World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, holds a dental borer as he jokes with Governor of Belgorod region Yevgeny Savchenko at a dental room of a local hospital in the village of Golovchino in Belgorod, Russia, on November 15.

On Tuesday, the governor of a remote region in the south of the country found himself in the dentist's chair as Putin joked around with the equipment.
Perhaps the mood of levity was brought on by the startling news that Putin has been awarded China's Confucian peace prize

[Mr Lick]

Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov being helped as he enters the International Space Station on November 16. The glitch-free docking of the Soyuz TMA-22 came after a textbook launch on Monday and was a huge boost to Russia which postponed the mission in the wake of the disastrous crash of an unmanned supply ship bound for the ISS in August.



A spacecraft carrying the three newest residents of the International Space Station safely arrived at the orbiting outpost on Wednesday after a two-day space journey.
NASA astronaut Dan Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin reached the space station slightly ahead of schedule, at 12:24 a.m. ET.
The crew conducted an extensive set of leak checks before they opened the hatch of their capsule and floated into the station. The two crews greeted each other with laughter, hugs and warm welcomes

[Mr Lick]

Police inspect the site of an explosion that hit a nightclub in Tyre, Lebanon, on November 16. A big explosion in the morning targeted the Elissa Queen hotel, which includes a nightclub frequented by foreigners working in the UN force in southern Lebanon.






A bomb exploded Wednesday at a hotel frequented by U.N. staffers in southern Lebanon, causing damage but no casualties, a Lebanese security official said.
The official said the blast struck the pub at the Queen Elissa Hotel in the port city of Tyre early in the morning. Rubble littered the pavement outside the hotel, and part of the ground floor was badly damaged by the blast.
Another explosion minutes later damaged a liquor store in the city, also causing no casualties.

[Mr Lick]

Workers set in place a sculpture depicting a Rhode Island cottage, created by South Korean artist Do Ho Suh, at the top of Jacob's Hall at the University of California San Diego in La Jolla, California, on November 15. Named "Fallen Star", the fully furnished Rhode Island cottage and garden resting atop the seven-story building is expected to be completed in early 2012.



Hundreds of UCSD students and faculty watched, and then cheered, as a huge crane lifted famed Korean artist Do Ho Suh’s “Fallen Star” more than 100 feet into the air and permanently positioned it on the top edge of the Jacobs’ School of Engineering Tuesday.
The 70,000 pound house was inspired by a house in Providence, RI (where Suh went to school after first coming to the U.S.) and will be accompanied by a roof garden open to the public upon the work’s completion in late January

[Mr Lick]

A woman holds a placard with an anti-U.S. poster and pictures of killed Iranian nuclear scientists as the couple stand during a demonstration to show their support for Iran's nuclear program in Isfahan, 280 miles south of Tehran, Iran, before a ceremony to form a human chain around the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) on November 15.

[Mr Lick]

Students from the University of California, Berkeley hold signs as they march on the streets during a protest and general strike in Berkeley, California, on November 15



Robert Reich speaks to Occupy Cal demonstrators in Berkeley on November 15



University of California, Berkeley students crowd into Sproul Plaza to listen to Professor Robert Reich speak on November 15.



Protesters at the University of California, Berkeley, pitched tents Tuesday night in defiance of campus officials a week after police removed a nascent anti-Wall Street encampment.
The late-night escalation by students and other protesters followed a day of peaceful demonstrations against economic inequality and cuts to higher-education spending and set the stage for a possible showdown with police.
Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich hailed the Berkeley protesters in a late-night speech from the steps of Sproul Hall, invoking the leaders of the 1964-1965 "Free Speech Movement" at Berkeley.
"The Occupy movement is beginning to respond to the crisis in democracy," he said. "You are already succeeding. ... The days of apathy are over, folks. Once this has begun, this cannot be stopped and will not be stopped."
Shortly after 8 p.m. local time, activists huddling in a "general assembly" meeting voted overwhelmingly to re-establish an encampment in defiance of campus rules. Within about 90 minutes, at least 15 tents were erected and many other protesters pulled out sleeping bags.
"We will not be moved!" shouted a speaker who announced the vote. "Power to the people. We are here to stay."

[Mr Lick]

Seattle, US: Activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacts after being hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest at Westlake Park



Berkeley, US: University of California, Berkeley, students urge onlookers to join them as they march as part of a strike in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement



Baghdad, Iraq: A local man celebrates with a chicken after the national football team beat Jordan 3-1 in a World Cup qualifying match

[Mr Lick]

Taiz, Yemen: A woman holds up a mortar projectile during a demonstration against President Saleh. The shell has allegedly been fired by forces loyal to Saleh during recent clashes with opposition fighters



Shanghai, China: A couple pose for wedding photos on the Bund



Isfahan, Iran: Students form a human chain around the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility in support of Iran's nuclear programme

[Mr Lick]

Sattel, Switzerland: A group of men with pikes march through the fog as part of a procession to mark the Battle of Morgarten in 1315



Manila, Philippines: Police try to arrest students attempting to block US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's convoy during an anti-American protest



Guatemala City, Guatemala: A boy stands outside the closed entrance of the Roosevelt Hospital during a strike by medical staff

[Mr Lick]

A soldier walks through a flooded street in the Don Muang airport area of Bangkok November 15, 2011.



A woman reacts as she leaves a ceremony to commemorate one year anniversary of a fire on a building that killed 58 people, in Shanghai November 15, 2011



Villagers and rescuers stand beside the debris of a toppled house in Xinshao County, Hunan province November 15, 2011.



A protestor affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement falls asleep in an armchair in Foley Square after an unannounced raid by the New York City Police Department at 2am forced protestors out of Zuccotti Park, in New York November 15, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

A Palestinian woman takes pictures of her belongings in front of demolished structures near the West Bank city of Jericho November 15, 2011.



Workers sort out frozen carcasses of slaughtered sharks among other fishes at a fishery wharf in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan November 15, 2011.



Palestinian activists board a bus outside the West Bank Jewish settlement of Psagot, near Ramallah November 15, 2011. Calling themselves "Freedom Riders", six Palestinians boarded the bus used by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, but the end of the line was Israeli police detention.

[Mr Lick]

Doctors review conscripts at a recruiting station in Minsk November 15, 2011. About 9,000 recruits were called up to the Belarussian army this autumn, according to local media.



Tribal fighters backing protesters demanding the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh stand guard on a street in the southern city of Taiz November 15, 2011.



France's President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives to deliver a speech on benefits fraud during his visit in Bordeaux, southwestern France, November 15, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Penn State's McQueary Says He Stopped Assault, Contacted Police
An email from Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary, much criticized for keeping his job in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal, insists he both stopped the assault by Jerry Sandusky and talked to police.



Occupy Wall Street Returns Tent-less
Protesters celebrate after re-entering Zuccotti Park in New York City. Police had removed demonstrators from the park, but a judge ruled they are allowed back but can't bring tents or sleeping bags.



Tuscon Remembered
Patricia Maisch holds up a photo of Federal Judge John Roll, who was killed during the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in 2011, while testifying in favor of the Fix Gun Checks Act in Washington, DC.

[Mr Lick]

Good Day, Mate
President Barack Obama shares a laugh with Prime Minister Julia Gillard (left) and Governor General Quentin Bryce after arriving at Fairbairn Defence Establishment in Canberra for his two-day visit to Australia.



Preparing for the Pope's Arrival
A man walks past a cross and the gate showing the first missionaries who arrived in 1861 in Ouidah, Benin, three days before Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the nation.



Keep It to Yourself
Huseyin Sahin, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), tries to stop another AKP deputy, Muhittin Aksak, from speaking during a debate at the parliament in Ankara on November 15, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Tiger Woods to face former caddie Steve Williams in Presidents Cup





Steve Williams was caddie for 13 of Tiger Woods' major wins
Tiger Woods will face his former caddie Steve Williams on the opening day of the Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Williams was sacked by Woods in July and apologised to his ex-boss for comments he admitted could be "construed as racist" this month.

Woods defended Williams last weekend and will now take on Williams and Adam Scott in Thursday's foursomes.

"It worked out awesome for everybody to have Adam and Tiger play," said United States captain Fred Couples.

"As we said all along, they are still very good friends and I think it's an exciting match."

Iain Carter,
BBC golf correspondent

Real spice was added unwittingly by caddie Steve Williams's infamous racially charged slur against his former boss Woods in Shanghai last week


Woods and Steve Stricker were paired against Scott and South Korea's KJ Choi in the sixth and final match, with the bi-annual tournament starting with the international pair of Ernie Els and Ryo Ishikawa coming up against Americans Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.

International captain Greg Norman was pleased to see Woods face Scott on the opening day of the tournament and backed the pair to be unaffected by matters off the course.

"I think it's great for the tournament," he said.

"I personally wouldn't have wanted to be sitting down at the singles and everybody is playing a really tight match and it comes down to the last group or the second to last group and all of this pressure is coming on because it's the first time the two met.

"It played out the way it played out. There wasn't any premeditation.
WILLIAMS & WOODS' MAJOR WINS

• Masters: 2001, 2002, 2005
• US Open: 2000, 2002, 2008
• Open: 2000, 2005, 2006
• US PGA: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007

"At the end of the day, the guys in that last group will be the consummate professionals and go out and play the game of golf representing their International Team and the US Team the way they should do."

United States won the last Presidents Cup - held between the US and a team made up of the rest of the world not including Europe - in 2009, with Woods holing the winning putt in a 19½-14½ victory.

The tournament was founded in 1994 and the US have won all but two of the previous eight events, with the International side's only triumph coming in Melbourne in 1998, and a 17-17 tie in 2003.

Meanwhile, US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has announced that South Korea has been chosen to host the competition in 2015.

[Mr Lick]

Bullet 'hit White House window'

Security patrols are ever-present around the White House

Two bullets have been found at the White House, one of which struck a protective window when it was fired, the US Secret Service says.

The casings were found on the grounds during a probe launched after gunshots were fired nearby late last week.

The US Parks Police now says it is searching for a 21-year-old man, Oscar Ramiro Ortega, over the shooting.

The bullets have not yet been "conclusively connected" to the shooting, the Secret Service told AFP.

"An assessment of the exterior of the White House is ongoing," the service told the news agency.



Oscar Ortega has been linked to Friday evening's shooting

Mr Ortega is described as a white Hispanic male of medium build, with several distinguishing tattoos - including three dots on his right hand, his name across his back and the word Israel tattooed on his neck.

[Mr Lick]

The Guatemalan army began the destruction of over 1000 weapons collected in 1996 after the signing of a peace deal that ended the country's civil war

[Mr Lick]

''Julia, let me tell you that Bill Clinton's is minute in comparison with mine'' Hey, we're talking about national debt here right?

[Mr Lick]

Police were on alert in Kabul after the Taliban issued a warning that they intend to attack a meeting of tribal elders

[Mr Lick]

Ahead of elections at the weekend, official figures indicate that Spain's economy has stagnated following months of modest growth

[OhOh]

The U.S. Navy is confronting any number of strategic challenges as it seeks to rein in costs and cope with an aging fleet of ships and planes.

And, then, on a new ship, there’s the issue of the toilets.

The USS George H.W. Bush, built at a cost of $6.2 billion and deployed on its first combat mission only last spring, has experienced chronic plumbing problems for months, with the faltering of its vacuum-based system repeatedly leading to toilet outages.

Now, what was ostensibly a comical issue has turned into a quality-of-life issue, not to mention something of an Internet meme.

Last week, the mother of a sailor aboard the Bush, a Norfolk-based carrier, fired off a post on her blog, complaining that the toilet problem had persisted because the vacuum system was malfunctioning. The independent Navy Times picked up on the story, and detailed reports of some sailors searching for upwards of an hour for a functioning toilet, plus some other very unpleasant business.

Seems it's the wrong sort of "solids" being sucked, or not, in the system.

[Mr Lick]

President Barack Obama walks along the Roll of Honour with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Peter Cosgrove at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011

[Mr Lick]

An estimated 14 tons of marijuana were seized after the discovery of a cross-border tunnel that authorities said Wednesday was one of the most significant secret drug smuggling passages ever found on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The tunnel stretched about 400 yards (400 meters) and linked warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana, authorities said.
U.S. authorities on Tuesday seized an estimated nine to 10 tons of marijuana inside a truck and at the warehouse in San Diego's Otay Mesa area, said Derek Benner, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's special agent in charge of investigations in San Diego. Mexican authorities recovered about five tons south of the border.

[Mr Lick]

Stuntman Denni Duesterhoeft attempts to break the current Guiness record as a 'human flame' in Hamburg, Germany, Nov. 16, 2011. The fire stuntman ran for a distance of 120 meters as a human flame - new record and entry in the Guiness Book of World Records

[Mr Lick]

Leaders of Congress honored astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins with congressional gold medals in a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on Nov. 16, 2011. The Gold Medal, Congress' highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions, was first given to George Washington in 1776.



Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn attend a ceremony to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., Nov. 16, 2011.



1969: Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong,






Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins after the Apollo 11 splashdown.