World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Residents carry a sofa as they make their way out through a flooded neighbourhood at Teoloyucan, on the outskirts of Mexico City, September 5, 2011



Amanda Knox (R), the U.S. student convicted of killing her British flatmate Meredith Kercher in Italy on November 2007, returns to the courtroom after a break for her appeal trial session in Perugia, Italy, September 5, 2011.



An anti-Gaddafi fighter jokes with his comrades as he sits on crates of shells concealed by Gaddafi's forces at a furniture factory in South Tripoli, September 5, 2011

[Mr Lick]

The chimney of a house remains standing as the rest of the building burns to the ground near Bastrop, Texas, September 5, 2011.



Ready for His Close-Up
London's mayor, Boris Johnson, arrives at Parliament's Portcullis House to give testimony before a committee investigating the police response to last month's devastating riots in cities across England.



Obama to GOP: 'Put Country Before Party'
President Obama gives a Labor Day speech outside GM's world headquarters in Detroit. In a partial preview of his big address this week, Obama challenged Republicans to "put country before party" and back his plan to create jobs.



Bad Driving Conditions
Floodwaters soak Washington Avenue near the beach in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on Monday. Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee have wreaked havoc across the South, creating tornadoes, drenching towns and cutting electricity.



Typhoon Talas Kills Dozens in Japan
On Saturday in Tanabe, Japan, rescuers work at the site of a landslide triggered by heavy rains from Typhoon Talas, which has been blamed for at least 42 deaths since slamming into the country over the weekend.



Palin Addresses Tea Party Rally in New Hampshire
People sing the national anthem ahead of a Tea Party Express rally on Monday in Manchester, New Hampshire. Sarah Palin lauded the conservative movement in a speech before the crowd, but did not announce a White House bid.

[OhOh]

China said on Tuesday it supports a Palestinian bid for United Nations member status.

China "respects, understands and supports" Palestine's bid later this month, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said at a press briefing held on Wednesday.

Jiang's comments came days after Palestine confirmed that its leader Mahmud Abbas is due to present a bid for full UN membership before the UN General Assembly on September 20.

Jiang said China also supports Palestine's desire to strike a balance between establishing itself and seeking peaceful resolutions to the conflicts.

Jiang underscored China's support for the Palestinian people's efforts to regain their legitimate rights. She said that seeking an independent statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people, which can create a foundation for peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel and help create lasting peace and security in the Middle East.

China recognizes Palestine as a country with east Jerusalem as its capital and possessing full sovereignty and independence, in accordance with borders agreed upon in 1967, according to Jiang

Will the US president live up to his 2010 promise:

“When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that can lead to a new member of the United Nations, an independent, sovereign state of Palestine living in peace with Israel,”

and agree to support the democratic aspirations of Palestine or throw a hissy fit.

[OhOh]

Iraq mercenaries boss triggers rage with Blackwater video game - Gaming, Gadgets & Tech - The Independent

"You've heard about the scandals; now re-live them from the comfort of your sofa. That's the big idea behind Blackwater, a new video game named after the shadowy US security company accused of some of the worst rights violations of the Iraq war.

In a move that has outraged representatives of the trigger-happy firm's victims, a software developer called 505 Games will shortly launch the "first-person shoot-em-up" in which players adopt the persona of mercenaries protecting UN officials in what reviewers have called "a hostile north-African territory".

Susan Burke, a lawyer based in Washington who has represented the families of Blackwater's victims, said that the decision to release the game was "terribly offensive".

A UK-based spokesman for 505 Games said: "The video game is a fictional action first-person shooter, without any political agenda, and is being published to let gamers experience the challenging missions Blackwater operatives have experienced.""

This will keep the Pattaya SAS and CIA retirees on their toes.

[Mr Lick]

A man lights candles in front of Arena-2000, the home venue of the Russian ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslav in Yaroslavl early on September 8, 2011 after the team was involved in an air crash.






The hockey world was shaken to its core once again Wednesday morning as news surfaced that a terrible plane crash took the lives of at least 43 people, with most of the victims being members of the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. This tragedy continues a nightmare summer for the sport, as people are still trying to process the heartbreaking deaths of Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak

[Mr Lick]

Republican rivals Perry and Romney exchanged sharp jabs over who has the better job-creating record on Wednesday in a presidential candidate debate that featured the anemic U.S. economy at center stage.

[Mr Lick]

Republican presidential candidates are greeted by former first lady Nancy Reagan, center, before a Republican presidential candidate debate at the Reagan Library Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Simi Valley, Calif. From left are, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, businessman Herman Cain and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

[Mr Lick]

Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director of Human Rights Watch, examines anti-tank mines hidden in a peach orchard as Libyans examine unguarded weapons stockpiles from which sophisticated SA-24 and other shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) have disappeared on September 7, 2011 in Tripoli, Libya. Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) is trying to secure sites where loyalist forces of former Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi shifted ordnance away from military bases, to protect it from NATO airstrikes. The missing SAMs have raised concerns about the weapons falling into the hands of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb or regional rebel groups.



Libyans examine an unguarded weapons stockpile from which sophisticated SA-24 and other shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) have disappeared on September 7, 2011 in Tripoli, Libya. Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) is trying to secure sites where loyalist forces of former Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi shifted ordnance away from military bases, to protect it from NATO airstrikes. The missing SAMs have raised concerns about the weapons falling into the hands of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb or regional rebel groups.

[Mr Lick]

Workers attempt to dry the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium during a rain delay at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 7.

[Mr Lick]

In this surveillance video taken Sept. 5, 2011 and released by the San Diego Police Dept. shows a suspect dressed like Gumby telling a convenience store clerk he is being robbed, fumbling inside the costume as if to pull a gun, dropping 27 cents and leaving. Police say the attempted robbery took place Monday Sept.5, 2011 at a 7-Eleven in Rancho Penasquitos, Calif.

[Mr Lick]

Riot police stand guard after being attacked with paint bombs by protesters during a demonstration by students and teachers on September 7, 2011, in Bogota, Colombia, during the National March for the defense of public education.

[Mr Lick]

An Afghan girl practices during gymnastics class at a U.S. funded gymnasium for women women on September 7 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The facility, called the Alzahra Cultural and Sport Association, is the only gym for women in western Kabul and received almost $10,000 as startup money from the U.S. Ambassador's Small Grants Program (ASGP). The two-year $38 million program, run by the American Embassy and USAID, is the main U.S. government initiative to promote women's issues in Afghanistan, including grants for businesses run by Afghan women, promotion of girl's education and gender equality advocacy. In Afghanistan most women cannot read and suffer one of the highest maternal death rates in the world.









Afghan girls practice during gymnastics class at a U.S. funded gymnasium for women on September 7 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

[Mr Lick]

Homes destroyed by wildfire are seen Wednesday, Sept. 7 in Bastrop, Texas. The fire has destroyed more than 600 homes and blackened about 45 square miles in and around Bastrop. A search team on Wednesday will begin looking for more possible victims of the fire, which has killed two people and forced thousands to evacuate.

[Mr Lick]

This image released the the National Cathedral shows a 500-ton crane that was doing repair work caused by the Aug. 23 east coast earthquake after it collapsed Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington. The crane collapsed amid thunderstorms and driving rain and damaged at least one nearby building and several vehicles but spared the church.

[Mr Lick]

A laser beam and lightning light up the night sky above the Allgau Public Observatory in southwestern Bavaria, Germany, on Aug. 18. A summer thunderstorm happened to coincide with tests carried out on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Wendelstein laser guide star unit.

[Mr Lick]

An image made from video shows a burning Russian Yak, a 42 passenger plane which crashed while taking off not far from Yaroslavl airport in Tunoshna, Russia, on Sept. 7, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

A woman teaching her nine-year-old son Yang Weihao schoolwork in Hefei, in eastern China's Anhui province, on Sept. 4. Weihao's face was badly burned in a fire at his home in June and he has already undergone two skin grafts. The family has been left badly in debt after paying the medical expenses. Now the boy and his mother are begging on the street to help pay for further treatment.

[Mr Lick]

Police and rescue workers remove a dead body from the site of a suicide bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sept. 7. A pair of suicide bombers attacked the house of a top military officer in the southwestern city of Quetta, killing his wife and scores of other people, including soldiers, authorities said

[Mr Lick]

The prosthetic limbs of Oscar Pistorius, the South African athlete known as 'Blade Runner', are pictured on the sidelines of a photocall promoting International Paralympic Day, in London, England, on Sept. 7.

[Mr Lick]

Russian ice hockey team's plane crashes

Jet carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team crashes while taking off in western Russia, killing at least 43 people

[Mr Lick]

Team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl poses for a group shot on 21 August 2011



Alexander Galimov (left) survived the crash

[Mr Lick]

Bastrop, USA: A car drives through an area damaged by wildfires in Texas



Sao Paulo, Brazil: Convicts wait backstage before the start of a fashion show featuring their own designs

[Mr Lick]

New Delhi, India: A man injured in a bomb blast arrives at hospital



Beijing, China: Visitors look at jewellery exhibited at the Bulgari - 125 Years of Italian Magnificence show in the National Museum of China

[Mr Lick]

Ramallah, West Bank: A boy has his portrait taken to be exhibited as part of a project by French street artist JR, who is visiting the Palestinian Territories and Israel

[Mr Lick]

Italy strikes

Unions mounted a general strike in Italy on Tuesday in protest at the government's public sector austerity measures