World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Occupy Wall Street protesters sleep in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New York on Monday, Sept. 26. The protesters staged noisy demonstrations about the power of the financial industry and slowed pedestrian traffic on Wall Street for a second week.

[Mr Lick]

In the "Fashion of the World" category, contestants are encouraged to take their inspiration from cultures around the globe and make something truly "bizarre







Voguing, drag queens and “bizarre” costume competitions are all part of a vibrant dance scene in the gay community where performers battle it out in competitions known as "balls.” The Latex Ball, held in New York City every year and sponsored by the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, is considered the Academy Awards for this community

[Mr Lick]

Seattle firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a home in Seattle following a large explosion on Monday, Sept. 26. Two people were injured, one with life-threatening injuries and the other is in serious condition.

[Mr Lick]

Undie Run aims to shock uptight Utah

Thousands of people stripped to their underwear and ran through Salt Lake City to protest what they called the 'uptight' laws of Utah



People prepare to run in their underwear from the Gallivan Center to the Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Salt Lake City, the home of the Mormon church, is against gay marriages

[Mr Lick]

Women of Saudi Arabia

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Saudi women pray during Eid al-Adha celebrations on a street in Riyadh






Women pose during the "Pink October" national campaign which aims to raise awareness for breast cancer, in Jeddah

[Mr Lick]

Watch Where You Aim That Thing
A National Transitional Council fighter practices shooting Monday with an RPG, some 12 miles west of Sirte, Libya. Civilians are fleeing the town as fighting between revolutionary forces and Gaddafi loyalists intensifies



Deadly Explosions Rip Through Iraqi Holy City
Multiple blasts rocked the holy Iraqi city of Karbala on Sunday, killing 15 people and wounding scores more, officials said. Here: A man runs with an injured child after one of the explosions, which occurred at a passport office.

[Mr Lick]

Awaiting Judgment
Amanda Knox, who was convicted in 2009 of killing British student Meredith Kercher, attends her appeal hearing in Perugia, Italy, on Monday. The verdict, slated to come soon, could overturn her murder conviction.

[Mr Lick]

Libyan NTC fighters breach Gaddafi city Sirte from east




The UN says it is concerned for the safety of civilians fleeing the fighting in Sirte
fighters have breached the former Libya leader's hometown of Sirte from the east for the first time, as their three-day long assault continues.


Soldiers traded rocket fire with Gaddafi loyalists as they edged from the eastern suburbs into the city.

The advance comes two days after the soldiers, loyal to the National Transitional Council, attacked from the west before retreating again.

Sirte is one of the last remaining strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead, in Sirte, says civilians have been streaming out of the city - some of them were not aware that Tripoli had fallen.

Many of them were terrified, he says, having been told that rebel fighters would slit their throats if they ventured out of the city.

Our correspondent says the remaining civilians are in increasing danger, caught in the middle of intensifying fighting.

Gaddafi loyalists have been fiercely protecting the city from NTC advances in recent weeks.

[Mr Lick]

Deloitte Touche sued for $7.6bn in mortgage fraud case




Giant accounting and consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has been accused of failing to detect fraud during audits of a mortgage firm which failed during the US housing crash.

A trust overseeing now-defunct Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), and one of the company's subsidiaries, have filed complaints in a Florida court.

They are claiming a combined $7.6bn (£4.9bn) in losses.

TBW shut down after federal agents raided its headquarters in August 2009.

Deloitte spokesman Jonathan Gandal said the firm rejected the court claims, and that they were "utterly without merit".

[Mr Lick]

Wanted Nazi Walther Rauff 'was West German spy'




A high-ranking Nazi officer who helped develop a mobile gas chamber became a spy for West Germany after World War II, archives have revealed.

Former SS officer Walther Rauff worked for West German intelligence service, the BND, between 1958 and 1962.

In hindsight, his recruitment was "politically and morally incomprehensible", said BND historian Bodo Hechelhammer.

Rauff died in Chile in 1984, having evaded trial for war crimes.

The charges related to his time as an official of the criminal technical institute of the Reich security main office, which he joined in 1941.

As US intelligence later put it, Rauff designed gas vans used to murder Jews and people with disabilities.

With German defeat he fled to Chile and changed his name to Enrico Gomez.

[Mr Lick]

Colombians seize $2m Farc drug submarine



Colombian anti-drugs police have seized a submarine built to smuggle cocaine - the second such find in two days.

Police said the submarine, worth about $2m (£1.2m), could stay under water for up to 10 days.

They said it would have been possible for a crew of up to five people to travel from Colombia to Central America and back without being detected.

The vessel was found in a jungle area in western Choco province after police received a tip-off from an informant.

Officers had to travel by helicopter to the dense jungle area near the Pacific coast

[Mr Lick]

Mexican newspaper editor Maria Macias found decapitated



Prosecutors in Mexico say the decapitated body of a woman found in the northern city of Nuevo Laredo on Saturday is that of a newspaper editor.

The body of Maria Elizabeth Macias, the editor of Primera Hora newspaper, was found next to a threatening message.

The police said the message had been left by a criminal gang.

Two weeks ago, the bodies of a man and a woman were hung from a bridge with a message warning people not to report drug violence on social networks.

[Mr Lick]

India floods situation worsens in UP, Bihar and Orissa




More than two million people have been affected by floods in India as torrential rains lash Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states.

Heavy monsoon rains have been battering parts of India for the past fortnight.

More than 80 people have died in flood-related incidents, and some areas have been cut off by rising waters.

Heavy rains in Uttar Pradesh (UP) have killed more than 30 people across the state. A flood alert has been issued in eight districts in Bihar.

In Orissa, the worst affected state, vast parts of 10 districts have been inundated by flood waters, officials say.

Special Relief Commissioner PK Mohapatra said 55 people had died - some drowned, while others died from snakebites and in wall collapses.



This was a like scene in many places which are affected by rain and flood

[Mr Lick]

Senate deal prevents US government shutdown



Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that shutdown worries were "basically resolved"


The US Senate has passed a resolution that provides money to fund the US government and end fears of a shutdown.

Democrats have been opposing Republican demands to offset aid for US victims of natural disasters with cuts to clean energy programmes.

The deal was reached after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) said it had enough money to last until the end of the fiscal year on Friday.

The new funding will last until 18 November once passed by the House.

A short-term provision within the resolution allows the government to continue working until the House of Representatives, currently on break, can vote on the bill.

However, reports says the House may pass it through pro-forma vote, where only a few of the members present, before the end of the week.

The agreement appears to bring to an end the latest in a series of bipartisan disagreements that have paralysed Congress and exposed sharp differences between Republicans and Democrats.

"We've averted a disaster, until the next one," Democratic Senator Ben Nelson told Reuters.

[Mr Lick]

Mubarak trial: Ruler Tantawi testifies in secret




head of Egypt's ruling military council has testified at the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Field Marshall Tantawi gave evidence in a court session that lasted about an hour and a half, a lawyer said.

The questioning of the man who served as defence minister for almost 20 years took place behind closed doors due to national security concerns.

His testimony is likely to be key in determining Mr Mubarak's guilt or innocence, says the BBC's Bethany Bell.

She was reporting outside the court in Cairo, where small groups of demonstrators gathered - anti-Mubarak protesters calling on Field Marshall Tantawi to tell the truth, with others chanting in support of the former president.

Mr Mubarak, 83, denies charges of ordering the shooting of protesters during the dying days of his regime.

Lawyers representing some of the 850 people killed complained Field Marshal Tantawi gave evidence earlier than usual and left the courthouse without allowing them to cross-examine him, Reuters news agency reported.

"The measures were unusual... The session started very early," it quoted attorney Wael Zekri as saying. "By the time the lawyers arrived, the testimony was over," he added.

[Mr Lick]

Suspect arrested in Argentine girl's murder case




Police in Argentina have arrested a man suspected of masterminding the kidnapping and killing of an 11-year-old girl, which shocked the nation.

The disappearance of Candela Rodriguez received widespread media coverage.
Her naked body was found dumped on the outskirts of the Argentine capital nine days after she disappeared last month.

Police suspect Hector Moreira of planning the crime in revenge for a debt incurred by the girl's father, a charge that Mr Moreira denies.

Mr Moreira, 40, is the seventh person to be arrested in connection with the crime.

Sources close to the investigation told Argentine newspaper El Clarin that Mr Moreira was on a list of five names given to police by Candela's father naming people he had had problems with in the past.

Candela's disappearance was widely reported and a huge police operation was launched to find her.

Thousands of people tried to help in the search, many using social media to spread news of her disappearance

[Mr Lick]

Powerful Typhoon Nesat hits Philippines




A powerful typhoon has struck the Philippines, triggering floods, cutting power and halting work in the capital Manila.

Typhoon Nesat also forced the closure of the Philippine Stock Exchange and the US embassy in the city.

At least one person was killed and another four were reported missing.

As the storm approached, the authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 100,000 people in the central Albay province.

Nesat made landfall just before dawn in the eastern Isabela and Aurora provinces on the Pacific coast.

The storm - with wind gusts of up to 170km/h (105mph) - is now making its way across the island of Luzon, which is home to more than half the Philippine population, the BBC's Kate McGeown in the Philippines reports.

Many roads have been flooded and flights cancelled, and local media are urging people against non-essential travel, our correspondent says.

In Manila, government offices, schools and universities were closed, as the authorities urged city residents to stay indoors.

A baby died after falling into a swollen river in the central province of Catanduanes.

Four other people were missing, and there were fears that the death toll would rise further.

Earlier, about 110,000 people in several towns of the Albay province were ordered to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.

"We can't manage typhoons, but we can manage their effects," provincial Governor Joey Salceda was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

The Philippines suffers frequent typhoons - but Nesat is thought to be the largest this year, our correspondent says.

It comes almost exactly two years after Typhoon Ketsana, killed more than 400 people.

[Mr Lick]

S Africa: 'Dr Death' Wouter Basson in misconduct trial



The head of South Africa's germ warfare programme during the apartheid era is fighting to retain his licence to continue practising medicine.

Wouter Basson is charged with manufacturing illegal drugs in the 1980s and early 1990s, some of which were allegedly used on state prisoners.

The man dubbed Dr Death escaped a criminal conviction in 2002, arguing that he acted under orders of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

He is now a cardiologist in Cape Town.

"I closed this chapter 20 years ago," he told reporters outside the hearing at the Health Professional Council South Africa (HPCSA) offices in Pretoria. "All I want is to continue serving the country as a medical professional

[Mr Lick]

Typhoon hits Manila - more pics




Residents living beside a river carry belongings as they evacuate to higher grounds in Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines Tuesday Sept. 27, 2011 as Typhoon Nesat hits the country.






Authorities ordered more than 100,000 people to shelter from rains and wind gusts of up to 106 miles (170 kilometers) per hour. At least one person — a baby — drowned and four fishermen were reported missing.

[Mr Lick]

Milan fashion