World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

A man takes part in the annual gay pride parade in Budapest June 18, 2011.



An elephant distributes a pamphlet to a Thai woman during a promotional event for the general election in Auytthaya province in Auytthaya province, 70 km (44 miles) north of Bangkok June 21, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Pilot Hugues Duval in his twin-engined "Cri-Cri", one of the smallest planes in the world, seen in front of the Airbus A380-800 during the 49th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris June 22, 2011. Duval holds the world speed record for an electrically powered aircraft after reaching the top speed of 262 km/h.



Sheep painted with the logo of a turf company graze in a field at Mill Hill Farn near Richmond, northern England June 20, 2011. James Metcalfe, a co-owner of Tyas Turf, said he painted 20 of his newly shorn flock after being refused planning permission for erecting advertising signs by the A1 road in North Yorkshire.

[Mr Lick]

Young elephant 'Nelly' kicks a football during an event to predict the result of the upcoming Women's World Cup soccer match between Germany and Canada, at the safari-park in Hodenhagen, Lower-Saxony June 24, 2011. The 'elephant oracle' announced a German victory by 1-0. The Women's World Cup will be held in Germany June 26 -July 17 .



Members of a group called "Planking Thailand" make a cross formation, to urge people to vote, a day before advance voting commences in Bangkok June 25, 2011. Thailand will hold a general election on July 3, a potentially volatile poll after more than five years of sometimes bloody political conflict. Planking, the fad of lying face down stiff in often bizarre places for a photo op, has become a global craze.



A woman smiles as she looks at Barbie dolls on the benches of the audience before CIA Maritima's Summer 2012 collection during Sao Paulo Fashion week

[Mr Lick]

China-Hebei-Langfang-China Bicycle Museum



Visitors watch exhibited bicycles in China Bicycles Museum in Bazhou City, north China's Hebei Province, June 29, 2011. The museum here, covering an area of 4,000 suqare meters, collects more than 400 classic bikes from the world

[Mr Lick]

How to beat Wladimir Klitschko

As David Haye gears up for Saturday's title fight against Wladimir Klitschko, Jamie Jackson talks to the only three men to defeat the 6ft 5in Ukrainian



The reigning IBF, IBO, WBO and Ring Magazine champion Wladimir Klitschko has a record of 55 wins (49 by knockout) and three losses since turning pro in 1996. He has been the longest reigning heavyweight champion in history for the IBF, WBO & IBO titles, both in number of defences and time



Ross Puritty, stopped Klitschko in the 11th round, 5 December 1998, Kiev

"I really didn’t prepare for the fight. I was called on a Thursday night when I was having Thanksgiving dinner and I fought the following Friday, as I think Klitschko’s original opponent pulled out. Going to Kiev was an interesting trip, but it was freezing cold, with around three feet of snow. I hadn’t actually heard of Wladimir Klitschko and it was too short notice to watch any tapes of him, so I had no idea what to expect. My game-plan? To avoid being knocked out, and try to win. He probably won every round until the eleventh. I didn’t do a whole lot except get hit as I wasn’t in any shape to have a big battle with him: I didn’t know what condition I had as I didn’t have time to spar or anything. Basically, he beat the hell out of me until he couldn’t beat the hell out of me anymore



"In the eight or ninth round I could see in his face that he’d shot his load, and he realised that he was in a tough fight and that I wasn’t going away. He was tired and I wasn’t: I’d just walked into his punches until he punched himself out. If they hadn’t stopped it [Klitschko’s corner retired him] I would have got him. His corner allowed him to be what he is today. By not allowing him to be knocked out they could say: 'He was inexperienced.' Well, I had no training so what does inexperience have to do with anything? The bottom line is he lost the fight. I came in out of shape and not ready, he was ready and he lost"

[Mr Lick]

Corrie Sanders, second round TKO, 8 March 2003, Hanover

"David Haye has stopped sparring, I notice [a month ago]. Well, I sparred until the Wednesday before the fight so I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I did a lot of sparring with big guys, and that helped me because Wladimir’s a big guy. For me, a weakness is his footwork, I don’t think he’s got great footwork as he’s so big, though he moves a bit better now. Also, when a fight’s getting tough he tenses up - so you should put pressure on him by being smart: you’ve got to duck, counter-punch him, you’ve got to wait for him, get inside, from angles, and side-points. If you stay in front he’s going to jab you all night, so that’s why we tried him from angles ..."



"He only lasted two rounds with me, as in the opener I waited for those angles, for him to make mistakes and miss, then counter-punched him. He went down in this round, and I didn’t think he was going to get up. In the next, the mistake he made was that he came straight for me. I don’t care who you are, or what you are: if a guy catches you twice, as I did in the first, you’ve got to recover first ..."



"He tried to show I didn’t hurt him and he got nailed: I knocked him down and the referee stopped the fight. Why else did I win? I’d only fought once in two years before this, but I wanted it badly as throughout my whole career I didn’t have the opportunities for the big fight, apart from against Hasim Rahman [who stopped him in 2000]"

[Mr Lick]

Lamon Brewster, fifth round TKO, 10 April 2004, Las Vegas

"I approached this fight from a strategic stand-point as I knew I couldn’t box with him. He is a very smart, smooth operator, so I watched all his old fights and I tried to figure out what his one weakness was. I saw that when he fought Ray Mercer [in June 2002, Klitschko stopped him in the sixth] and other fighters, Mercer kept coming to him, throwing the straight jab, backing him up, backing him up. He beat Ray Mercer, but he was exhausted. So, I said to myself: 'I’m younger than Ray Mercer [by 12 years] and I have a better plan than Ray, so I believe I can beat this guy if I can catch him.' That’s what I did ..."



"There’s a saying in boxing: pressure busts pipes. So I knew that if I kept the pressure on him he’d make a mistake. And, his mistake was that he punched himself out, because I made him throw him so many, as every second of every round, I was always running to him, I was always in his face. I never let him breathe, or be comfortable, because when he's at his best is when he keeps you at bay and utilises his jab, to set you up for his big right hand. I never gave him a chance, so he melted ..."



"I was more prepared. That’s why he got beat – they didn’t know how to explain it other than to say he got poisoned [this was never proved]. That was an insult, absolutely. Nobody talked about the four rounds he was winning only the one he lost"

[Mr Lick]

San Diego county fair



Too much candyfloss girls?



Don't let Jamie Oliver see this. People at a food stall selling deep fried butter and chocolate-covered bacon



Neither for the faint-hearted ... nor the full: an upside-down ride

[Mr Lick]

Not exactly nude model material

[Mr Lick]

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Canada

[Mr Lick]

The Duke and Duchess lay flowers at a war memorial

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Bribery Act comes into force



Legislation aimed at making it easier to prosecute companies who make corrupt payments abroad has come into force.

The Bribery Act overhauls existing laws dating back to 1889 and creates offences that carry prison terms of up to 10 years and unlimited fines.

It makes it illegal to offer or receive bribes and to fail to prevent bribery.

Both British and foreign companies are covered, provided they have some operations in the UK. The act also applies to individuals.

The government says the act will cement the UK's position as a global leader in the fight against business corruption.

Corporate hospitality The legislation was due to come into force in April 2011, but it was delayed over business concerns about whether corporate hospitality could be seen as a bribe.

As a result, the government issued additional guidance on the act.

In its guide to the Bribery Act, the Ministry of Justice says: "Very generally, [bribery] is defined as giving someone a financial or other advantage to encourage that person to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward that person for having already done so."

In March Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke assured companies the act would be implemented in a "workable, common sense" way.

He has since assured companies that they can take clients to events such as Wimbledon and the Grand Prix, so long as the hospitality is reasonable and proportionate.

[Mr Lick]

Hariri murder: UN tribunal issues arrest warrants



Four arrest warrants have been issued by the UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the court said.

Hariri's son, Saad, welcomed the indictments and described them as a "historic moment" for Lebanon.

Local reports say the warrants name senior members of the Shia militant and political group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has repeatedly denounced the tribunal and vowed to retaliate.

Divisions over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), based in The Hague, have thrown the country into political turmoil and prompted fears of sectarian unrest.

[Mr Lick]

Australia offers Sydney residents cash to move



Sydney residents have been offered money to leave the city and resettle in rural New South Wales.

It is hoped the plan will boost rural areas recovering from a decade-long drought, as well as easing crowding in Australia's most populous city.

Australia is one of the world's most thinly populated countries, but almost a quarter of people live in Sydney.

The A$7,000 (£4,700; $7,500) grants are to help people buy homes in the country.

Renowned for its beach lifestyle and overall liveability, Sydney is the kind of place which many people find hard to leave.

'The Big Dry'
That is partly the reason why the New South Wales government is offering financial incentives to encourage families to go and live in the countryside, or the bush as it is known here.

With 4.5 million residents, Sydney is predicted to grow by 40% by the middle of the century.

Housing stocks are low, property prices are high and the infrastructure is already buckling under the pressure.

It is hoped that these relocation grants will persuade people to ditch the beach for the bush.

As well as helping to manage to Sydney's population growth, the scheme is also intended to boost the economy of rural communities, many of which have suffered as a result of a once in a century drought known here as the Big Dry.

This is a country that often mythologises the frontier spirit of life in the bush, through song, poetry and art.

But Australia is one of the most urbanised nations in the world and most people prefer to live in its cities.

[Mr Lick]

17 children die at Calcutta hospital



The Indian state of West Bengal has ordered an investigation into the deaths of 17 infants reportedly within 36 hours at a Calcutta hospital.

It says that it wants to establish whether or not the babies died because of negligence.

News channels on Thursday showed images of weeping and wailing parents outside the BC Roy Hospital for Children.

A hospital official said the babies were premature, suffering from septicaemia or had low birth weights.

The hospital denied any negligence in remarks to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The investigation into the deaths was announced by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"This is a very sad incident," she said. "We have ordered an inquiry into the unusual deaths."

Around 400 people, including angry parents of the dead children, protested outside the hospital on Thursday and were later reported to have clashed with baton-wielding police.

Correspondents say that the hospital usually accommodates 360 children, but is generally overcrowded, with many infants and young children forced to sleep on the floor because of the lack of beds.

The BBC's Amitabha Bhattasali in Calcutta says that a similar incident at the hospital happened five years ago when 10 children died.

[Mr Lick]

Security researchers discover 'indestructible' botnet



Cracking the TDL-4 botnet is going to be hard, say security experts.


More than four million PCs have been enrolled in a botnet security experts say is almost "indestructible".

The botnet, known as TDL, targets Windows PCs and is difficult to detect and shut down.

Code that hijacks a PC hides in places security software rarely looks and the botnet is controlled using custom-made encryption.

Security researchers said recent botnet shutdowns had made TDL's controllers harden it against investigation.

The 4.5 million PCs have become victims over the last three months following the appearance of the fourth version of the TDL virus.

[Mr Lick]

Afghan bus hit by roadside bomb in Nimroz province



At least 13 people have been killed after a passenger bus in southern Afghanistan hit a roadside bomb, police officials say.

The attack took place on the highway between Kandahar and the south-western province of Nimroz.

Nimroz police chief Abdul Jadar Pordalai said more than 30 people had been injured.

He told the BBC that women and children were among the victims of the blast, which he blamed on the Taliban.

The road targeted is used by Afghan security forces as well as vehicles from the US-led international coalition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

In the past, the Taliban have distanced themselves from similar attacks resulting in civilian casualties.

US forces took some of those injured to be treated at a hospital in the area, Mr Pordalai said.

[Mr Lick]

Burma: Australian publisher Ross Dunkley convicted



Ross Dunkley called the verdict "ridiculous" and said he would appeal


An Australian newspaper editor has been convicted of assault and immigration offences after a trial in Burma.

Ross Dunkley was sentenced to one month in jail, but was set free because of the time he had already served.

The 55-year-old editor of the Myanmar Times was arrested on 10 February and not granted bail until late March.

He was acquitted of other charges, included allegations that he drugged the 29-year-old woman he was convicted of assaulting.

The woman had previously tried to have her complaint dropped - saying she was pregnant and unable to travel to court, the AFP news agency reports.

The court in Rangoon sentenced Dunkley to 30 days in prison for "simple hurt", before allowing him to go free because of the time he had already spent in detention.

He also opted to pay a fine of 100,000 kyat ($120) instead of serving a six-month jail term for the automatic breach of immigration laws his conviction for assault brought.

Walking out of court, the newspaper editor told reporters the verdict was ridiculous and said he would appeal.

Dunkley has run the Myanmar Times for a decade, under an arrangement whereby all its content is passed through government censors.

His business partners said in March the arrest had come amid a dispute with Burmese colleagues over the newspaper's ownership, future direction and senior leadership roles.

[Mr Lick]

Taiwan ex-President Lee Teng-hui 'embezzled $7.8m'



Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui has been charged with embezzling $7.79m (£4.8m) of state funds.

Mr Lee is accused of taking the money from a secret diplomatic fund during his 1988-2000 presidency.

Prosecutors say the 88-year-old took money from the National Security Bureau fund to set up a private think tank, of which he became honorary president.

Mr Lee, who was the island's first directly elected leader, has denied taking the money from the bureau.

He is the second former Taiwanese president to be charged with fraud. His successor, Chen Shui-bian, is serving a 17-year sentence for bribery

[Davis Knowlton]

The "San Francisco County Fair" picture just put me off my lunch.

[Mr Lick]

Greek austerity protests turn violent




Protesters take part in a rally against austerity in front of the parliament at Syntagma square in Athens on June 30. The Greek parliament passed a second austerity bill, opening the way for the EU and IMF to release a 12 billion euro (about $17 billion) loan instalment which Athens urgently needs to stave off bankruptcy

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]