World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie takes the oath of office, "a symbol of the bond we've created with each other over the past four years," as he is sworn in for his second term at the War Memorial Theatre in Trenton, N.J. on Jan. 21

[Mr Lick]

A woman cries after her house was swept away during heavy flooding on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Floods and mudslides caused by tropical depression Agaton have forced the evacuation of thousands of families from the islands.



A troupe of dragon dancers and musicians make their way to the top of Sydney Harbour bridge ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations on Friday.

[Mr Lick]

The Prince of Wales officially starts The Dumfries House Sport Relief Mile in Cumnock, Ayrshire.



Colombian soldiers have killed 14 rebels during an operation in the north-east of the country, the army says. It says the dead belonged to Colombia's main rebel group, Farc, and were involved in the sabotage of oil installations in Arauca province.

[Mr Lick]

Harpist Glenda Allaway performs during a press launch of the Michael Edwards Studio Theatre in the former cargo hold of the Cutty Sark at Greenwich in London.



People carry red flags with portraits of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin as they queue to visit his mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square to mark the 90th anniversary of his death.



An attack by a suspected suicide bomber has reportedly killed four people in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut. The blast, in Arid Street in the Haret Hreik district, left at least 20 injured, reports say.

[Mr Lick]

Drought in California




The remains of an automobile is pictured on the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir near San Jose, Calif., January 21, 2014. California Governor Jerry Brown last week declared a drought emergency, a move that will allow the parched state to seek federal aid as it grapples with what could turn out to be the driest year in recorded state history. The dry year of 2013 has left fresh water reservoirs with a fraction of their normal water reserves











Snow cover in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California in January 2013 (L) and January 2014 is compared in this combination of NASA satellite handout photos



The receding water line of Lake Hodges is seen in San Diego County, January 17, 2014

[Mr Lick]

Fishermen in wetsuits hunt dolphins at a cove in Taiji, western Japan, January 20, 2014. In an unusual move, U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy has expressed deep concern over the traditional dolphin hunt in western Japan, where local fisherman corral dolphins in a secluded bay before killing many for meat. The annual dolphin hunt currently underway in Taiji in western Japan has long been a source of controversy and was the topic of "The Cove," an Oscar-winning documentary



European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain (L) and European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) Director General Thomas Reiter react after ESA's satellite Rosetta resent a signal to ESOC in Darmstadt January 20, 2014. Comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta woke from nearly three years of hibernation on Monday to complete a decade-long deep space mission that scientists hope will help unlock some of the secrets of the solar system. Rosetta, which was launched by the ESA in 2004, is due to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and land a probe on it this year in an unprecedented manoeuvre

[Mr Lick]

French President Francois Hollande and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (R) talk after a meeting with business CEOs in Amsterdam January 20, 2014. Hollande is in the Netherlands for a one-day official visit



A Pakistani soldier stands guard near the site of a suicide blast in Rawalpini January 20, 2014. A Taliban suicide bomber killed 10 people in a crowded market on Monday near the Pakistani army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, not far from the capital Islamabad, police said

[Mr Lick]

A topless man gestures to police as he holds his girlfriend hostage with a knife atop a residential house in Sanya, Hainan province January 20, 2014. According to local media, the man, surnamed Lin, held his girlfriend hostage to threaten both families into allowing their marriage. Lin stood off with police on the roof for several hours and was arrested soon after he came down from the building.



A female volunteer (C) who helps maintain security tries to stop anti-government protesters from coming closer to protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban as he marches through central Bangkok January 20, 2014. Thai authorities are "very seriously" considering a state of emergency after a weekend of violence in the capital where protesters have been trying for more than two months to bring down the government, the security chief said on Monday

[Mr Lick]

Kiev standoff between police and protesters



































Opposition supporters escorted away young men they believed to have been hired by the government to instigate violence.



Ukraine's interior ministry said 80 police had been admitted to hospital following the most recent clashes, and dozens of protesters had been arrested.

[Mr Lick]

A Tibetan Mastiff has given birth to 16 puppies in Changsha, capital of southern China's Hunan Province. The Tibetan Mastiff is possibly the world's most expensive dog with a single animal costing millions of Yuan



The litter of 16 babies is estimated to be worth 3 million Yuan,( £300,000) according to the local Kennel Club. And it might be worth even more as three of the puppies are pure white, which is rare

[Mr Lick]

A NASA combination handout photograph shows the surface of Mars in front of the Mars rover on December 26, 2013 (L) and on January 8, 2014. NASA said the mysterious appearance of a doughnut-sized rock in the interim was likely a result of the rover taking a short drive in the area, probably moving the rock



Robert Burck, also known as the original 'Naked Cowboy', performs in a snow storm on the streets of Times Square, New York, USA. Burck, who started performing in Times Square in 1998, claims to make up to $150,000 a year in tips alone

[Mr Lick]

The lions at Longleat Safari Park have baffled their keepers in a never-seen-before stunt. The female lion first stunned keepers at Longleat in Wiltshire by leading to other lions to the top of the tree, which is much bigger than they would normally climb. The bizarre behaviour was caught on camera in the park's lion enclosure by keeper Ian Turner



The keepers were then left open mouthed when the enormous beast jumped from its perch 30ft up as space at the top got a little scarce.Amazingly, the big cat landed on all fours just like domestic cats do when they fall.Two of the fearless lions jumped from the top of the tree - but the third was less brave and opted to climb down instead

[Mr Lick]

A worker inspects the Christ the Redeemer statue which was damaged during lightning storms in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lightning strikes damaged the iconic figure's head and its right hand

[Mr Lick]

A lone dolphin (top R) swimming outside the nets, trying to reach the rest of the pod (C) who are caught in nets, in the Japanese town of Taiji. More dolphins are being driven towards the cove in western Japan ready for slaughter, campaigners say, after bloody killings that were hidden from view behind large tarpaulin sheets. Some of the prettier animals are removed and sold to aquariums while others are butchered for meat, which is consumed in a small number of coastal communities and Japanese officials have hit back, accusing campaigners of double standards and saying the hunt is part of the country's culture. The mass slaughter of the animals came to worldwide attention with the Oscar-winning film The Cove, which showed how the fishermen of Taiji corral dolphin pods in the bay



A dolphin jumps out a back of a wave at Black's Beach as large surf started to roll into the area in San Diego, USA

[Mr Lick]

Bacon is seen hanging from an apartment window to dry in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. The layers of hanging bacon curtained all the windows of the apartment on the third floor



A baby hippo is to being introduced to the public 30 days after its birth at Tianshan Mountain Zoo in China. The female hippo was born on 28th December to mother Ning Ning and father Nan Nan. Speaking about the birth a keeper said: Ning Ning dived into the water, and two hours later I saw a baby hippo emerge. I was so excited that I burst into tears. I've been feeding hippos for 30 years, but it's the first time I've seen the birth of a baby hippo



Children stand next to a plane in the camp for displaced persons at the Mpoko airport in Bangui, a day after the election of Catherine Samba-Panza as the new President of the Central African Republic. The European Union agreed on January 20 to send hundreds of troops to the Central African Republic in a rare joint military mission aimed at ending months of sectarian violence. Saying Europe was deeply concerned by the extreme insecurity and instability in the impoverished nation, EU foreign ministers gave political approval to the rapid deployment of a force expected to number between 400 and 600



31-year old chimpanzee mother Vanessa hides her face while her newborn baby plays with her in their enclosure at the zoo in Osnabrueck, northern Germany. The baby chimpanzee was born on January 6, 2014 and has four siblings

[Mr Lick]

Dorothy Nichter and Bettie Cooley get a close up look at a dead pilot whale before it was transported to a facility for a necropsy by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service in Estero, Florida, USA. The whale is one of eight pilot whales that have died after their group swam into the shallow waters near Lovers Key State Park



Female police trainees and their male counterparts practise firing their weapons at a shooting range during a refresher training programme in Najaf, Iraq

[Mr Lick]

Kerrang! marks 1,500 milestone with special edition – in pictures

The rock magazine Kerrang! launched in 1981 and celebrates a publishing milestone in issue 1,500 … AND in issue 1,501. Editor James McMahon has chosen some of his favourite covers from over the years, from AC/DC on issue one – through the biggest names in the industry such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and Kiss – to its 2013 anniversary issue



Issue 1 – June 1981 – AC/DC

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Issue 1,501 – 25 January 2014 – anniversary edition

[Mr Lick]

Feeling the pressure at work? A performer under an elephant during the 38th International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo in Monaco



Ice cream: a Kashmiri milkman cycles on a snow-covered road in Srinagar, India



Tight grip: a six-and-a-half month old koala joey is held carefully by a keeper before being weighed at Duisburg zoo in Germany. The female koala has not yet been named and the zoo is asking fans to vote for a name on a social networking site

[Mr Lick]

A protester hides behind the wreckage of a car during clashes with riot police in the centre of Kiev. Ukrainian police stormed protesters' barricades as violent clashes erupted and two activists reported dead



People walk through the pedestrian area in Times Square in New York as another storm alert was issued in the US



A shocking image of a police vehicle covered with blood as berets are left in it at the site of a bomb explosion in Charsadda, Pakistan

[Mr Lick]

The playful composition adds to the scene as a protester offers a handshake with Thai soldiers during a rally in Bangkok, Thailand



Cover art: the Maison Martin Margiela show as part of Paris fashion week's haute couture spring/summer 2014 collections

[Mr Lick]

Ukraine protesters clash with police in Kiev - in pictures

New clashes break out between Ukrainian police and protesters demanding the resignation of the country's president, Viktor Yanukovich, as two demonstrators are reported to have been killed















Protesters throw molotov cocktails during clashes