Space, volcanoes, security on road to Sochi

MOSCOW: The countdown has started to Russia’s Winter Olympic Games in Sochi starting on February 7 and the build-up promises to be nearly as dramatic as the event itself as Russia parades the Olympic flame around the vast country and controversy rumbles over controversial Russian security measures.

The Olympic torch, but not the Olympic flame came back down to Earth on Monday after being taken up into space for a space walk. Three astronauts showed off the torch, apparently unharmed after its venture into the cosmos, after landing back in Kazakhstan on Monday.