Thread: World News in Pictures

Toulouse siege

A huge police operation is under way in Toulouse, a man suspected of killing seven people in recent days is holed up in a flat. Three officers were injured in a gun battle during the early-morning raid on the building









A masked French special intervention police officer arrives at the scene






Locals are evacuated near the Belle Paule residence

Palestinians wave flags during a rally calling on the Egyptian authorities to supply the Gaza Strip with fuel and electricity, near Rafah crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip March 19, 2012



inches of snow cover a bicycle in Flagstaff, Arizona March18, 2012



A child, son of Zeng Lingjun, sleeps on a bed next to urinals at his home inside an unused toilet of a hotel in Shenyang, Liaoning province March 18, 2012. Zeng, who is a shoe repairer, rented the unused toilet of the hotel since 2006 as his home, and made up his family by marrying Wang Zhixia in 2010, local media reported



Seventeen-year-old prostitute Hashi, embraces a Babu, her "husband", inside her small room at Kandapara brothel in Tangail, a northeastern city of Bangladesh, March 4, 2012.

Police kick a protester during a rally against the government's plan to raise fuel prices in Yogyakarta, central Java, March 19, 2012



Nour al-Houda Idriss, a 4-year-old Syrian girl, lies on a bed as she is surrounded by her father and a doctor, in a hospital in Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, March 19, 2012. Houda Idriss was wounded by shrapnel on Sunday while playing with her sister near their house in the Syrian town of Qusair, during fighting between Syrian troops and anti-government forces, according to hospital workers.

India's boxer MC Mary Kom punches a bag during a training session at Balewadi Stadium in Pune, about 190 km (118 miles) from Mumbai, March 12, 2012. Mary Kom was the face of the campaign to get women's boxing into the Olympics and the Indian mother of two will be competing at the world championships in China in May aiming to book her spot at the London Games in the 51kg category.



Firefighters and police officers stand near a pick-up truck that rolled on its side after the driver lost control along Interstate-17 in Yavapai County, Arizona, March 18, 2012



Riot police clear road blocks set up by anti-government protesters during a protest after the funeral procession of Sabri Mafooz in the village Sarakan south of Manama, March 19, 2012.



A man, suspected of Peruvian origin, holds a placard while he is whipped by residents of Chua, near the shores of Lake Titicaca, about 80 km (50 miles) north of La Paz March 18, 2012. The placard reads: " I'm a thief from Peru".



Libyan army personnel take part in a military display to commemorate victims of an attack by pro-Gaddafi forces on Benghazi a year ago, inside a stadium in Benghazi March 19, 2012.



Buddhist monks pray during a ceremony for the defeat of a U.N. resolution calling on Sri Lanka to probe wartime human rights abuses in Colombo March 19, 2012.

A massive and fast moving fire destroyed three buildings in the Providence section of Scranton, Pennsylvania on March 20, 2012.

The mother of seven-year-old Miriam Monsonego (bottom center) mourns during the joint funeral service in Jerusalem on March 21, 2012 for her daughter and the other three victims of Monday's shooting in Toulouse, France.

A soldier faints before Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales arrive for a wreath laying ceremony at the National Monument at Akershus Fortress, Oslo, Norway, on March 20.

Rescue workers try to tow a dead Bryde's whale off a beach in Rio de Janeiro on March 20.

A Kenyan Wildlife Services veterinarian prepares to shoot a tranquilizer dart into an elephant at the Tsavo-East National park on March 19, 2012 during the second phase of a collaring exercise funded by International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Kenya Wildlife Services in the wake of a dramatic increase in elephant killings.

Kenya's estimated 30,000 elephants have come under growing risk as poachers continue to kill animals for their prized tusks



A just-revived elephant tries to stand back up after it was sedated for collaring

Raphael Cuevas, left, and Jashua Castro stop at a memorial to Trayvon Martin outside The Retreat at Twin Lakes community where Trayvon was shot by George Michael Zimmerman while on Neighborhood Watch patrol in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman's claim of shooting the teen in self-defense has been questioned by community leaders



Martin was shot by George Zimmerman, a resident who was patrolling the gated community in his car. Martin was returning from a convenience store where he had just purchased candy and iced tea.

In this picture taken with a fish-eye lens, people stand around the "luminous lace" light sculpture by designers Loop.pH in the Stone Hall during a press preview at what used to be the official residence of the late Princess Diana, Kensington Palace in London, Tuesday, March 20. Kensington Palace has been transformed following a 12 million pounds ($19 million, 14.4 million euro) restoration project timed to be completed for this summer's Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics.



A dress worn by Princess Diana is displayed in Kensington Palace which reopened today



A woman views an art installation in the Queen's Bed Chamber in Kensington Palace on March 20 in London, England. Kensington Palace is due to reopen to the public on March 26

A believer asking "Nino Fidencio" for a miracle is helped to submerge in the mud at "El Pozito" in El Espinazo, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state, on March 19. Thousands of believers took part in a procession along the town of El Espinazo to ask for miracles to "Nino Fidencio", a famous Mexican 'curandero' (folk healer), whose spirit still heals people, according to the legend. Niño Fidencio, well known for performing painless operations without anaesthesia, died in 1938.

Police in eastern China shot dead a gray wolf on Monday after seven people in Tengzhou were attacked in the space of six days, leaving two dead including a 62-year-old woman.

The police found the wolf in a wheat field and shot it in the leg, then chased the injured animal over 12 miles before killing it, China Daily reported.

However, police remain unsure that the dead wolf is the same beast that attacked the local residents, according to the Shanghaiist blog.

A new Israeli law is trying to fight the spread of eating disorders by banning underweight models from local advertising and requiring publications to disclose when they use altered images to make women and men appear thinner.

The law, passed late Monday, appears to be the first attempt by any government to use legislation to take on a fashion industry accused of abetting eating disorders by idealizing extreme thinness

Brooklyn bus crash



A Brooklyn bus slammed into a building after swerving to avoid wreckage from a nearby crash












Six of the injured dozen were on the bus

Sri Lankan pro-government supporters are held back by police barricades as they demonstrate during a protest march in Colombo. Hundreds of demonstrators took the streets of Colombo and marched towards the British Embassy to denounce Western moves to censure Sri Lanka at this week's UN Human Rights Council meeting.

Peggy Marchanti, widow of Army Maj. Robert J. Marchanti II of Baltimore, Md., is seated during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.. Marchanti, 48, of the Maryland Army National Guard, was shot and killed at the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul in February.

An animal rights activist protests against meat consumption through a performance to promote vegetarianism during "Day Without Meat" in Barcelona, Spain.



Syrian army soldiers look through a hole in a building as they search for Syrian rebels in a suburb of Damascus, Syria. An international human rights group accused Syria's armed opposition on Tuesday of carrying out serious abuses, including the kidnapping and torture of security forces, in a sign of the growing complexity of the year-old uprising against President Bashar Assad

South Korean army soldiers wearing protective gear talk each other during an anti-terrorism exercise for Nuclear Security Summit at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea is due to host the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26-27, and North Korea's nuclear program was expected to be discussed on the sidelines of the gathering



Venezuelan swimmers take part in a training session of synchronized swimming for the South American Swimming Championship in Belem, Brazil.



Eight-year-old Floris inspects a mirror cube at the "Extavium" museum in Potsdam, eastern Germany. The new interactive museum, formerly known as "Exploratorium Potsdam", re-opened with much more space for its 130 exhibits and interactive offers for children and their parents

Raid on Toulouse shooting suspect - more pics















The suspect claims affiliation to al-Qaeda and acted to avenge Palestinian children, says French Interior Minister Claude Gueant



The funeral of 4 victims shot at a Jewish school in Toulouse takes place






The pregnant girlfriend of Abel Chennouf, who was killed, was among the mourners

Judith Tebbutt, a Briton seized in a raid by kidnappers in Kenya, in which her husband was killed, has been freed after 6 months in Somalia



A ransom, raised by relatives paid for her release



Her husband David, 58, was killed at the time of her capture at a luxury resort

Jaguar Land Rover agrees joint venture with Chery in China

Jaguar believes there is great appetite for its models in China

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Chery Automobile have agreed a joint venture that should pave the way for production of Jaguar and Land Rover cars in China.

A new, jointly owned company will be formed, with a view to also establish a research and development facility.

The company will also aim to develop and manufacture new models, as well as set up engine manufacturing operations and create a sales network in China.

The two firms said they wished to "leverage" their respective strengths.

"Demand for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles continues to increase significantly in China," JLR's chief executive Ralf Speth and Chery's chief executive Yin Tongyao said in a joint statement.

Mexico earthquake - more pics



























11 people were injured but no deaths were reported

Groom Max Kay who set wedding hotel on fire jailed for arson

Max Kay admitted starting the fire at his wedding venue on 19 June

A groom who deliberately set fire to the Cheshire hotel where his wedding reception was being held has been jailed for six years.

Max Kay, 37, of Liverpool, admitted starting the blaze at Peckforton Castle Hotel in Tarporley in June last year.

Chester Crown Court heard that Kay was "massively" drunk and had argued over the bar tab and wider wedding bill.

He was sentenced after admitting arson that was reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Passing sentence, Judge Roger Dutton said: "There is a long background to this - principally surrounding, it would appear, your ego.

"Having been made bankrupt... you embarked upon a wedding that would involve paying a figure of approximately £25,000 for a ceremony you could nowhere near afford.

"It was all to maintain a bravado with friends and family and to make it appear you could afford such largesse to friends and family and those you wanted to impress.

"In the end you sought, and achieved, revenge against the proprietors of Peckforton Castle."

Kay, a property developer and father of four, gave no reaction as he was sentenced.