World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

A hair-raising performance by Jennifer Lopez during a concert at Crocus City Hall, Moscow, Russia



A Tibetan activist shouts slogans as he waves a flag while being arrested by Indian police moments after he and other activists tried to rush the gate of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi



BBC employees arrive for work at Broadcasting House in central London. The BBC's director of news, Helen Boaden, and her deputy, Stephen Mitchell, have stepped aside amid the crisis over the Jimmy Savile scandal and a report wrongly accusing a politician of child abuse



Stuntwomen from the Breitling Wingwalking team perform on two Boeing Stearman open-cockpit biplanes during a rehearsal as part of the China international aviation and aerospace exhibition in Zhuhai, China.



Terraced rice paddies of Shiroyone Senmaida are covered in glowing pink LED lights. The twenty thousand lights are a Guinness World Record attempt

[Mr Lick]

A monk walks by a wall painting created by graffiti artists to welcome Barack Obama on a street in Rangoon, Burma. Obama is scheduled to visit Burma later this week, the first visit by a serving US president.



A chilly commute to work for this motorist as he rides on a street as snowfall hits Jilin province, China. Highways and schools have been forced to close across north-east China due to heavy snow



A Free Syrian Army fighter reacts as he carries the body of a fellow fighter after he was killed by a sniper loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Khan al-Assal area November 10, 2012. Picture taken November 10, 2012. The headband on the fighter reads, "God is great".

[Mr Lick]

Riot police confronts demonstrators as violence breaks out at a parade celebrating Poland's national holiday in Warsaw November 11, 2012. The police used truncheons to try to break up a crowd of right-wing extremists on Sunday who were pelting them with firecrackers and lumps of concrete



South Korean singer Psy celebrates with the 'Best Video' trophy during the MTV European Music Awards 2012 at the Festhalle in Frankfurt November 11, 2012.



Yamaha MotoGP world champion rider Jorge Lorenzo falls during the Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo racetrack in Cheste, near Valencia November 11, 2012. Lorenzo was denied a victorious season finale on home soil when he crashed out while leading an incident-packed Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday to hand victory to fellow-Spaniard Dani Pedrosa



People practice yoga in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei, November 11, 2012. Thousands of people gathered on Sunday for a mass yoga session in an attempt to create a record for the most number of people practicing yoga in the same time, according to the organizer



Germany's Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi perform during the ice dance free program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, November 10, 2012.



Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and parliamentarians applaud after a vote for the 2013 budget at the parliament in Athens early November 12, 2012. Greece's ruling coalition secured enough votes in parliament on Sunday to approve the 2013 budget law, a crucial requirement for Athens to revive its stalled international bailout programme and avoid insolvency

[Mr Lick]

Pakistan marks Malala Day

[Mr Lick]

Cholera in Freetown Sierra Leone



























The disease has killed 280 so far this year

[Mr Lick]

New business regulations in the communist country have allowed thousands of citizens to make money for themselves for the first time since 1959.









Customers try on watches and jewelry in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 12.

[Mr Lick]

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, currently in peace talks with Colombia's government, attacked a police station with homemade explosives, leaving 25 people injured, authorities said on Monday. More than 60 homes were damaged in the explosions, police Colonel Ricardo Alarcon said. Colombia's government and the FARC began talks in Oslo on Oct. 18 aimed at ending a half century of hostilities. However, no cease fire has been declared.






A police officer, left, carries the remains of a homemade grenade allegedly thrown by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, near a police station in Suarez in Colombia's southern state of Cauca, Nov. 12.



A man stands in the middle of the rubble on Nov. 12 after an attack by FARC rebels on a police station destroyed his house, in the town of Suarez, in Colombia's Cauca state

[Mr Lick]

They were supposed to have time off with family before an upcoming deployment to Japan, but the U.S. Navy Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 based in California are providing muscle to the cleanup effort in Breezy Point, N.Y. after Hurricane Sandy.

Seabee EOCN Courtney McCormack grabbed a shovel and started digging out the sand that had washed up against a house. Meanwhile, others in the group grabbed waterlogged debris and began a 100 yard walk out of the neighborhood to a large trash pile.

[Mr Lick]

A girl lights candles inside a cricket ground on the eve of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on Nov. 12.

[Mr Lick]

A puppy stays by the remains of a dog who local residents say is its mother on Nov. 6 (above), days after it was killed in an area burned in violence at East Pikesake ward in Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. The exact circumstances of the dog's death are unknown.

[Mr Lick]

A Syrian warplane bombed the rebel-held town of Ras al-Ain on Monday, just yards from the Turkish frontier, sending scores of civilians fleeing for safety into Turkey. Helicopters also strafed targets near the town, which fell to rebels on Thursday during an advance into Syria's mixed Arab and Kurdish northeast. There was no word on casualties. The jet struck within meters (yards) of the border fence that divides Ras al-Ain from the Turkish settlement of Ceylanpinar, sending up plumes of black smoke






A Syrian man argues with a Turkish soldier as he tries to cross the border after Syrian aircraft bombed the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain, Syria, on Nov. 12.






Syrians from the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain cross the border fences to flee into Turkey in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar on Nov. 12.

[Mr Lick]

New York and New Jersey clean up after Sandy

Two weeks after the superstorm knocked out power for 8.5 million, the cleanup operation is far from over in the hardest hit areas like the New Jersey shore and New York's Rockaways, Coney Island and Staten Island neighbourhoods. As life has returned to normal in much of the north-east, volunteers and residents have been hard at work salvaging possessions from destroyed homes – even as many still lack power






























Carlos Yera helps his son dig through the many feet of sand that entered his Long Beach oceanfront apartment in New York

[Mr Lick]

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates match point during his men's singles final match against Roger Federer of Switzerland during day eight of the ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena in London, England



Reflective protest: Supporters of the Ukrainian opposition wave flags during a rally in Kiev, Ukraine. Opposition supporters gathered near of the Central Election Committee building to protest against the alleged fraud in recent parliamentary elections and calling on their jailed leader Yulia Tymoshenko to stop her hunger strike



A worker checks ballot boxes and electoral papers for further distribution through the country in Tegucigalpa. Hondurans will vote in primary elections for mayors, congress and candidates for Honduras' presidency on November 18, 2012



The Arabian nights: A dancer performs during the inauguration ceremony of the Bahrain National Theater in Manama. The 1001-seat theater, one of the biggest in the Arab world, is expected to host major international and regional events promoting arts and culture in the area.



Cheers: Members of the Company of Pikemen enjoy a drink after performing their ceremonial duties in the Guildhall before The Lord Mayor's Banquet in London, England. The New Lord Mayor of London Roger Gifford is hosting the annual Lord Mayor's Banquet in London's Guildhall which will feature speeches from the Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury



Bada-bling: Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) and Lord Mayor Roger Gifford attend the Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Guildhall in the City of London



Protesters burn a picture depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Belem, on the outskirts of Lisbon. The German leader's praise for the government's spending cuts and sharp tax increases fell on deaf ears among demonstrators, who booed and brandished banners accusing her of seeking European domination

[Mr Lick]

A Buddhist monk walks in front of damaged pagoda in Thabeik Kyin township. Aftershocks rattled central Myanmar after an earthquake that killed at least 11 people, with that toll likely to rise as several workers were missing after a half-built bridge collapsed on the Irrawaddy River



Artist Bob and Roberta Smith (back right) gathers with concerned friends and artists dressed as Henry Moore's sculpture known as Old Flo to create a flashmob style awareness event. Tower Hamlets council, which owns Moore's Draped Seated Woman, is planning to sell the sculpture to raise money



Old Flo



Oscar Pistorius holds his scroll after receiving his honorary doctorate from Strathclyde University in Glasgow. The athlete was given the honour after competing at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games this year, where he won two gold medals and a silver medal



A demonstrator wears a mask during a protest in front of the conservative party PP headquarters in Madrid, Spain. Spanish officials are opening talks aimed at creating new regulations governing the eviction of indebted homeowners, after the suicide of two people about to suffer that fate shocked the nation



It's not Postman Pat but Prime Minister David Cameron as he helps deliver election leaflets to support Ken Maddock, who is running for Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner for the Conservative party, in a residential street in Bristol

[Mr Lick]

Kenya drought changes Turkana way of life




The drought that is plaguing the Horn of Africa is particularly bad news for people who derive their livelihoods from animals











Climate change, rising prices and corruption have all contributed to the food crisis

[Mr Lick]

Officers of China's People Liberation Army watch planes performing during the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai on November 13, 2012.






China's main air show opened on Tuesday, coinciding with the once-in-a-decade Communist Party meeting to select the country's new leaders.

Reuters reports that this week's air show is being attended by a record 650 exhibitors including dozens of foreign companies drawn to China by the growth of its aviation sector, projected to displace the United States as the world's largest aviation market soon.

The exhibition featured prototypes of a new Chinese business aircraft and a model of a new stealth fighter that China apparently hopes to build for export.

[Mr Lick]

Policemen apply vermillion powder and perform rituals on a dog during the Tihar festival at a police kennel division in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Nov 13, 2012. Dogs are worshipped to acknowledge their role in providing security during the Tihar festival, one of the most important Hindu festivals dedicated to the worship of the Goddess of wealth Laxmi.












On Tihar, as the Hindu festival of Diwali is known in Nepal, it is customary for people to offer blessings to dogs (which are seen as messengers of Yamaraj, the god of death) and cows (considered incarnations of Laxmi, goddess of wealth).

[Mr Lick]

Balloons fly across some of the 3,000 Buddhist temples during a sunrise flight in Bagan, Myanmar, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012

[Mr Lick]

London jazz festival 2012: days one and two



Day one: Imelda May rehearses for Friday's Jazz Voice concert at the Barbican



Melody Gardot performs at the Barbican as part of the Jazz Voice concert



New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard performs at Ronnie Scott's for Radio 3's live London jazz festival launch






Byron Wallen and Oren Marshall's Adventures in Brass at the Royal Academy of Arts London Jazz Festival 2012



Drummer Seb Rochford leads a workshop for young players at the Southbank Centre

[Mr Lick]

Punta del Este, Uruguay: firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out in the Biarritz building, one of the oldest buildings in the seaside resort



Mandalay, Burma: a victim of the recent earthquake rests at a temporary relief camp in Thabeik Kyin township. Aid agencies said the earthquake had killed at least 13, injured dozens and caused a bridge and mine to collapse



Guatemala City: the body of Jorge Giancarlo Morales in La Vervena cemetery. According to local media, Morales, 13, disappeared during a landslide at a ravine on the outskirts of the cemetery on 9 November, while looking for materials to recycle with his younger brother



Cartagena de Indias, Colombia: newly crowned Miss Colombia 2012, Lucia Aldana, right, receives her crown from her predecessor in 2011, Daniella Alvarez



Shanghai, China: a man eating and wearing pyjamas in the street. Wearing pyjamas in public has long been a common sight in Shanghai - and it's a practice that shows no sign of going despite repeated official attempts to stop it



Chandigarh, India: a girl lights earthenware lamps in a formation to form the shape of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, on the eve of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights

[Mr Lick]

Supporters of Greece's ultra nationalist party Golden Dawn distribute food to Greek nationals in Athens. Golden Dawn has seen a recent surge in their party's popularity with their right wing political views on unemployment, austerity cuts and immigration appealing to Greek citizens suffering in the current economic climate



A migrant reacts after being rescued off the Spanish coast. Emergency services and the Red Cross intercepted an inflatable boat carrying 10 sub-Saharan migrants trying to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, six miles from Tarifa, off the coast of southern Spain



US secretary of state Hillary Clinton stands out from the crowd at the University of Western Australia in Perth. She is in Australia to attend the annual Australia-United States ministerial consultations



The Christmas illuminations in Tokyo are brightening up today's picture blog. Featuring around 370,000 light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs powered by green electricity, the display can be seen until the new year

[Mr Lick]

Palestinians gather in Gaza City for a demonstration calling for the end of the political division between the Hamas-led leadership in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah in the West Bank city of Ramallah



Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada leaves Long Lartin prison in South Littleton, England. He has been released on bail after winning a last-minute appeal against deportation from Britain to face terrorism charges in Jordan



People in medical masks gather at the memorial monument to Aids victims in Kiev for a Ukraine to Quarantine! rally, demanding an increase in financing for treatment of epidemics



Fans of Lady Gaga run to touch a poster of her during a welcoming event ahead her visit to Lima, Peru. Lady Gaga will perform in Lima later this month

[Mr Lick]

Cast member Kristen Stewart arrives for the world premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 in Los Angeles, California.



Shaun Robinson arrived on the red carpet with a look to match

[Mr Lick]

Commander of the International Security Assistance Force/U.S. Forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus shakes hands with author Paula Broadwell in this ISAF handout photo originally posted July 13, 2011. The FBI investigation that led to the discovery of CIA Director David Petraeus' affair with author Paula Broadwell was sparked by "suspicious emails" from her to another woman and Petraeus was not the target of the probe, U.S. law enforcement and security officials told Reuters.



Israeli tanks stand in position overlooking a Syrian village from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights November 12, 2012. Israel's army fired tank shells into Syria on Monday and scored "direct hits" in response to a Syrian mortar shell that struck the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Israeli military said in a statement.



A woman seen near damaged buildings after a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to President Bashar al-Assad reportedly fired missiles at Douma near Damascus, November 4, 2012.



Argentina's Lionel Messi is escorted by security personnel as he arrives with his team in Riyadh November 12, 2012. Argentina will play a friendly soccer match against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday



A woman applies traditional Henna dye on the legs of her daughters in their hut in a slum area of the Akhdam community near Sanaa October 24, 2012. Yemeni Akhdam, or servants, are similar to hereditary castes, but are distinguished by their African features and the menial jobs they perform. Widespread prejudice places the Akhdam at the bottom of Yemen's social ladder. Asked about the origins of the Akhdam, Yemenis say they are descendants of Ethiopians who crossed the Red Sea to conquer Yemen before the arrival of Islam some 1,400 years ago - making them outsiders in their own country. Most live in slum areas in the outskirts of the capital Sanaa and other main cities. They reside in small huts haphazardly built of wood and cloth, without basic services such as running water, electricity and sewage networks.

[Mr Lick]

Eclipse watchers gather at Palm Cove, northern Queensland ahead of the first solar eclipse in Australia for a decade



Sam Bracanov was granted bail in NZ for allegedly planning to attack the Prince of Wales during his visit