World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

The stakes are escalating ahead of today's men's hockey semifinal showdown between the U.S. and Canada. A billboard in Skokie, Ill., has offered a sarcastic wager: The loser of the Olympic match would keep the Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, who has been in the headlines recently for his bad-boy behavior

[Mr Lick]

Activists pay respects to protesters killed in clashes with police in Kiev, Ukraine, on Thursday. Dozens of anti-government protesters, facing police officers armed with combat weapons, were killed in a bloody battle for control of central Kiev

[Mr Lick]

Truce in Ukraine




Anti-government protesters sing during a rally in central Independence Square in Kiev, February 21, 2014.



Ukraine's opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko addresses during a rally in central Independence Square in Kiev February 21, 2014

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

A protester carries flowers to a spot in central Kiev where a demonstrator was killed in clashes with police on Thursday. The violence eased on Friday after President Yanukovych and opposition leaders signed a deal leading to an early presidential poll before the end of the year

[Mr Lick]

ATTENTION - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH A man carries the body of a girl from under the rubble of collapsed buildings after what activists said was an air raid by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Bab al-Nayrab district in Aleppo February 21, 2014



Ukraine's opposition members react during a Parliament session in Kiev February 21, 2014. Ukraine's opposition leaders signed an EU-mediated peace deal with President Viktor Yanukovich on Friday, aiming to resolve a political crisis in which dozens have been killed and opening the way for an early presidential election this year. Within an hour of the signing, the Ukrainian parliament voted to revert to a 2004 constitution that strips the head of state of some of his prerogatives



Israeli soldiers carry a Palestinian protester as they detain him during clashes at a demonstration against the closure of Shuhada street to Palestinians, in the West Bank city of Hebron February 21, 2014. Hundreds of protesters, including foreign activists, gathered on Friday to mark the 20th anniversary of the closure of the street, which was closed by the Israeli army in 1994. The closure was after the Hebron mosque massacre by Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler, who went on a rampage inside Al Ibrahimi Mosque, killing 29 Palestinian worshipper

[Mr Lick]

A view of a sinkhole opened up at the intersection of Laurier Avenue E and Waller Street, near the University of Ottawa, in Ottawa February 21, 2014. The sinkhole is about eight meters (26 feet) wide and 12 meters (39 feet) deep



A view of the Delta IV rocket streaking across the sky after launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is seen from Port Canaveral, Florida February 20, 2014. A U.S. Global Positioning System satellite was launched into orbit on Thursday, buttressing a 31-member navigation network in constant use by the military, civilian agencies and commercial customers worldwide. The satellite, built by Boeing, was carried into space aboard an unmanned Delta IV rocket, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8:59 p.m. EST/0159 Friday GMT. Picture taken with long exposure



A soldier examines a wall riddled with bullets, from an attack by Boko Haram Militants, in front of a house in Bama, Borno State, February 20, 2014. Gunmen from Nigeria's Islamist Boko Haram sect killed 98 people in the northeastern town of Bama on Wednesday, residents there said after burying their folk, more than double the figure given by police a day earlier. Gunmen stormed the town in the early hours of Wednesday, firing on a school, shooting or burning to death dozens of people and trashing the palace of a traditional ruler of one of West Africa's oldest Islamic kingdoms. Police had initially put the death toll at 47

[Mr Lick]

A man holds a sign which reads, "Not extendable" amid smoke and fire after angry protesters set tyres on fire in a street during a demonstration against the General National Congress (GNC) in Benghazi February 21, 2014.



Canada's second E. J. Harnden (2nd L) hugs his wife Rachelle as skip Brad Jacobs (R) hugs his wife Shawna after they won their men's curling gold medal game against Britain at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in the Ice Cube Curling Center in Sochi February 21, 2014



Police detain a protester outside a courthouse in Moscow February 21, 2014. Police detained about 200 people on Friday outside a Moscow courthouse where eight people were convicted of rioting and assaulting police at a protest against President Vladimir Putin in 2012, a police spokesman said

[Mr Lick]

Some more pics of the clashes in Ukraine this week

[Mr Lick]

Ukraine protesters remain on streets as president leaves Kiev

Anti-government protesters continue their occupation of Independence square, but the security forces leave the streets and the presidential palace is vacated amid uncertainty about what will happen next

[Mr Lick]

Anti-government protesters attack an Party of Regions MP outside the parliament building

[Mr Lick]

An alleged security forces sniper is beaten by anti-government protesters in Kiev



The same alleged sniper is forced to pay his respects to one of the protesters killed in the recent clashes in Kiev









Protesters take control of Viktor Yanukovych's residence



Yulia Tymoshenko is freed from the hospital where she had been held under prison guard for most of the time since she was convicted in 2011

[Mr Lick]

Six Nations: England v Ireland

All the best images from a thrilling match at Twickenham where England edged out Ireland to end their grand slam hopes










Jonny May, here evading tackles from Devin Toner and Paul O'Connell, almost scored the first try of the match after just six minutes but he lost the ball as he went to touch it down

[Mr Lick]

With just over 20 minutes to go Chris Robshaw gives it to Mike Brown midway inside the England half, and the full back streaks through a gap up to the 10m line



Before offloading to Danny Care



Who gathers the ball and streaks towards the tryline



And then dives across it. Owen Farrell converts from under the posts to give England a 13-10 lead

[Mr Lick]

A dejected looking Brian O'Driscoll goes off injured towards the end of the match



In the dying moments, wiith England just three points ahead, Dave Kearney charges towards the line …



But Joe Launchbury makes a crucial tap tackle to send Kearney tumbling to the turf



The final whistle goes and man-of-the-match Mike Brown celebrates a hard fought victory






Stuart Lancaster gives a thumbs up to the crowd

[Mr Lick]

Best of Sochi - Day 15




Austria's Julia Dujmovits celebrates winning the women's parallel slalom snowboard finals at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Rosa Khutor February 22, 2014



Team USA's Zach Parise skates away as Finland celebrates their win in their men's ice hockey bronze medal game at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games February 22, 2014



Winner Norway's Marit Bjoergen celebrates next to her compatriots, second placed Therese Johaug (L) and third placed Kristin Stoermer Steira during a flower ceremony for the women's cross-country 30 km mass start free event at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Rosa Khutor February 22, 2014

[Mr Lick]

Austria's Benjamin Karl celebrates coming third in the men's parallel slalom snowboard finals, as his compatriot Julia Dujmovits, who won the women's competition, reacts at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Rosa Khutor February 22, 2014



Canada's Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch perform during the Figure Skating Gala Exhibition at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics February 22, 2014



Austria's Julia Dujmovits, winner of the women's parallel slalom snowboard final, runs towards her compatriot Benjamin Karl, who finished third in the men's competition, after the men's parallel slalom snowboard finals at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games in Rosa Khutor February 22, 2014

[Mr Lick]

The team from Canada, CAN-3, with Justin Kripps, Jesse Lumsden, Cody Sorensen and Ben Coakwell, slide down the track crashing in Turn 16 during the men's four-man bobsled competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 22, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia



Pilot John James Jackson, center, Stuart Benson, right, and Bruce Tasker of Great Britain Team 1 react after the crash of Canada Team 3 during the men's four-man bobsleigh heats at Sliding Center Sanki on Feb. 22

[Mr Lick]

Koreans bid sad (possibly final) farewells to relatives



South Korean Lee Gyum-Duk, 90, bids farewell to her North Korean relatives before they return to their home after a family reunion in Mount Kumgang, North Korea, on Saturday. A group of 82 elderly, frail South Koreans, two of them in ambulances, attended the first reunion in more than three years for families divided by the 1953 Korean War. Millions have been separated from loved ones by the tumult and bloodshed of the three-year war that ended in 1953. During a previous period of inter-Korean rapprochement, about 22,000 Koreans had brief reunions — 18,000 in person and the others by video. None got a second chance to reunite, Seoul says

[Mr Lick]

Children react next to the body of their mother after she died what activists said where explosive barrels thrown by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-Andhirat neighbourhood of Aleppo February 22, 2014



Paint covers the shields of French CRS riot police during a protest march in Nantes, western France, to demonstrate against the construction of a new airport in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) away, February 22, 2014.



A demonstrator holds a street sign to shield himself as he stands amidst a cloud of tear gas during a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, February 22, 2014. A female student and a young supermarket worker were the latest fatalities from Venezuela's political unrest as the death toll from 10 days of violence rose on Saturday to at least eight

[Mr Lick]

Newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (R) shakes hand with his predecessor Enrico Letta at Chigi Palace in Rome February 22, 2014. Italian center-left leader Matteo Renzi promised on Friday to start work on reforms immediately, after he named a new cabinet and formally accepted the mandate to form an administration he said would stay in place until 2018



Smoke and flames rise from a fire in the street near a masked protester during clashes with French CRS riot police at a march in Nantes, western France, to demonstrate against the construction of a new airport in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) away, February 22, 2014



Anti-government protesters rest at a barricade in Kiev February 22, 2014. Protesters seized the Kiev office of President Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday and his whereabouts were a mystery, as the pro-Russian leader's grip on power rapidly eroded following bloodshed in the Ukrainian capital



Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman (C) is escorted by soldiers during a presentation at the Navy's airstrip in Mexico City February 22, 2014. Mexico has captured its most wanted man, drug kingpin Guzman, President Enrique Pena Nieto said via Twitter on Saturday, in a major victory in a long, grisly fight against drug gangs. Guzman, known as "El Chapo" (Shorty) in Spanish, runs Mexico's infamous Sinaloa Cartel and over the past decade emerged as one of the world's most powerful organized crime bosses

[Mr Lick]

The lavish country estate of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has been thrown open to the public as parliament voted to remove him from power.

Mr Yanukovych has left the capital Kiev and his whereabouts are unknown. On Sunday, parliament voted to return ownership of the Mezhyhirya property to the state. Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called for it to be put under state guard to prevent looting

















The sprawling estate also features a golf course. This visitor found a set of clubs stamped with the president's initials







The parks are dotted with statues, ponds with fountains, wild ducks, a tennis court and a colonnaded pavilion

[Mr Lick]

Sochi Winter Olympic Games closing ceremony

The closing ceremony featured ballet from the Bolshoi, music by Rachmaninov and tributes to Tolstoy and Kandinsky as Russia celebrated staging its $51bn Games

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]