World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Ian Bell, batting at number three for England, swipes at a loose delivery



He and Kevin Pietersen increase the run-rate before lunch, lifting England to 160-2

[Mr Lick]

Now that's what you call a room with a view

[Mr Lick]

Even the prime minister, David Cameron, is here today. Why isn't he at work? The country's buggered and he's taking time off work at taxpayers expense? If he's taken a sicky he'll be in trouble! Just wait till Millibrand finds out!

[Mr Lick]

OOPS!!

[Mr Lick]

Ian Bell wraps up his century - his fourth of the summer - after blasting a four through the covers. England are on 270-2. What's more, Pietersen is closing on his century too



And there it is - a pull shot for four taking him to triple figures off 148 balls. India simply don't look like making a breakthrough. Their miserable form is becoming monotonous.

[Mr Lick]

The match is becoming so predictable this photographer's attention span has started to wane



At last, something interesting! Pietersen is caught and bowled by Raina in acrobatic style. He's gone for 175, and play ends soon after with England on 457-3

[Mr Lick]

Seven days on stage



Edinburgh's Asian flavour
The eyes of the theatre world remain on the Scottish capital, with the fringe’s big brother – the Edinburgh international festival – launching last weekend. Unlike the fringe, EIF is a curated festival and features an Oriental theme this year. Theatre offerings range from a one-man Taiwanese take on King Lear to performances from the National Ballet of China and Tim Supple’s epic Arabic staging of One Thousand and One Nights. Meanwhile, back on the fringe, the Traverse has been cleaning up at the Fringe First and Herald Angel awards



Lord of charity
Up the road in Inverclyde (well, about 80 miles west), composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s charitable foundation has announced a £100,000 grant to the town’s new £9.5m Beacon Arts Centre. The cash will help set up a youth theatre at the venue, which will offer opportunities to socially disadvantaged youngsters from the area when the centre opens next year. The gift follows similar awards from the Lord's foundation to training institutions Rada and the Weekend Arts College for the Performing Arts

[Mr Lick]

Top Girl
Another actor in the spotlight this week was ex-Corrie star Suranne Jones, who has been impressing audiences and critics in the West End revival of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls. Jones and the rest of the show’s all-female cast (how rare is it that you see one of those) have been getting great notices for Max Stafford-Clark’s production of Churchill’s anti-Thatcherite satire, which runs at the Trafalgar Studios until the end of October



Tudor tour
Meanwhile, news that Shakespeare’s Globe’s production of Anne Boleyn will be heading (ahem) out on the road in the new year. Howard Brenton’s historical play about Henry VIII's unfortunate second wife debuted at the Globe in 2010 and returned this summer with Spooks star Miranda Raison reprising the title role. No news yet as to whether she will also be in the hot seat when English Touring Theatre takes the show on the road for an eight-week tour around the UK in early 2012



10,000 for 2012
Later that year, London will of course be hosting the 'greatest show on Earth’, better known as the London Olympics. And, to stage the greatest show on Earth, you need a lot of performers – 10,000 to precise. Organisers are calling for adult dancers, actors, percussionists and general all-rounders to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies. Successful applicants will have a chance to perform in front of a global audience, under the direction of figures such as Trainspotting director Danny Boyle. The bad news? The roles are unpaid.
(Pictured: actors at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games)

[Mr Lick]

Eilat, Israel: Israeli troops rest on the Israeli-Egyptian border after the Red Sea resort came under attack on Thursday



Jerusalem: Orthodox Jews inside the new light rail electric trolley as it passes the Old City walls

[Mr Lick]

Rhenen, Belgium: a white lion at Ouwehands Zoo stands on a wooden bridge with a rabbit skin filled with meat. The lions are being fed the fake prey to stimulate and develop their natural instincts



Gaza City, Gaza: Palestinians carry a wounded girl into al-Shifa hospital following Israeli air attacks

[Mr Lick]

Bali, Indonesia: at the Hindu cremation of Anak Agung Rai Niang, the mother of the Gianyar Regent, a son is carried down from the nine-level, 24-metre bade, or body carrying tower

[Mr Lick]

Iraq's new dawn




Flames burning off excess gas rise behind policemen standing guard at Zubair oilfield in Iraq's southern province of Basra









Oil police cadets take part in a training course at Camp Dublin in Baghdad

[Mr Lick]

Western tourists visit the Ziggurat of Ur ruins near Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad















Iraqi navy vessels are seen during a ceremony marking the graduation of 170 navy cadets at Umm Qasr's port near Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad,

[Mr Lick]

Belgium festival tragedy




Volunteers look at the wreckage of a tent which collapsed following a heavy storm at the Pukkelpop outdoor music festival near Hasselt, northern Belgium, August 18, 2011

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

A photo of victims of the disaster at outdoor Belgian pop festival Pukkelpop is placed at the entrance of the site near Hasselt August 19, 2011

[Mr Lick]

The three men convicted of killing three Cub Scouts in an alleged satanic ritual in 1993 were released from prison Friday in a deal in which they didn't admit to the murders but acknowledged prosecutors had a strong case



Hitting NATO Where It Hurts
Pakistani firefighters work to extinguish burning NATO oil tankers following an attack by gunmen on the outskirts of Quetta. The tankers were carrying supplies to troops in Afghanistan.

[Mr Lick]

Fortress of Solitude
An African Union soldier looks out from a mostly demolished building wrecked by war in Mogadishu, Somalia. After two decades of civil war, the capital is enjoying a window of relative peace after extremist militants left.



Million-Dollar Smile
On Friday, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits Birmingham's Summerfield Community Centre, which is located in an area hit hard by last week's riots in Britain.

[Mr Lick]

Mosque Bombing in Pakistan Kills Dozens
A teen suicide bomber blew himself up at a jam-packed mosque in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing nearly 50 people and injuring dozens more. Here: A child injured in the blast lies on a bed at a hospital in the city of Peshawar.



Saying Goodbye to a Comrade
Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade lay the unit flag Friday on the grave of 22-year-old Staff Sgt. Moshe Naftali, who was killed during an attack launched by militants in southern Israel on Thursday.

[Mr Lick]

Shining a Light on Corruption
Indian supporters of social activist Anna Hazare, who recently got out of jail to embark on a two-week public fast, hold torches and candles as they shout anti-corruption slogans during a demonstration in Siliguri on Friday.



Taliban Attack in Kabul Leaves at Least 10 Dead
Afghan security forces in Kabul carry a wounded man Friday at the site of an attack on the British Council, a government agency that promotes arts and education around the world. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility.

[Mr Lick]

Global Stocks Plummet on Fears of US Recession
Markets around the world took a nosedive on Friday amid concern over a possible U.S. recession and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe. Here: A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange.



Basket-brawl
With the score tied at 64-64 and 9-plus minutes left in the game, an exhibition contest between the Georgetown men's basketball team and China's Bayi Rockets ended in a big brawl Thursday in Beijing.

[Mr Lick]

Spectacle in the Sky
A jet from the "Falcons of Russia" aerobatic team performs during an air show outside of Moscow on Thursday



Letterman's Life Threatened on Jihadist Forum
A death threat directed toward David Letterman was posted on Tuesday to a jihadist message board because of jokes the late-night host made about the deaths of top al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden.

[Mr Lick]

US, Allies Call for Syrian Leader to Step Down
President Obama joined European leaders in calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to quit amid his regime's bloody crackdown on dissent. Here: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discusses new sanctions on the country.

[Mr Lick]

A mother's kiss

Halima Hassan holds her severely malnourished 7-month-old son, Abdulrahman Abshir, at the Banadir hospital on Aug. 14 in Mogadishu, Somalia. Britain says hundreds of thousands of children could starve to death in Somalia if the international community does not ramp up its response to the famine there



One hump or two?

A woman and two camels take refuge from the rain at the entrance of a fashion store in Schongau, Germany, on Aug. 11. Children could ride the camels at a historic market visiting the city. The sign reads "come in."

[Mr Lick]

Watery search

An Argentine coast guard crew searches for people missing from an accident involving the Argentine tanker Polaris and a Paraguayan tugboat, in the Paraguay River, near Villeta City, 30 miles south of Asuncion, Paraguay, Aug. 13. The tanker, carrying thousands of gallons of fuel, caught fire after colliding with the tugboat.



Dry heat

Ranch owner Myron Calley, 53, looks at a drying pond on his ranch near Snyder, Texas, Aug. 12. Some Texas cities, including Waco and Tyler, have broken their record for 100-degree consecutive days.