World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Surgeons carry out first synthetic windpipe transplant



Surgeons in Sweden have carried out the world's first synthetic organ transplant.

Scientists in London created an artificial windpipe which was then coated in stem cells from the patient.

Crucially, the technique does not need a donor, and there is no risk of the organ being rejected. The surgeons stress a windpipe can also be made within days.

The 36-year-old cancer patient is doing well a month after the operation.

Professor Paolo Macchiarini from Spain led the pioneering surgery, which took place at the Karolinska University Hospital.

In an interview with the BBC, he said he now hopes to use the technique to treat a nine-month-old child in Korea who was born with a malformed windpipe or trachea.

Professor Macchiarini already has 10 other windpipe transplants under his belt - most notably the world's first tissue-engineered tracheal transplant in 2008 on 30-year-old Spanish woman Claudia Costillo - but all required a donor.

[Mr Lick]

Mullany honeymoon murders: 'Single bullet killed wife'



A woman on honeymoon in a Caribbean resort was killed by a single gun shot to the back of her head, a court has heard.

Ben and Catherine Mullany, both 31, from Pontardawe, Swansea Valley, died after being shot at the Cocos Hotel and Resort, Antigua, in July 2008.

Pathologist Dr Petra Miller-Nanton told Antigua's High Court Mrs Mullany's death would have been almost immediate.

Avie Howell, 20, and Kaniel Martin, 23, deny murder. The trial continues.

The Mullanys were on the final day of their honeymoon when they were attacked.

While Mrs Mullany, a doctor, died instantly, her husband, a student physiotherapist who was a former South Yorkshire police officer, was flown back back to Britain for treatment.

He died a week later

[Mr Lick]

Codex Calixtinus book 'disappears' from Spain cathedral



A hugely valuable illuminated manuscript has disappeared from the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, say police.

The Codex Calixtinus dates from the 12th Century and was compiled as a guidebook for medieval pilgrims following the Way of Saint James.

This is the oldest copy of the manuscript and is unsaleable on the open market.
Only a handful of people had access to the room in which it was kept.

This edition of the Codex Calixtinus is thought to date from around 1150.

Its purpose was largely practical - to collect advice of use to pilgrims heading to the shrine there. It also included sermons and homilies to St James.

On Wednesday afternoon, the book was reported missing from the room where it is kept.

"We are investigating its disappearance," a police spokeswoman said, according to AFP news agency.

"It is usually kept in a room to which only half a dozen people have access," she said.

The Codex is only brought out on special occasions, such as last year's visit of Pope Benedict, when it is closely guarded.

If the work has been stolen, it will be impossible to sell it on the open market, says the BBC's arts reporter Vincent Dowd

[Mr Lick]

Man jailed for trafficking Nigerian girls out of UK



The first man to be convicted of trafficking females out of the UK, in a case involving two Nigerian girls, has been jailed.

Anthony Harrison, 32, was sentenced to 20 years for four trafficking offences as well as two of false imprisonment.

At Woolwich Crown Court, Harrison, of Stratford, east London, was cleared of two counts of rape.

The charges related to teenage victims who alleged they were subjected to witchcraft and violence.

Judge Philip Shorrock said the sentence was being imposed "to deter others who are tempted by this terrible trade" and "to reflect public disgust".

Juju magic Harrison imprisoned both girls - aged 14 and 16 - at his home in Albert Square, Stratford, in 2009, before attempting to traffic them to Spain and Greece as prostitutes.

The two had been controlled by Juju magic rituals, the court was told.

[Mr Lick]

'Reggie Perrin' paedophile jailed for seven years



A paedophile who faked his own death by leaving his clothes, car keys and a suicide note on a Lancashire beach has been jailed for seven years.

Leslie Andrews, formerly of Blackpool, engineered the Reggie Perrin-style disappearance in May 2002 to evade an investigation into him abusing a girl.

The 54-year-old was eventually traced to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in 2010.

He was convicted of 14 counts of indecent assault on a young girl, at an earlier hearing at Preston Crown Court.

Giving evidence in the trial, his now grown-up victim told the jury: "He knows and I know he's guilty. He's not man enough to deal with his guilt just like he wasn't man enough and did a Reggie Perrin."

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, burst into tears after the former cafe owner was sentenced.

[OhOh]

Did Moody's Website Just Get Hacked By Someone Angry Over Portugal?

[Mr Lick]

Michigan shooting spree suspect 'holds two hostages'



Police in the US state of Michigan say a man suspected of shooting dead seven people is holding two hostages in an apartment in Grand Rapids.

Police have named the suspect as Rodrick Shonte Dantzler, 34.

Grand Rapids Police Chief Kevin Belk said the building is surrounded and neither hostage is believed to be injured.

The manhunt began after four people were found dead in one home and three others in another across the city.

Reports said the victims were five women, a man and a child.

Police Chief Belk said officers were communicating with Mr Dantzler.

Earlier, officials said the suspect had led police on a high-speed chase through central Grand Rapids, after which a neighbourhood in the north of the city was cordoned off.

[Mr Lick]

Syria says US 'interfering' as ambassador visits Hama



Syria has accused the US of "interfering" in its affairs after the US ambassador to the country travelled to the flashpoint city of Hama.

The Syrian foreign ministry said the visit by Robert Ford was "obvious proof" of US involvement in continuing protests in the country.

Earlier, the US State Department said Mr Ford's visit was to show solidarity with protesters.

Hundreds of Hama residents have fled fearing an assault by security forces.

Tanks are stationed outside the city and at least 22 people have been shot dead in recent days.

Washington says Mr Ford hopes to stay in Hama for anti-government protests which normally follow Friday prayers.

The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the ambassador's presence in Hama could dissuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from launching an all-out assault on the city.

But the move has angered Damascus.

"The presence of the US ambassador in Hama without previous permission is obvious proof of the implication of the United States in the ongoing events, and of their attempts to increase (tensions), which damage Syria's security and stability," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Last Friday's protest in Hama was one of the largest in three months of demonstrations across Syria.

A day later, Mr Assad sacked local governor Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz for reportedly failing to suppress the unrest.

Security forces swept in on Monday in an attempt to regain control of the city, but tanks have so far remained outside.

[Mr Lick]

Texas executes Mexican after US court rejects appeal



A Mexican citizen has been executed in the US state of Texas for the rape and murder of an American girl after the Supreme Court rejected a White House-backed appeal to spare the man's life.

Humberto Leal Garcia, 38, received a lethal injection on Thursday evening.
The Obama administration previously said the sentence would put the US in breach of international obligations.

Leal was not told he could have access to Mexican consular officials, in violation of the Vienna Convention.

Roughly one hour before Leal was taken to the death chamber, the Supreme Court justices voted 5-4 to allow the sentence.

The Texas parole board had also refused to halt the sentence, while Texas Governor Rick Perry rejected requests to intervene.

Leal was sentenced to death for the 1994 rape and murder of Adria Sauceda, whose body was found unclothed and beaten, hours after she was seen leaving a party with Leal in San Antonio.

The Mexican native moved with his family to the US as a small child.




Relatives and friends react after being notified of his execution

[Mr Lick]

Grand Rapids Police investigate the scene on Knapp Street near James Ave. on July 7, 2011. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell says seven people have been fatally shot in related shootings at two homes in the southwest Michigan city and police are searching for a suspect



Tricia Jimenez, 27, of Grand Rapids, left, and a close friend grieve after finding out their close friends' parents were murdered in their home on Brynell Avenue in Grand Rapids, Mich. on July 7. Four victims were found in the basement of Byrell Avenue home, and another three were found another home across town.

Linked to post #5382

[Mr Lick]

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are greeted upon their arrival in Calgary, Alberta, July 7. The Prince and his wife are on a royal tour of Canada from June 30 to July 8.

[Mr Lick]

Southern officers attend a farewell party, also held to commemorate the demobilization of 16,000 Southern officers and soldiers serving with the Sudan Defense Force, in Khartoum July 7. South Sudan splits away from the north on July 9 to create Africa's newest nation after southerners voted for secession under terms of a peace deal reached in 2005 to end a north-south civil war.

[Mr Lick]

Players compete on the first day of the World Series of Poker, Thursday, July 7, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The $10,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas Hold `em tournament kicked off with the first of four starting days, expected to attract thousands of players to combine for millions in prize money for the winner.



David Randall competes on the first day of the World Series of Poker, Thursday, July 7.



Poker chips rest on a table where Mclean Karr competes on the first day of the World Series of Poker, Thursday, July 7 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

[Mr Lick]

Two members of The News of The World staff hug outside a public house close to News International offices in Wapping, London, July 7. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation will close its tabloid News of the World after this Sunday's edition, as a result of an escalating phone hacking scandal, James Murdoch said on Thursday.



News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks leaves the office of The News of The World on July 7, 2011 in London, England.


Matt Dunham / AP
James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, Europe and Asia is driven away from the offices of News International in London, Thursday, July 7.


Kerim Okten / EPA
A man takes an issue of a free evening newspaper outside the entrance of a train station in London, England, July 7.


Indigo / Getty Images
Rebekah Brooks (formerly Wade) with Rupert Murdoch and son James Murdoch attend day 3 of the Cheltenham Horse Racing Festival on March 18, 2010 in Cheltenham, England.


Bert Hardy / Getty Images
Saturday afternoon in the newsroom at the 'News of The World' office, 18th April 1953. Printers query a print with Chief Sub 'Tiny' Lear and Editor A. G Waters stands by. Original Publication : Picture Post - 6488 - The News of The World - pub. 1953


Getty Images
News Of The World front page from 1954.


18th April 1953: A worker oiling a printing press at the headquarters of the 'News Of The World' which has a circulation of more than 8,000,000. The paper travels through this press at 10 - 15 miles an hour. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6488 - The 'News Of The World' - pub. 1953

[Mr Lick]

Mexican matador Arturo Saldivar is trampled by a Torrestrella bull during a bullfight of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona on July 7, in Pamplona, northern Spain

[Mr Lick]

Street vendors wait for customers in front of a graffiti depicting Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Benghazi, Libya. After more than 40 years under Gadhafi, Libyans in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi have taken to mocking the Libyan dictator with colorful caricatures. Before residents in the rebel-held east ripped themselves free from Gadhafi's rule, drawing such satirical pictures of the leader in public was unthinkable, and the regime would have severely punished anyone caught doing so.

[Mr Lick]

Two rape victims from Nakiele village. Women were raped and robbed by an armed gang in the D.R. Congo's south-eastern Kivu Province on June 11, 2011. Over 200 women have reported being raped by soldiers last month in the DRC's south-eastern Kivu province according to medical sources on the ground. The Nakiele village Chief, Losema Etamo Ngoma told AFP that the rapes and looting were committed by at least 150 armed men under the comand of national army Col. Nyiragire Kilumishi a.k.a. 'Kifaru'. Kulimushi, a former member of the Mai Mai tribal militia, who ran away from a military base, south of Nakiele, on June 8.

[Mr Lick]

Harry Potter fans clutch books to be signed in Trafalgar Square, central London, ahead of the World Premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", the last film in the series, Thursday, July 7. Harry Potter's saga is ending, but his magic spell remains. Thousands of fans from around the world massed in London Thursday for the premiere of the final film in the magical adventure series.

[Mr Lick]

An injured 20 year-old Indian man, Yogesh Kumar, is helped by a relative inside the emergency ward of the District Hospital in Etah on Thursday, July 7. Thirty-eight people were killed and more than 30 were injured when a train slammed into a packed bus carrying a marriage party in northern India, local government officials said

[Mr Lick]

Ava, a 20-month old Mastino Napoletano, rests after winning the dog contest in her category, during the World Dog Show, in Villepeinte, north of Paris, on Thursday July 7.

[Mr Lick]

Sky team rider Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway, second right, sprints to the finish line ahead of Garmin-Cervelo team rider Thor Hushovd of Norway, right, HTC-Highroad team rider Matthew Harley Goss of Australia, second left, to win the 6th stage of the Tour De France cycling race between Dinan and Lisieux, France, on Thursday



The pack rides in the 226.5 km and sixth stage of the 2011 Tour de France cycling race run between Dinan and Lisieux, northwestern France, on Thursday. Today is this year's 2011 Tour de France longest stage.



The peloton passes by Le Mont-Saint-Michel during Stage 6 of the 2011 Tour de France from Dinan to Lisieux

[Mr Lick]

People lay flowers at the memorial to the victims of the July 7 London bombings, at Hyde Park in London July 7, 2011. Thursday marks the sixth anniversary of the July 7 bombings, which killed 52 people and injured more than 770.

[Boon Mee]

They failed and are going back home. Kinda brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

[Mr Lick]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - the final premiere

All the red carpet action from Thursday night's premiere of the final instalment in the big screen adventures of the boy wizard

[Mr Lick]