World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Today we have been given a glimpse of plans for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games planned by artistic director Danny Boyle. While it may resemble something made in the Blue Peter studio, it is in fact a recreation of the British countryside



The former British prime minister John Major arrives to give evidence at the Leveson inquiry. He told the hearing: 'The press to me at the time was a source of wonder'



Wearing a Soviet flag, this caped crusader is on his way to an anti-government protest in Moscow. Thousands of Russians said they would defy Kremlin pressure and attend a march in Moscow to protest against President Vladimir Putin



A helicopter drops water on a hotspot of the High Park fire burning close to homes near Laporte, Colorado. The wildfire has already destroyed around 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) and is still raging



Confiscated weapons due to be melted down for scap at a steel plant on the outskirt of Kunming, in Yunnan province, China, all part of a national purge on illegal weapons



Despite grave fears over his health Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez greets thousands of his supporters wearing his signature red beret and blowing kisses to the crowd as he formalized his presidential candidacy and launched his re-election bid in Caracas

[Mr Lick]

St Petersburg, Russia: Teenagers have a pillow fight during a flash mob at Marsovo Pole square



Santiago, Chile: Riot police use a water cannon to disperse a demonstration against the late general Augusto Pinochet

[Mr Lick]

A sea of yellow here as Swedish football fans enjoy a beer at a fan zone in Kiev ahead of their match again Ukraine



George Osborne leaves the royal courts of justice after giving evidence at the Leveson inquiry. Osborne said the Conservative party knew hiring Andy Coulson would be controversial



This image taken from amateur video shows a series of devastating explosions in the central Syrian city of Homs. Live streams caught the devastation during one of the heaviest examples of violence since the uprisings began over a year ago



English football fans do what they do best and spray beer around before the group D match against France during Euro 2012 in Donetsk, Ukraine



Meanwhile, British and Ukrainian policemen share tactics with the aid of some hand gestures and gesticulation



Yes, the Olympic torch relay is still going ... and still producing some bizarre images. This one is of Matthew Cox carrying the Olympic flame in Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands

[Mr Lick]

Members of the Free Syrian Army sit on a pavement in Qaboun district, Damascus. The rate of defections from the government's army is reportedly at its highest level, with claims of hundreds of soldiers switching to the opposition

[Mr Lick]

Coal miners demonstrate with their lamps lit through the streets of the city of Leon, northern Spain, on June 12, 2012.

Spanish coal miners are staging a nationwide strike action organized by unions opposed to subsidy reductions from 300 million euros to 110 million euros,

[Mr Lick]

Pakistan's Azhar Ali runs back to the pavilion as the match is stopped due to rain during their third One Day International cricket match against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 13, 2012

[Mr Lick]

A young bonded child laborer cries as he is led away after being rescued during a raid by workers from Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood Movement, at a garment factory in New Delhi, India, on June 12, 2012.

Raids on factories in the Indian capital revealed dozens of migrant kids hard at work Tuesday despite laws against child labor.

Police rounded up 26 children from three textiles factories and a metal processing plant, but dozens more are believed to have escaped. Those captured had all come to New Delhi from the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh






Child laborers sit on the floor as bureaucrats go about their business at their desks at the district magistrate's office as they wait to be processed

[Mr Lick]

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts in the second half while taking on the Miami Heat in Game One of the 2012 NBA Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY - Kevin Durant scored 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, Russell Westbrook added 27 points and 11 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Miami Heat 105-94 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

LeBron James, still chasing his first NBA title in his third MVP season, shined through three quarters and blew past Durant head-to-head several times before the Thunder switched their defense.

[Mr Lick]

A boy stands by the ruins of a home after Monday's earthquake in Baghlan, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on June 12, 2012.

More than 70 people were trapped in rubble after houses made of mud collapsed from two strong earthquakes on Monday that triggered a landslide in the mountains of northern Afghanistan, officials said






An Afghan man mourns the death of relatives after an earthquake hit the Baghlan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, June 11, 2012

[Mr Lick]

Muslim residents carry their belongings as they evacuate their houses amid ongoing violence in Sittwe, capital of Myanmar's western state of Rakhine on Tuesday. Dozens of people have been killed in a surge in sectarian violence in Myanmar, an official said on Tuesday as international pressure grew for an end to the bloodshed. A state of emergency has been declared in western Rakhine state, which has been rocked by a wave of rioting and arson, posing a major test for the reformist government which took power last year.

[Mr Lick]

Polish and Russian fans clash during a march of Russian supporters to the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday prior to the Group A preliminary round match of the UEFA EURO 2012 between Poland and Russia.









A Polish soccer shows a wound from a rubber bullet during clashes with police and Russian fans in Warsaw

[Mr Lick]

People surround a beached whale that died during low tide in White Rock, B.C., on Tuesday, June 12

[Mr Lick]

Chris Combs, of Troy, left, and Stephanie Locke, of Clawson, cross the street in downtown Birmingham, Mich. while participating in a protest by gun enthusiasts Monday, June 11. The protest is in support of eighteen-year-old Sean Michael Combs, of Troy, who was arrested in Birmingham on April 13 while carrying a rifle. Combs was charged with brandishing a weapon, disturbing the peace, and obstructing a police officer



Shaun McElroy, left, of Chesterfield, shakes hands with Sean Michael Combs while participating in a protest on Combs behalf in Birmingham, Mich. on Monday, June 11. Combs, of Troy, was arrested in Birmingham on April 13 after strolling the downtown area while carrying a rifle. He was charged with brandishing a weapon, disturbing the peace, and obstructing a police officer.

[Mr Lick]

A firefighter sprays water on a slum area in the southern Indian city of Chennai June 12. About 150 huts were gutted in the fire but no casualties were reported and the cause of the fire was unknown, a fire official said on Tuesday.

[Mr Lick]

Opposition members march in Moscow on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Tens of thousands of Russians flooded Moscow's tree-lined boulevards Tuesday in the first massive protest against President Vladimir Putin's rule since his inauguration, as investigators sought to raise the heat on the opposition by summoning some of its leaders for questioning just an hour before the march.

[Mr Lick]

The Lock by John Constable is displayed at Christie's auction house in London. Leading the Masterpieces at Christie's free public exhibition, which launches one of its summer auction seasons, the painting is expected to fetch between £20m and £25m when it goes under the hammer on 3 July



ArcelorMittal workers from Florange, France, demonstrate in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg calling for the steel giant to resume operations at their plant. The management at ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, have said they will keep the furnaces shut until at least the end of the year due to continuing poor demand in Europe



Paddling their own canoe has become an option for these residents of Felpham, near Bognor Regis in West Sussex, after south-east England and mid Wales were hit by flooding. The wet weather is forecast to continue for the coming days, and may become worse towards the end of the week



This spectacular shot shows nine-times cliff diving world champion Orlando Duque, of Colombia, diving 23 metres from a helicopter next to Ashford Castle in Cong, west Ireland. The dive was part of a training session ahead of the 2012 world series, which begins in Corsica, France, later in June

[Mr Lick]

Colorado, US: people watch as a wildfire burns near Fort Collins



Kiev, Ukraine: Swedish fans are surrounded by police before their team's Euro 2012 match against Ukraine



Barrow, Alaska, US: the crew of the US coastguard cutter Healy on their Icescape mission

[Mr Lick]

Rebekah Brooks and her husband, Charlie, arrive at Westminster magistrates court in London. The former News International chief executive is charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice in connection with the police investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World. Her husband and four other employees are also charged



Trouble broke out in Warsaw on Tuesday night during the Euro 2012 tournament. Plain clothes police officers arrest a soccer fan during clashes before the Group A match between Poland and Russia



A man searches for food in a container outside a supermarket in central Bilbao. In a sign of the times more than 11 million people are now thought to live below the poverty line in Spain

[Mr Lick]

Poland and Russian fans clash

[Mr Lick]

A trader looks at electronic boards at the stock exchange in Madrid June 12, 2012. Spanish government bond yields rose close to euro-era highs on Tuesday as relief over a bailout for the country's banks quickly turned to concern over how easily it will be able to access debt markets in the longer term



A boy injured by a bomb blast receives medical treatment after being brought to the Lady Reading hospital in Peshawar June 12, 2012. Police said a suicide bomber targeted an anti-Taliban tribal elder in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing two of his security guards and wounding two others, local media reported.



Poland fans hold up football scarves before theGroup A Euro 2012 match against Poland at the National stadium in Warsaw June 12, 2012

[Mr Lick]

Escape from Alcatraz - 50 years on

The prison mug shots of convicts Frank Lee Morris, Clarence Anglin and John Anglin in both their younger and older years. Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin, all serving time for bank robbery, vanished from the prison in San Francisco Bay on the night of June 11, 1962. Although many historians think it's likely they perished in the frigid treacherous currents surrounding the maximum-security island prison, their bodies were never found and some believe it's possible they made it to freedom.



A dummy body in John Anglin's cell at the former Alcatraz Island federal prison

[Mr Lick]

Henry Hill, a former mobster-turned-FBI informant whose life became the basis for Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, has died in Los Angeles aged 69.

His partner and manager, Lisa Caserta, did not give a specific cause but added years of heavy smoking combined with complications from a recent heart attack led to his death.

"He had been sick for a long time, his heart gave out," she told TMZ.

On screen, Hill was played by Ray Liotta in the 1990 Oscar-winning film.

The movie was based on the 1986 book Wiseguy, written by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi, which documented Hill's life.

Hill became something of a celebrity in later life

Ms Caserta told CBS News Hill was with family members when he died, adding he "went out pretty peacefully, for a goodfella".

Born into an Italian-Irish family, Hill was as an associate of the Lucchese crime family in New York.

He was involved in numerous criminal acts including the Lufthansa heist at John F Kennedy International Airport in 1978, when $5m (£3.2m) in cash and $875,000 (£560,000) worth of jewels were stolen.

Hill lived the mob life for 20 years until 1980 when he was arrested on drugs charges and, to avoid prison, agreed to testify against his former mafia bosses.

He entered into witness protection but was expelled from the programme in the early 1990s after committing various drug-related crimes.

In more recent years, Hill became a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show, marketed his own spaghetti sauce and opened a restaurant called Wiseguys.

Goodfellas was nominated for six academy awards including best director and best picture, but picked up just one for Joe Pesci in the supporting actor role of Tommy DeVito, based on real-life mobster Thomas DeSimone.

[Mr Lick]

Moscow's anti-government protest - more pics

[Mr Lick]

Wave of deadly bombings strikes Iraq



The attacks hit 10 locations in Baghdad






At least 22 people were killed

[Mr Lick]

Saab: A car that inspired devotion























Saab sold to Chinese-Swedish investment group

Saab will concentrate on production of electric cars

Bankrupt carmaker Saab has been sold to a Chinese-Swedish investment group which aims to turn the company into a maker of electric vehicles

Saab's administrator said the buyer was National Electric Vehicle Sweden (Nevs). No sale price was given.

Saab went bankrupt in December, two years after former owner General Motors sold it to Dutch group Spyker