London - The race to circumnavigate the world in a balloon hotted up yesterday as two more teams waited for lift-off. Just two days after Mr Richard Branson's Virgin Balloon ICO Global Challenger ditched into the Pacific Ocean near Honolulu, another British team was forced to delay its challenge because of the Chinese authorities.
The Cable & Wireless Balloon team is currently embroiled in urgent diplomatic discussions with Beijing over permission to fly in Chinese airspace.
An Australian-US team is due to launch its attempt at the record at 7 p.m. today from the Australian town of Alice Springs.
