World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Tension in China's Kashgar




Chinese security forces blanketed central areas of Kashgar city in the western region of Xinjiang on Tuesday, days after deadly attacks that China blamed on Islamic militants highlighted ethnic tensions in the Muslim Uighur area.



A picture of an ethnic Uighur man wanted by the police for being responsible for last weekend's clashes is seen at an Uighur area in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, August 3, 2011.



Yao Zhao, a victim of last weekend's clashes, receives medical care at a local hospital in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, August 3, 2011

[Mr Lick]

A victim of last weekend's clashes receives medical care at a local hospital in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, August 3, 2011

[Mr Lick]

Ethnic Uighur men walk outside a mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, August 3, 2011






A police office checks the trunk of a car of an Uighur ethnic as security forces are deployed at a square in Kashgar August 2, 2011.



Bloodstains are seen on the floor of a restaurant, which was stormed by assailants on Sunday, in Kashgar August 2, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Mubarak on trial

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Judge Ahmed Refaat speaks in the courtroom during the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Police Academy in Cairo, August 3, 2011.






Supporters of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak take cover during clashes against anti-Mubarak protesters outside the police academy where his trial will take place, in Cairo, August 3, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Eagles Player Suffers Seizure During Practice
Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Mike Patterson, seen here during a game against the Washington Redskins in 2008, was taken to a Pennsylvania hospital after suffering a seizure in practice on Wednesday.

[Mr Lick]

Rock On!
Heavy metal fans cheer at the Wacken Open Air music festival in Germany on Wednesday. More than 75,000 visitors are expected to attend the big event in the town of Wacken.



Taking Aim
A Kashmiri Muslim throws a stone at Indian police during a protest in the Maisuma area of Srinagar on Wednesday.



He's Not Just Horsin' Around
A member of the Ukranian Cossack group performs tricks on Wednesday during the opening day of this year's Royal Dublin Society horse show.

[Mr Lick]

He's All Smiles
A lawmaker squeezes Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's chin Wednesday in Rome. In a speech, the Italian leader said he won't resign, and that he'd focus on economic growth amid concerns over a possible debt crisis.



NATO Tankers Attacked in Pakistan
A Pakistani passenger van rides past a burning NATO oil tanker on the outskirts of Quetta on Wednesday. According to an official, two NATO oil tankers blew up after the vehicles were fired upon by armed men.

[Mr Lick]

Rescue workers and local residents search for survivors amid debris of a residential building that collapsed in Karachi, Pakistan on August 4. At least two people were reported killed, while some 45 more, mostly women, are still feared trapped in the debris.



Rescue workers recover an injured girl from the rubble of a five-story residential building, which collapsed in Karachi on August 4.

[Mr Lick]

A performer in the NoFit State Circus takes part in the circus show Labyrinth in front of the Mediterranean Biome at The Eden Project in St Austell, England on August

[Mr Lick]

Marla Cooper holds a photograph of her late uncle Lynn Doyle Cooper during an interview in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. Cooper said she believes that her late uncle Lynn Doyle Cooper was the man who hijacked a plane in 1971 and parachuted away with $200,000 ransom into a rainy night over the Pacific Northwest.

[Mr Lick]

Smoke escapes as firefighters battle a four-alarm fire in an abandoned school building Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in Philadelphia. The fire in the former Edison High School, also the former Julio De Burgos Middle School, was first reported just after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, and was reportedly brought under control just after 3:30 p.m

[Mr Lick]

Locarno, Switzerland: People are seen at the Piazza Grande on the opening evening of the 64th Locarno film festival



Windsor, England: A competitor carries his canoe and oars after a practice session during day one of the FISA 2011 World Rowing Junior Championships at Eton Dorney

[Mr Lick]

Jakarta, Indonesia: An activist from the Centre for Orangutan Protection with his face painted as an orangutan during a protest at Ragunan zoo demanding improvement in the animals' welfare



Rivesaltes, France: A vintager leans over a trailer to empty a bucket of wine grapes during the first vintage of muscat blanc petits grains (Muscat family white wine grape) in the southern French town



Kaposmero, Hungary: Riders practise for a show on their horses at a farm 118 miles west of Budapest

[Mr Lick]

The graves of Libyan rebels killed fighting Muammar Gaddafi's government forces line a hillside in a cemetery in Nalut in Libya's Western Mountains, August 3, 2011



A Myanmar refugee family play in their lounge at their flat which they share with three other relatives in Kuala Lumpur, June 24, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti attend a debate in the upper house of parliament in Rome, August 3, 2011



A migrant worker lights up a cigarette as he takes a break at a garbage dump site in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, China, August 2, 2011

[Mr Lick]

Egyptians riot police look at a supporter of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak clashing with an anti-Mubarak protester outside the police academy where his trial will take place, in Cairo, August 3, 2011.



The painted fingernails of an inmate of the Women's Prison of Brasilia is seen during preparations for the third annual beauty pageant titled Miss Penitentiary, in Brasilia, August 3, 2011. A modelling agency selected 12 finalists out of the nearly 100 women who entered the competition.

[Mr Lick]

Demonstrators from the 15M movement face off with police during a protest in central Madrid, August 3, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Famine Has Killed 29,000 Somali Children, US Says
On Wednesday, a U.S. official estimated that more than 29,000 Somali children under the age of five have died as a result of the famine, which the U.N. said has spread to three new areas in the country. Here: A child in Mogadishu.



NFL Player, Actor Bubba Smith Dead at 66
Bubba Smith, who played for the Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders in his NFL career before becoming a commercial pitchman and actor, was found dead at his Los Angeles home Wednesday. He was 66.

[Mr Lick]

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!
On Wednesday -- the day before his big 50th birthday -- President Obama had lunch at the Good Stuff Eatery in Washington, D.C., with staff members who worked on the debt-ceiling negotiations.



Grab Your Breathing Mask
A sandstorm fills the sky over the Chinese city of Urumqi on Wednesday.

[Mr Lick]

Japan World Cup star Naoki Matsuda dies at 34



Japanese footballer Naoki Matsuda has died two days after he collapsed on the training pitch with a suspected heart attack.

The 34-year-old, who represented Japan at the 2002 World Cup, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday.

He collapsed during a training session with his club, Matsumoto Yamaga, and never regained consciousness.

Former Japan manager Philippe Troussier paid tribute to the defender, saying he was a key member of the World Cup team.

"It's terrible to see someone die at such a young age," Mr Troussier told Reuters news agency.

"It's a big shock. He was a great guy and I felt a close bond to him. My thoughts go to his family."

Fans, friends and former players had gathered at the hospital in Matsumoto to wish the player well.

Matsuda played 40 times for Japan, and won two J-League titles during 15 years with the Yokohama F-Marinos.

He moved to lower league Matsumoto earlier this year.

[Mr Lick]

Euro crisis: Barroso warns debt crisis is spreading



European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned that the sovereign debt crisis is spreading beyond the periphery of the eurozone.

In a letter to European governments, he called on them to give their "full backing" to the euro currency zone.

He also said governments should rapidly re-assess the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) to reduce the risk of contagion in the eurozone.

The EFSF was the eurozone's response to the Greek crisis, agreed on 21 July.
It has not yet been ratified by individual member states.

A spokesman for the German finance ministry said European countries should focus on ratifying the existing agreements rather than changing them.

"It is not clear how reopening the debate only two weeks after the summit would contribute to the calming of markets," he said.

Mr Barroso said that they needed to, "accelerate the approval procedures for the implementation of these decisions so as to make the EFSF enhancements operational very soon".

He described the bond markets' treatment of Italy and Spain as "a cause of deep concern".

The EFSF is planned to be a company that tries to maintain stability in the eurozone by lending up to 440bn euros to its member states.

[Mr Lick]

New IMF head Christine Lagarde faces finance deal probe




A French court is to investigate the new head of the IMF for abuse of authority as French finance minister.

Christine Lagarde is accused of wrongly pressing a bank to enter binding arbitration over a dispute with a businessman who supported President Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign.

Ms Lagarde denies misconduct. There is no suggestion she profited personally.

A BBC correspondent says the move is embarrassing for Ms Lagarde, who has been in the job for one month.

But it is no indication of her guilt or otherwise, he adds.

Ms Lagarde took over as managing director from Dominique Strauss-Kahn in July, following his arrest in May on charges of the attempted rape of a New York hotel maid

[Mr Lick]

Australia bomb hoax 'was extortion attempt'



An Australian teenager who endured a 10-hour ordeal with a fake bomb strapped to her neck was the victim of an extortion attempt, police say.

An intruder apparently entered the home of Madeleine Pulver, 18, and fastened to her neck what appeared to be a bomb.

Police took 10 hours to remove the device, evacuating nearby streets in the wealthy Sydney suburb of Mosman.

They said the intruder left behind a note attached to the device that confirmed the motive was extortion.