previous owner, the 100-year-old vessel fell into a state of disrepair
- A movie loving Florida couple have restored the ship to its film star glory
(CNN) — The historic vessel which provided the setting for Humphrey Bogart‘s only Oscar winning performance has been resurrected from the scrapheap by a movie-loving Florida couple.
The African Queen is a 100 year old steam boat famed for its starring role in the 1951 hit movie of the same name.
The classic picture — which also starred Katharine Hepburn and told the story of a Canadian steam boat captain and a British missionary working in German East Africa during the First World War — saw Bogart receive the 1951 Academy Award for best actor.
After falling into a state of disrepair following the death of its previous owner in 2001, the vessel was spotted gathering rust in a Florida marina late last year by Suzanne Holmquist and her engineer husband, Lance.
The couple have since repaired the ailing ship and opened it up to tourists and film enthusiasts, providing cruises around the Florida Keys aboard the famous vessel.
See also: Historic vessel Cutty Sark rises from ashes
“It’s (the boat) held in a trust so we approached them and talked about restoring it,” says Holmquist on how she stumbled upon the famous vessel.
“We have a tall ship business that operates right next to where the African Queen was stationed in Key Largo. It was just wasting away so we offered to restore it and put it into our charter operation,” she adds.
Suzanne Holmquist
Although most famed for its role alongside Bogart and Hepburn, the African Queen had a long and colorful life before hitting the big screen, explains Holmquist.
Built in 1912 at Lytham Shipbuilding Yard in England, the vessel was originally named the Livingstone and served as a cargo vessel for the British East Africa Rail Company.
It spent most of its first 50 years operating in the waters of the Ruki River in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo where she was used to transport a mixture of hunters, mercenaries and cargo.
In the early 1950′s the ship was spotted by the director of the African Queen, John Huston, and pulled temporarily from service so it could be used in the movie.
See also: HMS Victory gets $25 million revamp
By the late 1960′s however, the African Queen had swapped the big screen and the rural hinterland of the Congo for the concrete jungle of San Francisco. An American businessman transported the ship to the Golden Gate city where he hoped to harness its Hollywood fame to operate it as a tour boat.
This idea proved unsuccessful however and the vessel then changed hands a number of times before coming to the attention of Florida attorney and Humphrey Bogart enthusiast, Jim Hendricks Sr. in 1982.
Hendricks Sr. eagerly snapped up his very own chunk Bogart movie memorabilia which he owned until his death in 2001.
During this period Hendricks Sr. took the African Queen around the world, gracing flotillas that marked the 50th anniversary of the battle of Dunkirk in the English Channel and the Queen Mother’s 90th birthday on the River Thames.
Once Hendricks Sr. passed away however, the vessel once more fell upon hard times, wasting away on a lonely jetty in southern Florida.
It was here that Suzanne Holmquist, herself a self-confessed Bogart and Hepburn buff recognized the boat. Late last year she made an offer to the owners to put it back in working order.
Suzanne Holmquist
“It had big holes in it and was kind of like a sieve when it rained, all the water was just pouring out,” says Holmquist.
“My husband has restored big boats before, some bigger than this one, so I knew that we could do it,” she adds.
The ensuing restoration project has been a detailed and thorough process taking fully six months to complete.
See also: Tourism at the bottom of the deep blue sea
The hull has been equipped with a new steel frame, a replacement boiler has been installed and the original black African mahogany wood decks have been repainted.
In order to maintain the boats worn and rustic charm however, Holmquist says it has been splattered with mud so as to make it look exactly like it does in the movie.
“Most of the interest so far in boat has come from movie fans … so we wanted it to make it look as much like it does in the film as possible,” says Holmquist.
The ship has even had a special guest visitor in the shape of Humphrey Bogart’s son, Stephen, who gave the freshly completed restoration efforts his blessing.
But by using the African Queen’s Hollywood past to draw people aboard, Holmquist also hopes to provide visitors with an understanding of the ship’s rich history beyond the silver screen.
This a story Holmquist herself says she has been fascinated to discover over the course of the past few months.
“I knew it was famous from the movie but as time has gone on I’ve found out a lot more about the history of it and where she has been,” says Holmquist.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to relay that story and all those who come to visit can learn a little more about the boat and her incredible life,” she adds.
Song Byeok’s paintings are often about coming to terms with life outside North Korea. Behind him is the painting “Child Warrior,” depicting the curious North Korean custom of dressing children in military clothes on special birthdays. Song painted the boy with his eyes closed. 
“I risked my life on this painting,” Song says of “Take Off Your Clothes,” which created a stir by putting the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in a Marilyn Monroe pose. “In some ways, this picture represents me,” Song said. “I hope after North Korean society opens up, people will debate it.” It is used on this poster to promote Song’s recent exhibit in Atlanta. 
North Korea built hundreds of statues of Kim Il Sung, founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In “Beloved Father of Our Country,” women in drab military clothing pay tribute to their “Great Leader.” 
It was only after he lived outside North Korea that Song began to understand freedom and why it was so important. This, Song says, is his main message as an artist. 
Like much of Song’s work, this painting, “Hope,” is about the desire for a better future for his homeland. “Defectors naturally want to help things inside North Korea change,” he said. “My way of doing that is to paint.” 
A work done in classic Tang Dynasty style, “Around the Tumen River” looks as if it could have been painted centuries ago. But an up-close view reveals the hard realities of life in North Korea. Farmers work without tractors, soldiers survive on fish they catch in a river, and people in hills scour for edible plants. 
In some ways, it’s not a far jump from propaganda to pop art. In “Let Me Taste It,” Song pays tribute to Andy Warhol, freedom of expression and the difficulties of life in North Korea. 
Before his death in December, North Korean society revolved around the Dear Leader. But in “General and Tribes People,” Song shows Kim Jong Il’s shadow shrinking to a taper when around people who don’t buy into the myth. 
Like most North Korean families, Song’s parents didn’t want him to wear his shoes unless it was necessary. “Shoes cost parents three or four days’ wages,” Song said, “and children were expected to stitch their own repairs.” In “Barefoot Boys,” a T-shirt says “Nothing to Envy in the World.” 
“Mass Game” depicts a trademark image of North Korea, where thousands participate in exercises of unity and patriotism. 
It’s not uncommon for North Koreans to describe the Dear Leader as a surrogate parent. In “A Loving Father and His Children,” Song replaces the chubby, square-jawed children he painted as a propagandist with realistic images of child beggars found around many North Korean rail stations. Passers-by will sometimes pay them to sing; a popular song is “Our General is a Great Leader.” 
In “Hillside Slums,” the painting on the left, an image of Song’s mother dominates the skyline over the house he grew up in. She told Song she was worried about Kim Jong Il’s health before she herself died in the famine of the 1990s. By putting Kim in drag in “Fall Into My Arms,” Song glamorizes all things foreign and wonders whether life would not be more exciting for North Korea if it was opened to the outside. 
The girls in “Flower Children” are waving and posing for foreigners in the way they’ve been trained: brimming with confidence that they live in the world’s greatest country. Song painted them with their eyes closed, blind to the reality of their poverty. 
Song says he feels a bond with people from other countries where basic rights are restricted. “Freedom” expresses his hope that people everywhere will break their chains the way he broke his. 
Song takes a cigarette break with Greg Pence, an American who saw Song’s work in Seoul, was moved by its power and organized the funds for an exhibit in the United States. 
Ever desperate for hard currency, the official website of North Korea offers propaganda art for sale, including some of Song Byeok’s designs. Artwork promoting the North Korean regime is available on beer steins, clocks and even iPad and iPhone covers. The items are made in places as diverse and as far from North Korea as El Salvador and Pakistan. They are for sale in U.S. dollars and ship from California. This calendar sells for $5.99 and says “We must be determined to fight and win against imperialism.” You can also order this motif on an insulated bottle or can holder. 
It may look like a nation at war, but in fact it’s a North Korean greeting card. The caption says “Happy New Year.” 
Now available to foreigners on a coffee mug, Song Byeok painted this same design on three factory billboards inside North Korea. It says “Self-Reliance: This Is Our Only Belief.” The mug is made in China. 
The bottom line on this lime-green T-shirt reads, “Let’s Build a Strong and Prosperous Country With the Power of Our Military.” 
Song painted this design across the large exterior wall of a factory in North Korea. The gun and the dove dominate the scene, as the phrase beneath reads “Peace Through Fighting.” 
This battery-powered wall clock sells for $16.49, and in addition to telling the time, it tells you, “Let’s Kick-Start the ‘Military First’ Policy.” This was Kim Jong Il’s policy of prioritizing the military’s needs over food during the famine of the mid-1990s. 
The button on the right is emblazoned “All-or-Nothing War.” 
If anyone were to think North Korean propaganda was relentlessly martial, this golf shirt (made in Pakistan) proclaims, “Let’s Ignite the Fire for Peace.” 
This beer stein declares, “In Life, In Death, Red Is In Our Hearts.” 
Michael Schumacher in the modern Silver Arrow while Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg takes the wheel of the 1955 model. 
China Grand Prix champion Nico Rosberg is the first Mercedes driver to win a Formula One race since Juan Manuel Fangio in Italy in 1955. 
The two Germans will return home this weekend and help launch the new season of the DTM touring car series at Hockenheim. 
Fangio, pictured in second place, races the original Silver Arrow at the Buenos Aires track in 1955. The Argentine didn’t disappoint his home crowd, later taking the title. 
Fangio is mobbed by fans after winning the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. The racing legend had 24 wins and five world championships in a career spanning almost 20 years. 
Fangio and Schumacher are the only drivers to have won three successive world championships, a feat Sebastain Vettel is hoping to match this year. 
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher gets behind the wheel of the new F1 W03 at an official preseason test event in Barcelona. 
The 43-year-old said he is still hungry to achieve success despite entering his 19th season in Formula One. Schumacher is yet to register a podium finish since returning to the sport in 2010. 
Nico Rosberg finished the 2011 Formula One season one place and 13 points ahead of compatriot and Mercedes teammate Schumacher. 
Team principal Ross Brawn worked with Schumacher at Italian marque Ferrari, where they won multiple world championships together. 
Schumacher became drivers’ champion for the first time at Benetton in 1994, before retaining his crown with the team in 1995. 
The German is best remembered for his time at Ferrari, where he won five consecutive championships between 2000 and 2004 before retiring for the first time in 2006. 
Protests against the Bahrain GP have intensified in recent weeks. This graffiti was posted on a wall in the village of Barbar, west of the capital Manama, in April. 
Bahraini Shiite Muslims in the town of Muharraq take part in a demonstration calling for the cancelation of Sunday’s race. 
Hundreds of supporters of Bahrain’s main Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq demonstrated against the government on April 15, 2012. 
However, Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani told CNN that staging the race was not a big risk, and that F1 was not linked to the protesters’ concerns. 
Bernie Ecclestone, the head of Formula One Management, told CNN that sport and politics do not mix after announcing that the Bahrain race would go ahead. 
CNN’s Fred Pleitgen went to Bahrain to report on the situation, and accompanied riot police as they confronted protesters in the streets. 
Bahraini Shiite demonstrators hold posters of jailed activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja during a protest calling for his release in the village of Jidhafs, west of Manama, on April 6, 2012. 
Al-Khawaja has been on hunger strike for almost two months, and his daughter told CNN she fears for his health. 
Bahrain first held a Formula One race in 2004, but last year’s event was canceled due to the civil uprising against the government. 
Sarah Chang is cited among the best violinists performing in the world today. Since her debut with the New York Philharmonic at the age of eight, she has appeared across the music capitals of Asia, Europe and America. 
A life dedicated to the formality of classical music is very different from a life led in the frenetic city of Buenos Aires — where racy murals decorate the streets and the sound of tango music echoes in the air. But this is where Chang had chosen to fly for her Fusion Journey. 
There she met with local ensemble “Orquesta Tipica Andariega” (pictured), a band steeped in the traditions of tango. Together they would create a new piece of music inspired by this meeting of cultures. 
But first Chang, who confesses to be the owner of “two left feet,” would take a lesson in the other side of tango — dance. Over the course of her practice, she discovered that the dance moves have an “intimate relationship with the music,” which she would later draw on to enhance her musical performance. 
Out of her customary ball gown, Chang donned an outfit more befitting of a small local tango club, hidden along a narrow backstreet in Buenos Aires. 
Here, accompanied by “Orquesta Tipica Andariega,” she performed a tango standard, incorporating a solo violinist twist adapted especially for the fusion. Looking back, she says she was touched by the intimacy between the performers and the audience — an experience she is unfamiliar with in the world’s giant concert halls. 
Now, she says she tries to retain that Buenos Aires-style intimacy wherever she plays. “I try to connect with every single last person in the balcony on an emotional and personal level.” 
Australian Grand Prix: March 18, Melbourne
Malaysian Grand Prix: March 25, Kuala Lumpur
Chinese Grand Prix: April 15, Shanghai
Bahrain Grand Prix: April 22, Sakhir
Spanish Grand Prix: May 13, Catalunya
Monaco Grand Prix: May 27, Monte Carlo
Canadian Grand Prix: June 10, Montreal
European Grand Prix: June 24, Valencia
British Grand Prix: July 8, Silverstone
German Grand Prix: July 22, Hockenheim
Hungarian Grand Prix: July 29, Budapest
Belgian Grand Prix: September 2, Spa
Italian Grand Prix: September 9, Monza
Singapore Grand Prix: September 23, Singapore
Japanese Grand Prix: October 7, Suzuka
Korean Grand Prix: October 14, Yeongam
Indian Grand Prix: October 28, New Delhi
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: November 4, Yas Marina
United States Grand Prix: November 18, Austin
Brazilian Grand Prix: Sao Paulo, November 25
The 2012 Formula One season sees the introduction of a four-hour limit for races, following last year’s rain-delayed marathon in Canada. Charlie Whiting, the FIA’s race director, explained the decision, telling the sport’s official website: “Should four hours elapse during a future race, drivers will receive a signal telling them they have one more lap before the checkered flag.” 
Teams can no longer use engine exhaust to produce large amounts of downforce — a practice which has been prevalent for the last two years in the form of blown diffusers. Now exhaust pipes must exit in a defined area at the back of the car, not run along its underbelly. 
Many of this year’s cars feature a dramatic stepped-nose design. Whiting said this is to make sure the height of the nose was lower than the sides of the cockpit, therefore reducing the risk to the driver in the event of a collision. 
In previous seasons, cars had to pass crash tests in order to compete in races. Now, cars must pass the FIA’s 18 mandatory tests before the official preseason test events. “It is indefensible to have drivers testing cars in the winter that haven’t met the safety standards we demand for a race,” said Whiting. 
As bizarre as it may sound, drivers have been told not to drive off the race track without good reason. “We’ve seen drivers taking shortcuts on in and out laps, either to save time or fuel,” explained Whiting. 
Pit stops are a crucial part of F1, and a race can be won or lost depending on how quickly the crew are able to replace a car’s tires. In an attempt to save valuable time, teams have been known to power their wheel guns with compressed helium instead of air. But not anymore. “It saved fractions of a second,” Whiting said. “It would have been a very expensive method of gaining no advantage.” 
The gulf in class between some cars means that the leading drivers often lap back-markers during a race. The safety car is deployed if there has been an accident on track or if conditions become dangerous. Drivers are not allowed to overtake each other under such conditions, but in 2012 strugglers will be able to un-lap themselves by going past the safety car and reforming at the back of the field. 
Each driver is allowed 11 sets of tires to use over the course of a race weekend, but they must last through practice, Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race. Previously teams could only use three of their sets during Friday practice, but they will now be able to use as many as they like. 
The highlight of any grand prix is seeing drivers attempt daring, fast-paced overtaking maneuvers. But now, when a driver has someone behind them, they are allowed to make only one defensive move to protect their position. This rule is to prevent potentially dangerous blocking strategies. 
iReporter Udayan Mishra captures trekkers as they walk their final steps to reach Annapurna base camp in Nepal. 
“This photo was taken on a dawn hike up to Kala Patthar, towards the end of a two-week trek from Lukla to Everest Base Camp. It is about minus 30 degrees Celsius without taking into consideration the wind chill. A truly spectacular region – I can’t wait to go back,” says iReporter Ruth Stewart. 
“Beholding the sunrise taking its time was an amazing experience and was worth all the walk uphill. The Fishtail Mountain, 6,997 meters (22,950 feet) on left, seemed to have been waiting for the first rays of sunshine to fall on it for quite some time,” says iReporter Udayan Mishra. 
iReporter Ruth Stewart says her two-week trek to Everest Base Camp was one of the most challenging treks she has ever done. 
iReporter Joseph Orona took this photograph of Mount Everest from a commercial aircraft flying from Lhasa, Tibet, to Kathmandu, Nepal. 
“I first trekked in Nepal in the early 1980s. Without doubt, Himalayan glaciers in Nepal have shrunk dramatically during this period,” says iReporter Barry Wenlock. 
“When the first sunlight hit the Himalayas, I was captured by the soft golden color of the first sunrise,” says iReporter Duangmon Chaturapitaporn. 
“Don’t be discouraged, the Annapurna Circuit is a trail for almost everyone. There are tea houses along the way which offer a clean and simple place to stay and eat. There are even options to hire porters and guides, though for an experienced hiker, we didn’t feel it was necessary. This is one of the most amazing treks in the world and we can’t wait to go back to do it again!” says iReporter Dean Gakos. 
“Home to the highest monastery in Nepal, the Tengboche Monastery is situated in the Khumjung Valley, Solukhumbu, within the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park, Nepal. A peaceful, quiet, chilled and serene place, it is also home for Buddhist monks,” says iReporter Kuna Rajandran. 
Everest may be taller, but real mountaineers know no peak on the planet beats K2 for sheer intensity. 
You can hire a four-wheel drive to take you within five meters of the summit of the steaming Bromo National Park volcanoes. 
If you want to go back to the birthplace of mountaineering the Matterhorn is the place to be. 
Kilimanjaro is a top pick for sightseeing. You’ll travel through five different climactic zones en route to the “roof of Africa” and many guides offer safaris as an end-of-climb addition that will appeal to all ages. 
If you’re short on time and trekking experience, it only takes two days to climb Grand Tetons’ peaks, making it a quick and easy way to get classic scenery and name appeal. 
Le Corbusier called the Dolomites, “the most beautiful architectures in the world.” 
More than 250 Guardsmen mark 100 days until the London 2012 Olympics starts on on July 27. They are at Horse Guards Parade in central London, which will host beach volleyball. 
China, which hosted the previous Olympics in 2008, also marked the milestone as athletes performed outside the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing. 
Melissa Wu, a diving silver medallist four years ago, poses with Australia’s Boxing Kangaroo Olympic mascot as the 100-day landmark is celebrated in Sydney. 
The future of London’s new Olympic stadium is one of the unresolved issues surrounding the Games’ legacy. 
Olympic mascots Wenlock and Mandeville strike a pose outside the London 2012 store at Heathrow Airport. 
Giant Olympic rings are towed on the River Thames in front of the city’s iconic Tower of London on February 28, 2012. 
The Arcelor Mittal Orbit viewing platform seen next to the Olympic stadium. World-renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor designed the skyscraping sculpture that stands at 115 meters high. 
London 2012 Olympic Torchbearers Dinah Gould and Dominic John MacGowan pose with Mayor of London Boris Johnson on March 19, 2012. 
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, meets Great Britain’s Hockey Team at London’s Olympic Park on March 15, 2012. 
Members of the emergency services take part in a London Olympics security drill entitled Exercise Forward Defensive on February 22, 2012. The exercise was to test responses to a possible terrorist incident during the Games. 
British rowing legend Matthew Pinsent helps lift in the first of 16,000 beds to be installed in London’s Olympic Village on January 26, 2012. 
Analyst Jignasha Patel prepares a sample for testing in the anti-doping laboratory which will test athletes’ samples from the London 2012 Games on January 19, 2012. 
Workers carry out the installation of artist Monica Bonvicini’s “RUN’”sculpture in the plaza of the London 2012 Handball Arena at the Olympic Park on January 12, 2012. 
Models wear the Volunteers Uniform for London 2012 at a photocall at the Olympic Park on November 22, 2011. 
Organizers expect 80% of the eight million ticket-holders to use the various rail systems, including the tube, during the Games. There will also be an Olympic Route Network where road traffic will be shut off to allow 55,000 athletes, officials and media to get to venues each day. 
HRH Princess Elizabeth (center) undergoing instruction at the Auxiliary Territorial Service training centre in April 1945. Courtesy 
Auxiliary Territorial Service: Princess Elizabeth, a 2nd Subaltern in the ATS, wearing overalls and standing in front of an L-plated truck. In the background is a medical lorry. Courtesy Imperial War Museum 
1992 was a bad year for the royal family. In addition to the three royal marriage breakdowns, a fire wreaks havoc in Windsor Castle causing major structural damage. The Queen would later describe this year as “annus horribilis.” 
Criticism of the monarchy peaked in 1997 following the death of Princess Diana in Paris. The royal family was accused of being remote and out of touch with the grief-stricken public. However, after several days of silence, the Queen returned to London, speaking to mourners and admitted there were lessons to be learnt from Diana’s life. 
Since the death of Diana, the queen’s popularity has enjoyed a revival as she continues to preside over what appears to be a softer, more accessible modern royal family. Here, she attends her grandson, Harry’s graduation from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, southern England in 2006. 
It all began in a Harvard dorm room in 2004. Mark Zuckerberg and fellow students Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin start what then was known as Thefacebook. The social-networking site spreads to other Ivy League universities the next month. 
Zuckerberg and his partners move Facebook’s base of operations to Palo Alto, California, where they meet former Napster co-founder Sean Parker. The savvy, hard-partying Parker becomes an early partner (and later president) of Facebook and helps attract investors to the fledgling network. 
The company drops the “the” from its name after Parker pays $200,000 for Internet address Facebook.com. Facebook has grown to include students from more than 1,000 colleges and universities and is opening to high schools. 
Facebook opens to anyone older than 13 with a valid e-mail address. That same month, the site introduces its News Feed, which highlights updates, photos, etc., from friends within your network. Users revolt, starting petitions to change Facebook back, although — as with most Facebook changes — they eventually grow to embrace the feature. 
Microsoft purchases a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million, valuing the company at about $15 billion. The deal comes after other Internet giants, including Google and Yahoo, failed to buy all or part of Facebook. By now, more than half the site’s users live outside the United States. 
Facebook hits 100 million users. The same year, it surpasses MySpace to become the world’s most popular social network. 
One month after acquiring rival network FriendFeed, Zuckerberg announces Facebook has begun turning a profit for the first time. 
Facebook introduces the Like button, which is quickly adopted by the thousands of news and retail sites that integrate with the social network. Some users complain there should be a “Dislike” button, too. Despite growing user concerns over privacy, Facebook hits half a billion users three months later. 
“The Social Network,” David Fincher’s movie about the founding of Facebook, hits theaters, making Mark Zuckerberg a household name. The film is a critical and commercial hit, earning $225 million worldwide and winning three Oscars. Zuckerberg calls the movie a largely inaccurate dramatization but says it gets his casual wardrobe right. 
Facebook rolls out Timeline, a redesign to the site’s user profile pages, amid ever-present complaints about the changes. But Zuckerberg’s not worried — by this time the site has 800 million active users, half of whom log in every day. 
Facebook buys the photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion. 
Facebook prepares to become a publicly traded company, raising billions of dollars from investors. The company says it expects to price its shares at $34 to $38 each, potentially valuing Facebook at more than $100 billion. Based on his stake, Zuckerberg himself will likely be worth more than $15 billion. 
Next month sees the start of football’s European Championships, arguably the toughest competition in world football. Ukraine will co-host the event with Poland, but it has been overshadowed by the treatment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who has been in prison since last October on charges of abuse of power. 
It is alleged by Tymoshenko’s supporters that charges against the former prime minister, who came to the fore during the Orange Revolution that swept Ukraine in 2004 and 2005, are politically motivated, trumped up by current president Viktor Yanukovych. They also allege that Tymoshenko was beaten while in prison. 
CNN spoke to Tymoshenko’s daughter Eugenia about her mother’s detention and alleged beating. The pictures caused a political firestorm, with many European leaders now boycotting the tournament. 
Dozens of European political figures have boycotted the event in protest at Tymoshenko’s treatment, including the EU president and head of the EU commission Jose Manuel Barroso. Barroso is pictured here receiving an official Euro 2012 match ball from President Yanukovych just 18 months ago. 
The controversy is a far cry from the euphoria that followed the Orange Revolution in 2004 and 2005. The uprising was sparked when Viktor Yushchenko lost the presidential election to the then prime minister Viktor Yanukovych after alleged voter fraud. 
Yushchenko was taken seriously ill during the uprising. His supporters alleged that he was deliberately poisoned to prevent him winning the election. But he survived and, after the allegations of vote fraud had provoked massive street protests, a new round of voting took place which Yushchenko won. 
Although Yushchenko had won the election it was the blonde-haired figure of Tymoshenko that captured the public’s attention. She was appointed prime minister in the new government. 
Here Tymoshenko meets with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Although it was all smiles on the international stage, domestically Tymoshenko and President Yushchenko were locked in a bitter power struggle. 
The Ukrainian people had had enough of the infighting, and made a decisive decision in the 2010 presidential elections. Yushchenko received just 5% of the vote while Tymoshenko narrowly lost to Yanukovych, who had lost the 2004 election. This time international observers judged the election to be free and fair. 
Preparations for Euro 2012 did not run smoothly. The new president promised to allay UEFA’s concerns over the slow building work. Here Ukrainian riot police practice ahead of the arrival of tens of thousands of football fans from across Europe. But there are still some worries. Amnesty International issued a warning to fans that Ukraine’s police exhibited “criminal” behavior. 
The preparations were completed and Ukraine now awaits the biggest sporting event to ever take place in the country’s history. But how many European heads of state will actually turn up for the final at the $500 million Olympic Stadium in the capital Kiev on July 1? 
That will largely depend on the fate of Tymoshenko, pictured here kissing her daughter Eugenia goodbye after being convicted last year. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is one of several politicians watching and waiting before making a decision. 
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has spoken out against European leaders’ boycott of Ukraine’s Euro 2012 matches, saying sport and politics should not mix. 
Her husband Oleksander (left) and their daughter Eugenia have been campaigning for better treatment of the Orange Revolution leader, who was found guilty of abusing her power when in office. 
Germany’s foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said that concerns over Tymoshenko could block ratification of a political and trade deal between the EU and Ukraine. 
Security fears for the June 8-July 1 tournament in Ukraine and Poland have been elevated since four explosions went off in a busy area of central Dnipropetrovsk on April 27, wounding 26 people. 
Police officers walk past a giant model of “Tango 12,” the official match ball of the Euro 2012 football tournament, during a patrol in Dnipropetrovsk on April 29. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb attacks. 
All 16 competing nations at Euro 2012 will head to Poland and Ukraine next year dreaming of reaching the final at Kiev’s Olympic Stadium on July 1. The venue in the Ukrainian capital has been renovated ahead of the championship, having originally been constructed in the 1920′s. In addtion to the final, the Olympic Stadium will also host a quarterfinal and some Group D matches. 
The Donbass Arena in Donetsk is home to Ukrainian champions and 2009 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk. Opened in August 2009, the stadium will host a semifinal, quarterfinal and Group D matches. 
The National Stadium in the Polish capital of Warsaw has a capacity of over 58,000 and will play host to a semifinal, a quarterfinal and Group A matches. Euro 2012 will kick-off at the newly-built arena on June 8. 
Work began on the 43,000-seater Arena Gdansk in 2008, with the stadium now the home of Polish team Lechia Gdansk having opened in August 2011. The stadium will host a quarterfinal and three Group C matches. 
The Ukrayina Stadium is home to Ukrainian outfit Karpaty Lviv and is pictured here during an explosive opening ceremony in October 2011. The arena holds just under 35,000 fans and will be the venue for three Group B ties. 
The Kharkiv Stadium is the home ground of Ukrainian team Metalist Kharkiv and was renovated ahead of next year’s tournament. The venue for three Group B matches, the ground can hold 38,000 fans. 
The Miejski Stadium was originally built in 1980, but the arena in the Polish city of Poznan has been updated for Euro 2012. It is the home of Lech Poznan and will stage three Group C matches. 
The Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw holds 42,000 fans and will be the venue for three Group A clashes. Home to Polish team Slask Wroclaw, the arena was opened in September. 
Ukrainian fans are known for creating a formidable atmosphere in their own stadiums. Here, Dynamo Kiev’s fans hold flares during a match between their team and rivals Shakhtar Donetsk. 
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (L) shakes hands with Michel Platini on a recent visit to the country by UEFA’s president. Platini said in 2008 that Ukraine needed to “wake up” and “get going” after a series of delays. 
Platini and deputy prime minister Boris Kolesnikov inspect work on a new terminal at Donetsk airport. The improvement work, insisted on by European football’s governing body, comes at a cost of $412m, according to the Ukrainian government. 
Mark de Rond, from the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School, spent six weeks studying military surgeons at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. 
When they are busy, the surgeons are “brutally effective,” says de Rond. But he adds: “The problem is when people don’t have anything to do.” 
British soldiers play rugby at Camp Bastion in Helmand province. De Rond says boredom had a destabilizing effect and that when bored, surgeons can become “like big bears — you just don’t want to be around them.” 
Rooibos, South Africa’s naturally caffeine-free tea, has become a popular choice for tea lovers across the world. 
Its appeal has grown in recent years because of the drink’s health benefits. 
Growing demand from outside South Africa has created an industry worth around $23 billion. 
Rooibos, an Afrikaans word that means “red bush,” grows only in South Africa’s Western Cape province. 
The industry, a major employer in the months of harvesting, is now trying to protect the rooibos name and its heritage. 
Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas lifts the Spanish Primera Division trophy after Jose Mourinho’s team defeated Mallorca 4-1 on Sunday. The 32-time Spanish champions finished the season with 100 points, a record amount. 
Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna cut a forlorn figure after a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid condemned the 2006 European Champions League semifinalists to relegation from the Spanish top flight. 
Manchester City beat archrivals and neighbors Manchester United to the English Premier League title on goal difference, after two goals in stoppage gave Roberto Mancini’s side a 3-2 victory against Queens Park Rangers. 
Defeat in Manchester would have sent QPR down, if Bolton Wanderers had beaten Stoke City. But Owen Coyle’s team could only draw 2-2 at the Britannia Stadium, a result which ended Bolton’s 11-year stay in the Premier League. 
Veteran striker Alessandro del Piero celebrated his final game for Juventus in style, scoring as the Italian champions beat Atalanta 3-1. Juventus were undefeated throughout the 38-game league season. 
Filippo Inzaghi marked his final game for AC Milan in similar style to Del Piero, netting the winner in a 2-1 defeat of Novara. Milan finished second, four points behind Juve. 
Borussia Dortmund were crowned champions of Germany for a second year in a row, with Jurgen Klopp’s side finishing eight points ahead of Champions League finalists Bayern Munich. 
France Football magazine has released a list of the highest-earning players in world soccer. Three-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi of Barcelona tops the list, earning $52 million in wages and sponsorship deals. 
Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o profited from joining big-spending Russian outfit Anzhi Machachkala from Inter Milan in August 2011. 
England star Wayne Rooney penned a lucrative five-year contract with Manchester United in October 2010, after initially declaring that he wanted to leave the Old Trafford club. 
Argentina striker Serguio Aguero is one of two Manchester City players in the top 10 after joining the Abu Dhabi-owned English Premier League club from Atletico Madrid for a reported $62 million in July 2011. 
Aguero is joined on the list by City teammate Yaya Toure, the Ivory Coast midfielder who signed for the club from Barcelona in 2010. Toure signed a sponsorship deal with German brand Puma in October 2011. 
Spain striker Fernando Torres joined Chelsea from EPL rivals Liverpool in a British-record transfer reported to be worth $80 million in January 2011. Despite his lucrative move, Torres has struggled to find the net during his spell in west London. 
Brazil playmaker Kaka was briefly the world’s most expensive player when he signed for Real Madrid from AC Milan in 2009. The reported$100 million fee Real paid for his services was beaten later in the same transfer window, when the Spanish club signed Ronaldo. 
Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm completes the top 10. The Germany skipper attracted controversy last year for releasing a book in which he criticized the training techniques of former Bayern coaches Jurgen Klinsmann and Felix Magath. 
Javier Pastore is the most expensive player in French football history after he cost Paris Saint-Germain a fee believed to be $56 million. But Pastore is not the first footballer to have swapped clubs for a hefty price tag. 
Fernando Torres swapped Chelsea for Liverpool on the final day of the January 2011 transfer window. After moving for a British-record transfer fee, believed to be in the region of $80 million, Torres has scored just five goals in a little over 12 months with the club. 
In 2001, Real Madrid broke the world transfer record to bring FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane to Spain from Italian club Juventus. The fee for the French World Cup winner was reported to be ?86.5 million ($115 million). 
Real broke world transfer record again in June 2009, paying a reported $100 million to lure Brazil’s Kaka away from Italian club AC Milan. 
Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Real’s archrivals Barcelona during the same transfer window. Barca paid Inter Milan a reported $65 million for the Sweden striker, but he lasted only one season before returning to Italy with AC Milan. 
Kaka’s time as the world’s most expensive player was short, with Real smashing the transfer record once again to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for a reported $130 million. 
More than a decade ago, more than 265 chimpanzees — including Howard, pictured here in 2002 — spent their days at a New Mexico medical research facility being poked, prodded and confined to small cages. Then, the Save the Chimps foundation intervened. After nearly a decade of rehabilitation, the chimps were transported to a 150-acre sanctuary in Florida. CNN went along with the last group as they made the journey and experienced their first time outdoors. 
Preparing the chimpanzees for their move was bittersweet for Save the Chimps employees, who spent years caring for the animals. “What am I going to do when I get up at 5 o’clock in the morning and they’re not here?” asked Debra Lovelace as she tearfully said goodbye to Bart, a 20-year-old chimpanzee. “It’s been eight years but it’s part of a dream.” That dream is to see these chimpanzees moved to a Florida sanctuary where they will have space to run and play. 
Guilder rests as he begins the long journey to Florida, thanks to the sedation needed to get him into the transport cage. It is the final trip transporting the last nine of the 266 chimpanzees from the Coulston Foundation facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico. 
The specially designed trailer that carries the chimps — a moving billboard for Save the Chimps — has windows allowing the chimpanzees to see out and the public to see in, says the group’s sanctuary director, Jen Feuerstein. The chimpanzees are often heard banging and hollering before they are seen through the tinted windows. 
At a gas station in Slidell, Louisiana, cashier Denise Johnson runs out of the store to greet the chimpanzees. “I get to see them every time they come,” says Johnson, who has greeted most of the 27 groups of chimps as they make their cross-country journey. Realizing that this is the final group of chimpanzees, Johnson starts to cry. “Well I hope they’re happy where they’re going,” she says. 
The trailer stops about every two hours so Feuerstein can check on the chimps, feed them and give them medication. Moesha, Alari and Sarah have to take birth control pills and Bart, Alari and Brody take medicine for anxiety. 
After about 40 hours on the road, the final chimpanzees arrive at their retirement home in Fort Pierce, Florida. Roady and Bradley run around the cage hooting and hollering in excitement after being let out of their transport boxes. The chimpanzees are reunited with the others in their 19-member family. The Save the Chimps staff spent years creating family units for these highly social animals as part of their rehabilitation. 
Sarah looks out the window at a much greener view than the one she had in New Mexico. She and her family members will have access to a three-acre island. The 150-acre sanctuary has constructed the islands in lieu of fences because chimpanzees will not go into the water. 
Moesha is the first chimp to make it onto one of the islands. After a lifetime spent indoors, these chimpanzees can finally look up and see the sun. Feuerstein expresses her relief that the foundation’s 10-year rescue operation has come to a successful end. “It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished,” she says. “Nobody’s moved this many chimps over this many years and without incident.” 
Actress and model Pamela Anderson is fronting the Downforce1 racing team, which plans to compete in the 2012 European Le Mans and International GT Open series. 
The Canadian star is pictured here with Markus Fux, the team’s sole driver who also doubles up as Downforce1′s marketing coordinator. 
The former Playboy model gets a closer look at the car with German socialite Marcus Prinz von Anhalt. The car was due to enter its first race at an International GT race in France this weekend, but Downforce1 announced it had decided not to enter. 
Anderson shot to fame in the hit U.S. TV show Baywatch, in which she played lifeguard C.J. Parker between 1992 and 1998. 
Anderson is not the first female celebrity to enter motorsport. Socialite Paris Hilton co-founded the SuperMartxe VIP MotoGP team in December 2010. 
