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WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) - California-based private company SpaceX announced Thursday that its Dragon spacecraft completed key on-orbit tests as part of a historic attempt to be the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. Early Thursday morning, Dragon's thrusters fired, bringing the vehicle 2.4 kilometers below the station.

Published: 25/05/2012 at 01:48 PM Online news: Asia Tweet More than 200 mountaineers are set to head for the summit of Mount Everest on Friday and Saturday, risking perilous overcrowding just a week after four died on the packed trail in bad weather. In this photo, released by Neal Beidleman in 2011, unidentified mountaineers are seen walk past the Hillary Step while pushing for the summit of Everest.

Photo: Can Djokovic add the French Open title to his trophy cabinet? (Alex Livesey: Getty Images) Novak Djokovic's bid to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time hit its first hurdle on Friday when Roger Federer became a potential French Open semi-final opponent. World number one Djokovic, three times a semi-finalist in Paris, is the top seed at the French Open with Federer, the 2009 champion, seeded three and

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union launched a challenge at the World Trade Organization on Friday against Argentinian restrictions on imports, escalating a trade war triggered when Buenos Aires seized Spanish oil assets. "Argentina's import restrictions violate international trade rules and must be removed," said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, inviting other global rivals to join his battle against a "protectionist import regime

British climber Kenton Cool, seen here in March, has reached the summit of Everest, his website announced, fulfilling an 88-year-old promise to carry an Olympic gold medal to the top of the world's highest peak. British climber Kenton Cool shows an Olympic gold medal awarded to Arthur Wakefield in 1924 as he prepares to reach the summit of Everest.