One balloonest abandons his bid for round the world record

One of two American balloonists attempting a non-stop flight around the world has abandoned the attempt.

Kevin Uliassi, an architect, was forced to make a controlled landing just three hours after lifting off from Illinois, because of technical problems.

His flight had begun shortly after another hot-air balloonist, Steve Fossett, took off from St Louis: he's so far had a trouble-free flight and is now crossing the Atlantic ocean.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service