World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

On the ninth day of a nationwide strike in Peru, nurses protest in Lima against low wages and poor working conditions.



Pro-Russian rebels shoot down a military transport plane in eastern Ukraine, killing all 49 Ukrainian service personnel on board. It came under anti-aircraft fire around Luhansk, the country's defence ministry said.

[Mr Lick]

A baby poison dart frog sits on the end of a pencil at the London Aquarium. The recently born baby frog, an endangered species, is the first ever to be born there



The world's most famous cat 'Grumpy Cat' attended a licensing convention at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

[Mr Lick]

A snow leopard relaxes in its enclosure in Zoo Liberec, Czech Republic



A baby swamp tortoise is compared for size next to a human eye at the Adeliade Zoo, Australia. The tortoises were born recently as part of a successful breeding program for the endangered species



Little koala 'Archer' is seen tucking into a tasty treat as wildlife carers work to fatten him up. The 8-month-old joey is being hand-raised by keepers at the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Australia after they became concerned that he wasn't putting on enough weight. According to senior curator Chad Staples, Archer's mother has raised joeys before without a problem but this time her milk production may have dried up

[Mr Lick]

Revelers gathered to celebrate the 2014 summer solstice at the prehistoric monument Stonehenge, near Amesbury in southern England, on Saturday. The festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation

[Mr Lick]

Off a corner kick, French forward Olivier Giroud jumped above Switzerland’s Valon Behrami and powered in a header from near the back of the penalty area to score the first goal of the Group E match as a France blew away Switzerland 5-2 during Friday's 2014 World Cup action at the Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, Brazil.

[Mr Lick]

Ecuador's Enner Valencia scored two goals in a soccer match against Honduras on Friday, succeeding in keeping Ecuador alive in Group E of the World Cup.

Above, Valencia, second right, heads the ball to score the team's second goal against Honduras during their 2014 World Cup Group E soccer match at the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil.

[Mr Lick]

Battle for Iraq




A general view shows damaged houses in the city of Ramadi, June 19, 2014.



























Armed Iraqi security forces personnel stand near the body of a member of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who was killed during clashes in Ramadi, May 31, 2014

[Mr Lick]

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a military-style training in the holy city of Najaf, June 17, 2014.

[Mr Lick]

Summer solstice at Stonehenge

[Mr Lick]

Jeremy Paxman hosts his final Newsnight

Jeremy Paxman signed off his final Newsnight with the words 'Goodnight and goodbye' this evening, but not before a memorable send off - including a rant about Twitter and a spell presenting the weather

Peter Mandelson also appeared on the show - and said 'I think you could judge on reflection [iraq] was a mistake. But a mistake honestly made

Michael Howard had a cameo on the show - with Paxman asking him 'And did you Michael Howard?' To which he answered: 'No - but feel free to ask another 11 times'

The presenter finished the show by standing in front of a weather map and declaring: 'And tomorrow's weather more of the same, I don't know why they make such a fuss about it'

[Mr Lick]

Ukrainians wearing balaclavas threw bricks at the Russian bank Sberbank during a pro-Ukrainian/anti-separatist rally in Kiev on Sunday. Separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions have declared independence and asked to join Russia. Moscow has rebuffed their appeals, but is seen by Ukraine and the West as actively supporting the insurgency

[Mr Lick]

Over 8,000 people participated in a free, day-long yoga event as a salute to the sun at the 12th Annual "Solstice in Times Square" in New York City on Saturday.

[Mr Lick]

People gathered around a solstice bonfire as Germany and Ghana played their World Cup match on a large screen in the background in Aschau, Germany, in the Bavarian Alps, on Saturday. The game ended in a draw thanks to a late, historic goal by Germany's Miroslav Klose

[Mr Lick]

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr march during a parade in Najaf, June 21, 2014.



Israeli soldiers take part in an operation to locate three Israeli teens near the West Bank City of Hebron June 21, 2014

[Mr Lick]

Indian police personnel scuffle with an activist of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) during a protest against the hike in rail passenger and freight fares in Kolkata June 21, 2014.



Fans of Bosnia cry after watching telecast of 2014 World Cup match between Bosnia and Nigeria on main square in Sarajevo, June 22, 2014.

[Mr Lick]

Editor of the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper Edmund Kudzayi gets out of a police vehicle as he arrives at the Harare Magistrates court, where he was charged with attempted terrorism, insurgency and banditry June 21, 2014.



Members of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces take their positions during a patrol looking for militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), explosives and weapons, in a neighbourhood in Ramadi, June 10, 2014.



An Israeli soldier detains a Palestinian during an operation to locate three Israeli teens near the West Bank City of Hebron June 21, 2014

[Mr Lick]

World's Ugliest Dog contest – in pictures

Owners bring their pets with only faces they could love to the annual tournament in California































And the winner is … Peanut. A mutt who is suspected of being chihuahua-shitzu mix, owned by Holly Chandler from Greenville, North Carolina

[Mr Lick]

A crowd of thousands of demonstrators reflected in a firefighter's helmet held up on stage in Parliament Square, London, England. The protest was held in opposition to government austerity cuts.



Lava flows from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, one of the world's most active volcanoes, on the French island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean

[Mr Lick]

A police car is parked in front of a fire in the village of Iskivtsi in a picture released by the Ukrainian Emergency Services. The fire caused by a blast at the gas pipeline.



A Syrian refugee with a baby on his lap begs in an Istanbul street. Nearly half of Syria's population has fled since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule erupted three years ago



Floral tributes overlook Saddleworth Moor where the body of missing Keith Bennett may be buried. Fifty years ago he was snatched by moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and they have never disclosed the location of his burial.



A model at the Sankuanz show during the London Collections: Men SS15.



SweePee Rambo takes second place in the 2014 world's ugliest dog contest in Petaluma, California.

[Mr Lick]

A man walks past a burning car set on fire by Kosovo Albanians during a protest in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica June 22, 2014. Police in Kosovo fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday at ethnic Albanian rioters burning police cars and lobbing rocks in Mitrovica, in protest over the blockage of the main bridge by ethnic Serbs



Belgian players celebrate with their supporters after the group H World Cup soccer match between Belgium and Russia at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, June 22, 2014. Belgium won the match 1-0.

[Mr Lick]

People vote in a polling station for an unofficial referendum on democratic reform in Hong Kong Sunday, June 22, 2014. More than half a million Hong Kongers have voted in an unofficial referendum on democratic reform in the specially administered Chinese city that Beijing has blasted as illegal.



New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, and his wife Chirlane McCray embrace during the Mermaid Parade in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, June 21, 2014. Organizers say de Blasio is the first mayor of New York City to take part in Coney Island's zany Mermaid Parade in costume.

[Mr Lick]

A Kurdish security officer covers his face after seeing decomposing bodies in Kirkuk, Iraq, Sunday, June 22, 2014. Sunni militants in control of a small northern town handed over to authorities in the northern oil city of Kirkuk the decomposing bodies of 15 Shiites, according to the city's deputy police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul-Rahman Youssef.



A Hindu devotee performs a stunt with his motorcycle during a rehearsal for the annual Rath Yatra, or chariot procession, in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad June 22, 2014. The annual religious procession commemorates a journey by Hindu god Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, in specially made chariots. The Rath Yatra will be held on June 29.



England's Chris Jordan (2nd R) drops a catch from the bat of Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne (L) as teammates Alastair Cook (2nd L) and Gary Ballance look on during the second cricket test match at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds, England June 22, 2014



Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talk before a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo June 22, 2014. Kerry arrived in Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over Egypt's crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the threat which the conflict in Iraq poses to the Middle East.



Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany celebrates as he crosses the finish line during the Austrian F1 Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg June 22, 2014. (

[Mr Lick]

A teenager unwisely posed for photographs after jumping on the bonnet of a businessman's £245,000 supercar in Port Talbot, Wales. Images of the 17-year-old on the bonnet of the 207mph McLaren 12C Spider went viral on the web, and he has now been charged with criminal damage



A tractor has been seized by police after drivers spotted it chugging along one of the country's busiest motorways. The Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) said the bright red tractor was spotted travelling at 'low speed' on the southbound carriageway of the M6 near Birmingham in the West Midlands at about 5.25am on Monday

[Mr Lick]

A large crowd watches the Rolling Stones concert at Circo Massimo in Rome, Italy



2,000 people in Beijing, China take part in an attempt to set a new world record for the greatest number of people doing the plank at the same time

[Mr Lick]

Pretty in pink: participants in the Beijing Colour Run are sprayed with pink powder



Players vie for the ball during the 2014 Mud Soccer Tournament at Yuetan Stadium in Beijing. A total 48 teams participated in the tournament