World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

A bizarre comet-like X-pattern of filamentary structures circling about 90 million miles from Earth. It is believed the object was created by the collision of two asteroids.



The first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star. Estimated to be no more than three times Jupiter's mass the planet, called Fomalhaut b, orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years away.



An image of a crater on an object called 8405 Asbolus, a 48 mile-wide chunk of ice and dust between Saturn and Uranus

[Mr Lick]

A panoramic image showing a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula as a maelstrom of a star's birth and death is takes place.

[Mr Lick]

The Revere Hotel in Boston, Ma. celebrated its grand opening on April 18 with a vertical fashion show. The Boston Rock Gym provided the models who rappelled down the exterior of the 24-story hotel wearing outfits created by the students from the Massachusetts College of Arts and Design and by Ted Baker London.

[Mr Lick]

Tomofumi Takagi, of Japan, performs with his dough during the freestyle event, part of the Pizza World Championships, in Salsomaggiore Terme, northern Italy on April 18.

[Mr Lick]

Legendary music impresario Dick Clark as he hosts the "American Bandstand 50th...A Celebration" show,in Pasadena, Calif

Famed television personality Dick Clark died of a heart attack Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, his spokesman confirms. Clark was 82.
Clark is best known for hosting long-running television shows such as "American Bandstand," the game show "Pyramid" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve."

[Mr Lick]

The Port of Portland police say a 49-year-old man stripped naked at Portland International Airport as a protest against airport security screeners, reported the Associated Press.

The incident report said John E. Brennan's actions Tuesday evening caused some passengers to cover their eyes and their children's eyes while others looked, laughed and took photos.

Police say the Portland man was arrested for investigation of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

The Oregonian reports the Port of Portland summary said Brennan "disrobed completely naked" while going through a security screening area

[Mr Lick]

Ash and smoke are spewed from Popocatepetl Volcano as seen from the city of Puebla, in the Mexican central state of Puebla, on April 18. Residents of nearby communities reported roaring noises from the Popocatepetl volcano near Mexico City on Tuesday after signs of increased activity prompted authorities to raise alert levels

[Mr Lick]

Ecuadorian sailors aboard the Ecuadorian tall ship BAE Guayas man the yardarms as they arrive in New Orleans, Louisiana in conjunction with the The War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration in this handout photo taken April 17.

[Mr Lick]

Judge quits Trayvon Martin case

The judge presiding over the Trayvon Martin shooting case has removed herself after George Zimmerman's attorney said she had a possible conflict of interest. Florida Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself on Apr. 18 because of a potential conflict that relates to her husband.

[Mr Lick]

Spain's King Juan Carlos prepares to leave a hospital in Madrid. Carlos says he is sorry for having gone on African elephant-hunting trip. In an unprecedented gesture, the 74-year-old monarch said he was "very sorry. I made a mistake. It won't happen again." The king came under scathing criticism this week after he went on a safari trip to Botswana as Spain writhes in its one of its worst ever economic crises. The trip came to light when the king ended up having to be taken to hospital for hip treatment after having fallen




A major fire destroys homes at a slum in Matinha neighborhood, in southern Manaus, Brazil

[Mr Lick]

Yu Gao of China presents her invention, an emergency landing system of multi-layer parachutes for airplanes, seen at the 40th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products, in Geneva, Switzerland. More than 780 exhibitors from around the world are presenting around 1,000 products.



Members of Peru's Shining Path terrorist group, speak to journalists in a remote jungle region in southern Peru, Cuzco. Martin Quispe Palomino and his rebel group claimed to be responsible for the kidnapping of 36 gas pipeline workers who were released on April 14 and to have participated in the killings of four police and military officers during the rescue missions of the hostages in the remote jungle region around the Ene and Apurimac valleys in southeastern Peru.

[OhOh]

India test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching deep into China and Europe on Thursday, thrusting the emerging Asian power into an elite club of nations with intercontinental nuclear weapons capabilities.

A scientist at the launch site confirmed the launch was successful, minutes after television images showed the rocket with a range of more than 5,000km (3,100 miles) blasting through clouds from an island off India's east coast.

"It has met all the mission objectives," SP Dash, director of the test range, told Reuters. "It hit the target with very good accuracy."

[Mr Lick]

Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik makes a more subdued entry to the court in Oslo after his lawyers asked him to drop his controversial fist salute



A moving moment of reflection: the tram system comes to a halt in Jerusalem as a siren sounds for two minutes to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day



Security personnel in Kirkuk inspect the site of a car bomb attack. A series of explosions have hit northern Iraqi cities this morning killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens

[Mr Lick]

Oragadam, India: employees take part in the inauguration of the Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DCIV) Plant. With 1,400 employees, the factory will begin production in the third quarter with an initial capacity of 36,000 vehicles per year



Wise County, Virginia, US: an explosive is detonated at an A & G Coal Corporation surface mining operation in the Appalachian Mountains. Critics refer to this type of mining as 'mountaintop removal mining', which has destroyed 500 mountain peaks and at least 1,200 miles of streams while leading to increased flooding

[Mr Lick]

Paris, France: Loango, a crown male Mangabey monkey, is cared for by his keeper at the Jardin des Plantes's zoo. The baby, born in the zoo in March, was rejected by his mother



Managua, Nicaragua: senior citizens from the National Unit for Elderly People dance as they protest to demand government pensions outside the National Assembly. Protesters are asking the government for $136 per month

[Mr Lick]

Zurich, Switzerland: students read papers as they relax on a giant chaise longue created by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist in the atrium of the University of Zurich



Dresden, Germany: US artist Bruce Bickford works on clay animation figures during a press and photo session for the 24th Filmfest Dresden

[Mr Lick]

A Chinese beekeeper covered his body with 73 pounds (33.1 kg) of bees — that's an estimated 331,000 of the creatures — during a world record attempt on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Local media reported that She Ping, 32, had broken the previous world record of 59 pounds (26.8 kg) of bees which had been set by another Chinese beekeeper, Ruan Liangming, in 2008.

However, the Guinness World Records website does not mention either man, instead awarding its "Heaviest mantle of bees" honor to Vipin Seth, an Indian whose burden is said to have weighed 136 lb 4 oz (61.4 kg). Could She Ping's brave attempt have been in vain?

[Mr Lick]

Bill Kincaid (left), Antonio Ayala, Robert Barrientos, and Chuy Jimenez share a bench while wearing women's high heels during the 10th annual 'Walk A Mile In Her Shoes' in Plaza De Cesar Chavez in San Jose, Calif., April 18.

[Mr Lick]

APRIL 18: Entertainer Bucky Heard of Branson leads the crowd in a verse of 'Amazing Grace' during a candlelight vigil in honor of Dick Clark at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater on April 18, 2012 in Branson, Missouri

[Mr Lick]

APRIL 18: Michael L. Jackson, USC Vice President for student affairs (L), escorts Fei Xiaohang and Qu Wangzhi (foreground), and KIn Meinan and Wu Xiyong, the parents of a pair of foreign students from China who were shot to death near the campus last week, were memorialized at a service in the Shrine Auditorium on April 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Victims Ming Qu and Ying Wu, engineering students at USC, were killed last Wednesday, April 11, 2012, as they were attacked while sitting in their parked car near campus

[Mr Lick]

Men jailed for life for Thusha Kamaleswaran shop shooting



Nathaniel Grant, Anthony McCalla and Kazeem Kolawole were described as a risk to the public


Three men have been jailed for life for a shooting in a south London shop which left a five-year-old girl paralysed.
Thusha Kamaleswaran was shot in the chest and Roshan Selvakumar, 35, was also shot in Brixton, last March.

Nathaniel Grant, Kazeem Kolawole and Anthony McCalla were convicted of causing both victims grievous bodily harm with intent and attempted murder of rival gang member Roshaun Bryan.

Grant was told he would serve at least 17 years and Kolawole and McCalla 14.

Judge Martin Stephens QC said the crimes were "of the utmost gravity", adding: "Not one of you has, in my judgment, shown a sliver of remorse."

Last month's Old Bailey trial heard the three cycled up to Stockwell Food and Wine and Grant opened fire.



Thusha was seen dancing before being shot

[Mr Lick]

Sun royal editor Duncan Larcombe arrested in payments probe



The Sun's royal editor has been arrested by detectives investigating alleged illegal payments to police and public officials, the BBC has learned.

Duncan Larcombe, 36, was held following a raid on his home in Kent on Thursday.

A former member of the armed forces, 42, and a woman, 38, were also held after a raid in Lancashire by Scotland Yard's Operation Elveden unit.

A total of 26 people have been arrested since last July as part of the inquiry set up after the phone-hacking scandal.

News Corporation provided information which led to the latest arrests, police said.

[Mr Lick]

Mourners grieve over the coffin during the funeral for a victim who was killed in a bomb attack in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, April 19, 2012. More than 20 bombs hit cities and towns across Iraq, killing dozens, police and hospital sources said, raising fears of sectarian strife in a country whose authorities are keen to show they can now maintain security






Residents inspect the site of a bomb attack in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, April 19, 2012

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

This moving and poignant image was taken on Wednesday though only just arrived with us overnight. President Barack Obama sits on the famed Rosa Parks bus at the Henry Ford Museum following an event in Dearborn, Michigan



Defendant Anders Behring Breivik on the fifth day of his trial at the courthouse in Oslo, Norway. This is the nearest he has come to looking discomposed during the trial



Aung San Suu Kyi talks to reporters after news emerged that her planned debut in Burma's parliament next week could be shelved amid a standoff between her party and the government over the wording used in the swearing-in oath



A surprised crowd gathers to watch as the Little Girl Giant, a huge marionette, is moved through the streets of Liverpool. The puppet will take part in a series of free performances entitled Sea Odyssey which is a love story based around the sinking of the Titanic