World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Japan aftermath









A woman cries after her mother's body was found in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture March 18, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Lights are turned off to save energy before rolling blackouts in Tokyo, March 17, 2011.




Passengers crowd as they queue to check in for flights at Narita airport, east of Tokyo, March 18, 2011.



Japanese fire fighters lower the body of a victim from a two-story house at a village that was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami, in Kamaishi, northeast Japan, March 17, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Protesters are seen through a Kingdom of Libya flag during celebrations after a U.N. resolution authorising a "no-fly" zone and military attacks on Muammar Gaddafi's forces, in Tobruk, east of Tripoli, March 18, 2011.






















Now, where have we seen that type of salute before?

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, gestures during a youth rally in Tripoli March 10, 2011. Libya is preparing full-scale military action to crush a rebellion and will not surrender even if Western powers intervene in the conflict, al-Islam said on Thursday. Really?

[Mr Lick]

Style file




Handy i suppose if you've left your pen at home



I desperately want to lick her front cleavage



But not his!



Nice pins darling, you'll go far



Apparently white refuse sacks are all the rage



Darling, car seat covers are for cars ok!



Not bad luv, but you really shouldn't have had those 2 bottles Leo before the photo shoot.



Jodie Foster arrives for the premiere of "The Beaver" at The Paramount Theater

Funny, i've always wanted to see Jodie's beaver



Katie Price and her latest flame. One of those girls who really should have been born dumb?

[Mr Lick]

Evacuating Japan



Bulut Ayhan (R), from Turkey, chats with his Japanese wife Mika Sasaki using a mobile phone at a window separating the check-in and embarkation zones at Narita international airport, east of Tokyo March 18, 2011. Sasaki said Ayhan was leaving Japan to avoid radiation exposure while she has decided to stay in the country for her family.



Chinese citizens sleep on the floor as they wait for their flight at Narita airport in Narita, east of Tokyo March 18, 2011.






Members of the Indonesia Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN) scan passengers arriving from Japan for radiation exposure at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 18, 2011.







Chinese citizens crowd around China's embassy staff member at Narita airport in Narita, east of Tokyo March 18, 2011.
















Passengers arrive on a flight from Japan at a terminal at the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport north of Paris March 16, 2011.




A man (R) cries as he hugs his daughter who arrived on a flight from Tokyo at an airport in Shenyang, Liaoning province March 17, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Men hang posters of the face of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide as he returns from seven years of exile



Ramat Gan, Israel: A newborn white-handed gibbon clings to it's mother as she climbs a rope



Tel Aviv, Israel: A youth covers his face during a parade to celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim



Sofia, Bulgaria: Members of religious movement the White Brotherhood perform a ritual dance near Babreka lake



Sana'a, Yemen,: A boy watches anti-government protesters through a hole in his national flag



Tel Aviv, Israel: An African boy, the son of immigrant workers, takes part in a parade to celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim



Tokyo, Japan: A taxi driver reads a newspaper as he waits for work on an empty street



Budapest, Hungary: Members of Circolombia:Urban circus group from Columbia prepare their make-up before a performance



Baghdad, Iraq: An Iraqi woman rests at the feet of riot police during a demonstration



Sana'a, Yemen: Anti-government protesters attach a letter to a pigeon



Tunisia: Migrant workers play football at a refugee camp on the border with Libya



Up for a intimate search darling?



New York, USA: A reveller displays his badge collection during the city's St Patrick's Day parade



Gloucestershire, UK: Spectators relax in the stands on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

The 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup













Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, is among the famous faces at the races today. Fergie owns What A Friend, who beat pre-Gold Cup favourite Imperial Commander when the two went head-to-head at Aintree last year





Singer Lily Allen is also spotted in the parade ring sizing up the options



while News international executive Rebekah Wade and her husband Charlie Brooks seem to be enjoying themselves









The runners eye up the first fence shortly before the start. Amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen (wearing orange and brown) sits aboard Long Run, next to Ruby Walsh (wearing green) aboard Kauto Star



Denman (on the right) finds himself near the back of the field early on, but there's plenty of time for him to shift through the pack



Long Run takes up the inside line, but the six-year-old isn't jumping too steadily compared to his rivals



Fans in the grandstand watch anxiously as the horses begin the second lap



One man, more anxiously than others .... That's Nicky Henderson - Long Run's trainer



Kauto Star - the two time winner - leads the field and looks in good shape as they encounter the last half dozen fences ... but Denman, his stable-mate, moves onto his shoulder and provides a gripping chase



Denman edges past Kauto by half a length, but then the youngster, Long Run, comes from behind and kicks hard to push himself in front



and crosses the line first to win the Gold Cup!



Waley-Cohen is absolutely thrilled with his achievement. What a race that was - Kauto Star and Denman were side-by-side down the home straight before Waley-Cohen urged his ride through with a dramatic late burst



Ruby Walsh congratulates his rival, who becomes the first amateur jockey to win the race in 30 years



Long Run gets a deserved pat on the neck. He's the youngest Gold Cup champion since Mill House in 1963



Nicky Henderson looks delighted as the champion is brought back to the paddock



Henderson gets his trophy from Princess Anne



before Waley-Cohen gets his hands on a richly deserved Gold Cup

[Mr Lick]

The oldest of the old

The number of centenarians in the UK is set to double by 2020. So what's it like to be 100?



Rena Ward, 100

When I was young, I went to a fortune-teller and they told me I’d live to be 100. I don’t make predictions about how many more years I’m going to have. I’m lucky to be 100, but I don’t dream about getting old! I dream about dancing. I loved the old-fashioned dances – I started when I was about eight and danced five times a week into my 90s. Now I move my hands and feet and daydream about dancing. It was my passion.




Tessa Grimes, 100

I got a birthday card from the Queen and one from, what’s his name? Iain Duncan Smith. I don’t know who he is.

I’m lonely because I can’t go out much. It takes all the time cleaning my place, getting my meals. I like reading. I don’t do much television, just news.

I had two brothers and one sister. My sister is 96 but she’s very poorly. She’s in bed all the time and it’s hard work for her daughter.”




Alice Leake, 103

I was a member of quite a large family, my mother, my father and five children. I am the last one. I feel very old sometimes. [Laughs] Other times I feel I could do anything, you know? Quite good really.

My fingers are completely dead now. I can’t do up buttons. I used to do a tremendous lot of needlework. I taught it for dressmaking and now I can’t even hold a needle!




Sister Margaret ­Grimsdale, 100

Oh yes! I had a card from the Queen. I love the Queen! She’s never put a foot wrong. So I think I’ll be dead in a few weeks because I’ve reached over 100 now... I am finding life very hard. I’m very low in spirits. I don’t socialise like I used to. There’s only one place I want to go and that’s to die. I want to die now and be with the Lord, because what else is there to live for?




Nora Hardwick, 105

It’s in the genes, I suppose. My mother was 94 and my eldest sister was 96. Granny was 97. I’ve kept my brain active. I read and do crosswords. And I have a little shot of whisky at bedtime. I think that helps.

If it wasn’t for my daughters, I’d have to have somebody in every day, but, you see, Maureen has showered me today and Jan’s washed my hair. They keep me clean, that’s the main thing. I’ve treated myself to a little scooter that I can get out on, in the fresh air. I don’t like sitting all day. I take every day as it comes. Each one is a bonus.




Alice Herz-Sommer, 108

I survived the concentration camps, and this is something extraordinary. Thousands and millions that had to die, and we are sitting here. When we are old, we are aware of the beauty of life. Young people take everything for granted. It all depends on the character you’re born with.

Everything I forget. Even if I write it down, I forget to look. I had an excellent memory and now, I’m an idiot! [Laughs] What do I do against it? I learn Bach by heart and play the piano. My son died aged 64. He was a gifted musician, and a wonderful son. My only child.




Ralph, 107, and Phyllis Tarrant* Ralph [Showing a photo album] This is my family coat of arms. Believe it or not, Tarrants were in the Domesday Book... This is your life! Born on 7 July 1903... That’s my mother... My father... That’s where I were born... That’s me, 13 years of age... Those are my office days at the steelworks... That’s Phyllis again, look... Now we’re getting to some good ones. That’s Llandudno on honeymoon... This is our wedding... This is the Olympics in Germany when old Hitler grumbled about him [Jesse Owens] winning... This is where I got called up. About 43... This is when the kids were growing up... I didn’t see much of them. I missed that.

Phyllis That’s one thing, I’ve still got my senses, where some poor souls, as they get old, they don’t. Shall I do some acrobatics now?” [Laughs]

* Phyllis was born in 1908. Since this photograph was taken, she has passed away.




Helen Turner, 101

I’m going to live to 120! I had a party and champagne at 100. Actually, I can’t remember much of it, as I’d had a lot to drink.

I was engaged once, but I never met... well, I knew what I was looking for and I found it, but too late. He’s a professor. Of course he’s married. And I can’t imagine he’s the sort of person to go off the rails. Not that I wouldn’t want him to. I’m not saying I’m that good!




Emily Tyrell, 100

My husband and I had a very happy marriage, but unfortunately we had no children. We did nothing to prevent them, they just didn’t come along, so that was that. You can’t make things like that happen.

I’m quite happy to be here and be looked after. I’ve got a good outlook. There is a big tree. Very often I sit here and watch the wind and the weather. Sometimes I wonder how much longer I can go on as I am, but there you are. What is to be will be...




Doris Manning, 103

I was an artist but stopped when my husband became ill. I had to watch him and I couldn’t paint at the same time. I’d go to find him and he’d just be sitting, gazing. It was the start of his Alzheimer’s.

I am very happy with my family life, it’s nice to see the grandchildren and great-­grandchildren. But I miss going for long walks in the hills. If he saw a mountain, my husband always had to get to the top of it. He pushed me up in front!




Anne Meston, 107

[Points to a picture] There’s my father’s ships! And there’s my whole family. I had three brothers and five sisters. We’re all Brixhamites, we are. There’s only me left.



Rosa Billing, 101

I was born on the moors and walked two miles to school every day. I left school at 14 and worked on the farm. I’ve been a Methodist all my life and played the organ for 75 years, until the chapel closed.




Nellie Wright, 103

I don’t get by, I exist from one day to the other. I’m hoping for the end to come. I’m tired of it. Why should it be like this? Not a penny in my purse! I’ve worked 74 years.

Why am I here? I’m waiting for God to straighten this out. I should be home! My husband died while I was in here. I never even got to his funeral. It doesn’t matter. I’ve been a decent girl, never drunk or gone with men. I’ve just lived and worked like a silly fool.

[Mr Lick]

Running for cover

Thai soldiers carry children out of an area where suspected Muslim separatists shot dead three Muslim men in the troubled southern province of Pattani on March 15.



She's (still) got it

Darlene Larson, 74, poses for a picture during an open call for models at The Wilhelmina 40+ Model Search in New York on March 12. The winner of the contest, which is open to women above age 40, gets a professional makeover and a modeling contract among other items.

[Mr Lick]

Construction workers pray in silence Saturday before starting to build temporary housing for earthquake-affected residents of the coastal city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate prefecture.



Fukushima Dai-ichi Power Plant is seen in this satellite image, taken Friday and released by DigitalGlobe. About 300 workers are racing to restore power and cooling systems to the six reactors at the plant to avert the biggest nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl in 1986.



U.S. citizens walk out from the Sendai, Japan, City Hall on Friday as they prepare to evacuate on a bus sent by the U.S. Embassy.



Residents shop for fresh vegetables Friday at an open-air market in Sendai in Miyagi prefecture, Japan.

[Mr Lick]

Gadhafi's forces attack rebels in Benghazi in defiance of U.N.

Warplane is shot down by the rebels; fresh offensive comes after Obama warned Libyan leader not to attack the city

[Mr Lick]

Libyan people celebrate following Thursday's U.N. vote authorizing a no-fly zone over the country, in Benghazi, east Libya, early March 18, 2011



Gotta be thankful she at least fired the rounds in the air with her eyes closed, although one may think she really would be more suited to be put in charge of a rolling pin.

[Mr Lick]

Wrestler born without a right leg advances in NCAA championships




Anthony Robles (L) of Arizona State University wrestles Jarrod Patterson of the University of Oklahoma in the 125 pound weight class during the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 18, 2011 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.






Anthony Robles (L) of Arizona State University gets his hand raised after beating Jarrod Patterson of the University of Oklahoma in their 125 pound quarterfinal match

[Mr Lick]

Hindu devotees celebrate "Holi," the festival of color, March 18, 2011, at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan, about 90 miles from New Delhi. Vrindavan is a famous place for Holi celebrations, where according to legend, the Hindu god Krishna played Holi with his consort Radha.

[Mr Lick]

Libyans celebrate UN no-fly zone and government cease-fire

[Mr Lick]

The U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle is seen at Penn's Landing on March 18 in Philadelphia on her first stop of a world tour to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Scheduled tour stops will include London; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Hamburg, Germany, where the ship was built in 1936. It was later acquired by the U.S. through war reparations.

[Mr Lick]

Cheeky monkeys take apart car

Longleat safari park's notorious troupe of monkeys have been given a long-awaited treat after spending the last two years without cars to jump on due to redevelopment. Staff wheeled in a tattered Mercedes for the mischievous macaques to play with before the public are allowed back into their enclosure this weekend. And it didn't take long before the monkey wrenchers got to work on wing mirrors, wipers and wheel trims before making off with the contents of the suitcases on the roof



Think Harry Enfield might be shouting something like '' Oi! Cheeky Monkeys - OFF''



That's a awfully nice looking coffee table he's managed to acquire



''Look lovely if we fix this to the ceiling darling, posh!''



''Oi! who you looking at, you ugly monkey?''



Safari, so goody.

[Mr Lick]

Before the Libyan cease-fire





















Nice hat!

[Mr Lick]

Pro-Gaddafi forces enter Benghazi






















France, Britain, the US and Arab countries have fighter planes in NATO's airbase in Italy ready to take action

[Mr Lick]

Yemen unrest

[Mr Lick]

2 shower booths have been erected by Mexican officials to teach people how to save water whilst showering. Any instructions included?



The official countdown clock was started in London to mark the Olympics in 2012. Unfortunately it stopped within 24 hours.

[Mr Lick]

Cricket World Cup - S. Africa v Bangladesh



SA bat first after winning the toss. Not out against Smith



Amla easily in as Bangladesh appeal



Smith is stumpted for 45 equalling his highest score in the competition. SA 98-1



Amla dismissed for 51



Duminy caught behind



Ever dependable Kallis knocks up hs 82 ODI 50, going on to score 69



Bangladesh Hossain the pick of the bowlers with 3-58 as SA make 284-8 off their 50 overs



Bangladesh get off to the worst possible start as they lose both openers, Kayes inexplicably offering no stroke to a straight delivery



The Tigers slip to 36-5 off 16 overs



Skipper Al Hasan scores 30 off 49 balls before being caught, the only player to hit double figures



The co-hosts are all out for 78 and lose by 206 runs, a result which seals England's place in the Q/Finals, lovely!

[Mr Lick]

Sex domain .xxx given final approval by Icann



Internet overseer Icann has given final approval to the creation of an internet domain dedicated to pornography.

The move to create a top level ".xxx" domain - similar to ".com" and ".org" - ends a 10-year battle over the virtual red-light district.

Icann gave initial approval last year, but carried out further consultation checks over the application.

It is now poised to sign an agreement with the ICM Registry, which is backing the domain, to make .xxx a reality.

Supporters say the domain will make it easier to filter out inappropriate content.
But many pornographers worry that the move could ghettoise their content. Religious groups have argued that giving pornography sites their own domain legitimises the content.