World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Comet Lovejoy streaks through the pre-dawn skies above the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory in Chile on Dec. 22.

[Mr Lick]

A man gestures to anti-government protesters as they march from the southern Yemeni city of Taiz to the capital Sanaa, Dec. 24. The demonstrators arrived in Sanaa on Saturday after a five-day demonstration called "The March of Life" for a stretch of 250 kilometres (155.3 miles) to demand the trial of Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.









Protestors carry an injured man from the site of clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 24. More than 100,000 protesters who entered Yemen's capital Saturday after a four-day march from another city were attacked by elite troops loyal to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who opened fire with guns, water cannons and tear gas. Medical officials said at least three protesters were killed, including a woman.



Protestors stand behind the gate of a field hospital to watch wounded demonstrators being carried from the site of clashes with security forces, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 24.

[Mr Lick]

Relatives of Bashir Ahmed, a shopkeeper and member of the ruling National Conference wail during his funeral procession in Srinagar, India, Saturday, Dec. 24. Police said Ahmed was shot in the head at close range in Srinagar on Saturday. Muslim militants have been fighting since 1989 to end Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan territory. More than 68,000 people have died in the conflict.



Relatives of political worker Bashir Ahmad Dar wail behind a window as Kashmiri Muslims carry the coffin during his funeral procession in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, Dec. 24. Suspected militants shot Dar in the capital city Srinagar in the morning, police said. Dar was said to be associated with National Conference, the political party that is currently heading the coalition government in the Indian-Kashmir. Dar's killing came 13 days after militants carried out a life bid on the region's senior Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar in Srinagar in which a policeman was killed and three others including a civilian were wounded



A relative mourns at the body of political worker Bashir Ahmad Dar during his funeral procession in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, Dec. 24.

[Mr Lick]

Russian rallies against ballot-rigging









Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption blogger who was jailed recently for 15 days following obstruction of police during a protest.



A former finance minster who resigned this year told the rally there was a risk of revolution if the Kremlin didn't enagage in dialogue with the protesters















This sign reads 'They're fooling the people'

[Mr Lick]

US regrets Cuba's decision not to release Alan Gross

Alan Gross's health is said to be deteriorating

The US State Department has said it is disappointed that US citizen Alan Gross is not among some 2,900 prisoners to be released by Cuba.

The prisoners, some convicted of political crimes, will be released over the next few days.

President Raul Castro said the move was a goodwill gesture made after he had received numerous requests from relatives and religious institutions.

But Gross, serving 15 years for crimes against the state, will not be freed.

"If this is correct, we are deeply disappointed and deplore the fact that the Cuban government has decided not to take this opportunity to extend this humanitarian release to Mr Gross this holiday season," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, said.

He said Gross's health was deteriorating and his family had suffered for many years hoping for his release.

In his statement, Mr Toner said Gross - jailed for taking internet equipment to the Communist-run island - should be returned to his family "where he belongs".

[Mr Lick]

North Korea: Kim Jong-un hailed 'supreme commander'

The move puts Mr Kim at the head of North Korea's vast armed forces

New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been hailed by state media as "supreme commander" of the country's powerful armed forces for the first time.

The ruling party newspaper Rodong Shinmun also called on Kim Jong-un to lead North Korea to "eternal victory".

State media had been calling Mr Kim "the great successor" after the death of his father Kim Jong-il on Monday.

Mr Kim has little political experience and experts believe senior officials are guiding the transition.

"We declare from our hearts ... we will complete the task of songun (military-first) revolution under comrade Kim Jong-un", the paper said in an editorial.

The "songun" policy prioritises spending on North Korea's armed forces.

Last year, the Swiss-educated Mr Kim was made a four-star general and given senior positions in the government and the Workers' Party.

The announcement comes on the 20th anniversary of the declaration of the late Kim Jong-Il as supreme commander in 1991.

[Mr Lick]

Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi registers NLD party

Aung San Suu Kyi spent much of the past two decades under house arrest

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has officially registered her National League for Democracy (NLD) party and visited parliament.

During a visit to the capital, Naypyidaw, she also met with the speakers of the two houses.

Her party was declared illegal after it boycotted last year's elections, widely criticised as undemocratic.

She decided to formally rejoin politics after reforms by the nominally civilian administration that took power.

[Mr Lick]

India bans seven athletes for failing doping tests, a male long jumper for two years and six women athletes for a year each after they failed dope tests.



Three of India's Commonwealth gold medal winning 4x400 women's relay team have been suspended

Long-jumper Harikrishnan Muralidharan was given his ban late on Friday.

The one-year bans were announced earlier in the day. Three of the women were in the 2010 Commonwealth and Asian Games 4x400m relay team which won gold.

They were suspended in July. Some suggested food supplements might have caused them to test positive.

India's Ukrainian track and field coach Yuri Ogorodnik was sacked after the tests.

Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji were all in the 4x400 relay team. The other runners are Jauna Murmu, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas.

India's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) said the bans are effective retroactively from the time the women were suspended.

Another Indian athlete, walker Rani Yadav, tested positive for a banned anabolic agent during last October's Commonwealth Games in Delhi and was suspended. She had finished sixth in the women's 20km.

India performed well in track and field events at the Games, and won only its second gold on the track when the women's 4x400m relay sprinted to victory.
Friday's bans leave the women little chance of qualifying for next year's Olympic Games in London.

[Mr Lick]

Ukraine's Tymoshenko loses appeal against jail term

Yulia Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years at her trial in October

A court in Ukraine has rejected an appeal by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, against her conviction and prison sentence for abuse of office.

The appeals court upheld her seven-year jail term for overstepping her authority while negotiating a natural gas contract with Russia in 2009.

The 50-year old, who is an opposition leader, is a fierce rival to President Viktor Yanukovych.

She says her trial was politically motivated.

Ms Tymoshenko and her lawyers boycotted the appeal proceedings, condemning them as a travesty of justice.

"Seeking truth and justice in the Ukrainian courts is completely futile," she said in a statement from prison.

Yulia Tymoshenko's trial and imprisonment have been criticised by the European Union, the United States and Russia.

The Ukrainian authorities have since launched a new investigation into alleged embezzlement by the former prime minister, a claim she strongly denies.

[Mr Lick]

US scrap metal artist John Chamberlain dies aged 84

Chamberlain represented the US at the Venice Biennale in 1964

US artist John Chamberlain, celebrated for turning scrap metal into sculpture, died in New York on Wednesday at the age of 84, his widow has announced.

The Indiana native began working with junked car metal in the late 1950s and had work exhibited all over the world.

Paper bags, aluminium foil and foam rubber were among the other materials he worked with to create his pieces.

A retrospective of his work will be on display at New York's Guggenheim Museum from February next year.

[Mr Lick]

A boy looks at a toy train he received during an annual gift-giving event organized by firefighters in Ciudad Juarez on Dec. 24, 2011. The firefighters from Ciudad Juarez collect donated toys throughout the year for Christmas and hand them out to poor children on Christmas Eve.

[Mr Lick]

A crowd gathers at the site of the bomb blast at St Theresa's Catholic Church in Madalla, near Abuja, Nigeria, Dec. 25, 2011. The church was full at the time of the bombing.



Rev. Issac Achi, right, tries to calm a crowd that gathered at the site of the bomb blast at St Theresa's Catholic Church.

[Mr Lick]

Qeshm Island, Iran: A woman wearing a burqa



Bhubaneswar, India: Artists dressed as Santa Claus create a nativity sand sculpture



Beijing, China: A man and a young girl slide down a manmade snow slope in a park



Taiz, Yemen: Anti-government protesters take part in a protest march



Sydney, Australia: Women play in the shallow water at Bondi beach



Harbin, China: Tourists visit the Ice and Snow World

[Mr Lick]

Riders try to thread a wooden needle through a ring during a horse riding competition as part of the festivities known as the Marujada in celebration of St. Benedict, who is also known as the "black saint", in Braganca, Brazil, Dec. 25. The Marujada began in the 18th century when a group of black slaves were allowed by their owners to form the Fraternity of St. Benedict, and decided to dance through the streets as an expression of their gratitude.



The "Sparta," a Russian fishing trawler that has been trapped for more than a week in the Antarctic after a collision with an iceberg left its hull with a rip measuring about 150 centimeters, and its crew of 30 have been met by the South Korean polar research vessel and icebreaker "Aaron."

[Mr Lick]

China imprisons veteran activist Chen Xi

Chen Xi will not appeal against the conviction

A veteran Chinese activist who was involved in the 1989 Tiananmen protests has been jailed for 10 years.

Chen Xi was convicted of subverting state power after a trial lasting a few hours. He had published essays online criticising the Communist Party.

The jailing comes days after another activist, Chen Wei, was imprisoned for the same offence.

Rights groups expressed outrage and accused Beijing of using the Christmas period as cover for a crackdown.

"It does work really well because there's no diplomatic activity around Christmas," said Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch.

"By the time the diplomats get back to their desks, the sequence of events has moved on."

Chen Xi's wife, Zhang Qunxuan, told reporters that her husband was innocent, but would not launch a "futile" appeal against his conviction.

"Chen Xi told the court it did not take into consideration the things he has written as a whole, and has interpreted his words out of context. But they have power and they don't listen," she said.

He had posted 36 essays online, and also hosted a human rights forum in Guiyang, south-west China.

Chen Xi has been jailed several times since being involved in the 1989 protests.

Analysts say Beijing has a long-standing policy of punishing veteran activists who refuse to stop criticising the government.

Another activist, Chen Wei, was jailed last week for nine years for criticising the party.

He had argued that he was exercising the right of freedom of expression guaranteed by China's constitution.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay called his sentence "extremely harsh" and said it "indicates a further tightening of the severe restrictions on the scope of freedom of expression in China that has been seen over the last two years".

"I call upon Chinese authorities to release any person detained for peacefully exercising his or her right to freedom of expression," she said in a statement released on Monday.

Ms Pillay also criticised the decision earlier this month to send lawyer Gao Zhisheng back to jail.

"[These] are the latest examples of an escalating clampdown on the activities of human rights defenders in China," she said.

[Mr Lick]

Prince Philip spends another night in hospital



On Boxing Day, the Duke usually participates in shooting parties at Sandringham


The Duke of Edinburgh is to remain under observation after a third night in hospital, and is set to miss the Royal Family's Boxing Day shoot.

The shoot, usually led by the Duke, is expected to go ahead as planned.

Prince Philip, who is 90, had a coronary stent fitted on Friday after suffering chest pains.

He has been in Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire ever since, but a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said he had had another good night

[Mr Lick]

Harbin, China: A swimmer jumps into the icy waters of the Songhua River



Feres, Greece: Illegal immigrants from Pakistan make their way along the Egnatia motorway after crossing the Turkish-Greek border



Iligan City, Philippines: Boys play on a destroyed bridge over the Kapay river, one of the three rivers that overflowed during Typhoon Washi

[Mr Lick]

Nigeria churches attacked



A car burns at the scene of a bomb explosion at St. Theresa Catholic Church at Madalla, Suleja, just outside Nigeria's capital Abuja, December 25, 2011. Five bombs exploded on Christmas Day at churches in Nigeria, raising fears that Islamist militant group Boko Haram - which claimed responsibility - is trying to ignite sectarian civil war.


















A victim lies on the ground after a bomb attack in Abuja in this December 25, 2011

[Mr Lick]

Mexico City’s largest landfill shut down on Monday, part of a planned shift to recycle more of the city’s garbage, but the green effort left piles of trash across the city. With locals complaining, garbage truck drivers counter that they’re unable to move as much trash as before since they’re having to drive farther to get rid of it.

The new system requires drivers to haul their trash 3 to 4 hours away from downtown, whereas previously it only took an hour. “The trucks take a while to get there,” driver Joel Gara Murillo told the city’s Canal 11 TV station.

On top of that, long lines have formed at the new transfer stations while the drivers and station workers get used to the new system.

[Mr Lick]

Shoppers rush into a department store as it opens for Boxing Day sales in central London, Monday, Dec. 26. Despite disruptions caused by London's subway drivers striking over a pay dispute, large crowds of shoppers started flooding department stores in London as soon as doors opened early Monday.






A woman with sale bags sits on the bus 73 to King's Cross on Boxing Day in London on Dec. 26, during the first day of the post Christmas Sales. London's underground train service was virtually halted by a strike over pay today, disrupting the start of the post-Christmas sales and sporting fixtures. Most lines were shut or operating a vastly reduced service, with people forced to use buses or taxis to reach shops which are desperate for business after disappointing sales in recent months

[Mr Lick]

Athletes dressed as Santa Claus jump into the Mediterranean sea as they take part in the Copa Nadal in the Spanish port of Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, Dec. 25. The Copa Nadal (Christmas Cup) is a traditional swimming competition that takes place in Barcelona every December 25th, where participants swim 200 meters in the open sea in the port of Barcelona.



A Christmas Day reveller takes the plunge into the chilly waters on Brighton beach in Brighton, Britain, on Dec. 25. Hundreds of people flocked to Brighton beach for the annual Christmas day swim.



A swimmer reacts as he climbs a ladder to leave the Vltava river after a swim within the traditional Christmas winter swimming competition in Prague, Czech Republic, on Dec. 26. Enthusiast swimmers every year brave the cold waters of the Vltava river for a swim.



Members of the 'Berlin Seals' club swim in the Oranke Lake with a water temperature of three degrees Celsius, wearing Christmas costumes in Berlin, Germany, on December 25. The winter swimmers traditionally meet on Christmas Day to take a swim together.

[Mr Lick]

An old 80 metre high office building of Kunming municipal government is demolished in directional blasting on Dec. 25, in Kunming, Yunnan Province of China

[Mr Lick]

The King George VI Stakes at Kempton



After four straight victories in the King George VI Stakes, Kauto Star lost his crown to Long Run last year. The two will reprise their rivalry today with another contender, Masterminded, hoping to become a new name on the winner's board



Kauto Star is just short of his twelfth birthday. Safe to say these two won't remember him from his pomp. Nice jumpers though



The first race of the day is watched by a huge crowd






The race ends with Tetlami beating Vulcanite ... TV presenter Anthony McPartlin looks mighty pleased



In the Feltham Novices Chase, Grand Crus makes a mistake at the last fence but still goes on to win

[Mr Lick]

Ruby Walsh is the jockey on board Kauto Star for the main race. He looks to be in a competitive mood - Walsh, that is



His rival is rather more relaxed



Typically, Kauto Star takes up a prominent position early in the race and helps to set the pace



Kauto is jumping smoothly under the guidance of Walsh, but the same cannot be said for Long Run who is dicing with danger



Kauto heads the run-in and despite Long Run's best effort to reel him in, the older horse wins by a comfortable length



Five King George titles for Kauto – one more finger, Ruby, and you've got it nailed



Paul Nicholls is there to greet the winner as they return to the winner's enclosure. It's not only a victory for Kauto over Long Run, but a victory for Nicholls over rival trainer Nicky Henderson



Despite a tendon injury to his other charge, Masterminded, Nicholls revels in Kauto's latest success. He's so delighted, in fact, that he's touting Kauto for a third Gold Cup victory this year: "If he gets to Cheltenham in that form he'll be the one to beat," he said

[Mr Lick]

Fatima, 21, a supporter of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan's Movement for Justice) looks up as she attends a rally in Karachi December 25, 2011. Pakistan's former cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan brought at least 100,000 people into the streets of Karachi on Sunday in a massive rally that increases pressure on the civilian government and cements his standing as a political force.



An anti-government protester runs to avoid tear-gas fired by riot police during clashes in Manama, December 23, 2011. Hundreds of anti government protesters tried to gather at Tubli Bay, less than 1km (0.62 miles) away from the U.S. Embassy, but were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas.



A woman walks past a graffiti in Havana December 24, 2011. Cuba will release 2,900 prisoners in the coming days for humanitarian reasons in a sweeping amnesty ahead of a visit next spring by Pope Benedict XVI, the Cuban government said on Friday. Those to be pardoned do not include American Alan Gross, serving 15 years in prison for setting up Internet equipment on the island under a secretive U.S. program in a case that stalled progress in U.S.-Cuba relations, a government spokesman said. The ruling Council of State granted the amnesty in a decision that President Raul Castro, in a separate speech to the National Assembly, said had "taken into account" the upcoming papal visit and requests by, among others, top Roman Catholic Church officials in Cuba and family members of the prisoners. The graffiti reads, "Long Live Raul".



Protesters from the Islamic Action Front Party shout slogans during an anti-government rally in front of the prime minister's in Amman December 24, 2011.