World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Rare snow in Johannesburg

[Mr Lick]

A farmer moves on a flooded path to check his aquatic farming ponds in Hepu township in Xiangshan county, Zhejiang province, China on August 8, 2012. Typhoon Haikui, the third hitting China in a week, landed in Hepu early on Wednesday.



Typhoon Haikui struck China on Wednesday, packing winds of up to 68 mph, prompting officials to evacuate nearly 2 million people and grounding hundreds of flights to and from Shanghai and other cities.

More than 1.5 million people in the eastern province of Zhejiang and 252,000 residents of outlying parts of Shanghai were evacuated after Haikui landed early in the morning, causing flooding and stranding hundreds of people, the official Xinhua news agency reported

[Mr Lick]

Hundreds of people gathered in southeastern Wisconsin Tuesday night to remember the six Sikh worshippers who were fatally shot at their temple on Sunday.

Attendees held candles and prayed for the victims, remembering them as peaceful individuals dedicated to their families and faith.

Police Chief John Edwards told the crowd that such incidents often prompt anger and calls for revenge, but he says he was struck by the peaceful reaction of the Sikh community

[Mr Lick]

Indonesian fire victims rest beside tombs at a cemetery after their houses were burned down in Jakarta on Aug. 7.




A massive fire triggered by a faulty electrical connection burned down a neighborhood in Jakarta. A village official said around 300 houses were razed and displaced around 1,700 people, mostly workers and small merchants, as residents were observing Ramadan

[Mr Lick]

Matthias Steiner of Germany gets hit by the weights while failing to make a successful lift in the men's over 105-kg, group A, weightlifting competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, on Aug. 7, in London.




Dropping weights on your neck has to be one of the worst nightmares for an Olympic weightlifter. Even as a spectator, there is a tension when watching these athletes lift astonishing amounts of weight over their heads, especially because of the possibility that something like this will happen. Fortunately, Steiner got up and waved to the crowd after medics rushed over to treat him. Future medical tests will determine the severity of his injury

[Mr Lick]

Competitors start the men's Triathlon with the swim during the London 2012 Olympic Games Triathlon competition at the Hyde Park, London on August 7



Athletes compete during the cycling portion of the Men's Olympic Triathlon Race on Aug. 7, during the London 2012 Olympic Games.



Britain's Alistair Brownlee celebrates winning the men's Triathlon during the London 2012 Olympic Games Triathlon competition at the Hyde Park, London, Britain,on Aug. 7.

[Mr Lick]

Germany's Robert Harting celebrates after winning the men's discus throw final. Harting won gold ahead of Iran's Ehsan Hadadi and Estonia's Gerd Kanter.



Silver medalist Nick Dempsey of Great Britain celebrates with his children Thomas-Flynn, left, and Oscar following the men's RS:X sailing



Americans Misty May-Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh Jennings celebrate after defeating China in their semifinal women's beach volleyball match



South Korea celebrates after defeating Russia in their women's handball quarterfinal match.



Dorian Van Rijsselberge of Netherlands celebrates his gold medal of the RS:X race



South Korea's Kim Hyeon-woo celebrates after defeating Tamas Lorincz of Hungary during their 66kg Greco Roman wrestling final match



Sally Pearson of Australia celebrates as she learns that she won the 100-meter hurdles final.



Iran's Saeid Morad Abdvali reacts after losing to France's Steeve Guenot on the Men's 66-kg Greco-Roman wrestling at the ExCel venue



Brazil's Fernando Saraiva Reis reacts as he fails a lift in the men's Group B snatch weightlifting competition at the ExCel venue



China's gymnast Sui Lu reacts after performing during the women's beam final. China's Deng Linlin won gold while Lu won the silver medal, with Aly Raisman of the United States taking the bronze medal.



Norway's players celebrate defeating Brazil in their women's handball quarterfinal.



Greece's Evangelia Platanioti and Greece's Despoina Solomou compete in the duets free routine final during the synchronized swimming.



Brazil goalkeeper Chana Masson sits dejected after losing in the women's handball quarterfinals to Norway.

[Mr Lick]

Manila hit by devastating floods

Flooding caused by torrential rain has paralysed parts of the Philippine capital, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. The disaster has claimed at least 16 lives, including nine people who died when a landslide hit shanty houses in Quezon City. The authorities have issued a red alert for the region

[Mr Lick]

Sir Chris Hoy weeps on the podium during the victory ceremony for the track cycling men's keirin event at the velodrome. Hoy set a British record to win his sixth Olympic gold medal



A tearful Victoria Pendleton is consoled by her father Max as she calls an end to her Olympic career after taking silver in the track cycling women's sprint



Siarhei Karneyeu of Belarus reacts in disbelief after his opponent, Azerbaijan’s Teymur Mammadov, was awarded a slim victory in their heavyweight (91kg) boxing match at the London 2012 Olympics



Tunisia's Habiba Ghribi celebrates after winning the silver medal in the women's 3000m steeplechase final



Kenya's Ezekiel Kemboi and France's Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad celebrate taking gold and silver respectively in the men's 3000m steeplechase final



Yamilé Aldama of Great Britain misses out on a medal in the women's triple jump final at the London 2012 Olympics

[Mr Lick]

Funeral for slain Egyptian guards




A member of the Army embraces a relative of one of the soldiers killed during an attack at a checkpoint along the Sinai border with Israel by unknown gunmen, during their funeral at the tomb of the late President Anwar al-Sadat and the Unknown Soldier monument in Cairo August 7, 2012.



Members of "Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi," a group consisting of official and police guards, try to ride a military police vehicle after a funeral for soldiers who were killed during an attack at a checkpoint along the Sinai border with Israel by unknown gunmen, at the tomb of the late President Anwar al-Sadat and the Unknown Soldier monument in Cairo August 7, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Telford brothers convicted of child sex offences



Two brothers from Telford have been found guilty of a string of sexual offences against young girls.

Ahdel Ali, 24, and Mubarek Ali, 29, both of Regent Street, Wellington, were also convicted of controlling child prostitution and trafficking girls.

Between them, the pair were convicted of 25 out of 26 charges and are due to be sentenced at a later date.

Stafford Crown Court heard the offences took place in the Telford area between March 2008 and December 2009.

The jury heard the brothers had sexually abused, trafficked, prostituted or tried to prostitute four Telford teenagers.

Ahdel Ali was also found guilty of raping a girl as young as 13.

One teenager was sold as a prostitute by Mubarek Ali when she was four months pregnant.

[Mr Lick]

The residents of Milwaukee hold a vigil following an attack at a Sikh temple



Sir Chris Hoy claims his 6th Gold Medal



A picture of Mars taken by Nasa's rover Curiosity

[El Ciano]

Really a superb job in any sense. thank you man.

[Mr Lick]

^ Cool




New pictures from the Mars rover Curiosity include the first panoramic view of the Red Planet.



Curiosity rover scientists Justin Maki, John Grotzinger and Michael Malin discuss Martian imagery showing a Mojave-like scene on Wednesday



This Picassoesque self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity rover is based on images taken by the navigation cameras on the rover's mast. The camera snapped pictures all the way around the rover while pointing down at the rover deck, up and straight ahead. Those images are shown here in a polar projection.




The first image taken by the navigation cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the shadow of the rover's now-upright mast in the center, and the arm's shadow at left. The arm itself can be seen in the foreground. The position of the shadow helps confirm the sun's location. The rover's name and a simplified smartphone tag are emblazoned on a piece of hardware in the foreground.



Mike Malin, a member of the Mars Curiosity rover science team, unveils imagery showing where the rover's ballasts hit the surface — as well as a high-resolution view of the rover's heat shield flying away during descent.



This stereo image from NASA's Curiosity rover shows the view looking out toward the rim of Gale Crater on Mars. Put on red-blue glasses to get the 3-D effect.

[Mr Lick]

A group of demonstrators from the Brasilia Civil Police clash with authorities outside Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil on Aug. 8, 2012. At least 70 percent of the 9,000 agents of the institution joined the strike to demand better salaries according to a spokesman of the National Federation of Federal Police.

[Mr Lick]

Firemen try to extinguish a forest fire on the mountain of Spathovouni, near Corinth city, Peloponnese, southern Greece, on August 8.

[Mr Lick]

United States' Kerri Walsh Jennings, left, and Misty May-Treanor, celebrate after defeating April Ross and Jennifer Kessy in a women's gold medal beach volleyball match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8.



Silver medallists Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of the United States, Gold medallists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, and Bronze medallists Larissa Franca and Juliana Silva of Brazil celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's Beach Volleyball on Day 12 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Horse Guard's Parade on August 8, 2012 in London, England



U.S.’s Kobe Bryant, right, and Kevin Durant revel after Bryant made a three-pointer in the second half against Australia during the Men's Basketball quarterfinal game on Aug. 8.



Allyson Felix of the U.S. celebrates after she won gold in the women's 200,.



Sweden's Kim Andersson, second left, celebrates with teammates after their men's handball quarterfinal victory over Denmark



Cuba's Leonel Suarez reacts after clearing the bar in the decathlon high jump.



Italy's Alex Giorgetti, left, celebrates with teammates after their win over Hungary in their men's quarterfinal water polo match



Netherlands' players celebrate after beating New Zealand in a women's field hockey semifinal.



Russia's Natalya Antyukh reacts after winning the women's 400m hurdles final.



Larissa Franca, left, and Juliana Silva of Brazil celebrate beating China for the bronze medal in women's beach volleyball



Kayla Sharland, right, of New Zealand celebrates scoring her team's first goal with Ella Gunson during their women's hockey semifinal match against the Netherlands.



Spain's players react after they lost to Montenegro in the men's quarterfinal water polo match



Clarissa Mei Ling Chun of the U.S., in red, reacts after defeating Poland's Iwona Nina Matkowska to win the bronze medal in women's 48kg Greco-Roman wrestling.



New Zealand's Peter Burling, right, and Blair Tuke celebrate winning silver in the 49er sailing class.



Thailand's Chanatip Sonkham, right, delivers a kick to Russia's Kristina Kim during their women's taekwondo bout.



Iryna Pamialova, Nadzeya Papok, Volha Khudzenka and Maryna Pautaran of Belarus celebrate winning the bronze medal in the women's kayak four (K4) 500m sprint final.



Mohamed Farah of Britain, left, congratulates Rene Herrera of the Philippines after competing in the men's 5000m heats. Farah placed third in the first heat, while Herrera did not qualify for the final but clocked a personal best.

[Mr Lick]

Hurricane Ernesto was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall on Aug. 8, 2012. The storm has top sustained winds of 45 miles per hour, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration






Tropical Storm Ernesto moves west over land in the Yucatan peninsula on Aug. 8 in Mexico

[Mr Lick]

This handout photo taken on August 8, 2012 and released by the Department of National Defense (DND) shows an aerial shot of floodings around Bulacan north of Manila. More than a million people in and around the Philippine capital battled deadly floods on August 8, as more monsoon rain fell, with neck-deep waters trapping both slum dwellers and the wealthy on rooftops.













MANILA - Heavy rains pounded the Philippines capital on Wednesday, prompting a new danger alert as emergency workers rushed food, water and clothes to almost one million people through streets turned into rivers after 11 straight days of monsoon downpour

[Mr Lick]

Students march during a protest in demand of President Sebastian Pinera's government to improve public education quality in Santiago, on August 8.



A public bus is seen in flames during a demonstration against the government to demand changes in the public state education system in Santiago on August 8. Chilean students have been protesting against what they say is profiteering in the state education system.

[Mr Lick]

An alligator floats in a pond under rainy skies during practice for the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, S. C. on Wednesday.

[Mr Lick]

Men carry the body of a boy, who was killed in a reported Syrian air force attack in the village of Tel Rifaat, Syria on Aug. 8.



Men search for bodies under rubble of a house in Tel Rifaat near Aleppo on Aug. 8.



Neighbors and family members clear rubble away from a body of a boy who was killed in a reported Syrian air force attack on Aug. 8 in Rifaat, Syria.

[Mr Lick]

Making her Olympic debut three years after being forced to undergo gender tests, Caster Semenya of South Africa finished second in her 800-meter preliminary heat Wednesday.

Semenya was sidelined for nearly a year while track and field's governing body decided whether to allow her to compete after she won the 2009 world title at age 18. She was tested and eventually cleared to return to action in 2010, then was the runner-up at last year's world championships.

Semenya carried South Africa's flag at the opening ceremony in London and is a leading medal contender in the 800.

[Mr Lick]

Internally displaced Congolese children shelter from the rain under plastic sheets as they wait for aid to be distributed in Kibati in eastern Congo on Aug. 8.
U.N. humanitarian chief, Baroness Valerie Amos, trudged through puddles of muddy water on the outskirts of Goma in eastern Congo, to greet some of the 280,000 displaced Congolese who had rivulets of water dripping down their faces as they waited in line.

They were given a sack containing a blanket, pot, plastic sleeping mat, soap, sanitary towels, a jerry can and plastic sheeting to cover tiny huts put together with twigs and leaves



Drenching rain punctuated by frightening bursts of thunder and forked lightning add to the misery of some of the 280,000 refugees from Congo's eastern rebellion on Aug. 8 in Kibati, north of Goma, eastern Congo.

[Mr Lick]

Marikina City, Philippines: A man helps his dogs down from a rooftop in a flooded area



Palatine, Illinois: A Sikh woman holds a candle during a prayer vigil at the Sikh Religious Society temple, held in memory of those killed and wounded in a temple shooting near Milwaukee



Ansan, South Korea: Students exit a building where they were introduced to the effects of tear gas as part of their chemical, biological, and radiological training during a summer military boot camp



Edinburgh, Scotland: The Lady Boys of Bangkok prepare backstage for their cabaret show during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival