World News in Pictures

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Protesters, Police Clash in Greece
Tens of thousands of people in Athens marched on parliament to protest government efforts to cut spending and benefits in the debt-riddled European country. Here: Demonstrators tangle with police on Wednesday.

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Protesting Censorship
In Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday, a police officer stands behind placards depicting "censored" masterpieces -- all part of a rally against a public morality law that activists say inhibits culture and facilitates repression.

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Unrest in the West Bank
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian protester on Wednesday as residents from the village of Deir Qadis tried to prevent bulldozers from moving toward their land during a demonstration against settlement expansion.

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Boston Beats Vancouver, Wins Stanley Cup
Mark Recchi raises the Stanley Cup as teammate Patrice Bergeron exults after the Bruins beat the Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the NHL finals on Wednesday for Boston's first hockey title in 39 years.

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Brazilian Beauties
Models are reflected in a mirror as they present creations from Iodice's Summer 2012 collection during Sao Paulo Fashion Week on Tuesday.

Ayman al-Zawahiri appointed as al-Qaeda leader

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The long-serving second-in-command of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been appointed its head following the death of Osama Bin Laden, the militant organisation said in a statement.

Bin Laden was killed by US forces in Pakistan in early May.

Al-Qaeda warned it would continue to fight a holy war against the US and Israel under Zawahiri's direction.

Analysts say Egyptian-born Zawahiri, 59, is intelligent but lacks the charisma of his predecessor.

He is claimed by some experts to have been the "operational brains" behind the 9/11 attacks on the US.

For years Bin Laden's deputy, with a $25m (£15m) bounty on his head, he had been widely anticipated to replace Bin Laden at the helm.

The statement announcing his appointment was posted on a militant website and attributed to al-Qaeda's General Command.

"Sheikh Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, may God guide him, assumed responsibility as the group's amir [leader]", it said.

It vowed that under Zawahiri, it would pursue jihad or holy war against the US and Israel "until all invading armies leave the land of Islam".

Spitzer snaps 'green ring' nebula

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The Spitzer space telescope has snapped a striking region of the RCW 120 nebula, a vast cloud of gas and dust in which stars have recently formed.

RCW 120 lies about 4,300 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, just above the plane of the galaxy.

It emits a broad range of colours in the infrared region, with wavelengths far beyond those we can see.

The ring-shaped emission is believed to originate from the heat of giant "O" type stars at the ring's centre.

These are among the most massive, hottest and bright stars we know of. Infrared light is emitted from the surrounding gas and dust as these stars impart their enormous heat.

Two different Spitzer instruments have contributed the colours represent increasing wavelengths; blue is 3,600 nanometres, green is 8,000 nanometres, and red is 24,000 nanometres (visible light that we see stops at about 800 nanometres).

RCW 120 is a particularly striking example of the many rings around O stars that Spitzer spots in the course of its observations.

However, the Spitzer team needs help in identifying and classifying what the space telescope can see.

As part of the "Zooniverse" series of citizen science projects, the public can visit the Milky Way Project to help spot more rings like RCW 120

Facebook juror sentenced to eight months for contempt

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A juror who contacted a defendant via Facebook, causing a trial to collapse, has been jailed for eight months for contempt of court.

Joanne Fraill had admitted the charge, in the first UK case of its kind.

London's High Court heard that Fraill, 40, of Blackley, Greater Manchester, had contacted Jamie Sewart, 34, who had already been cleared in a drugs trial.

Sewart, of Bolton, was given a two-month sentence suspended for two years after she was found guilty of contempt.

Because other defendants were still on trial at the time of the contact between Fraill and Sewart, the judge decided to discharge the jury and the £6m drugs case in Manchester collapsed.

Fraill cried uncontrollably in court, and gasped "eight months" - as did her family - as her sentence was handed down on Thursday.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who heard the case, then announced a short adjournment "for everyone to calm down".

Sentencing Fraill, Lord Judge said in a written ruling: "Her conduct in visiting the internet repeatedly was directly contrary to her oath as a juror, and her contact with the acquitted defendant, as well as her repeated searches on the internet, constituted flagrant breaches of the orders made by the judge for the proper conduct of the trial."

Helicopter with wings promises to change aviation world

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Eurocopter's Jean-Michel Billig: 'It's a game changer in the way we use helicopters in our day-to-day life"


Surging in from the west through one of Provence's many beautiful valleys, a peculiar looking aircraft is preceded by an unfamiliar sound.

The deep chugging rumbling of a conventional helicopter rotor is mixed with the loud whining noise of two wing-mounted forward-facing propellers, making it difficult to guess what is coming.

As the aircraft swoops over Montagne Sainte-Victoire, shaking the windows in holiday cottages and farm houses below, it becomes clear that this flying machine resembles nothing else in the skies.

Eurocopter's X3 rotorcraft - pronounced "X cubed" - is basically a chopper with wings, which will be seen for the first time by the public next week as part of the aerial displays at the Paris air show.

The prototype combines the versatility of a helicopter, by way of vertical take-off and landing, with the higher speed of a plane.

"It's exactly like a helicopter," says flight test engineer Dominique Fournier. "But as soon as you've taken off, it's exactly like a fixed wing aircraft."

Milly Dowler trial: No evidence from Levi Bellfield

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The man accused of killing Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler has refused to give evidence at his Old Bailey trial.

Levi Bellfield, 42, who denies murdering the 13-year-old, told judge Mr Justice Wilkie that he would not be speaking in his defence.

The judge asked Jeffrey Samuels QC if he had advised his client that "the jury may draw such inferences as it sees proper", and he confirmed he had.

Milly vanished in Walton-on-Thames in March 2002 while walking from school.

Gilbert Bukenya: Uganda ex-VP charged with CHOGM fraud

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Uganda's former Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya has been charged with fraud.
He denies that he benefited from a $3.9m (£2.4m) deal to supply cars to the 2007 Commonwealth summit in Kampala.

A parliamentary committee last year recommended he and other ministers be charged but MPs then voted to clear them.

Mr Bukenya was sacked in May, as part of a reshuffle in the wake of February's elections.

The BBC's Joshua Mmali in the capital, Kampala says the inspector general of government continued investigations into the case although MPs had decided to drop it.

A day after losing the vice-presidency, Mr Bukenya was confronted with the news that his file was due for prosecution, our reporter says.

He is accused of being responsible for the fraudulent procurement of luxury cars, which were used to transport dozens of heads of state during the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Mr Bukenya chaired the cabinet team in charge of preparations for the event.

When asked whether he understood the first charge of abuse of office, he replied: "Those charges are absolutely not true."

He was granted a cash bail of $20,000 and will have to deposit his passport with the court.

Our reporter says the prosecution have asked for a further two weeks to complete investigations.

The hearing has now been adjourned until 30 June.

Malaysia couple charged over Indonesian maid's death

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A Malaysian couple has been charged with the murder of an Indonesian maid.

Isti Komariyah, 26, was brought to a hospital in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur earlier this month, where she was pronounced dead.

Her Malaysian employers did not enter a plea. If convicted, the pair could face a death sentence.

This is the first abuse case involving domestic workers to come to trial since the country signed an agreement with Indonesia last month.

Indonesia banned its citizens from working as maids in Malaysia in June 2009, after allegations of abuse emerged.

The new deal aims to improve working conditions for maids, guaranteeing them one day off a week.

Under the agreement, they will also be allowed to keep their passports, rather than having to give them to their employers.

North Korea demands defectors' return from South Korea

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The Red Cross mediated in a defection row earlier this year


North Korea has demanded the return of nine apparent North Korean defectors who crossed into South Korean waters by boat, Seoul officials said.

"North Korea's Red Cross asked for an immediate repatriation of the nine," Seoul's unification ministry said.

The three men, two women and four children reportedly crossed the marine border off the west coast of the peninsula early on Saturday.

It follows a similar row earlier this year over the fate of 31 North Koreans.

A fishing boat carrying 31 North Koreans drifted into South Korean waters in thick fog in February.

Seoul repatriated 27 of those on board but refused to hand over the other four, saying they had expressed a desire to stay in the South.

Pyongyang accused the South of coercing the remaining four people to stay.

This time, Pyongyang demanded the return of the nine apparent defectors, citing media reports that they were under investigation by Seoul authorities.

Belarus Lukashenko: Hundreds defy protest ban in Minsk

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About 1,000 people have defied a ban in Belarus to hold a silent protest at the economic crisis in the capital Minsk, with police holding back.

They gathered peacefully in streets close to President Alexander Lukashenko's main administration building, which was heavily guarded.

No slogans were displayed at the rally, which was organised through social networking sites, correspondents say.

Mr Lukashenko warned this week he would "strike hard" against protesters.

Wednesday's rally was a rare opposition gathering after the authorities launched an uncompromising crackdown on election-night protests in December.

The authoritarian rule of Mr Lukashenko, in power in the ex-Soviet republic for 16 years, has led to sanctions by Western governments.

This year, a balance of payments crisis gripped the country's command economy, leading to a 36% devaluation of the local currency (the rouble) and inflation.

There was panic-buying of goods by citizens as they saw their savings drop in value.

Mexico drug war: US sting 'let cartels buy guns'

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Hundreds of US guns were bought, resold and sent to Mexican drug cartels in an Arizona sting operation while US firearms agents were ordered not to intervene, Congress has heard.

Three firearms agents said they were told to track the movement of the weaponry, but not to make any arrests.

US lawmakers expressed outrage at the details of Operation Fast and Furious.

The news comes one day aftera report suggested Mexican drug cartels have armed themselves with US weapons.

The report suggests some 70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes in 2009 and 2010 and submitted for tracing came from the US

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A man sits on a bench at a railway station in Brno, Czech, during a general strike against government austerity plans

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Violinist Shenzo Gregorio performs for shoppers whilst strapped into a trapeze in the Queen Victoria building, Sydney

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The first 100 customers who arrived in their underwear at a fashion store promotion in London received a free outfit.

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Children dressed as smurfs take part in a promotional event in the village of Juzcar, southern Spain

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Those underwear people again queuing in the rain for their free outfit

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^ The facemask :rofl:

Shoppers in their underwear search for items at a clothing store in London on June 16.


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People in their underwear crowd a fashion store during a marketing campaign for the summer sale in Berlin, Germany, on June 16.

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Statues of workers of various trades, part of the Monument for Labor by Matthew J. Placzek, stand in the rising waters of the Missouri River, in Omaha, Neb., on June 15. The Missouri River has been rising steadily for weeks as the Army Corps of Engineers increases the amount of water released from its dams to clear out heavy spring rain and snowmelt. The river is expected to reach 5 to 7 feet above flood stage in most of Nebraska and Iowa, and possibly higher in parts of Missouri.

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A driver is seen sitting in the engine driver's cabin of a CRH 380A bullet train travelling on the newly built high-speed railway between Shanghai and Beijing during a test ride on June 16. The new high-speed railway connecting Beijing and Shanghai will officially begin its service at the end of June, local media reported.

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Holocaust survivor Betty Stein, 92, is helped by coach Irina Jestkova as she plays ping pong at a program for people with Alzheimer's and dementia at the Arthur Gilbert table tennis center in Los Angeles, California, on June 15.

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Freyda Dvorak, 87, takes a break while playing ping pong at the Arthur Gilbert table tennis center.

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Founder Mikhail Zaretsksky says the sport does not cure, or even slow down the disease, but helps the 100 participants by raising their heart rate and the blood flow to their brains, and exercising them mentally as well as physically. He says it helps their depression, improves their balance, and makes them more alert.

Conflict in Libya

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Rebels take cover during a heavy clashes with pro-Moammar Gadhafi forces at the front line of Dafniya, west of Misrata, Libya on June 15. In recent days rebel forces have advanced along the Mediterranean coast toward Zlitan, but say they have been instructed by NATO to withdraw to old front lines in Dafniya, 16 miles west of Misrata.

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A Libyan rebel closes the eyes of a loyalist Gadhafi soldier killed in the village of Ryayna, east of the heavily fought-over hilltown of Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, on June 14. The village of about 10,000 residents, now under rebel control, is located on a strategic route connecting Zintan and Yefren

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A volunteer prepares a grave for the body of one of the six soldiers loyal to Moammar Gadhafi that were left behind after his forces were pushed back in the direction of Zlitan during fighting along the western front line, at a cemetery in Misrata on June 15.

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The abandoned construction site of the "New Benghazi" project sits partially completed in the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on June 14. Hundreds of cement mixers, cranes and forklifts stand silent on a massive construction site among grey buildings that were left unfinished when Chinese workers abandoned Libya as fighting flared.

Blazing Arizona wildfire

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Isle Of Wight Festival 2011

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The Crowd At The Main Stage During Pulp

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(L-R) Nat, 26, Charlotte, 24, Anita, 28, Natasha, 24, Bryony, 26 All From Southampton And Their New Friend Brian From Newcastle.

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