World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

John Travolta faces more masseur abuse claims



Travolta has been married to actress Kelly Preston since 1991

Travolta faces fresh allegations of sexual assault after a second male masseur joined the $2 million (£1.23m) legal action against him.

In amended court documents filed on Tuesday, the unidentified man claimed the Grease star tried to initiate sex at a hotel in Atlanta on 28 January.

The new accusation follows allegations that he sexually assaulted a masseur at the Beverly Hills Hotel on 16 January.

Travolta's lawyer called the new claim "just as ridiculous as the first one".
"Our client will be fully vindicated in court on both of these absurd and fictional claims," said attorney Martin Singer.

The second man, a resident of Georgia, was referred to in court documents as John Doe No. 2. He claimed that Travolta rubbed his legs, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex during a private appointment.

His claims echoed those of the first masseur, referred to as John Doe, who accused the 58-year-old of exposing himself and groping him.

Both legal actions were filed by Okorie Okorocha, a lawyer based in Pasadena just outside Los Angeles, and have been dismissed as "fabricated" by Travolta's legal representatives.

[Mr Lick]

Russian passenger jet reported missing in Indonesia



A Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane with at least 44 people aboard has gone missing on a demonstration flight in Indonesia, reports say.

The plane disappeared from radar screens during a flight from Jakarta meant to last 30 minutes, a blogger with the Sukhoi delegation said.

Helicopters were dispatched to look for the jet, thought to have been flying near a mountain, Sergey Dolya said.

Emergency services confirmed a Sukhoi plane was missing.

The plane, which took off at 07:00 GMT, is believed to have had about four hours' fuel aboard, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports from Jakarta.

Gagah Prakoso, spokesman for Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, said 46 people had been aboard the plane, which vanished from radar near Bogor, a city in West Java province.

He told BBC News it was unclear who was on board because they were people invited by Sukhoi, but they were "likely to be reps of Indonesian airlines".

Dolya tweeted that there were 44 people aboard, eight of them Russians.

[Mr Lick]

Ray Wilkins on drink-driving charge




Former England, Chelsea and Manchester United star Ray Wilkins has been charged with drinking and driving.

The Sky TV football pundit was pulled over near his home in Cobham, Surrey, in the early hours of Monday and arrested, according to Surrey Police.

Mr Wilkins, 55, who is a former coach at Chelsea, was questioned at Reigate police station and charged.

He was released on bail to appear at North Surrey Magistrates' Court on 21 May.

The former midfielder won 84 caps for England and played for a number of clubs including AC Milan and Queens Park Rangers during a career that spanned three decades from the 1970s.

[Mr Lick]

UK Border Agency paid £3.5m in bonuses



The UK Border Agency (UKBA) - recently branded "not fit for purpose" - paid £3.5m in performance-related bonuses to staff in one year, the BBC has learned.

Passengers recently faced prolonged queues to enter the UK at London's Heathrow airport, while the UKBA's computer ID system failed on 3 May.

The figures from a Freedom of Information request show the highest bonuses in the past year were £10,000.

The Home Office said bonuses were only given when staff achieved high results.
But Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, described himself as "shocked" at the outlay.

"The agency has been plagued by failures, including the relaxation of border controls, an inability to clear the asylum backlog, and the reluctance to tackle bogus colleges through unannounced inspections," he said.

"Rewarding this failure with payments of up to £10,000 is unacceptable.

Bonus payments are kept under constant review and are only awarded when staff have performed to strict criteria” - Home Office spokesman

"The committee recommended in January 2011 that no bonuses should be paid to senior staff."

[Mr Lick]

US self-defence expert banned from entering UK




An American expert in violent self-defence has been excluded from entering the UK by the Home Office.

Tim Larkin tried to board a plane from his home in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but was given a UK Border Agency letter saying "his presence here was not conducive to the public good".

Mr Larkin, who was due to host seminars, told the BBC the move was a "gross over-reaction".

The Home Office said he was subject to an exclusion order.

A spokeswoman said: "The home secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good."

Mr Larkin - who trained as a US Navy Seal - runs a company teaching combat to military and law enforcement clients in the United States.

[Mr Lick]

Capsules filled with powdered human flesh is seen at the South Korea Customs office in Daejeon. South Korea has intensified a crackdown on the smuggling of capsules from China containing the powdered flesh of dead babies, seen by some as a cure for diseases



Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (L) and Kadima party leader Shaul Mofaz shake hands before holding a joint press conference announcing the new coalition government, in Jerusalem

[Mr Lick]

Anti-government protesters march during a demonstration demanding that relatives of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh be dismissed from senior army and police posts in Sanaa



A woman walks past soldiers at the WWII memorial military cemetery in Minsk on the eve of Victory Day celebrations in Minsk. Belarus, Russia and some former Soviet Union countries will celebrate the 67th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in WWII on May 9.

[Mr Lick]

Meow, a 2-year-old tabby who gained national attention for tipping the scale at 39 pounds died over the weekend.



Supermodel Linda Evangelista arrives at New York Family court after settling with billionaire baby daddy Francois-Henri Pinault over child support for their five-year-old son, Augie

[Mr Lick]

Wounded Syrian soldiers react followiong a roadside bomb attack which targeted their convoy as they escorted UN peace observers, including the Norwegian general who heads the mission, in the restive southern Syrian city of Daraa on May 9, 2012. Six soldilers were wounded when the explosive device, which appeared to have been planted underground, detonated as the convoy of four vehicles was about to enter Daraa, cradle of a 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

[Mr Lick]

Medan, Indonesia: A boy cries during a free-of-charge mass circumcision. In accordance with Islamic tradition, Muslim boys are circumcised before they reach puberty



Jammu, India: People try to salvage possessions after a fire breaks out at a wholesale fruit market

[Mr Lick]

Lambayeque, Peru: The carcass of a pelican washes ashore at the beach of Port Eten. The Peruvian ministry of agriculture says the deaths of pelicans and other sea birds had reached 4,000 Investigators think that usual ocean temperatures have driven their natural food further down into the sea beyond the reach, ultimately causing their deaths



Embu, Brazil: A woman stands outside her shack in an area occupied by members of Brazil's Landless Movement. According to the Landless Movement, there are about 8,000 people living in over 3,000 tents in Embu

[Mr Lick]

Tokyo, Japan: A Japanese fan in fancy dress waits for the arrival of Lady Gaga at Tokyo's Narita international airport. Lady Gaga will perform three concerts in Japan during her Lady Gaga Asia tour



Moscow, Russia: A profusion of medals on the dress uniform of a Red Army second world war veteran at the victory parade in Moscow



Algiers, Algeria: Children peer out from the window of their home in a shantytown. Algeria will hold elections on 10 May but a large segment of the population is mistrustful of polls, which have been unfair in the past

[Mr Lick]

Seen through the window of the Australian state coach, the Queen departs Buckingham Palace en route to the Palace of Westminster



The pomp and ceremony of the state opening of parliament as the Queen and Prince Philip make their grand entrance through the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster

[Mr Lick]

This extraordinary rare squirrel has been found in the valley of Muju, south of Seoul, in South Korea. It is an endangered haneul daramjui, or sky squirrel



Indian police spray purple water to disperse a protest by Kashmiri government employees in Srinagar

[Mr Lick]

Peru's mysterious dolphin and pelican deaths

More than 1,200 birds, mostly pelicans, washed up dead along a stretch of Peru's northern Pacific coastline in recent weeks, health officials said, after an estimated 800 dolphins died in the same area in recent months

[Mr Lick]

British-born celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon dies



British-born celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon has died at his home in Los Angeles, aged 84.

A police spokesman said officers went to the stylist's home on Wednesday morning to confirm the death. He said Sassoon had died of natural causes.

Sassoon is regarded as one of the best-known hairdressers of his generation.

He is credited with revolutionising haircuts in the 1960s, and developed a popular line of hair products under his name.

The creator of the "bob" hairstyle, he is best known for his short, geometric cuts, ending the bouffant styles trendy in the 1950s.

[Mr Lick]

Thirteen Paris firefighters held over 'hazing rape'



Thirteen firefighters have been detained in France in connection with the alleged rape of a new recruit, officials say.

The attack, said to have taken place on a coach returning from a sports competition, was caught on a mobile phone, according to legal officials.

The man alleged he was raped by one of the group in an initiation ceremony that went wrong, reports say.

The Paris fire brigade said the incident was "particularly serious".

It said there would be a thorough investigation into the matter.

The firefighters had been part of a sports team travelling back from a gymnastics competition in Colmar in eastern France when the alleged attack took place.

As part of the alleged hazing incident, the young man was stripped and bitten, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

When he protested, several other young firemen pinned him down while one man sexually assaulted him. According to the claims, an officer was present but did not intervene.

Commentators say the affair threatens to damage the reputation of the Paris brigade, which has an 8,500-strong staff of men and women. Firefighting is one of France's best-regarded professions and the Paris brigade is highly thought of.

Two investigations are under way: one involving the Paris prosecutor and a separate, internal inquiry by the fire brigade.

[Mr Lick]

Greece's Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras ends coalition bid



The leader of Greece's far-left Syriza bloc, Alexis Tsipras, has abandoned his efforts to form a governing coalition.

Mr Tsipras said he had failed to reach agreement with mainstream parties because of his insistence on rejecting austerity measures demanded by the EU and IMF as part of a bailout deal.

He made the announcement after failed talks with the Pasok and New Democracy parties, which support the bailout.

Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos is now expected to try to form a coalition.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says there are serious doubts over whether Mr Venizelos will succeed - meaning a new election and a prolonged political crisis seem increasingly inevitable.

Financial chaos has sparked huge social unrest in Greece and led to a deep mistrust of the parties considered to be the architects of austerity.

An earlier attempt by New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras to form a coalition failed on Monday.

[Mr Lick]

El Salvador gangs celebrate a day without murders

Two of the largest rival gangs in El Salvador have recently called a truce, leading to its first murder-free day for years. Much of the violence is blamed on Mexican drug cartels that use the country as a transit point



A Mara 18 gang member attends a press conference of his leaders at a prison in Quezaltepeque. Imprisoned gang leaders announced in a press conference on Wednesday that they have declared Salvadorian schools as peace zones



Members of the 18th street gang gather in a yard during a press conference. The small central American country had become accustomed to about 15 murders a day



A gang member and inmate stands near masked police officers inside the jail in Quezaltepeque. Central America has struggled to tame gangs since the 1990s, when the US started deporting Los Angeles-based Latino convicts to their home countries

[Mr Lick]

Members of an anti-gang police unit gather during a deployment at the Gerardo Barrios Square in downtown San Salvador after a official deployment Salvadorean goverment is enforcing their effort to fight gang activities. The government has announced the formation of a 300-strong, FBI-trained unit dedicated to rooting out gangsters in the most volatile neighbourhoods

[Mr Lick]

Firefighters discuss how to remove a man from a car after he crashed it into TVW Studios in Olympia, Wash., on Wednesday. The vehicle crashed into the side of the building Wednesday afternoon and was left hanging over an alley. The driver was alert and talking with emergency responders as they worked to figure out a safe way to remove him.

[Mr Lick]

Daredevil Nik Wallenda walks on a tightrope past masts of the USS Constellation above Baltimore's Inner Harbor



Daredevil Nik Wallenda walks on a tightrope above Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Wednesday. Wallenda, who holds five Guinness World Records, is a seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallenda family.

[Mr Lick]

Randy Jackson, dressed as Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, and Lenina Nadal have a mock boxing match outside the Bank of America annual shareholders meeting in Charlotte, N.C. on May 9.

[Mr Lick]

Members of a rescue team carry a crew member on a stretcher after his light aircraft crashed into the water in front of the Maritim hotel in northeastern Spain on May 9. The man was seriously injured, while the other crew member, another man, escaped unscathed

[Mr Lick]

A man, whose home was demolished, visits the area on May 9 where 250 squatter homes were demolished, in Kathmandu



A boy looks up while searches for his belongings in the rubble of his former house at the slum settlement in Kathmandu, May 9, 2012.



An elderly woman searches for her belongings in the rubble where her house used to stand May 9 at the slum settlement near the bank of Bagmati River, a day after 250 squatter homes, built illegally, were demolished, in Kathmandu