World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

The covered body of Salah Abbas Habib (R) is seen as police investigate on a rooftop of a farmhouse in the village of Shakura west of Manama, April 21, 2012. Opposition party Wefaq said Habib, 36, whose body was found splayed on a corrugated iron rooftop, was among a group of protesters who had been beaten by police after fierce clashes on Friday night.



A man waits in line to cast his vote during the 2012 French Presidential Election, in Sydney April 22, 2012.



Demonstrators flee tear gas fired during a riot in a protest against corruption at the Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo April 21, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

A local resident wades through the water during spring flooding in the village of Kholuj, some 370 km northeast from Moscow, April 21, 2012.



Real Madrid's players celebrate in front of Barcelona's Pedro Rodriguez (L) after winning their Spanish first division "El Clasico" soccer match at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona April 21, 2012.



Zaynab al-Khawaja, daughter of Bahrain human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is stopped by women riot-police as she tries to march in the main market in the capital Manama during an anti-government and anti-F1 protest, April 21, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Anti-Nuclear Demonstration In Tokyo

[Mr Lick]

Australia's Speaker steps down amid harassment claims



Australia's parliamentary Speaker has stepped down following claims of sexual harassment and fraud.

Peter Slipper is being sued by a former male colleague who says he received explicit text messages and unwanted sexual advances.

Mr Slipper is also being investigated by police over claims that he misused public-funded taxi services.

He denies all the allegations but says he is standing aside pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Correspondents say the case has the potential to damage Prime Minister Julia Gillard's fragile government.

Former parliamentary staff member James Ashby, who is openly gay, has launched legal action against Mr Slipper over alleged sexual harassment.

Mr Slipper, who is married, arrived back in Australia from an overseas trip and released a statement "emphatically" denying the allegations.


"The allegations include both a claim of criminal behaviour and a claim under civil law," he said.

"As such, I believe it is appropriate for me to stand aside as Speaker while this criminal allegation is resolved.

"Once it is clear they are untrue I shall return to the Speakership. In relation to the civil matter, there will be an appropriate process that will resolve the matter in due course."

Mr Slipper, 62, will be temporarily replaced by his deputy, Labor MP Anna Burke.

Mr Slipper defected from the opposition Liberal Party to become Speaker in November 2011.

[OhOh]

It seems the Israelis are in for a hot summer.





UPDATE 1-Egypt ends gas deal with Israel, stakeholder says | Reuters

"(Reuters) - Egypt's energy companies have terminated a long-term deal to supply Israel with gas after the cross-border pipeline sustained months of sabotage since a revolt last year, a stakeholder in the deal said on Sunday.

Ampal-American Israel Corporation, a partner in the East Mediterreanean Gas Company (EMG), which operates the pipeline, said the Egyptian companies involved had notified EMG they were "terminating the gas and purchase agreement"."

[Mr Lick]

New Delhi, India: Milkmen pour milk into a drain during a protest against a decision to cut prices



Duluth, Georgia: Marissa Gutierrez celebrates after Alabama won the NCAA women's gymnastics championships



Angola, Louisiana: An inmate poses before a rodeo at Louisiana state prison



Islamabad, Pakistan: Police examine the site where a plane crashed on Friday. All 127 people on board were killed in the crash

[Mr Lick]

This half-meter resolution image shows icefields near Adelaide Island (on the west), lying at the north side of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. GeoEye tasked its GeoEye-1 satellite to collect this image on April 18.



A curl of land at the tip of Australia's Towra Point Nature Reserve, located on the southern shores of Botany Bay, looks a bit like an elephant and its trunk. A boat speeds through the bay at upper left. Situated on an ancient river delta deposit, the Towra Point reserve is designated as a wetland of international importance because it is a breeding ground and home to many vulnerable, protected or endangered species with diverse habitats. There is also a Towra Point Aquatic Nature Reserve in the surrounding waterways. GeoEye tasked its GeoEye-1 satellite to collect this image on Feb. 19.



This GeoEye satellite image shows a portion of the D. Ering Wildlife Sanctuary off the Siang River, directly above the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, located about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) north of Tinsukia, Assam, India. The sanctuary is named after the late legendary social reformer Daying Ering. The sanctuary consists of a series of islands in the Siang River that are home to endangered animals and many migratory birds.



This half-meter resolution image shows the Okavango Delta (or Okavango Swamp), located in Botswana in central southern Africa. The Okavango is the world's largest inland delta and formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp and into a basin in the Kalahari Desert. Most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. Botswana is one of the world's most ecologically sensitive areas. The Moremi Game Reserve spreads across the eastern side of the delta. GeoEye tasked its GeoEye-1 satellite to collect this image on April 12.

[Mr Lick]

A meteorite of the Lyrid swarm flares up in the atmosphere on the outskirts of Salgotarjan, Hungary, late April 21.
Meteor shower puts on a show

The annual Lyrid meteor shower will hit its peak this weekend and promises to put on an eye-catching display. So much so, NASA is pulling out all the stops.
NASA scientists plan to track the Lyrid meteor shower using a network of all-sky cameras on Earth, as well as from a student-launched balloon in California. Meanwhile, an astronaut on the International Space Station will attempt to photograph the meteors from space.

[Mr Lick]

South Korean Christians pray during a service as they call for the cancellation of a concert of U.S. pop star Lady Gaga at a church in Seoul, South Korea, April 22. Lady Gaga's April 27 concert in Seoul was banned to under-18s by the Korea Media Rating Board as the Gender Equality Ministry considers one of her songs to be performed at the show as "inappropriate" for minors.

[Mr Lick]

Bernardo, 77, left, talks to a young woman during a meeting between men and women in the village of Candeleda, Spain, April 21. Sixty-eight women were bused in to the village to meet with the local men with the hope that some will form relationships and settle in the village, where the main population is male.

[Mr Lick]

Horrific scenes in Rubkona near Bentiu in southern Sudan following an air strike by the Sudanese air force. Sudanese warplanes carried out the attack three days after South Sudan pulled out of a disputed oilfield, according to residents and military officials.



It's the morning after the night before and French Socialist party candidate François Hollande looks understandably chipper as he arrives at his campaign headquarters. Hollande's success in the first round of the presidential elections has taken his campaign to within spitting distance of victory over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy

[Mr Lick]

First round election results indicate it could soon be time for Sarkozy to fetch his jacket. It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years



It's a day of rather dapper demonstration outside the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Burlington Gardens. Protesters are objecting to the company's plans to open a children's clothing store on Savile Row in London. They claim the chain store's presence would signal the demise of a street dedicated to the bespoke tailoring trade



The most unusual portrait to drop in to the picture desk today: Camilla the rubber chicken, seen at 124,800 feet (38,039 metres) above California. She has been launched into space by a group of students called "Earth to Sky" to study solar radiation. Camilla, who is the mascot of Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory, reached the stratosphere along with a payload carrying radiation sensors, cameras, GPS trackers, a thermometer,and some insects and sunflower seeds

[Mr Lick]

Bucharest, Romania: a Sphynx cat watches a referee during an international feline beauty competition



Mexico City, Mexico: a boy rides his bicycle at the Angel of Independence monument where members of the pro-life group lined the monument in an anti-abortion demonstration



Berlin, Germany: a performing artist dressed up as a US military police officer makes a photo of a group of tourists at Checkpoint Charlie



Medellin, Colombia: Martha Padmore of Barbados trains before the women's archery individual event at the London 2012 Olympic Games



Bangkok, Thailand: Buddhist monks pray while promoting world peace at the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple

[Mr Lick]

Birth of Rome commemoration parade

Legend says that Rome was founded by Romulus in 753BC in an area surrounded by seven hills. Every year the city celebrates with parades, fights and re-enactments

























So how far has this great nation come since 753 BC? Oh yes, Berlusconi. Nothing much has really changed has it?

[Mr Lick]

Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider throws the puck down on the ice after his teams season ends with an overtime goal to the celebrating Los Angeles Kings during Game 5 of their NHL Western Conference quarter-final playoff game in Vancouver, British Columbia April 22, 2012.



Anti-government protesters sit on the iron beams of a tower at Taghyeer (Change) Square, where the protesters have been camping at for more than a year to demand regime change, in Sanaa, Yemen, April 22, 2012.



A runner warms up in the middle of an empty avenue just before the start of the Madrid marathon April 22, 2012

[Mr Lick]

Stonemason Nick Hindle begins to carve the names of the 59 British military personnel who were killed in action during 2011 at The National Armed Forces Memorial in Alrewas, central England on April 23. The Memorial was constructed in 2007 to provide recognition of the men and women of the Armed Services who have lost their lives in conflict or as a result of terrorist action or on training exercises since the end of the Second World War.

[Mr Lick]

Emergency medical technician Debra Lund, right, prepares to hang an IV bag as co-worker Stacey Kreitlow, center, inserts an IV catheter into the arm of a patient on the Hangover Heaven bus in Las Vegas on April 15, 2012. Pictures made available April 23.

[Mr Lick]

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 23: Trenton Oldfield leaves Feltham Magistrates Court on April 23, 2012 in London, England. Mr Oldfield was charged with causing a public nuisance by swimming into the path of the University Boat Race on April 7, 2012 and causing it to stop. The case was committed to the Crown Court after no plea was entered by the defendant

[Mr Lick]

2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition




BEIJING, CHINA - APRIL 23: (CHINA OUT) A concept vehicle ESFLOW is displayed during the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition at China International Exhibition Center on April 23, 2012 in Beijing, China. The exhibition opens to the general public on April 25 and runs until May 2, 2012






BEIJING, CHINA - APRIL 22: (CHINA OUT) A Ferrari F12 Berlinetta is displayed ahead of the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition at China International Exhibition Center on April 22, 2012 in Beijing, China

[Mr Lick]

Fiat SpA's Maserati Kubang concept SUV

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

The Lamborghini SpA Urus sport-utility concept vehicle is unveiled during a Volkswagen AG event in Beijing, China, on Sunday, April 22, 2012. Lamborghini unveiled its first sport-utility vehicle in almost two decades as the Italian supercar maker looks to expand it lineup to tap rising demand from emerging markets. Lamborghini is a unit of Volkswagen

[Mr Lick]

Jennifer Hudson family murder trial

Prosecution is set to begin opening statements at the trial of William Balfour on Apr. 23. He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Oct. 24, 2008, slayings that generated nationwide headlines because of Jennifer Hudson's fame







Jeffery Wilder passes a makeshift memorial Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, outside the Chicago home of Darnell Donerson, who along with her son, Jason Hudson, were found shot to death inside the home on Friday, Oct. 24. On Monday, Donerson's grandson, Julian King, was found shot to death in an SUV on the city's West Side. Donerson is the mother of singer and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson.

[Mr Lick]

A riot police officer points toward protesters during clashes in Paranaque, Manila, Philippines



Polar bear Anori, born in January, is becoming a favourite with visitors at Wuppertal zoo, Germany