World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Five men dead in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, industrial estate explosion



Five men have died and one man has been seriously injured in an explosion at a small unit on a Lincolnshire industrial estate.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to the Broadfield Lane Industrial Estate at about 1900 BST on Wednesday.

A Lincolnshire Police spokeswoman said she believed the explosion had been very quick and the men died instantly.

The sixth man has been taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Unconfirmed reports from local residents said they believed the men may have been migrant workers brewing illegal alcohol in the industrial unit.

Nerys McGarry from Lincolnshire Police said officers were at the scene and would remain at the unit overnight to carry out a forensic examination of the site.

[Mr Lick]

MPs' plea to restore staff bonuses



The MPs' expenses watchdog has been asked to reconsider bonuses for MPs staff - which have stopped under the new system.

Tory MP Richard Bacon said MPs' staff used to be able to get bonuses of between £1,000 and £3,500 a year.

Many people had lost a "chunk of their income" as a result and there was "a lot of feeling" about the issue.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority said it had not been ruled out.

But Ipsa's accounting officer Scott Woolveridge added: "Right now, the time is not quite right".

The issue came up at a meeting of the public accounts committee - which was questioning Ipsa chairman Sir Ian Kennedy, Mr Woolveridge and finance director Bob Evans about how the organisation's cost effectiveness.


At a time when MP's are authorising the slashing of citizens pensions and benefits? Surreal! Not surprisingly his name is Bacon!

[Mr Lick]

Lynette White case: Gafoor's regret over convictions



The man convicted of murdering Cardiff prostitute Lynette White has told a jury he killed her alone.

Jeffrey Gafoor, 46, a client of Ms White who was jailed for life in 2003 for her 1988 murder, is a prosecution witness in a Swansea Crown Court trial.

Five innocent men were charged with her murder, and he said he felt "terrible" about what they had been through.

Eight ex-police officers deny conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Two other people deny perjury.

Three men, who became known as the Cardiff Three, were wrongly convicted of the docklands murder.

The prosecution claim that the former South Wales Police officers manufactured evidence that led to the convictions of Ms White's boyfriend and pimp Stephen Miller, Yusef Abdullahi - who has since died - and Tony Paris.

[Mr Lick]

Two prisons to shut in efficiency bid, MoJ says



Two prisons are to be closed, and eight more privatised, under plans announced by the Ministry of Justice.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said Latchmere House prison, in west London, and HMP Brockhill, in Worcestershire, will close in September.

HMPs Lindholme, Moorland, Hatfield, Acklington, Castington, Durham, Onley and Coldingley will also be put out to tender in the autumn.

The decision is "to balance the need to increase efficiency", the MoJ said.

The Wolds prison in Yorkshire, currently run by security firm G4S, will also be put out to competition in the autumn when it comes to the end of its current contract.

The MoJ has to make savings of almost 25% in its budget as part of the government's public spending plans.

In a statement, the MoJ said the closure of HMP Latchmere House and HMP Brockhill would see a reduction of 377 prison spaces - and provide cost savings of £4.9m this year, with an on-going annual saving of £11.4m.

It said all the prisons - which were selected by the National Offender Management Service - were chosen "on a wide range of criteria including the potential for efficiency improvements, service reform and innovation, not on the basis of poor performance

[Mr Lick]

Russia arrests two after Volga boat sinking



Russian police have arrested two officials following the sinking of a tourist boat on the Volga in which more than 100 people died.

Both the director of the company that rented the boat and a ship registrar who certified it have been detained, prosecutors said.

Officials have said the boat was overloaded and in poor condition when it sank in the Tatarstan region.

Meanwhile divers have widened their search for bodies of the victims.

So far 104 bodies have been found including those of 23 children.

The 80m (260ft) Bulgaria - a double-decker river cruiser built in 1955 - listed during a thunderstorm on Sunday and sank in minutes, trapping many passengers inside.

About 80 people were rescued.

Officials said the boat was designed for 140 passengers and crew but it had been carrying 208 people. It also lacked the correct licences and one of its engines was not working, prosecutors said.

[Mr Lick]

Venezuelan prison stand-off ends after 27 days



Police in Venezuela have regained control of a prison east of the capital, Caracas, after a stand-off that lasted for 27 days.

More than 800 inmates have now given up their weapons and left the El Rodeo prison in minibuses.

They are undergoing medical examinations and will be taken to two other prisons.

The stand-off began after troops stormed the prison to put an end to violent clashes between rival groups.

More than 25 people died in the mid-June clashes and in subsequent attempts to regain full control of the prison, in the town of Guatire.

Venezuelan troops eventually took over a part of the jail known as El Rodeo I, which accounted for some three-quarters of the inmates.

But hundreds of armed prisoners remained in control of the other wing, El Rodeo II.

[Mr Lick]

Moody's to review US triple-A debt rating



Ratings agency Moody's has warned it may cut the US AAA debt rating because it is increasingly likely its debt ceiling will not be raised in time to avoid a default.

It has placed the US on a downgrade watch, saying the likelihood of a default was "low" but not "de minimis".

Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke said earlier a default would send shockwaves through the entire financial system.

He said the Fed would renew stimulus efforts if the economy remained weak.

'Small but rising risk' Moody's became the first of the big three ratings agencies - the others being Standard & Poor's and Fitch - to place the US's triple-A rating on review for a possible downgrade.

"The review of the US government's bond rating is prompted by the possibility that the debt limit will not be raised in time to prevent a missed payment of interest or principal on outstanding bonds and notes," Moody's said.

"As such, there is a small but rising risk of a short-lived default."

The US hit its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling on 16 May but has since used spending and accounting adjustments, as well as higher-than-expected tax receipts, to continue operating.

Republicans are refusing to lift the ceiling without deep government spending cuts.

[Mr Lick]

Germany impounds Thai Prince Vajiralongkorn's jet



German administrators have impounded a jet used by Thailand's Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, in a dispute over an unpaid debt from 20 years ago.

The administrators say Thailand's government has refused to pay a bill of more than 30m euros (£26m; $43m) to a now-defunct German construction firm.

The Boeing 737 was seized by court order, and will remain grounded, said a spokesman for Munich airport.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry said the seizure was "highly inappropriate".

"The Thai authorities have expressed to the German government its great concern over the incident and have requested it to resolve the problem as soon as possible," ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi told Reuters news agency.

But Walter Schneider, the administrator for the now-bankrupt construction firm, said the "drastic measure" was "virtually the last resort".

"The Thai government always stalled and did not respond to our demands," he said.

The German firm was part of a consortium that helped to build a toll road between Bangkok and Don Muang airport.

The Thais claim a court decision is still pending on the debt, but the German administrators say the matter has already been decided.

[Mr Lick]

People inspect the scene where a bus dropped at the collapsed Wuyishan Gongguan Bridge in Fujian province, China, on Thursday, July 14.One person died and 22 were injured after the bridge collapsed Thursday morning in east China's Fujian Province.

[Mr Lick]

Thousands of Hasidic men wait for a procession for the body of Leibby Kletzky, a murdered eight-year-old boy who went missing from the Hasidic neighborhood of Borough Park in Brooklyn on July 13. After a two day search, Kletzky's dismembered body was found partially in a suitcase inside a dumpster and partially in a refrigerator in a nearby apartment. Police detectives have taken Levi Aron into custody in connection to the killing.

[Mr Lick]

People step out into the street to photograph the sunset along 34th Street, aligning with the Manhattan street grid during "Manhattanhenge" on July 13 in New York. It is dubbed "Manhattanhenge" and happens two times a year when the Sun aligns at dusk with streets in a glowing magic trick as rays of sunlight span across New York perfectly, from west to east.

[Mr Lick]

Students participate in a massive pillow fight, known as "Pillow fight for a best education", in protest against the government in Valparaiso city, about 121 km (75 miles) northwest of Santiago, July 13, 2011. Students have been staging demonstrations on the streets demanding for changes in the public state education system. Chile's President Sebastian Pinera, beset by mass student protests over education standards and costs seen threatening his legislative agenda, has proposed a $4 billion fund for higher education.

[Mr Lick]

People sunbath atop of decrepit communist era bunkers on the shore in Qerret beach on July 13, 2011. During its self-imposed isolation under the communist regime, Albania built half a million bunkers all over its territory to protect itself from an invasion that never came.

[Mr Lick]

Many homes are still under water in Minot, N.D. on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. The U.S. government will help the flooded city of Minot "for the duration," the Cabinet secretary responsible for federal disaster assistance said Wednesday, but also cautioned that North Dakota residents should better prepare for future disasters.

[Mr Lick]

A fish-eye view of the International Space Station, captured by NASA spacewalker Ron Garan, features the recently delivered Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer in the foreground. A Russian Progress cargo ship and a Soyuz crew capsule are docked on the left end of the station. The structure to the left of the AMS is a radiator. One of the station's gold-colored solar arrays is visible in the background. And off to the right, the shuttle Atlantis is docked to the station's Harmony node.

[Mr Lick]

Revelers jump into the sea followed by a bull, during the 'Bous a la Mar' or "Bulls to the Sea" festival in the eastern town of Denia, Spain, Wednesday, July 13.

[Mr Lick]

Raquel Borges visits her paralyzed lion, Ariel, at the home of a veterinarian where Ariel is being treated in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday July 13.

According to AP, the 3-year-old lion has been paralyzed over the past year because a degenerative disease has immobilized his legs. So the 310-pound (140 kilogram) beast he has been sleeping on a mattress in the Sao Paulo house of veterinarian Livia Pereira. She says the lion's white blood cells are attacking his healthy cells.

The animal's owner is Raquel Borges, who runs a shelter in southern Brazil for sick and abandoned animals.
She has been the paying lion's monthly $11,500 medical bill through donations from some of the 34,250 people who have clicked the "like" button on Ariel's Facebook page.

[Mr Lick]

Residents sit on railway tracks in Rawa Buaya in Indonesia's West Java province on Wednesday, July 13.



This looks unsafe. According to Reuters, the town's residents believe that the electrical energy from the tracks will cure them of various illnesses.

[Mr Lick]

Anti-government protestors, shout slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, July 13.

[Mr Lick]

A military honor guard places the casket of former first lady Betty Ford onto a lift for transfer to a US Air Force C-32 for a flight to Grand Rapids, Mich., at Palm Springs International Airport in Palm Sprngs, Calif., Wednesday, July 13.



The casket carrying former US first lady Betty Ford is loaded onto an United State Air Force plane as family members watch (L) at Palm Springs International Airport, California, July 13, where it will be flown to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Betty Ford, who was the wife of the late former US President Gerald Ford, started the Betty Ford Clinic for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. She died at the age of 93 and will be buried next to her husband in Michigan.



People check the runway for foreign objects as part of the FOD team (Foreign Object Detection) prior to the lift-off of the US Air Force carrying the casket of former US first lady Betty Ford, July 13.

[Mr Lick]

Tehran resident Farnaz talks to a vet about her Pomeranian dog, Maggie, at Tehran Pet Hospital, the first private hospital for pets in Iran, on June 23. Showing off pet canines has become increasingly popular in Tehran's posh neighborhoods, a trend threated by lawmakers in the conservative-dominated Iranian parliament



Dog-lover Neda plays with strays at the Vafa animal shelter in the town of Hashtgerd, west of the Tehran on June 30. The first animal shelter in Iran, the non-government charity relies on private donations and volunteers to provide shelter to injured and homeless dogs in Iran.






Canine lovers in Iran are facing a motion presented by lawmakers to ban the public appearance of dogs. The conservative-dominated Parliament is pushing this due to dogs' "uncleanness" and the desire to combat "a blind imitation of vulgar Western culture."

If the motion becomes law, offenders will face a fine of five million rials (around $472 USD) and will have to get rid of their beloved canine in 10 days or their pet will be confiscated with a fate to be determined.

[Mr Lick]

A young Afghan boy plays with NBC cameraman Sebastian Rich's helmet in Helmand Province, Afghanistan during a U.S. Army embed in June 2011.



A mother waits to weigh her child at a UNICEF therapeutic feeding center in Herat, Afghanistan in September 2010.

[Mr Lick]

Abby Wambach (2-L) of USA celebrates with team-mates after scoring during the semi-final soccer match of the FIFA Women's World Cup between France and the USA at the Borussia-Park stadium in Moenchengladbach, Germany, 13 July.



USA's striker Abby Wambach (4th L) scores the goal past France's midfielder Sandrine Soubeyrand (16) during the FIFA women's football World Cup semi-final match France vs USA in Moenchengladbach, western Germany, on July 13.



Sonia Bompastor (#8) of France celebrates after she scores her team's equalizing goal during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Semi Final match between France and USA at Borussia-Park on July 13, in Moenchengladbach, Germany.



United States goalkeeper Hope Solo fails to stop a shot by France's Sonia Bompastor during the semifinal match between France and the United States at the Women’s Soccer World Cup in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Wednesday, July 13.






Final score - USA 3 France 1

[Mr Lick]

Escorted by Texarkana police, Ihab El Mahmoud, of Orlando, Fla., is taken in handcuffs from Swampoodle Creek in Texarkana, Texas on Tuesday, July 12. Mahmoud, 28, attacked the officers after they attempted to check on him as he was lying in the water. Mahmoud was taken into police custody and charged with three counts of Assault on a Public Servant.

[Mr Lick]

Tour de France stage 11

The best images from the 167.5km stage from Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur in southern France







Alberto Contador of the Saxo bank team doesn't look terribly amused by the weather. He's plumped for a helmet-and-cap combo today to shield himself from the rain






Tour leader Thomas Voeckler wears the yellow jersey - or in this case the yellow rain jacket. Given the sedate nature of today's stage and the size of Voeckler's advantage over Luis Leon Sanchez, there's little chance of him relinquishing it today












Ah, the business end of the stage at last. Forget the previous 167.4km, all that matters is the final 100m sprint. Just like yesterday, it's a straight face-off between former team-mates Mark Cavendish and André Greipel ...



But this time Cavendish wins by a distance, making amends for the shock defeat he suffered on the line yesterday. It's Cavendish's 18th stage win in his career



What's more, it's earned him the green sprinter's jersey for only the second time in his career. Cavendish leads the race for the maillot vert by 16 points from Jose Joaquin Rojas. The Manxman has amassed 251 points this Tour, then it's Jaoquin Rojas (235), then Philippe Gilbert (231)





Tour de France 2011: stage 12

All the best images on Bastille Day as the riders reach the Pyrenees during the 211km stage between Cugnaux and Luz Ardiden



Green jersey holder Mark Cavendish looks to be a focused mood ahead of the start of the stage



Whereas yellow jersey holder Thomas Voeckler seems to be in a contemplative mood