World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Members of France's 4x100m men's freestyle relay team Clement Lefert, Fabien Gilot and Amaury Leveaux cheer as their anchor Yannick Agnel swims the final leg, during the event final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre July 29, 2012. France avenged their defeat to the United States in Beijing four years ago when they snatched the gold medal in the men's 4x100 metres freestyle final at the London Olympics on Sunday.



Poland's Aleksandra J Klejnowska-Krzywanska reacts after successful lift on the women's 53Kg Group A weightlifting competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012.



Kazakhstan's Zulfiya Chinshanlo competes on the women's 53Kg weightlifting competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012



Japan's Reika Kakiiwa and Mizuki Fujii (pictured) play against Singapore's Shinta Mulia Sari and Yao Lei during their women's doubles group play stage badminton match at the Wembley Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012.



Kazakhstan's Gani Zhailauov fights against Thailand's Saylom Ardee during the men's light (60kg) Round of 32 boxing match at ExCeL venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

A sniper from the Free Syrian Army takes position in Aleppo, July 29, 2012



A cosplay enthusiast takes a picture at the anime and manga convention "Animagics" in Bonn, Germany, July 29, 2012.



Mitt Romney pauses in prayer as he visits the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, during prayers marking Tisha B'Av in Jerusalem's Old City July 29, 2012.



Fans arrive at the ExCeL venue for boxing matches during the London 2012 Olympic Games, July 29, 2012.



Men cool down in a canal in the eastern city of Lahore, July 29, 2012.



Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (L) fights against Cameroon's Yhyacinthe Mewoli Abdon in the men's light (60kg) Round of 32 boxing match at ExCeL venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games, July 29, 2012.



Italy's Diego Occhiuzzi (R) celebrates defeating Romania's Rares Dumitrescu during their men's sabre individual semifinal fencing competition at the ExCel venue at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 29, 2012.



France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates after winning his men's singles tennis match against Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympics Games July 29, 2012.



FC Luzern's goalkeeper David Zibung covers the eyes of FC Sion's Vilmos Vanczak (front) as they fight for the ball during their Swiss Super League soccer match in Lucerne July 29, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

An Olympic kayak event from Lee Valley Water Park, London



Seems even Nelson's in the Team GB mood



8 people were killed and 2 injured when a train hit a vehicle at a level crossing in Poland

[Mr Lick]

Blackout in northern India



A massive power cut caused severe disruption across northern India on Monday

[Mr Lick]

Haiti's carnival of flowers































Nice hat!

[Mr Lick]

Sir Jimmy Savile's belongings auctioned at museum




A sale of the late Sir Jimmy Savile's possessions and mementoes has started with one of the late DJ's Highland suits going for £280.

The tweed jacket and kilt was the first of 549 lots to go under the hammer in Sir Jimmy's home city of Leeds.

The broadcaster and Top of the Pops host asked for the memorabilia to be sold in aid of his charitable trust.

Sir Jimmy, who ran more than 200 fund-raising marathons, is thought to have collected £40m for charity in his life.

Items on sale include a £12,000 gold and diamond encrusted Rolex watch, gold identity bracelet and rings, and the first ever chair from his Jim'll Fix It TV show.

The sale kicked off at Savile Hall, at the Royal Armouries, with about 300 people packing the room and many more bidders taking part over the phone and internet.
Lot one - the Highland suit - was bought by a local man.

As the auction continued, some items started to soar above their estimates.

A Scottish shepherd's crook estimated to sell for between £30 to £60 went for £380.

The auction includes the sale of the broadcaster's beloved Rolls-Royce.

The DJ, who died just before his 85th birthday last year, nicknamed his car "The Beast", and it still bears his personal registration number, JS 247.

The auction, which is estimated to raise up to £300,000, is taking place all day at the museum.

[Mr Lick]

Four sentenced to death over $2.6bn Iran bank fraud



President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied his government was involved in the scandal

Four people have been sentenced to death for their roles in Iran's biggest bank fraud scandal, Iranian TV reports.

Two other defendants received life sentences, while 33 more will spend up to 25 years in jail, the chief prosecutor was quoted as saying.

The scandal involved forged documents reportedly used by an investment company to secure loans worth $2.6bn.

[Mr Lick]

London 2012 Olympics: Day three











The equestrian event in Greenwich



Bike riding rowing coaches at Eton Dorney



The Olympic ticketing row rumbles on







Lord Coe, Chairman of Locog, the ticketing issuing company chatting to some free loaders.

[Mr Lick]

On the first working day of the London Olympic games, street performers hired by the London Bridge business district were on hand to keep commuters' spirits up as London's infrastructure faced a major test.

[Mr Lick]

Syrian rebel fighters celebrate on top of a government tank captured after a 10-hour battle at a checkpoint in the village of Anadan, about 4 miles northwest of Aleppo, on July 30

[Mr Lick]

Mostar, Bosnia: A diver takes a plunge with torches from the 82ft-high Old Mostar bridge into the Neretva river during the annual night high diving event



Weymouth, UK: Robert Stanjek and Frithjof Kleen in action during the first Star Class sailing race of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Weymouth and Portland venue



Tokyo, Japan: A fourth grade pupil walks back across a sumo ring after defeating a larger contestant at the National Children's Sumo tournament



Port-au-Prince, Haiti: A man in a peacock costume dances past the damaged national palace during a parade



Kassandria, Greece: Residents watch a fire which broke out in a landfill area



Canning village, India: An Indian farmer participates in a bull race in a paddy field. Farmers take part in the event in the belief that it will bring rainfall and a better harvest

[Mr Lick]

Two women pose for pictures during the Carnaval des Fleurs, or Carnival of Flowers, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 29. The carnival, a three-day festival, marks new beginnings and the revitalization of Haiti with a Sunday parade, concerts and street dancing. Some critics have questioned the wisdom of spending about $1.6 million on the event. The government countered saying the celebration boosts morale and provides jobs

[Mr Lick]

Unidentified victims & family members of victims wear Batman shirts as they arrive at the Arapahoe County Courthouse for the arraignment of James Holmes on July 30 in Centennial, Colo. Holmes was charged with murder Monday for a massacre at a July 20 premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed in the shooting and an additional 58 were injured.

[Mr Lick]

Shiite Muslims take part in an anti-government demonstration in Sitra on July 30, 2012.



Shiite Muslim medics treat a wounded demonstrator inside a house in Sitra on July 30, 2012, fearing arrest if they go to the local hospital for treatment, after clashes erupted between riot police firing tear gas and birdshot and youths throwing petrol bombs and rocks.



An injured Shiite Muslim rests after being treated inside a house in Sitra on July 30, 2012.



A protester holds a molotov cocktail bomb during clashes with riot police in the village of Sitra, south of Manama, Bahrain, on July 30, 2012. Protesters marched in the streets in many areas.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry says it is opening investigations into possible rights violations by police during crackdowns on opposition protesters, The Associated Press reported on Sunday.

Clashes continued in the restive village of Sitra on Monday, with Agence France Presse reporting that wounded demonstrators are afraid to go to hospital for treatment because they are afraid that they will be arrested.

More than 50 people have died in unrest since February 2011 in the strategic kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet

[Mr Lick]

Missy Franklin of the U.S., who took first place, starts in the women's 100m backstroke final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre, on July 30.

[Mr Lick]

Olympic gymnastics: bronze for GB as Japan win silver on appeal


Great Britain's men won an astonishing Olympic bronze medal in the gymnastics team final - having originally taken silver before a Japanese appeal.

Louis Smith, Sam Oldham, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis sealed GB men's first Olympic team medal since a bronze in 1912.

China cruised to gold, with GB second, as the medal prospects of the United States and Germany disintegrated.
Japan, initially placed in fourth, moved up to second after an appeal.

They were unhappy with the pommel horse score awarded to Kohei Uchimura and were elevated above Britain, after lengthy deliberation by the officials, with Ukraine missing out on a bronze medal in the process.

Play media


Olympic gymnastics: Bronze in team final is still unbelievable - GB men


The result is beyond the expectations of the British team, even though they qualified for the final in third place and knew they had the ability to challenge for a medal.

"For all these guys, their first Olympic Games, to get a medal is unbelievable," Smith told BBC Sport. "Silver? Bronze? It doesn't matter, we enjoyed it, it was fantastic."

Thomas added: "It's an Olympic medal at the end of the day, it's what dreams are made of. All I could think about was winning an Olympic medal when I was younger.

[Mr Lick]

A rescued baby pangolin is released in the forest by government wildlife and conservation officer in Karo district located in North Sumatra province on July 31, after Indonesian police intercepted 85 endangered pangolins, most of them alive despite being stuffed into sacks by suspected smugglers. The animals, also known as scaly anteaters and prized mostly in China and Vietnam as food and medicine, were crammed into 14 sacks when they were seized at a bus station in the city of Medan in North Sumatra province on July 28, said Yoris Marzuki, chief detective of the local police.



Seized pangolins are held in plastic crates in Medan city on July 31. Indonesian police have intercepted 85 endangered pangolins, most of them alive despite being stuffed into sacks by suspected smugglers, an official said on July 31.

[Mr Lick]

Typhoon Saola dumped torrents of rain as it swept past the Philippines, killing at least seven people and displacing more than 20,000 others by Tuesday,



A man carries his child through the flooded emergency room of a hospital in Valenzuela City on July 31, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

An Egyptian man chains his own wrists as he takes part in a demonstration against military trials outside Cairo's administrative court on July 30, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Clifford Collinge murder: Wife jailed for 23 years



A woman who lured two men back to her house with promises of sex and convinced them to murder her husband has been jailed for life.

Clifford Collinge, 61, of Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire, died in October 2011 after suffering 46 injuries in a savage attack.

Charlotte Collinge, 45, was jailed for 23 years at Nottingham Crown Court.

Steven Shreeves, 40, and Kelvin Dale, 27, both of Market Warsop, were each jailed for 18 years

[Mr Lick]

London 2012: The faces of the women's 58kg clean and jerk



Zoe Smith of Great Britain
























Thailand



Thailand

[Mr Lick]

Battle for Aleppo



















Free Syrian Army members place frozen water bottles on the bodies of civilians killed by shelling, to prevent rapid decomposition, in Aleppo, July 29, 2012.




Free Syrian Army members interrogate a man who was arrested while stealing from vacant houses in Aleppo, July 29, 2012









A Free Syrian Army member shows a shell which he said was fired by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Attarib, as a boy watches, on the outskirts of Aleppo province, July 30, 2012.









A Free Syrian Army member shouts next to a damaged figurine, which he said represents the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of current President Bashar al Assad, at Aleppo's district of al Sukkari, July 29, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Micronesia's Manuel Minginfel drops weights on the men's 62Kg Group B weightlifting competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 30, 2012



(L-R) Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota poses for photos with Uruguay's Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Almagro, Argentina's Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro before the meeting of foreign ministers of Mercosur at the Itamaraty Palace in Brazil, July 30, 2012.



Somali soldiers and African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces guard the convoy of Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed during his visit to Afgoye and Elasha Biyaha, outside of the capital Mogadishu July 30, 2012.



North Korea's Un Guk Kim reacts after successful lift on the men's 62Kg Group A weightlifting competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 30, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

A protester from Occupy Central, part of the global Occupy movement, sleeps inside HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong July 30, 2012



Argentina's Pedro Ibarra (L) flies through the air after clattering into Britain's Matthew Daly during their men's Group A hockey match at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Riverbank Arena on the Olympic Park in London July 30, 2012.



An inmate spends time with her child at the courtyard of a "children's home" located inside a female prison camp, in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, July 30, 2012.



Nordine Oubaali of France (L) fights against Afghanistan's Ajmal Faisal in the men's Fly (52kg) Round of 32 boxing match at the ExCeL venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games July 30, 2012.



Justice civil servants shout slogans during a protest against government austerity measures, in front of the headquarters of Spain's centre-right People's Party (Partido Popular) in Madrid July 30, 2012.



A deputy, Oleg Lyashko (L), douses vice-speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Adam Martynyuk, with tea during an extraordinary session of the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev July 30, 2012.



France's Ugo Legrand with his nose taped after being injured, fights Egypt's Hussein Hafiz (blue) during the men's -73kg elimination round of 16 judo match at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 30, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Un-synchronised swimming in Leicestershire



Activists clash with police after blocking the path of a convoy carrying tunnel-boring machinery to the Shell Bellanaboy Gas Refinery in the Republic of Ireland