World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Making a Point
French deputy Nicolas Dupont-Aignan covers his face with a scarf with the colors of the French flag during a debate about Libya at the National Assembly in Paris on Tuesday.

[Mr Lick]

Japan 'to continue' Antarctic whaling



Japan intends to send its whaling fleet back to the Antarctic this year, a senior official has told BBC News.

There has been speculation that campaigns by activists, financial problems and new maritime regulations might persuade Tokyo to stop whaling.

But at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, Japan's Joji Morishita said the plan was to return.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which forced the last hunt's early closure, says it will be back too.

Finding a way to deal with the organisation's vessels is the main obstacle Japan sees to continuing for the next season and beyond.

"We are now discussing how we can send our fleet back to the Antarctic Ocean," said Mr Morishita, Japan's deputy commissioner to the IWC and a senior official in the Fisheries Agency.

"Simply put, the attack from Sea Shepherd organisation is the one we have to consider how we prevent that to happen again."

During the IWC meeting, being held in Jersey, Japanese delegates showed pictures and videos that, they said, showed the campaigners attacking whaling vessels with projectiles including flares, which set netting alight, and glass bottles filled with foul-smelling butyric acid.

They also showed Sea Shepherd boats ramming the whalers, and said reinforced ropes had been put in the water to entangle propellers.

"The attack this past year became so severe that we didn't have any choice to try to prevent the worst from happening," said Mr Morishita.

Each successive year, Sea Shepherd has sent bigger fleets and faster vessels, while Japan has downscaled its forces; last season, for the first time, the activists had the upper hand.

Rather than catching 850-odd whales - the official target - the eventual haul was about 170.

It is not clear how Japan intends to protect its fleet in any future expedition - it was not just a matter of sending military patrols, Mr Morishita said, as that was a legal minefield.

[Mr Lick]

Moody's cuts Irish debt rating to junk status



Ratings agency Moody's has cut the Republic of Ireland's debt rating to junk status.

Moody's said its decision was based on the "growing possibility" that Ireland would need a second bail-out before it can return to capital markets.

The current European Union and International Monetary Fund support programme is due to end in late 2013.

It comes at a time when markets fear the debt crisis in the eurozone could spread to Italy and Spain.

Ireland, Greece and Portugal have all been downgraded by ratings agencies several times in recent months.

Last week, the European Commission raised the issue of the "appropriateness of behaviour" of agencies, and Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis said the agencies had exacerbated an already difficult situation.

[Mr Lick]

UK ticket wins £161m Euromillions lottery jackpot



A single UK ticket has won Europe's biggest-ever lottery prize, the £161m Euromillions jackpot.
The winner matched all five main numbers and both the Lucky Stars to scoop the jackpot, which had been capped after a series of rollovers.
It is not known whether the ticket belongs to an individual or syndicate, or where they come from in the UK.
The winning Euromillions numbers were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10.
The exact amount to be claimed is £161,653,000.

[Mr Lick]

Bombardier unions to meet minister Philip Hammond



Unions representing workers at the UK's last train builder are set to have a meeting with ministers to urge a crucial contract be reconsidered.

Derby-based Bombardier has said it will shed 1,400 staff after missing out on the £1.4bn Thameslink contract.

Unite and the RMT have said they will underline to Transport Secretary Philip Hammond the impact on the area and the wider UK manufacturing industry.

The government has already said it is legally bound to uphold the decision.

Last month, the government awarded the contract to build new carriages for the rail route, between Bedford and Brighton, to German giant Siemens.

[Mr Lick]

Nigeria Boko Haram attacks: Thousands flee Maiduguri



Thousands of Nigerians are fleeing the north-eastern city of Maiduguri following a spate of recent attacks, which have killed at least 40 people.

Some of those leaving are students after the university was closed.

The attacks have been carried out by the radical Islamist group, Boko Haram, which opposes Western education and fights for Islamic rule.

The security forces have been accused of firing indiscriminately and killing civilians after the raids.

Boko Haram has carried out most of its attacks in Maiduguri but has also bombed targets in the capital, Abuja, in recent months.

The BBC's Bilkisu Babangida in Maiduguri says the city is gripped by fear with many people staying indoors.

Correspondents say bus stops are overcrowded as the exodus from the city grows.

Some people are leaving on foot with their belongings and livestock.

On Tuesday morning, a military patrol was targeted in Maiduguri and in the ensuing confusion, four people were shot dead and two soldiers wounded.

There has also been a blast at a church in the town of Suleja, near Abuja.
No casualties have been reported.


Who are Boko Haram? If i'm not mistaken they were a british rock band formed in the 60's. They've certainly come a long way since then. Maybe they should never have converted to Islam, the religion of peace

[Mr Lick]

Guatemala arrests two over Facundo Cabral killing



Police in Guatemala have arrested two men over the killing of prominent Argentine singer Facundo Cabral.

Cabral - one of Latin America's most respected folk singers - was being driven while on tour in Guatemala City when his car was ambushed on Saturday.

He was shot dead and the music promoter travelling with him, Henry Farinas, was seriously injured.

Police say the suspects were caught after being identified from hotel surveillance videos.

Prosecutor Claudia Paz y Paz said the two - named as Elgin Vargas Hernandez and Wilfred Stokes Arnold - had been following Mr Farinas and probably did not know who Cabral was.

They were arrested on separate raids in Guatemala City on Tuesday. Police are continuing to search for others believed to have been involved in the attack.

It occurred as Cabral was on his way to Guatemala City airport, headed to Nicaragua for more concerts.

[Mr Lick]

California woman cuts off husband's penis



Catherine Kieu Becker allegedly laced her husband's dinner with a drug


A US woman drugged her estranged husband, tied him to a bed and cut off his penis, police in California say.

The woman then threw the penis into the waste disposal and told police who attended the incident in Garden Grove, near Los Angeles: "He deserved it."
Catherine Kieu Becker, 48, has been charged with poisoning and assault with a deadly weapon.

The 51-year-old victim, who has not been named, is in a serious condition following surgery.

Lt Jeff Nightengale, of Garden Grove police, said the two are going through a divorce.

He said the woman had drugged the man's dinner on Monday night.
"He believed something was wrong with his food," he said.

"The victim went to lie down and he woke up tied to the bed with his wife tugging his clothes off.

"The female cut off his penis with a knife... tossed the penis in the garbage disposal and turned the disposal to the 'on' position.

"The suspect called 911 and told responding officers that he 'deserved it'."

He added: "Officers arrived and located a male victim tied to the bed and bleeding from his groin area."

Ms Becker was arrested on suspicion of aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, administering a drug with intent to commit a felony, poisoning and spousal abuse.

She is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

The penis was unavailable for comment

[Mr Lick]

IMF urges Italy to enforce tough spending cuts



The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Italy to ensure "decisive implementation" of spending cuts to reduce the country's public debt.

Its comments come as concerns continue that Italy may be the next country to be affected by the debt crisis in the eurozone.

The Italian government is now moving ahead with plans for an austerity budget.
The IMF said Rome may be being too optimistic about economic growth.

Concern about Italy's finances saw its main share index, the FTSE MIB, fall as much as 4% at one point on Tuesday, before recovering to rise 1.2%.

Italy's Finance Minister, Giulio Tremonti, is proposing 48bn euros ($67bn; £42bn) in budget cuts over three years, and aims to cut the deficit to zero by 2014 from this year's 3.9% of gross domestic product.

He left a meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels early on Tuesday so he could continue to work on the austerity plans.

In a sign that investors are worried about Italy's financial situation, the yield on Italian 10-year bonds on Tuesday increased to 5.8% from 5.6% on Monday.

Analysts say this is close to levels at which the Italian government will have problems servicing its debts.

[Mr Lick]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai looks down at the grave of his brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, during his burial ceremony in Kandahar province, Wednesday, July 13. Afghan President Hamid Karzai wept and kissed his dead brother's face as thousands of mourners gathered on Wednesday for the burial of Ahmad Wali Karzai, whose assassination a day earlier has left a power vacuum in Afghanistan's volatile south.

Thousands of people attended the funeral, but their voices were drowned out by the wailing of the grief-stricken president, who climbed into the grave and had to be persuaded to leave by relatives.

I'm glad that i don't have a brother.

[Mr Lick]

All-Star Most Valuable Player Prince Fielder, of the Milwaukee Brewers, is photographed by the media following Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Phoenix, Arizona July 12. The National League beat the American League, 5-1.

[Mr Lick]

Chile fans celebrate their team's victory over Peru at the Copa America soccer tournament in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, July 12. Chile won 1-0.

[Mr Lick]

Tour de France stage 10



After the carnage on stage nine of the Tour on Sunday, Johnny Hoogerland is back on his bike with his legs heavily bandaged. The Dutch rider was flung from his bike into a barbed wire fence when a TV camera vehicle swerved into his path



A cycling fan dressed as a lucha libre wrestler waves US and Mexican flags as the pack cycle past him. No sign of any more crashes yet

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

The Manxman Mark Cavendish is being carried into position for a sprint finish by his HTC team-mates

[Mr Lick]

Cavendish breaks into the lead round the final bend and has only one serious challenger, Lotto's Andr Greipel



And it's a shock finish as Cavendish is beaten to the line by his former team-mate. Who'd have thought it?



Cavendish has 17 Tour stage wins to his name, but his German rival had the legs on him in the final 20 metres. Greipel wins in 3 hours 31 minutes and 21 seconds, while Voeckler retains the yellow jersey, 1 minute and 49 seconds ahead of Luis Leon Sanchez

[Mr Lick]

British tourist dies after 'stabbing' in Greece



A British man has died after a "serious incident" on the island of Zakynthos in Greece, the Foreign Office has said.

There are reports that the tourist, thought to be a 19-year-old, was stabbed on the island, which is also known as Zante, but the Foreign Office has yet to confirm this.

Four more UK nationals were wounded, one seriously, a spokeswoman said.

Two Greek taxi drivers have been arrested over the incident, according to Reuters news agency.

It is thought to have happened in the early hours of Wednesday at the popular Laganas resort.

The FCO said it was in contact with the families of those involved.

They are providing consular assistance, she said.

"We can confirm that five British nationals were involved in a serious incident in Zakynthos, Greece," the FCO spokeswoman said.

"Sadly, this resulted in the death of one British national and the hospitalisation of four others, one in a serious condition."

[Mr Lick]

Eritrean Red Sea FC footballers seek Tanzania asylum



Thirteen members of an Eritrean football team have asked for political asylum in Tanzania after a regional tournament, officials say.

After Red Sea FC lost the Cecafa championship semi-final on Saturday, only half of the team turned up for the return flight to Eritrea.

This is said to be the fourth time Eritrean footballers have absconded.

Young Eritreans often try to escape poverty, a repressive government and national military service.

"The 13 Eritrean footballers went directly to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Dar es Salaam and sought protection as refugees," Tanzania's home affairs ministry spokesman Isaac Nantanga said.

He said that they could not be arrested as they had international protection.

Earlier, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Angetile Osiah told Reuters news agency that the missing players had been noticed at the airport.

"Some team members colluded in the incident by trying to stamp the passports of the missing players at airport immigration checkpoints but when a physical head count was conducted, it was discovered that 13 players were missing," he said.

Tanzania's Young Africans beat their rivals Simba 1-0 in Sunday's Cecafa final.

[Mr Lick]

Newcastle's Joey Barton denied US visa



Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton has been left out of the team's pre-season tour of America after the US Embassy refused to grant him a visa.

In 2008 he was jailed after admitting assault in Liverpool city centre.

In the same year he was given a suspended sentence for an assault on a team-mate at Manchester City.

Barton, 28, said that he regretted not being able to go, but did not expect to be treated more favourably than anyone in a similar situation.

Newcastle are due to depart for the US on Sunday, with matches scheduled against Sporting Kansas, Orlando City and Columbus Crew.

Barton will travel to Holland with the club's reserve team, which will play Hollandia, FC Utrecht and Almere City.

The midfielder said: "Unfortunately, I was denied my visa due to my past.

"I regret not being able to travel with the club on this trip, but at the same time, I don't expect to be treated any differently or more favourably than anyone else in a similar situation.

"All I can do is continue to improve as a person, which is what I intend to do."

[Mr Lick]

EU unveils major Common Fisheries Policy reform



The European Commission has unveiled major plans to reform the EU's fishing industry and stop catches being wasted.

The proposal, due to take effect from 2013, would give fleets quota shares guaranteed for at least 15 years.

"Discards" will be phased out - the practice whereby up to half the catch of some fish is thrown back into the sea to avoid going above the quota.

But environmentalists say the new plan would lead to a "virtual privatisation of the oceans".

The Common Fisheries Policy has been in effect for 28 years, but Maritime and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki says it has been a failure.

"There is overfishing; we have 75% overfishing of our stocks and comparing ourselves to other countries we cannot be happy," Ms Damanaki told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.

"So we have to change. Let me put it straight - we cannot afford business as usual any more because the stocks are really collapsing."

There will be hard bargaining by the European Parliament and EU member states' governments before the new policy is adopted.

[Mr Lick]

Conflict in Libya, Week 20




A rebel soldier looks at enemy positions through a pair of binoculars at the frontline, west of Ajdabiyah on July 12.



Boys help rebel fighters clean weapons in Misrata, after the rebel fighters returned from the frontline on the outskirts of Zlitan on July 12.

[Mr Lick]

A rebel army officer shows a Libyan woman how to use a weapon, in Benghazi on July 11. Rebel fighters stalled in their advance toward Tripoli and calls for a diplomatic resolution have mounted.

[Mr Lick]

A Libyan rebel mechanic tries to fix a weapon, captured from forces loyal to Gadhafi, in Misrata on July 10.

[Mr Lick]

Children sit in front of a picture of Gadhafi before a group wedding party held for 25 couples in support of Gadhafi, in Tripoli on July 7



Rebels surround a soldier loyal to Moammar Gadhafi after his capture in al-Qawalish, 60 miles south-west of Tripoli,

[Mr Lick]

Genghis, is that you?