World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

MPs question future of aid money for India



The UK must "fundamentally" change its aid relationship with India after 2015 by giving less to the increasingly prosperous country, MPs say.

The international development committee backed the government's decision to continue providing £280m a year in the short term to combat poverty.

But it called for a redirection of money towards priorities such as improving hygiene and education.

The government said this "endorsed" its own approach to aid for India.

The UK continuing to help India while the south Asian nation's own government spends large sums on projects such as a space programme has attracted criticism.

The coalition has promised to spend 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid and India is the biggest single recipient of that aid.

In its report the committee agreed with ministers that the existence of "large pockets of poverty" within the country justified the maintenance of UK aid for the immediate future.

[Mr Lick]

Rwanda ex-army chief Nyamwasa in SA expulsion threat



Rwanda's ex-army chief Lt Gen Nyamwasa survived an assassination attempt last year in South Africa


South African human rights groups have launched legal action to force the government to revoke the refugee status of a former Rwandan army chief.

They said Pretoria acted illegally by giving asylum to Lt Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who fought with President Paul Kagame to end the 1994 genocide.

But he fled to South Africa last year after falling out with Mr Kagame.

He is also wanted by Spain and France for his alleged role in killings in the lead-up to Rwanda's 100-day genocide.

After he fled to South Africa, he survived an assassination attempt in June 2010.

Rwanda's government denied claims that it was involved in the shooting.

South Africa recalled its ambassador to Kigali in the ensuing row

[Mr Lick]

Burmese troops and Kachin militia clash



Burmese troops have been involved in deadly clashes with Kachin rebels near a northern site where China is building a hydro-electric power plant.

At least four rebel fighters and a number of government troops have died.

A truce between the government and rebels from the Kachin ethnic minority broke down last year when rebels refused to become state border guards.

It is among the worst violence reported in Burma since March, when the military handed power to a civilian government.

The current fighting began on Thursday.

It appears to have started with a government offensive to force rebels belonging to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) away from an outpost in an area where China is building two dams as part of a hydro-electric power plant.

[Mr Lick]

Juror admits contempt of court over Facebook contact



A juror, who contacted a defendant via Facebook, has admitted contempt of court in the first case of its kind in the UK involving the internet.

London's High Court heard that Joanne Fraill, 40, contacted Jamie Sewart, 34, who had already been acquitted in a drugs trial costing £6m in Manchester.

Because other defendants were still on trial, the judge decided to discharge the jury, and the case collapsed.

Sewart was also found to be in contempt.

She had admitted the online contact took place but denied it amounted to an offence.

The case, brought by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, was heard by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, sitting with Mr Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice Holroyde.

Sentencing is expected to take place on Thursday.

The maximum penalty for contempt is two years imprisonment.

Lord Judge told mother-of-three Fraill, from Blackley, Greater Manchester, that she should expect to be sent to prison

[Mr Lick]

Brazil: Another Amazon anti-logging activist killed



Another land campaigner in Brazil's Amazon region has been shot dead, bringing the number of activists killed over the past month to at least five.

The body of Obede Loyla Sousa was found in dense forest surrounding his home in the northern state of Para.

The 31-year-old had argued with illegal loggers in the area, according to a church group.

His killing comes just weeks after four other activists were murdered in Para and Rondonia state.

In the wake of those murders, the Brazilian authorities promised to offer increased protection to campaigners in the Amazon region.

Police believe Mr Loyla was killed on Thursday, but news of his death was only confirmed on Tuesday.

[Mr Lick]

Venezuela: 19 inmates killed in prison gang fight



Some 19 people have died and many more have been hurt in a prison riot in Venezuela, officials say.

Two rival gangs had confronted each other in El Rodeo I prison near the capital Caracas on Sunday, said Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami.

The situation has since calmed down, local media reports say, but 150 people remain in front of the jail awaiting news of their jailed relatives.

There have been a number of riots in Venezuelan jails this year.

Prisons in the country are notoriously overcrowded, with reports suggesting they are three times over capacity.

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights has urged Venezuela to take action to tackle violence and insecurity in its prisons, and to protect the human rights of inmates.

The campaign group Venezuelan Prison Watch says 476 inmates died inside Venezuela's prisons in 2010.

[Mr Lick]

US: Iraq reconstruction billions 'may have been stolen'



Some $6.6bn (£4bn) flown into Iraq eight years ago may have been stolen, according to a US official investigating fraud in the country.

The missing money may represent "the largest theft of funds in national history", investigator Stuart Bowen told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

A third audit is being conducted to find the money, which was shipped from the US between 2003-2004, he said.

The cash, which belonged to Iraq, was intended to pay for reconstruction.

The money came from a special fund set up by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with Iraq's own money, which was previously withheld from the country under harsh economic sanctions imposed against Saddam Hussein's regime.

The funds were airlifted aboard C-130 military cargo planes by the Bush administration in shrink-wrapped bricks, as part of a $20bn reconstruction package.

[Mr Lick]

Indian anti-graft hunger strike activist dies



An Indian activist who went on a hunger strike in February to protest against illegal mining has died in a hospital in northern Uttarakhand state.

Swami Nigamanand, 36, slipped into a coma in May, days after being hospitalised.

Officials said the government had banned mining in the Kumbh region as demanded by the activist.

But federal Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed the state government for "ignoring" the activist's pleas.

A founder-member of a group called Matri Sadan, Swami Nigamanand went on a hunger strike on 19 February demanding a ban on mining around the Ganges river in the Kumbh region in Uttarakhand state.

He was hospitalised on 27 April after his condition deteriorated and he went into a coma on 2 May, doctors said.

The post mortem report said that Swami Nigamanand's death on Tuesday had been caused by "coma, septicaemia and degenerative brain disorder".

Meanwhile, the head of Matri Sadan, Swami Shivanand, has alleged that the activist was "given a poisonous injection" by doctors, leading to the worsening of his condition. Doctors deny the charge.

India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said he was "extremely sorry" that Swami Nigamanand "who was fasting, has died".

"Illegal mining is rampant in Uttarakhand and enjoys political patronage at the highest levels... But no action was taken," Mr Ramesh said.

India has seen a number of hunger strikes against corruption recently by prominent activist Anna Hazare and popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

Correspondents say Swami Nigamanand's fast was completely overshadowed by the strikes by Mr Hazare and Baba Ramdev and received little media attention.

[Mr Lick]

Karachi officials 'removed' after death of unarmed man



Two top officials in the Pakistani province of Sindh have been transferred following the killing of a man by paramilitary soldiers, officials say.

The move follows a Supreme Court order that they be removed from their posts within three days.

The killing of the unarmed man was filmed by a TV cameraman and widely broadcast by Pakistani channels.

At least five soldiers and a civilian have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the killing.

They face murder and terrorism charges.

The video of the killing attracted criticism of the Pakistani army which is already under fire from the public for the recent killing of a journalist, Saleem Shahzad.

Journalists, politicians and rights activists have accused the army's intelligence service, the ISI, of the murder, a charge which the ISI denies.

The military is also being criticised for failures over the 2 May operation by US commandos in which Osama Bin Laden was killed on Pakistani territory.

[Mr Lick]

A woman suffering from cholera symptoms sips on a plastic bag of semi-frozen water that is held by her husband as they wait for an ambulance to take them to a Doctors Without Borders cholera clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday June 14, 2011. Now that the rainy season has begun the number of cholera cases is rising in parts of Haiti, as feared by local and international health experts.

[Mr Lick]

The science of mending a broken heart

The British Heart Foundation invited scientists from the more than 1200 projects that it funds to submit the best images they have produced in the course of their work




Winner: Feeding the heart
Professor Nicolas Smith, Kings College London and University of Oxford
This virtual model shows the blood flow through vessels serving the heart. During the heartbeat, different amounts of pressure are put on the different blood vessels that feed the heart – shown here in different colours.



Runner up: What colour is your heart?
Dr Vanessa Ferreira, Dr Stefan Piechnik, Dr Theodoros Karamitsos and Professor Stefan Neubauer, University of Oxford
This collage of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the heart is inspired by a new imaging technique called T1-mapping. T1-mapping uses colour to give more information about heart disease than standard black and white MRI scans.



Shortlisted: A fatty plaque
Professor David Greaves (University of Oxford) and Professor Ed Fisher (NYU & Eastman Visiting Professor in Oxford)
This image is a cross-section of a "fatty plaque" from a mouse artery. Fatty plaques are a mixture of "bad" LDL-cholesterol, immune cells and other material, which can build up in arteries and eventually rupture, releasing a blood clot which can cause a heart attack or stroke. This image was created using a technique called immunoflourescence microscopy.

[Mr Lick]

Many possibilities
Dr Evie Maifoshie, Imperial College London
Human embryonic stem cells have the ability to turn into any cell type in the human body – including heart muscle cells. The British Heart Foundation's Mending Broken Hearts campaign, hopes to harness the potential of stem cells to grow and repair muscle which is damaged after a heart attack.



The growing heart
Dr Gianfranco Matrone, University of Edinburgh (BHF Centre of Research Excellence)
This image is a close-up of the heart of a zebrafish, and shows heart muscle cells in the process of dividing. Understanding the mechanisms which control the growth of heart cells in early life can give clues about how to make damaged adult hearts beat strongly again – the ultimate aim of the British Heart Foundation's Mending Broken Hearts campaign



Heart network
Dr Patrizia Camelliti, Imperial College London
This image shows human heart cells growing on a bioengineered "scaffold". Cells have been stained with fluorescent molecules to identify the nuclei in blue, and the cell body, in pink. The research behind this image involves working out the roles that different cells play in heart structure and function, and particularly the relationship between cells and their surrounding environment.



Making new heart cells
Dr Renata Gomes, Ana Lima, and Dr Ricardo Neves, University of Oxford
This image shows two blood cells which have been turned back into a stem cell-like state. The green dots are tiny nanoparticles which these researchers are using to turn these cells into heart cells and monitor them afterwards.



A lone endothelial cell
Dr Richard Starke and Dr Anna Randi, Imperial College London
The inside of blood vessels are coated with a single layer of cells called endothelial cells. This image shows an endothelial cell stained to show its nucleus (purple) and the fibres that maintain its shape and allow it to move (green). A cell surface receptor, stained in red, allows the cell to bind to the vessel wall, where it can carry out its vital job of keeping blood vessels healthy

[Mr Lick]

Pulling together
Dr Thomas Cahill, University of Oxford
This picture shows a heart muscle cell from a mouse, taken using a powerful ‘confocal’ microscope. The red and green bands show two different proteins, alpha-actinin (red) and titin (green). Alpha-actinin and titin are two of the specialised proteins in every heart muscle cell which bind and pull together to cause the cell to contract. A ripple of contraction spreads throughout the heart to cause a heartbeat. Genetic mutations in the genes which code for proteins like alpha-actinin and titin can cause inherited heart disease.



Ticklish?
Dr Elisabeth Ehler, Kings College London
Beating heart cells – called cardiomyocytes – sit within a "scaffold" that keeps the heart in shape. Problems with this scaffold are a hallmark of some types of heart disease. This image shows a green cardiomyocyte in a Petri dish. It appears to be making contact with another type of cell, called a fibroblast, shown in red. Fibroblasts help produce the scaffold that holds the heart in shape. Understanding how these different types of cell interact will aid our understanding of how heart disease develops.



Under pressure
Matthew McCormick, David Nordsletten, and Professor Nicolas Smith, Kings College London
This is a computerised image of the heart of a human patient with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted into their heart to help it beat properly. The device is in the lower part of the image. This image was produced to work out how well the implanted device was working. The contours show areas of high and low pressure on the walls of the heart.



Highway in the heart
Dr Timea Belezai, University of Oxford
This image shows a piece of leftover human coronary artery from a patient who had undergone coronary bypass surgery. This research team examined potassium channels in the vessel wall, which play a vital role in blood flow regulation. Problems with these channels can prevent arteries contracting and expanding correctly, contributing to coronary heart disease. The blue stains show calcium-activated potassium channels. The image is an extreme close-up made using a powerful confocal microscope – the red marks are the nuclei of individual cells.

[Mr Lick]

Joss Stone 'murder plot': police question two men

Pair arrested near singer's home in Devon were reportedly in possession of swords, rope and body bag



Two men are being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and murder after being arrested close to the home of the singer Joss Stone.

The men were detained in Cullompton, Devon, at around 10am on Tuesday after residents reported a suspicious looking vehicle.

The pair, aged 30 and 33, were initially arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and going equipped to burgle/steal. The 30-year-old was also arrested for driving while disqualified.
After further inquiries the police said the men were being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to murder.

The Sun reported that police found swords, rope and a body bag as well detailed maps and aerial photos of Stone's property when they arrested the pair.

Detective Inspector Steve Parker, leading the investigation, said: "The two men in custody had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items which lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offence. Police inquiries continue and the men remain in custody."

Stone has sold more than 11m records globally and is estimated to be worth £9m.

The singer, 24, was recently asked to join a new "supergroup" formed by Mick Jagger, featuring Dave Stewart, from the Eurythmics, Damian Marley, the Grammy-winning youngest son of Bob Marley, and the Bollywood composer AR Rahman.

Stone is a friend of Prince William and attended the royal wedding.

[Mr Lick]

CIA's Osama bin Laden informants arrested by Pakistan

The detention of five informants involved in lead-up to Bin Laden killing is seen as sign of fresh US-Pakistan discord





Pakistan's top military spy agency has arrested five informants who fed information to the CIA before the raid last month that killed Osama bin Laden, the New York Times has reported.

One of the detainees was reported to be a Pakistani army major who officials said copied licence plates of cars visiting the al-Qaida leader's compound 30 miles north-west of Islamabad.

The fate of the CIA informants arrested in Pakistan is unclear, the newspaper reported, citing American officials.

Outgoing CIA director Leon Panetta raised the issue of the informants' detention during a trip to Islamabad last week, where he met with Pakistani military and intelligence officers, the Times said.

Some in Washington see the arrests as another sign of the disconnect between US and Pakistani priorities in the fight against extremists, the newspaper reported.

The US kept Islamabad in the dark about the 2 May raid by Navy Seals until after it was completed, humiliating Pakistan's armed forces and putting US military and intelligence ties under strain.

[Mr Lick]

Birmingham City to report Aston Villa over move for Alex McLeish



The bitter wrangle over the future of Alex McLeish intensified on Tuesday night when Birmingham City accused Aston Villa of tapping up their former manager and said they would report their arch rivals to the Premier League and Football Association on Wednesday. The move came in response to Villa's announcement of plans to interview McLeish over their vacancy.


On a dramatic day of accusations and counter-accusations, Villa said they considered McLeish a "free agent" after he quit Birmingham on Sunday and they revealed plans to talk to him "imminently" about succeeding Gérard Houllier. That came despite Birmingham's threat of legal action against them should they appoint the Scot without paying compensation.


Birmingham's responded furiously, describing Villa's plan to interview McLeish as "a contempt of Premier League and FA rules". They said: "The club feel this will taint football and give the game and the footballing authorities a bad name if this is allowed to materialise.

"The club will do what is within its powers to prevent this and will lodge a formal complaint to the authorities tomorrow as there is now not the slightest doubt remaining about this tap-up attempt. Birmingham City stresses that this conduct, if condoned, will open up flood gates and set a very bad precedent."

[Mr Lick]

Talks between Alan Shearer and Cardiff City break down



Talks between Alan Shearer and Cardiff City over the managerial vacancy at the Championship club broke down on Tuesday.

The former England captain said: "I can confirm that I was one of the candidates that the club spoke to about the vacant manager's position at Cardiff City. During these talks I was most impressed with the vision, ambition and determination of the owner, Dato Chan Tien Ghee, and the board. Unfortunately those talks were unsuccessful on this occasion. Cardiff City is a great club and I wish them every success next season."

Shearer, who is keen to get back into management, two years after his short spell in charge of Newcastle ended in their relegation to the Championship, had been the bookies' favourite to take over at the Welsh club, who sacked Dave Jones following their defeat by Reading in the semi-finals of the Championship play-offs last month.

[Mr Lick]

Conflict in Libya



Demonstrators shout slogans against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime and in support of the Syrian uprising against President Bashar Assad during a protest on Benghazi's seaside promenade on Tuesday, June 14.



Rebel fighters inspect the inside of a mosque thought to have been used by snipers loyal to Gadhafi, after heavy clashes with pro-Gadhafi forces on the front line at Dafniya, about 25 miles west of Misrata, on June 13. The rebels had pushed along the Mediterranean Sea to within six miles of Zlitan, the next city to the west of Misrata.



An instructor trains Libyan rebels on the FN rifle at the Kawla Primary School in Misrata on June 13.

[Mr Lick]

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, left, speaks with representatives from civil society in Benghazi on June 13.



Supporters of Gadhafi shout slogans during a pro-regime protest in Tripoli, June 12. NATO strikes targeted Gaddafi's facilities in and outside Tripoli as rebels tried to advance toward the capital



Gadhafi plays chess with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the international chess federation, in Tripoli on June 12. Libyan state television broadcast pictures of Gaddafi meeting Ilyumzhinov.

[Mr Lick]

Rebel fighters rest close to the town of Ryayna, along the Nefusa mountain front line after trying to cut off forces loyal to Gadhafi on June 12.

[Mr Lick]

People watch as an aircraft takes off from Hong Kong international airport on June 5. Citing an increase in air traffic demand on the back of strong economic growth in Asia, the city's Airport Authority said it had to find ways to increase the capacity of the airport because current facilities were expected to be saturated by 2020.



A worker takes a nap as fish are dried at a salted fish processing facility in Jakarta, Indonesia

[Mr Lick]

A US Marine picks up food supplies after they were dropped off by small parachutes from a plane outside Forward Operating Base Edi in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan

[Mr Lick]

Political unrest in Yemen



Yemeni anti-government protesters shout slogans demanding the immediate creation of a governing council to lead the country, in Sanaa on June14.



An armed tribesman, loyal to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribe, walks in a vegetable and fruit market that was damaged in clashes with Yemeni security forces, in Sanaa on June 13.



Mourners bury the body of an opposition supporter killed during recent clashes with police in the southern Yemeni city of Taiz

[Mr Lick]

Blazing Arizona wildfire



Ralph Geisler, left, wife Stephanie, center, and their son-in-law Dustin Powers unload their belongings as they return home in Springerville, Ariz., June 12. Roughly 7,000 residents of two eastern Arizona towns who evacuated last week as a wildfire loomed nearby were allowed to return home Sunday as officials expressed confidence that they were making progress in their battle against the huge blaze that has been burning since May.

[Mr Lick]

Meltdown 2011



Ray Davies, curator of this year's Meltdown festival at the Southbank in London, on stage for his opening night performance



The Manfreds kick off the Ready Steady Go! evening - a recreation of the classic 60s TV pop show - with 5-4-3-2-1



Carl Barat performing a Dirty Pretty Things song at the Ready Steady Go! night