World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

A lovely portrait of an Indian man demanding improved old age pensions at a protest in Delhi, India. According to a recent global study by the United Nations, India ranks 73rd out of 91 countries in the social and economic wellbeing of its older people



The funky chicken: a cockerel with unusual bouffant curly feathers, Henan province, China

[Mr Lick]

Performers from Grupo Orunmila dance at National Day of Samba celebrations at Pedra do Sal in Rio de Janeiro's port district, Brazil

[Mr Lick]

Cleaners sweep the street outside Government House as anti-government protesters call off demonstrations in Bangkok






A girl poses for pictures beside a burnt-out police truck in Bangkok

[Mr Lick]

A row of motorcycle police officers from towns around northern New Jersey salute during services for Michael Feeney, as Ridgewood, N.J., holds a funeral with full police honors for the 10-year-old boy. Feeney was named Ridgewood's honorary police chief for 2013 before succumbing to cancer last week



A Bahraini protester holds stones during clashes with riot police following an anti-regime demonstration in the village of Sanabis, west of Manama. Bahrainis protest against the death of Ahmed Abdul Ameer, 15, who died of his injuries at a hospital as he suffered serious burns after taking part in a protest, according to the family



A French soldier handles ammunitions at the Bessengue railway station in Douala, Cameroon. A French Military ship carrying 350 troops, combat vehicles and logistics equipment arrived in Cameroon as French forces were deployed in a bid to halt spiralling violence in the Central African Republic

[Mr Lick]

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket is carrying its first commercial payload, a communications satellite



India's Naga tribal dancers in traditional attire prepare for a performance during the Hornbill festival at Kisama village on the outskirts of Kohima, Nagaland, India. The 10-day long festival named after the Hornbill bird is one of the biggest festivals of India s northeast that showcases the tradition and cultural heritage of the indigenous Nagas

[Mr Lick]

Days of Protest in Ukraine

[Mr Lick]

Lawmaker and chairman of the Ukrainian opposition party Udar (Punch), WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, (left, on the platform), waves a flag during a rally in downtown Kiev

[Mr Lick]

Protesters dig up stones during clashes with police outside the presidential administration building in downtown Kiev, on December 1, 2013. A protest by about 300,000 Ukrainians angered by their government's decision to freeze integration with the West turned violent, when a group of demonstrators besieged the president's office and police drove them back with truncheons, tear gas and flash grenades. Dozens of people were injured

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

A blue Humphead Maori Wrasse in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, appears to be frightened as it realises scuba Henric Carlstrom is swimming up behind it



Visitors to Mather Point at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA, look out over a rare total cloud inversion. The phenomenon, caused by cold and warm air masses interacting, left the Grand Canyon peaking above a sea of clouds



Oxford University Women's Rugby Team calendar

[Mr Lick]

In an image released by the Metropolitan Police, Michael Adebowale is shown on the south footpath of Artillery Place, after the fatal attack on Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich



The Prince of Wales greets well-wishers during a visit to Bedford



The official football of the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup --Brazuca-- is presented in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

[Mr Lick]

A protester holds a poster against police violence reading Protect our Children during a rally in front of Ukrainian parliament. The Ukrainian government survived a no-confidence vote today after the prime minister apologised for a brutal police crackdown on protests that were sparked by the ex-Soviet state's rejection of a historic EU pact. Following pressure from the opposition, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov arrived at an emergency parliament session and personally apologised for a crackdown in a bid to defuse the ex-Soviet nation's worst political crisis in a decade



Activists disguised as polar bears during a protest against Gazprom in Geneva. Eight Greenpeace activists were taken into custody after an elaborate protest at a Geneva energy conference, including polar bears wading in oil-soaked snow and oil-spill cocktails served to conference participants



A therapy dog named Toby reacts as he is met by a traveler inside Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport in California. The San Francisco SPCA and San Francisco International Airport joined forces to launch a new program called Wag Brigade that will have a team of certified therapy dogs that will patrol the airport's to help calm stressed travelers during the busy holiday travel season

[Mr Lick]

New members of the Miltarized Police train at the Police City, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil



A man watches as Mount Sinabung erupts in Gundaling, North Sumatra, Indonesia. About 15,000 people have been evacuated from 17 villages on the slope of Mount Sinabung after authorities raised the alert status of the rumbling volcano to the highest level on November 24



People supporting an EU integration attend a rally at Independence Square in Kiev. Ukraine's government faced a tightening blockade of key buildings by protesters in the capital Kiev on Wednesday amid a crisis over its rejection of closer ties with the European Union that has piled pressure on the creaking economy

[Mr Lick]

An anti-government protester wearing a gas mask cuts through barbed wire in front of the central police headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand



A riot policeman takes a picture during a rally at the police headquarters in Bangkok



A banner with King Bhumibol Adulyadej and a caricature of Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok

[Mr Lick]

TV chef Nigella Lawson arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in west London. Lawson's two former assistants, Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, are accused of defrauding her and her former husband Charles Saatchi out of £300k



On another table: David Cameron meets pupils and plays with children from Long Jiang Lu Primary School in Chengdu



Yunyang Bridge shrouded in fog, Shiyan, China



Massive solar flares form unique patterns as they rise and fall over the surface of the sun. Captured by an amateur astronomer from his back garden in Spain

[Mr Lick]

This sly owl pokes its head out of a large hole to give a photographer a cheeky wink.



A man walks past Miner on the Moon (Upside Down House), the latest art installation by Alex Chinneck, upon its unveiling on Blackfriars Road in central London



A labourer works in a brick field in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh There are 6000-7000 brick-fields in Bangladesh, usually located outside towns and cities in the low-lying lands. Nearly half of the total number of brick-fields are considered illegal, threatening the ecology and human health



Lebanon's Hezbollah members and relatives carry the coffin of commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon today



'We're walking in the air' ... Archie Durrant and The Snowman from Sadler's Wells production of 'The Snowman' visit the London Eye



People walk by a giant christmas ball displayed in Nice, southeastern France



Colin Firth receives a loving look from his wife, Livia Giuggioli as they pose for pictures on the red carpet during the UK premiere of the film The Railway Man

[Mr Lick]

Girls sit inside the Life Line Trust orphanage in Salem in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu June 20, 2013. These unwanted infant girls in southern India's Tamil Nadu state are considered the fortunate ones. They are India's "Cradle Babies," products of a government scheme that permits parents to give their unwanted baby girls anonymously to the state, saving them from possible death in a region where daughters are seen as a burden and where their murder is a common reality



A graffiti is seen at the fence surrounding the construction site of the new European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, December 3, 2013



Eric Marshall poses for a photograph after switching on his Christmas lights for the first time this year on his house in Bagby, northern England December 2, 2013. Eric spends three weeks each year setting up the display which runs throughout December to the 12th night, and raises funds for the local church



Policemen watch the news as anti-government protesters enter their compound of metropolitan police headquarters, the site of fierce clashes over the last few days, in Bangkok, December 3, 2013



German professional racecar driver Nico Bastian sits in a Mercedes SLS sport car on the pit lane during the international presentation of the new Sony PlayStation "Gran Turismo 6" video game at Ascari Race circuit in Ronda, southern Spain, December 3, 2013. One of Ronda's most high-profile streets was named after Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo creator, yesterday. The surroundings of Ronda will be available in one of the game's functions, incorporating stunning Andalusian scenery and the nearby Ascari Race Resort, an exclusive, private race circuit

[Mr Lick]

Winter storm hits UK



















Blackpool



Allonby, Cumbria

[Mr Lick]

England appeal for the wicket of Michael Clarke of Australia during day one of the Second Ashes Test Match at the Adelaide Oval in Australia



Thai royal guards of honour stand guard as they celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 86th birthday near Klai Kangwon Palace. The country is marking the birthday of the revered king amid a truce after days of violent protests in Bangkok



British paratrooper Cpl Andy Smith instructs Kenyan Wildlife and Forest Services rangers during an anti-poaching training exercise in Nanyuki



Melodie Bourdy of France plays her tee shot at the par 5, 10th hole during the second round of the 2013 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

[Mr Lick]

Janick Fetard, zoo keeper, gives a cricket to a tamarin monkey at the family-owned Palmyre Zoo in the 18 hectares (44 acres) pine forest of Les Mathes, in the Charente Maritime region, western France



This combo photo shows US First Lady Michelle Obama (R) as she pulls in her dog Sunny as two-year-old Ashtyn Gardner takes a tumble during the White House Christmas decorations viewing at the White House in Washington, DC



Thai royal guards of honour march during a parade to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 86th birthday at Klai Kangwon Palace, Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province



Smoke rises from the Defence Ministry's compound after an attack, in Sanaa, Yemen

[Mr Lick]

A woman (R) throws rice as Lebanon's Hezbollah members carry the coffin of commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley



Officials in boats monitor the scene where dozens of pilot whales are stranded in shallow water in a remote area of Florida's Everglades National Park



Protesters rest in Kiev's City Hall, now an organisational hub for protesters who have occupied the building

[Mr Lick]

A presidential guard pepper sprays a protester attempting to occupy Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil



Crowd control police take a rest at the Royal Thai Police HQ after anti-government protesters hold a brief symbolic occupation of the compound in Bangkok, Thailand



Wearing his spacesuit Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev takes part in a preflight underwater training session in a pool at the Gagarin Cosmonauts' Training Centre in Star City centre outside Moscow

[Mr Lick]

An England fan walks in front of the famous Adelaide Oval scoreboard on the first day of the second Ashes Test cricket match between Australia and England in Adelaide

[Mr Lick]

Dancers perform during the 'My Dream Gala Performance' presented by China Disabled Peoples Performing Art Troupe at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania in Tirana



A school bus makes it's way during morning's freezing temperatures reaching bellow 25 degrees Celsius on Trans Canada Highway #1 east of Cochrane, Canada



Nearly 200 skydivers, from all over the world, perform a group jump, a day after two skydivers were killed after colliding in midair during a jump from Skydive Arizona, at Eloy Municipal Airport in Eloy, Arizona



Samantha Cameron (L), the wife of Prime Minister David Cameron, attends a jumper decoration workshop with Save the Children ambassador Myleene Klass (R) in east London



Lion cubs tumble onto their mother as they play, in Kenya's Maasai Mara Game Reserve