A Finnish astronautics company is set to launch the world’s first wooden satellite into space in November. The diminutive WISA Woodsat is largely constructed from a specially treated birch plywood.

Graphic News’ monthly World Agenda of upcoming news topics. Events in July include the Tokyo Olympics, the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, and Jeff Bezos’ trip into space.

Taliban fighters have taken control of two districts in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province, adding to recent battlefield victories since U.S. and NATO troops began their withdrawal in May.

Video games giant Sega is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its plucky little mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, originally conceived as a high-speed rival to Nintendo’s gaming superstar, Mario.

In a controversial move, New Zealand officials have chosen Laurel Hubbard for the women’s weightlifting team – the first ever transgender athlete picked to compete at an Olympics.

The Cannes Film Festival returns after a one-year absence, although bumped from its usual May slot due to ongoing Covid restrictions, with Spike Lee presiding over the jury.

Since the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in July 1921, it has grown to almost 92 million members, representing 6.6 per cent of China’s total population.

The Communist Party of China will mark 100 years since its foundation in Shanghai in July 1921. The party, which has ruled China since 1949, now has almost 92 million members.

The first module of the central magnet for a state-of-the-art hydrogen fusion reactor has embarked on an epic road trip across the United States, on its way to the ITER megaproject in southern France.

The United Nations says the number of people forced to flee their homes has doubled in the past decade to reach 82.4 million, despite restrictions on movement during the global pandemic.

A palm-sized 1,098-carat diamond unearthed by the Debswana company in Botswana's Jwaneng Mine, could be the third largest of its kind ever discovered.

China’s air force has sent fighter planes and bombers into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in its most significant sortie since the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

The sudden rise of radical-left outsider Pedro Castillo has rattled Peru’s political and business elite and could have a major impact on the vital mining industry in the world’s No.2 copper producer.

Pine Island Glacier is increasingly vulnerable as a large, floating ice shelf that stops it from collapsing into the sea is breaking up more quickly than previously observed, creating vast icebergs.

A decline in nuclear arsenals since the end of the Cold War appears to have stalled, with Russia and the U.S. both increasing numbers of operationally deployed weapons.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is set to fly to space on the first human flight by his space company, Blue Origin, a landmark moment in the bid to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel.

Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been put on trial on charges that many observers say are an attempt by the junta that deposed her to eliminate her as a political force and cement the military’s power.

Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, has approved its new government in a razor-thin 60-59 vote, unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 straight years in power.

International aircraft leasing company Avolon, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have announced a $4 billion deal for up to 1,000 VA-X4 electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft from British-based Vertical Aerospace.

The world has marked the first rise in child labour in two decades with an estimated 160 million children -- accounting for nearly one in 10 children globally -- in child labour at the start of 2020.

Filming of the hugely anticipated fifth and final instalment in the Indiana Jones movie saga is underway in the UK, with WWII Nazi vehicles spotted in Yorkshire and explosions seen at a castle in Northumberland.

U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, amid the biggest crisis in ties between their two countries in recent history.

When the FBI dismantled an encrypted messaging service called Phantom Secure, based in Vancouver, Canada, in 2018, agents decided on a new tactic: creating their own service.

Palaeontologists have confirmed that dinosaur fossils found in the Queensland outback in 2006 belong to a new species of giant sauropod.

Tibet’s first electrified railway, linking the region’s capital, Lhasa, with the city of Nyingchi, is part of what Beijing calls the “project of the century” – building Tibet’s second rail link with China’s interior.

As President Joe Biden embarks on his first trip to Europe, a survey by the German Marshall Fund and the Bertelsmann Foundation suggests he has not won back the standing of the United States as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

During his visit to Europe from June 9-16, U.S. President Joe Biden will encourage European leaders to work more closely to constrain China, especially over allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang province.

A landmark deal by the Group of Seven nations will see a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 per cent and changes to ensure that some of the world’s biggest companies pay their taxes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced the birth of their second child, a baby girl. Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on Friday, June 4, in a hospital in Santa Barbara, California.

France is halting joint military operations with local troops in Mali in a bid to restore a civilian-led government following the second coup in nine months.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, ride-hailing services are increasing climate emissions, with each journey causing about 69% more greenhouse gases than the trips they displace.

Sri Lanka is readying for the possibility of an oil spill after a cargo ship laden with chemicals sank off its western coast.

A digital Covid certificate to securely verify health status -- identifying whether a person has been vaccinated, had a recent negative test, or has recovered from the coronavirus -- has launched in seven EU countries.

Iran’s June 18 presidential election comes as world powers are trying to hammer out an agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear accord abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

A new study concludes that by 2025 the world could see a one-year spike in temperature, rising to 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era – a limit set by the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Iran has approved seven mostly hard-line candidates to run in its June 18 presidential election, while barring several prominent contenders allied to outgoing President Hassan Rouhani.

A mysterious airbase is being built on a volcanic island off Yemen that sits in one of the world’s crucial maritime chokepoints for both energy shipments and commercial cargo.

The IOC is standing firm over the mounting public backlash in Japan against the Olympics, fuelled by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Their stance comes as Japan considers extending the state of emergency into June.

Google has developed a “magical” video calling booth that renders a lifelike 3D image of each person – making video conferences more personal than ever before.

A giant slab of ice -- almost four times the size of New York City -- has calved off an Antarctic ice shelf. The European Space Agency has confirmed that A-74 is currently the world’s hugest iceberg.

Global forest cover has declined by one million square kilometres since 1960, while cropland and pasture have increased by roughly the same extent.

After 75,600km and 39 dives, the Five Deeps Expedition has completed the first manned descent to the bottom of the world’s five oceans.

China emits more greenhouse gas than the entire developed world combined, a new report from the U.S.-based Rhodium Group claims.

Archaeologists have found the remains of a child buried at a cave in Kenya 78,000 years ago, which provide new insights into the origin of mortuary practices on the continent of our species’ birth.

Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will lead Carrier Strike Group 21 – a flotilla of Royal Navy ships – on its 28-week maiden deployment to East Asia.

Germany’s Greens are making their first bid for the country’s most prestigious post, with party co-leader Annalena Baerbock seen as a serious contender for the German chancellor in September’s elections.

A pioneering design to bore a train tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn is gaining ground after Finland and Estonia signed a letter of intent.

With drones increasingly important in 21st century warfare, a U.S. startup has developed a portable and powerful microwave energy weapon that can disable enemy drones with pinpoint accuracy.

Despite the economic effects of Covid-19, total global military spending rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020 – an increase of 2.6 percent from 2019 – according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are forecast to rise by the second largest annual amount on record, as global economies pour stimulus cash into fossil fuels to aid recovery from the Covid-19 recession.

President Joe Biden unveils his administration’s first steps to curb U.S. gun violence after a slew of mass shootings have put pressure on him to act.

NASA is to explore a giant asteroid which, unlike most other asteroids that are rocky or icy bodies, appears to be the exposed metal core of a planet from the early days of our solar system.

Over 80% of the world’s semiconductors originate in Taiwan or South Korea and in the wake of the pandemic this dependence has led to a global shortage and rising tensions between the world’s biggest economies to obtain the valuable microchips.

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to test its first hypersonic missile. The AGM-183A can fly at 20 times the speed of sound, making it impossible for enemy defences to shoot down.

The U.S. is planning a network of long-range, land-based missiles along the First Island Chain – the string of islands enclosing China’s coastal seas – to boost its deterrence against Beijing.

A tech startup is tackling climate change by turning carbon dioxide into salt crystals and storing the greenhouse gas permanently, up to 2 kilometres deep underground in basalt rock.

Coronavirus variants have now been assigned the letters of the Greek Alphabet by the World Health Organisation in a bid to simplify discussion and remove stigma.

Starting in the city of Brest, Brittany, the Tour comprises six mountain stages - including a double ascent of the iconic Mont Ventoux - and three summit finishes, two time trials, and eight sprint stages.

Cycling’s most prestigious race began in 1903 as a way to boost sales of a sports newspaper but soon became popular in its own right. The defining characteristic of the 2021 race is the inclusion of a double assault of the iconic Mont Ventoux and a visit to Andorra.

England’s 30th Premier League season kicks off, with Champions League qualification, fierce rivalries, title glory or relegation all set to be decided over 380 enthralling matches.

Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has become the all-time record goalscorer at the UEFA European Championships after striking twice during his team’s victory over Hungary in Budapest.

Belgium are considered narrow favourites to win UEFA Euro 2020, with a 13.8% chance, according to a study of all teams’ relative strengths and previous performances.

The 2021 Copa América is staged in Brazil for the second tournament in succession. The Copa America -- organised by the South American Football Confederation -- is the world’s oldest international football tournament, first officially contested in 1916

Twenty four teams will contest the UEFA European Championships in 11 cities across Europe. This Sportlive interactive graphic shows fixtures, live results, league table, team details and match-trackers of every match in the European Championship.

The 2020 UEFA European Championships marks 60 years of agony and ecstasy, individual brilliance and triumphant teamwork, stunning goals and impossible saves, creating a showpiece of the very best footballing talent on the continent.

Squads for the UEFA European Championships are revealed ahead of the first match, in which Turkey faces Italy on June 11 in Rome. London’s Wembley Stadium will stage the showpiece finale on July 11.

The UEFA European Championships, postponed for a year by the coronavirus pandemic but retaining the Euro 2020 name, will be hosted in 11 cities across Europe.

The 2021 Copa América, to be staged in Brazil for the second tournament in succession, will be the 47th edition of the tournament, organised by the ruling body of South American soccer, CONMEBOL.

The NBA play-offs, the climax of North America’s National Basketball Association season, get underway. Eight teams in each conference contest the best-of-seven play-off series, before the Eastern and Western champions clash in the NBA Finals to decide the 2021 NBA Championship winner.

The UEFA European Championships take place across Europe, with Wembley Stadium set to host an extra Last 16 tie – England could play six of seven matches on home turf if they progress to the final on July 11.

This is the second time that Tokyo has hosted the Summer Olympic Games – the first being in 1964. Athens, Paris and Los Angeles have also hosted two Olympics while only London has been a host city three times.

Sport Climbing is making its Olympic debut, with athletes scaling devious wall courses, often times holding on by just their finger tips. Climbers will participate in three disciplines – Speed, Bouldering and Lead.

The world's top surfers will compete on Japan's spectacular Pacific coastline. Men and women will take part in Shortboard tournaments, striving to perform the most impressive aerials and tube rides.

With its humble roots in the youthful energy of 1940s America, skateboarding has finally reached the heady heights of the Olympic Games. Two disciplines will be contested by men and women – Park and Street.

The countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is on with the Torch Relay setting off from Fukushima, visiting all 47 of Japan's prefectures. The Olympic torch design is inspired by traditional cherry blossoms.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games medals are made from 72,000 tonnes of recycled small electronic devices and around six million old and unwanted mobile phones, collected across Japan over two years.

Starting in in the north-west city of Brest, Brittany, the defining characteristic of the 2021 Tour de France is the inclusion of a double ascent of the iconic Mont Ventoux and a visit to Andorra.