World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

A police sniper shot and killed the gunman who carried out a spate of murders in France

[Mr Lick]

Mali coup

Army brings down the government in capital Bamako




A soldier poses atop a military vehicle outside the presidential palace in Bamako, capital of Mali on Friday. The whereabouts of Mali's president Amadou Toumani Toure were unknown, a day after mutinous soldiers declared coup



Coup leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo, third from right, speaks to soldiers under his command at a military camp in Bamako









People wander through the wreckage of an insurance company office looted after the coup



Men push their scooters in search of fuel in Bamako. The fuel price has doubled in Mali since the coup









Coup caught most people by surprise as they woke up to the news of army taking over the capital and dismissing the government

[Mr Lick]

Trayvon Martin's death: thousands attend rally

A memorial has been set up near the site where the teenager was killed in Sanford, Florida




A memorial to Trayvon Martin outside the Retreat at Twin Lakes community in Sanford, where the teenager was shot
























A view of the memorial dedicated to Trayvon Martin near the site where he was killed

[Mr Lick]

A coach scolds a young gymnastics student during a training session at a gymnastics school in Shanghai March 23, 2012. More than 30 children, aged between 5 and 9, were chosen from local kindergartens or elementary schools to attend training courses five times a week.



A veterinarian conducts sterilization surgery on a cat in a pets clinic near Calvia on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca March 19, 2012. Many local governments pay part of the costs of sterilization to control the population of stray animals.



People react around unclaimed human remains taken out of grave during a Thai Chinese ceremony at the Mang Teung Sua Jung Cemetery in Chonburi province southeast of Bangkok March 18, 2012. Every 10 years, hundreds of people wearing white, a customary colour for funerals and visiting temples, gather at this cemetery to exhume and cremate corpses as they believe they are helping the dead who have no friends or relatives. The ashes of the unclaimed bodies are spread on the sea to make room at the burial ground for more unclaimed bodies in the coming years. The tradition originated 90 years ago after diseases like Malaria killed many Thais of Chinese descent living in Chonburi.

[Mr Lick]

Polo tycoon Goodman guilty in auto death

Polo tycoon John Goodman was found guilty March 23 of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide by a Florida jury. He could be sentenced to 30 years in prison.





John Goodman, left, sits next to his defense team before a verdict is read in his case on Friday, March, 23, 2012, in West Palm Beach, Fla. A Palm Beach County jury found 48-year-old John Goodman guilty of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Goodman was initially charged two years ago in the death of 23-year-old Scott Wilson. Police say a drunken Goodman ran a stop sign and rammed his black Bentley into Wilson's car, causing it to roll into a canal, where the young man died. Authorities say Goodman left the scene and waited nearly an hour to call 911






Sherri Collins shows the jury what 1 ounce of alcohol looks like in a shot glass during closing arguments during John Goodman's DUI manslaughter trial on Thursday, March, 22, 2012, in West Palm Beach, Fla

[Mr Lick]

Slaughter in Syria

Syrian forces bombed towns and clashed with rebels in several regions March 23 as activists said thousands staged anti-regime protests and the European Union slapped sanctions on the country's first lady




In this picture taken on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, a Syrian woman, right, kisses a soldier from the Free Syrian Army, left, in front a destroyed Syrian army forces tank which was attacked during clashes between the Syrian government forces and the Syrian rebels, in Rastan town in Homs province, central Syria. Syrian government forces fired machine guns and mortar rounds Friday in fierce clashes with rebel army defectors in a town near the Turkish border, a Syrian activist group reported, as a European Union official said the wife of Syria's president will be hit with a travel ban and have her assets in the EU frozen






Demonstrators holding Kurdish flags gather during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad after Friday prayers in Qamishli March 23, 2012

[Mr Lick]

More bodies found on Italy cruise liner

Search crews in Italy have found five more bodies in the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which struck a reef off an Italian island in January. The development on Mar. 22 raises to 30 the number of bodies found. Two people remain missing and are presumed dead

[Mr Lick]

People wait in line days before to be guaranteed seats to watch the arguments on President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation before the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., March 23.

[OhOh]

Huge crowds of citizens on Friday streamed into Saba Bahrat Square in Damascus to express rejection of foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs and support to the comprehensive reform program led by President Bashar al-Assad.

The participants emphasized adherence to the national unity for facing the conspiracy to which Syria is exposed to undermine its security and stability.

[Mr Lick]

M5 crash leaves coach passenger dead and 39 others hurt



Steve Wheaton, West Midlands Ambulance Service: "Significant head injuries... some people with some fairly severe limb injuries"


One person died and 39 others were hurt when a coach and lorry crashed on the M5 in the West Midlands.

The motorway was shut after the collision at 06:24 GMT which happened southbound close to Frankley services between junctions 3 and 4.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had treated 40 adults at the scene, but one coach passenger died.

Police said another coach passenger and the lorry driver were seriously hurt. The road has now reopened northbound.

One eyewitness described the lorry as "wedged" in the back of the coach

Twenty-seven of the injured were transferred to nearby hospitals including Queen Elizabeth Hospital and City Hospital in Birmingham, Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and Sandwell Hospital.

A coach passenger said they had been travelling from Birmingham to Evesham when the vehicle broke down

[Mr Lick]

Shot Russian ex-banker German Gorbuntsov under armed guard



Russian former banker is under armed guard in hospital after he was shot several times in east London.

German Gorbuntsov was shot by a man as he entered his apartment in Byng Street, Isle of Dogs, near Canary Wharf, on Tuesday.

Mr Gorbuntsov, in his 40s, is in a coma in a critical but stable condition.

Police said it was "too early to speculate" on Russian reports linking it to a murder attempt in Moscow on another banker, Alexander Antonov.

The Metropolitan Police would not confirm Russian reports that the attacker had used a sub-machine gun and officers declined to reveal where Mr Gorbuntsov is being treated.

The suspect is a white male who ran off along Westferry Road.

[Mr Lick]

Brazil police hunt 'blonde kidnap gang' in Sao Paulo



Brazilian police say they are hunting a gang of mostly blonde young women who have committed a series of kidnaps and robberies in Sao Paulo.

The criminals have been targeting wealthy women in shopping centres, Sao Paulo's anti-kidnap police unit says.

The victims are followed to their cars, where they are robbed and held captive at gunpoint while the gang uses their credit cards to make luxury purchases.

Police said the "blonde gang" consisted of young, educated, middle-class women.

Sao Paulo civil police anti-kidnap division chief Joaquim Dias Alves told BBC Mundo: "One or two speak more than one language, and some have been educated overseas

[Mr Lick]

Shawn Tyson trial: Jurors told of prison phone call

Mr Tyson denies two counts of first-degree murder

A teenager accused of murdering two British tourists said on the phone that bullet casings found by police could "f*** him up", a Florida court heard.

The court was played the recording of the call Shawn Tyson, 17, made to his half brother from prison.

Mr Tyson denies murdering James Cooper, 25, of Warwickshire and James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, who were shot dead in Sarasota last April.

Mr Tyson allegedly told a friend he had killed the men, the court was told.

Mr Cooper and Mr Kouzaris were found shirtless and with their trousers round their thighs after being shot several times.

Mr Tyson allegedly tried to rob the men who had drunkenly walked into a rundown public housing project in Newtown known as The Courts, the court has heard.

The defendant, who was 16 at the time of the deaths, has been charged as an adult.

[Mr Lick]

Whitney Houston drowned after cocaine use, says coroner

The pop star was laid to rest in her home state of New Jersey after a star-studded funeral

Whitney Houston's death was caused by accidental drowning, but drug abuse and heart disease were also factors, a coroner has ruled.

Coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey said drug tests indicated the 48-year-old US singer was a chronic cocaine user.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation over the cause of Houston's death.

She was found submerged in the bath of her Los Angeles hotel room on the eve of the Grammy Awards on 11 February.

In a statement, the LA County Coroner's office described Houston's manner of death as an "accident", adding that "no trauma or foul play is suspected".

The cause was cited as drowning and "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use".

Other drugs found in her blood included marijuana, as well as an anti-anxiety drug, a muscle relaxant and an allergy medication.

[Mr Lick]

Dakar, Senegal: A supporter of presidential challenger Macky Sall attends a final campaign rally in traditional costume ahead of this weekend's second round of presidential polls



Kfar Kadum, Israel: A Palestinian protester rolls a tyre to burn as a man throws stones towards Israeli soldiers during a protest against the closure of a road by Jewish settlers from the nearby settlement of Kadumim

[Mr Lick]

Nairobi, Kenya: Members of Amnesty International carry a hot air balloon which reads 'Housing is a Human right' through a Kibera slum. Thousands of slum dwellers from Africa attended a meeting to lobby housing ministers and heads during the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Development



Wisconsin, US: An American robin pulls a worm from the ground in a grassy area just north of Zoo beach in Racine



Florida, US: Reverend Al Sharpton leaves a rally for the murdered teenager Trayvon Martin. Sanford police chief, Bill Lee, announced he will temporarily step down after the killing of the unarmed black teenager

[Mr Lick]

London, England: A model of a mermaid used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is displayed at the new Harry Potter Studio Tour at Warner Brothers Leavesden Studios



Sana'a, Yemen: Supporters of the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh put pictures of his face on their daggers during a celebration marking his 70th birthday. Saleh stepped down in February after more than three decades in power and a year of bloody protests calling for his removal



Santiago, Cuba: Pedestrians walk along a street in the morning light. Tensions are high between dissidents and the government as activists hope the international exposure of the pope's visit will result in renewed attention to their struggle for greater freedoms

[Mr Lick]

Multan, Pakistan: A woman and her daughter, who are both victims of acid attacks, pose with family members at their home in Khanwala village. Acid attacks are among the worst forms of domestic violence in Pakistan and mostly directed at women



Benghazi, Libya: A woman tends to her children in a building that used to be a pro-Gaddafi military base. Poor families in the city are using these spaces as temporary homes

[Mr Lick]

Occupy resurgent




An Occupy Wall Street protester holds up yellow tape with the word "Occupy" on it in New York's Union Square March 21, 2012

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Jacob Knowles of Occupy Columbia joins other movements across the Midwest to protest against Monsanto's agricultural practices in front of the Missouri Botanical Garden during the "Occupy the Midwest" regional conference in St. Louis, Missouri






Occupy Wall Street demonstrators protest against Republican Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York where Romney was holding a fundraiser

[Mr Lick]

One of the largest ballroom dancing competitions kicked off this week in New York City with students and dancers from over 200 countries competing. The event is hosted by the Arthur Murray Ballroom Dance Studios, which is celebrating its 100th year of teaching social and competitive dancing worldwide.

Dance instructor and businessman Arthur Murray began by selling dance lessons through the mail. He would draw and sell footprints which people placed on the floor and followed the steps to learn the moves. His slogan was "If you can walk, we teach you how to dance.”

[Mr Lick]

Tessye Maurer holds a vote sign as she attends a Religious Freedom protest, Friday, March 23, 2012, in downtown San Antonio. The group is protesting that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' mandate under the Affordable Care Act violates religious freedom.






Father Paul Schenck speaks during a rally for religious freedom organized in part by the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia in front of Independence Hall, Friday in Philadelphia. The rally was in objection to the Health and Human Service mandate that private health care cover women's contraception.

[Mr Lick]

People relax in the sun near the fountains at Trocadero square near the Eiffel tower as unusually warm temperatures hit Paris on Friday

[Mr Lick]

A full-scale replica of the pre-historic snake "Titanoboa" swallowing a crocodile, is previewed on Friday at Grand Central Station in New York, during a promotion for its exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., titled "Titanoboa: Monster Snake." Titanoboa, discovered in 2005 in a open-pit coal mine in Colombia, was 48-feet long and weighed 2,500 pounds and lived more than 60 million years ago when dinosaurs no longer ruled the Earth. The traveling exhibit runs from March 30 through Jan. 6, 2013.