World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Labour's candidate for Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone chats with a band of enthusiastic supporters and greets prospective voters as he campaigns in Hammersmith on the last day before elections



Violence erupts in the Abbasiya district of Cairo where an anti-military protest near the defence ministry came under attack. At least 20 people were killed in the clashes and many more injured, according to reports



Chinese police deliver a firm message to foreign journalists at the gate of Chaoyang hospital in Beijing, where Chen Guangcheng is being treated

[Mr Lick]

Smoke billows from a compound under attack as Kabul suffers a series of explosions in protest at the surprise visit of the US president, Barack Obama. A suicide car bomber and Taliban militants disguised in burqas attacked the compound housing hundreds of foreigners in the Afghan capital



This singing traveller is a member of the Nairobi Chamber Chorus, which has arrived in the UK to perform before the Queen at her diamond jubilee pageant next week. The choir treated passengers to an impromptu performance on landing at Heathrow



The Gateshead Millennium bridge and the Sage music centre in Newcastle look enchanting in this photograph by Owen Humphreys. Taken on Tuesday night and shot with a tilt and shift lens, the view has such a magical quality

[Mr Lick]

Police officers look over the scene of a shooting in a residential area of Gilbert, Arizona, May 2, 2012



A gunman kills four in a quiet Phoenix suburb

[Mr Lick]

Clashes in Egypt



Islamist protesters and their supporters run during clashes with armed "thugs" after an attack on protesters late Tuesday night, in Cairo May 2, 2012. Eleven people were confirmed dead after thugs attacked the protesters demanding an end to military rule after their candidate was barred from this month's presidential election





















An injured "thug" holds onto a protester's leg as other protesters beat him up during clashes between Islamist protesters and armed "thugs", after an attack on protesters late Tuesday night, in Cairo May 2, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Occupy Wall Street activists, one wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, rest on a sidewalk during a May Day demonstration in New York May 1, 2012



A SPLA-N fighter stands near Gos village in the rebel-held territory of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, Sudan, May 1, 2012



Ayoub Khan mourns next to the body of his friend, Abdul Satar, who was killed in an Afghan-led operation in Laghman province May 1, 2012. NATO says a Taliban leader and another insurgent were killed after they opened fire on security forces taking part in an Afghan-led operation in the eastern province of Laghman



Demonstrators throw sticks at riot policemen during May Day rallies in Santiago May 1, 2012



Palestinian protesters who were hit with pepper spray by Israeli border police, lie on the ground as they try to prevent Israeli troops from detaining one of them, during clashes outside Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah May 1, 2012. The clashes broke out following a protest in solidarity with hunger striking Palestinian prisoners. The hunger strike against Israel's jail policies has swollen in weeks from a protest by a handful to a national movement with around 1,400 participants.

[Mr Lick]

Newlyweds dressed in Han-dynasty costumes bow to each other during a traditional group wedding ceremony in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, May 1, 2012. A total of 130 couples from all over China attended the group wedding ceremony on Tuesday following the nuptial rites of the Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 220), local media reported.



A Bolivian miner looks out of his car, in front of a police line, during May Day celebrations in La Paz, May 1, 2012. President Evo Morales announced on May Day that Bolivia is nationalizing the local unit TDE of Spain's Red Electrica, citing the company's lack of investment in the country as the reason. The sign on the car reads, "Long live May Day. Down with changes in the labor law."



Protesters run for cover after riot-police throw sound grenade to disperse them during a demonstration in the capital Manama, May 1, 2012. Dozens of anti-government protesters tried to march towards the capital square Bab al-Bahrain during a rally organised by Al Wefaq

[Mr Lick]

Visitors crowd in an artificial wave pool at a water park in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, China, April 30, 2012.

Standing room only



France's far right National Front political party leader Marine Le Pen (L) and her father Jean-Marie Le Pen sing the national anthem in front of the Opera following the National Front's annual May Day rally in Paris May 1, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Luisa Seau, mother of former NFL football player Junior Seau, grieves in the driveway of her son's home, Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Oceanside, Calif. Seau was found shot to death at his home Wednesday morning in what police said appeared to be a suicide. He was 43.

[Mr Lick]

Swiss Ernst Bromeis pictured in the ice cold Toma Lake, at 2345 meters altitude above the sea level, near Disentis, Switzerland, 02 May. Bromeis started to his project 'The blue wonder - River Rhine 2012', where he plans to swim, wade and use other means for the 1230 kilometers from the source of the Rhine in Switzerland, to the water mouth near Rotterdam.

[Mr Lick]

Yves Rossy, known as the Jetman, jumps from a helicopter before a successful flight over Rio de Janiero, Brazil in this May 2 handout photograph released by Breitling. The Swiss aviator dropped from a helicopter and deployed the jet-powered carbon-kevlar "Jetwing" and uses his body to steer as he flew over the city before landing on Copacabana Beach

[Mr Lick]

A fan of US pop diva Lady Gaga poses before her concert in Hong Kong on May 2. The eccentric star, who has a record number of almost 22 million followers on Twitter, kicked off her world tour in Seoul on April 27 and will play three concerts in Hong Kong followed by Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia

[Mr Lick]

Greek conservative party supporters wave flags during an election rally by their leader Antonis Samaras in the town of Thessaloniki on May 2, 2012. Greece will hold elections on May 6, with the largest number of seats expected to fall to the New Democracy party, whose leader Samaras is pledging lower taxes and to call a halt to across-the-board wage and pension cuts

[Mr Lick]

A young Malian refugee shelters in M'bere camp near Bassiknouin south-east Mauritania on May 2.

[Mr Lick]

Egyptian protests - more pics

Protesters clash with Egyptian military outside the Defense Ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, May 2. Suspected supporters of Egypt's military rulers attacked predominantly Islamist anti-government protesters outside the Defense Ministry in Cairo Wednesday, setting off clashes that left more than ten people dead as political tensions rise three weeks before crucial presidential elections



An Egyptian man and an armed private security guard, right, clash with anti-military protesters in the Abbassiya district of Cairo on May 2. Thugs attacked an anti-military protest near the defence ministry in Cairo and at least 12 people were killed, officials said, in the politically tense run-up to the first post-uprising presidential election



Egyptian protesters beat a man as he tries to escape on the back of a motorcycle after he was accused of attacking demonstrators in the Abbassiya district in Cairo on May 2.

[Mr Lick]

Real Madrid players throw their manager Jose Mourinho into the air after clinching La Liga title by beating Athletico Bilbao 3-0. Their first title since 2008.

[Mr Lick]

Edward Munch's 'The Scream' becomes the world's most expensive artwork sold at auction after it fetched $119.9m at Sotheby's in NY. The bidding lasted 12 minutes

[Mr Lick]

Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif freed after fixing scam sentence




Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif, one of three jailed for a fixing scam, has been released after serving half of a 12-month sentence, his lawyer says.

Asif, 29, the former world number two Test bowler, was freed from Canterbury Prison in Kent on Thursday morning.

In November, Asif and team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir were jailed for a plot to bowl deliberate no balls in a Test match against England in 2010.

All three players were also given five-year playing bans.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said it did not comment on individuals.

"Foreign national offenders released from prison on licence will be supervised by probation for as long as they remain in this country," he said.

[Mr Lick]

The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, looks like he's still campaigning right up to the door of the polling station. You wouldn't think his wife, Justine, needed such a hard sell



Members of the 18th street gang in a cell of the Quezaltepeque jail in El Salvador. The gang announced an end to their recruitment of children and youth and declared schools off-limits for their activities. El Salvador has struggled with gang violence for many years but recently saw a drop in the murder rate and reported with some jubilation that on 14 April nobody was murdered

[Mr Lick]

David Cameron goes to vote in local elections with his wife, Samantha, in central London. Mr Cameron has only just noticed his wife's rather bold choice of trouser colour



This all looks surprisingly low tech. Chinese investors rest at a securities firm as they monitor their stock prices in Hefei



Supporters of the Greek Communist party (KKE) listen to a pre-election speech by its general secretary, Aleka Papariga, in Athens. The upcoming Greek general election will take place on 6 May

[Mr Lick]

Madrid, Spain: A police officer in riot gear raises his baton before hitting a girl who was attending celebrations after Real Madrid pipped Barcelona to win the Spanish La Liga championship



Rafah, Gaza Strip: A cow at a farm. An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Egypt has reached the neighbouring Gaza Strip



Corsica: Erwann Le Rouzic, captain of Planetsolar catamaran, walks over the photovoltaic panel as the boat makes its way through the Mediterranean Sea during his 581st day of sailing around the world

[Mr Lick]

Cairo, Egypt: Protesters clash with Egyptian military outside the defence ministry

[Mr Lick]

The Vancouver Sun reports:A Langford motorcycle dealer is helping to return a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to its owner in Japan after it was washed out to sea by last year's tsunami and ended up on B.C.'s northwest coast. With the subsequent news that the owner had been found, the bike is to be taken to Drane's shop and packed for shipping to Japan in its rusted state. Harley-Davidson has offered to restore the bike at one of its Japanese facilities so the owner can see the motorcycle before and after.

"I think it's going to be great that it actually goes back in its original condition. I think it's going to have a lot more meaning there," Drane said.

[Mr Lick]

Neo-Nazi involved in AZ shooting

Police on May 3 identified one of the five people killed in a shooting in a Phoenix suburb as a former Marine with ties to neo-Nazi and Minutemen groups.




This undated file photo provided in 2010 by Jason "JT" Ready, shows Ready posing with an assault rifle. Police have identified Ready on Thursday, May 3, 2012, as one of the five people killed in a shooting in a Phoenix suburb on Wednesday



A police officer walks with a man who said he had a child inside of the home where five people were shot



Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas speaks during a news conference near the scene of a shooting in a residential area of Gilbert, Arizona May 2, 2012. A gunman shot and killed four people including a toddler girl in a Phoenix suburb on Wednesday afternoon before apparently committing suicide

[Mr Lick]

Investigators look over a vehicle that crashed and rolled following a pursuit by U.S. Border Patrol agents early in Casa Grande, Ariz. A Dodge Durango packed with suspected illegal immigrants hit a wall and rolled into the yard of a home in Casa Grande at about 1 a.m., police spokesman officer Thomas Anderson said. Officers found three people dead at the scene, and a fourth died after being airlifted to a hospital in Phoenix. Five of the injured were hurt badly enough to also be flown to Phoenix hospitals, while two with lesser injuries were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital



Catholic clergy members arrive at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa. Hundreds of Roman Catholic priests have been called to a sudden meeting with their archbishop, as 23 priests suspended over sex-abuse allegations await their fate. Archbishop Charles Chaput has said he hoped to announce the outcome of the latest priest-abuse investigations this spring



Hamond, Ind., Police escort the body of Army Staff Sgt. David Nowaczyk in Dyer, Ind. Nowaczyk, originally from Dyer, was killed on his third deployment to Afghanistan. He died April 15 of wounds from an improvised explosive device attack.

[Mr Lick]

Cheri Young, the wife of Andrew Young, ex-aide to John Edwards, smiles as she enters the Federal Courthouse in Greensboro, N.C. Young is expected to retake the witness stand for a second day of testimony in the Edwards trial. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to charges related to nearly $1 million solicited from two wealthy campaign supporters used to help hide the married Democrat's pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.



Charlotte police examine a banner that has just been removed after several people climbed on the side of Bank of America Stadium at daybreak and hung the 70-foot banner, in a protest aimed at Bank of America and the Obama administration, in Charlotte, N.C. Rainforest Action Network said it was responsible for hanging the banner, which carried the words "Bank of Coal." in Charlotte, N.C.