TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
Well, this morning parts of Europe got to experience a rare total solar eclipse! But what does that mean? Whether it was up in the Eiffel tower or from inside a plane, millions of people across Europe put things on hold to look up at the sky. But why? That rhymes. Well, it was to watch this year's total solar eclipse! A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, blocking sunlight from reaching parts of Earth, which turns daytime into, well, what looks like night time. It's Europe's first total solar eclipse in 27 years, and some places like northern Spain, and western Iceland got the best seats in the house, while other parts of the world like the UK and Canada saw a partial solar eclipse, where the moon only covers part of the sun. It's a pretty rare event, because a total solar eclipse only happens on Earth roughly once every 18 months or so, but you've got to be in the right spot at the right time to see it. Here in Australia, we didn't get to see it cause the moon's shadow wasn't passing over us, which is what makes these events so special. Fun fact, a total solar eclipse is only seen in the same spot about once every 375 years. Oh, and the glasses you see people wearing, well, they're special eclipse glasses that protect your eyes by filtering out most of the suns light and radiation, which can cause eye damage.

LUCAS HERRINGTON TRANSFER
18-year-old Socceroo Lucas Herrington is set to join the English Premier League's Hull City. The Queenslander, who's fresh off an impressive performance for Australia at the World Cup, has inked a five-year deal to transfer from the US-based Colorado Rapids to England's Hull City A.F.C, an opportunity which he says "is a dream come true". While the money involved in the deal wasn't disclosed, it's rumoured to be around $33 million bucks, which would make Lucas the most expensive Aussie soccer player of all time.

CLACTON BY-ELECTION
Now to the UK, where an election is getting underway between a human and an inter-galactic space lord. This is a man. And that, that's a bin, well at least a man dressed as a bin. Yeah, these guys are facing off against each other today in an election happening in the UK. It was triggered by this guy, Nigel Farage. See, he's been in a bit of hot water over for taking some big donations. So last month he quit politics only to only to re-apply for the very job he just quit. So, why the bin? Well, the major parties decided they weren't going to run in the election, calling the situation a "political stunt" which left the door open for a certain bin to take centre stage. See, the UK has a bit of history of joke candidates and parties. Like the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, yes that is real, and Count Binface, who is actually comedian John Harvey in disguise, has actually run in lots of elections before. This is him standing next to the new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and a fox. Binface has promised things like banning loud snacks in cinemas, and making arcade claw games fairer so more people can win. One in five people are actually expected to vote for him. So, while its unlikely the Bin will win, he might just make history, getting the most votes a space lord has ever got in an election. At the end of the day, the people will decide!

KATI THANDA-LAKE EYRE HOT AIR BALLOONS
Finally today, we're going to check out a history-making hot air balloon flight across Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre. These two hot air balloons took off across the lake, which is pretty full at the moment! Thanks to lots of rain, some floodwaters, and inland monsoon weather systems. It's pretty rare to see the lake this full, and even rarer to see it from the skies like this. That's because this flight is believed to be the first time a hot air balloon has made the trip. It took these guys about 3 hours and 40 minutes to fly 183 kilometres, at times reaching speeds of about 80 kays an hour!
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For the past 55 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.
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