World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Lithi, Chios island, Greece: An open wedding feast abandoned by guests after a fire approached the village



Banos, Ecuador: A cow covered with ash near the Tungurahua volcano



Wuhan, China: A dead fish floats in water covered with blue-green algae in the East Lake

[Mr Lick]

Curiosity rover on Mars

As Curiosity uses its laser for the first time to analyse the chemical composition of a nearby rock, we present a roundup of some of the rover's best pictures to date




The first laser test by the rover's ChemCam instrument. The composite image incorporates a Navigation Camera image taken prior to the test, with insets taken by ChemCam's own camera. The circular inset shows the rock before the laser test. The square inset is further magnified to show the difference between images taken before and after the laser test. ChemCam hit the rock with 30 pulses over 10 seconds. Each pulse delivered more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second Photograph: Nasa






The wall of Gale Crater, in a white balanced version



Destination Mount Sharp (white balanced version)



A colour image from the rover shows the pebble-covered surface of Mars. This is a portion of the first colour 360-degree panorama from Nasa's Curiosity rover, made up of thumbnails, which are small copies of higher-resolution images. The mission's destination, a mountain at the centre of Gale Crater called Mount Sharp, can be seen in the distance, to the left, beginning to rise up. The mountain's summit will be imaged later. Blast marks from the rover's descent stage are in the foreground

[Mr Lick]

Rescuers and relatives stop a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a building in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China, August 14, 2012. The woman was rescued as she tried to commit suicide after killing her nephew following a family dispute, local media reported.

[Mr Lick]

A man walks on a highwire in the Bavarian Alps of southern Germany. The man, secured by a safety rope, walked 70 metres at an altitude of 1,800 metres.



Flooding in Jammu, Kashmir, following monsoon rains

[Mr Lick]

A Sunni Muslim gunman takes position behind sandbags in the Sunni Muslim dominant Bab al-Tebbaneh neighborhood in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, during clashes with Alawites, Aug. 21, 2012. The fighting between Sunni Muslims and Alawites in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli are another spillover from the war in neighboring Syria, security and medical sources said on Tuesday.



Two people were killed and more than 60 wounded in clashes between Sunni Muslims and Alawites in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli in another spillover from the war in neighboring Syria, security and medical sources said on Tuesday.

Gunmen in the Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh and their Alawite rivals in Jebel Mohsen exchanged gun and grenade fire in sporadic fighting overnight and into the day, despite action by Lebanese army troops deployed in the port city, residents said.

Chronic Sunni-Alawite tensions in Tripoli have been heightened by the 17-month-old, mainly Sunni, uprising in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite. Clashes in the city killed 15 people in early June



Sunni Muslim gunmen fire their weapons in the Sunni Muslim dominant neighborhood of Bab al-Tebbaneh in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, during clashes with Alawites, Aug. 21.

[Mr Lick]

Boaters and kayakers waited with their cameras for a pod of humpbacks to breach the ocean's surface, an occasional sight around Port San Louis, according to amateur photographer Bill Bouton.



Bill Bouton, a retired high school biology teacher, was on an unsuccessful outing to photograph birds in San Luis Obispo, Calif., when he happened upon a breathtaking sight beneath the skyline: a pod of humpback whales feeding in shallow water.

The 69-year-old captured one of the enormous mammals breaching the surface while feeding on a “bait ball,” a dense mass of sardines that forms to ward off predators. But the defense mechanism just seemed to be attracting more hungry creatures, Bouton said, as hundreds of pelicans and seagulls were diving in the water and flying up again.

[Mr Lick]

Firemen and policemen investigate the scene where Berlin city train (S-Bahn) derailed, Aug. 21, 2012. Five people were injured as the train derailed between the Tegel and Schulzendorf train stations.

[Mr Lick]

A line of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force tanks flare up a smoke screen during the annual live-firing exercise and demonstration at Higashi Fuji training range in Gotemba, southwest of Tokyo, on August 21, 2012.



An Israeli soldier is seen in the dust during a military exercise in the Golan Heights, northern Israel, on August 21, 2012. Israeli Armed Forces have been conducting manoeuvers amid rising tensions in the region.



Members of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards, the civilian forces of North Korea, train in an undisclosed location on August 20, 2012, in this picture released by the official KCNA news agency on August 21, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

The Tungurahua volcano spews a large cloud of ash towards the nearby town of Bilbao, Ecuador, in the early hours of August 21, 2012.









A view of the volcano on August 20, 2012.

Ecuadorian authorities are encouraging residents living near the Tungurahua volcano to evacuate due to increased activity, according to local media reports cited by Reuters. The volcano has been in an active state since October 1999.

[Mr Lick]

A 91,000-acre (38,800-hectare) wildfire in the Boise National Forest closed in from three directions on an Idaho mountain town on Monday as authorities worried about the safety of roughly 30 residents who have refused to evacuate.

The Elmore County Sheriff's Office ordered evacuations over the weekend as thick smoke from the Trinity Ridge Fire posed a health hazard and limited visibility on the single road to Featherville, a popular summertime resort at the foot of the Trinity Mountains on the South Fork Boise River

[Mr Lick]

Officials work at the scene of an explosion in the southeastern Turkish town of Gaziantep August 20, 2012.

A car bomb believed to have been planted by Kurdish separatists exploded close to a police station in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens more, security sources said.

Television footage showed a bus and the surrounding area ablaze with smoke billowing into the sky as firemen tried to fight the fire.

Ambulances ferried casualties to hospital while anxious residents looked on.

[Mr Lick]

Hyundai Motor's in-house subcontracted workers hold sticks as they try to enter assembly lines to hold a sit-in protest, after the management and its private security contractors used fire extinguishers, water and shields to restrain them while policemen surround the plant of the automaker in Ulsan, about 410 km (256 miles) southeast of Seoul, late August 20, 2012. Hundreds of irregular workers of the car maker demonstrated to demand the company to turn in-house subcontracted workers into regular ones. They also demanded an apology from the company for what they claimed was a recent lynching incident of some leaders of the irregular workers' labour union, according to local media. The management denied about the lynching and said it would turn the in-house subcontracted workers into regular ones "in stages" but the workers demanded immediate regular employment, local media said.



Ministry of Finance workers argue with riot police during a protest in front of the Finance Ministry in Asuncion, Paraguay, August 20, 2012. Workers from the finance ministry are protesting for better wages and to demand for new Finance Minister Manuel Ferreira to better recognize the workers' union and the rights acquired by employees in previous years.



A girl sits on a floor painting which creates a three dimension optical illusion at a shopping mall in Hong Kong August 20, 2012

[Mr Lick]

Thai security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Narathiwat province.



People in Bucharest protest when Romania's top court rule that a referendum on the impeachment of the President was invalid because the turnout was less than 50%

[Mr Lick]

Boy raped at Manchester Debenhams after Arndale Centre abduction



A boy was raped at a department store in Manchester after being taken from a lift by two men, police have said.

The 14-year-old had been going to the toilets in the Arndale Centre, near the entrance of Aldi and Subway, when he was approached by the men.

After threatening the boy, they led him to a nearby Debenhams, where one of them assaulted him in a toilet.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has released CCTV of two men they want to trace after the attack on 2 June.

[OhOh]

A Russian rocket is set for a seaborne launch on Sunday morning to put the U.S. Intelsat 21 telecoms satellite into orbit, a spokesman for the Sea Launch company said.
The launch of the Zenit-3SL rocket from the launch pad Odyssey in the Pacific Ocean has been scheduled for 10.55 a.m. Moscow time (6.55 GMT) and the satellite is expected to be in the designated orbit at 11.25 Moscow time (7.25 GMT), the spokesman said.

[Mr Lick]

Police and other local government officials carry the remains of Interior Minister Jesse Robredo from a military plane at the Naga Airport, Camarines Sur province, eastern Philippines, Aug. 21.



Filipinos gathered at Saint Peter's Church in Manila to mourn the death of Jesse Robredo, the Department of Interior and Local Government secretary, Tuesday, according to Agence France Presse. A plane carrying Robredo, his bodyguard, and two pilots crashed into the sea, Saturday. According to Reuters, only the bodyguard survived. Robredo's body was found about 2600 feet from the shore of Masbate City, 242 miles southeast of Manila, Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas said

[Mr Lick]

Veteran entertainer Dick Van Dyke is to be honoured with a life achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards next January.

The Missouri-born actor, singer, writer and comedian famously played cockney chimney sweep Bert in Mary Poppins.

He also starred in 1960s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show and cult 1980s TV series Diagnosis: Murder.

SAG gives its highest honour to an actor it feels fosters the "finest ideals of the acting profession".

During a career spanning six decades, 86-year-old Van Dyke has been awarded five Emmys, a Tony Award and a Grammy.

"Dick is the consummate entertainer, an enormously talented performer whose work has crossed nearly every major category of entertainment," said SAG's Ken Howard.

He continued: "He sets a high bar for actors. Stage, big screen, small screen, literally everywhere he has worked he has inspired millions of fans and has had a tremendously positive impact on the industry and the world."

[Mr Lick]

Riot police detain an injured peasant farmer as they evict protesters near the Supreme Court in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on August 21, 2012.

Honduran riot police fired tear gas to remove farmers who had set up barricades and burned tires to block a main avenue near the Supreme Court in the capital Tegucigalpa on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
The protesters were demanding that a decree that had the effect of disarming farmers in Bajo Aguan be ruled unconstitutional by the court.

The Honduran Congress approved a law earlier this month prohibiting the public possession and transportation of guns in Colon, a region of the country where drug trafficking and other agrarian conflicts are blamed for the killings of more than 60 people in the past three years.

At least 20 of the farmers were detained after attacking policemen with rocks during the protest, local media reported

[Mr Lick]

A langouste diver in front of Carti Cohabita. Residents of the island are scheduled to evacuate in August.



Thousands of Kuna — indigenous people living in an archipelago off the northern coast of Panama — are facing a drastic lifestyle change because of rising seas.
Kuna Yala, or Kuna Land, is comprised of 365 islands and a narrow, 250-mile-long strip of land on the Caribbean coast. Thirty-six of the islands are inhabited.
In August, the first round of evacuations will force some Kuna to the mainland because of dangerous living conditions, affecting 65 families. Ultimately, all of the islands will be evacuated — affecting 36,000 people — and new dwellings are being built and funded on the mainland by the Panamanian government.



The Kuna form a tight-knit community, have their own language, and are well-organized. Decisions are made collectively in the Onmaked Nega — the assembly hall. Meetings are presided over by a saila, a political and spiritual leader.

The coming evacuation was debated at the hall, and was eventually approved after long discussion. Many residents are still afraid of being tricked by the state.

Because they have no financial resources to build new accommodations for themselves, they ultimately agreed to the evacuation plans.



Across the water, on the mainland, lies a 4-year-old road — the only one in the vicinity. It used to be a 12-hour walk to reach the Pan American Highway, which connects to Panama City, the country's capital. Now it takes three hours.

As a result, many of the young Kuna have left for the capital city. Conversely many more consumer goods, like televisions and Coca-Cola, now reach Kuna Yala.

[Mr Lick]

Federal police escort a group of prisoners toward a plane bound for an undisclosed location at the international aiport in Morelia, Mexico on August 21, 2012. Some 200 inmates serving federal sentences were transferred to federal prisons during an operation by the Secretary of Public Security (SSP), local media reported.

[Mr Lick]

Residents march against the Conga gold and silver mining project in Mamacocha Lagoon, Peru, Aug. 21, 2012. Demonstrators in Peru resumed their protests against plans to develop a $4.8 billion gold mine, saying they fear the mine will taint their water and affect a major aquifer. The mine is majority owned by U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corp.

[Mr Lick]

Entertainers dance in front of statues of Chuchok, a greedy Brahmin who died in a story from the Buddhist Vessantara Jataka from gluttony due to his new found wealth, at Baan Chuchok in Bangkok August 21, 2012. Some Thai Buddhist's hire dancers to give thanks to Chuchok statues after their wishes have been fulfilled. It is believed that wealth and luck would come to those who believe in Chuchok.



A teleprompter obscures President Barack Obama as he speaks during a campaign event at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio August 21, 2012. Obama is on a two-day campaign trip to Ohio, Nevada and New York.



Swiss farmer Kari Gisler carries a bundle of hay as he practices wild haying on a steep hillside on the mountain Rophaien in the Swiss village of Flueelen, 75 km (47 miles) south of Zurich August 21, 2012. The tradition of wild haying in Central Switzerland dates back around two hundred years and is practiced from mid-July until mid-September on high altitudes with steep hillsides.



Workers assess the wreckage of an overturned freight train in Ellicott City, Maryland, August 21, 2012. A CSX Corp freight train carrying coal derailed while crossing an overpass west of Baltimore, killing two 19-year-old women and crushing several cars parked near the bridge, officials said on Tuesday.



Visitors stand at a balcony behind the Damien Hirst sculpture "Hymn" outside the Tate Modern gallery in London August 21, 2012.



A protestor is carried by riot police in front of the campaign headquarter of Romania's suspended President Traian Basescu in Bucharest August 21, 2012. Romania's Constitutional Court struck down on Tuesday a referendum to impeach Basescu, thwarting a drive by the country's leftist government to oust its chief political opponent just months before a parliamentary election. Two decades after the overthrow of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, the battle pitting Basescu against Prime Minister Victor Ponta could now intensify in coming months just as one of the European Union's poorest states faces tough austerity demands from international lenders.

[Mr Lick]

Syria spills into Lebanon



Smoke rises from a residential building at the Sunni Muslim dominant neighbourhood of Bab al-Tebbaneh in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, during clashes between Sunni Muslims and Alawites, August 21, 2012.



Shi'ite masked gunmen from the Meqdad clan, gather at the Meqdad family's association headquarters in the southern suburbs in Beirut, August 15, 2012. The clan abducted a Turkish businessman and several Syrians it said were rebel fighters in retaliation for the kidnapping of one of their relatives by the rebel Free Syrian Army in Damascus.

[Mr Lick]

Thai Red Shirt supporters shout slogans outside the criminal court in Bangkok. The court is due to rule on whether to revoke bail for 19 leaders of the protest movement charged with terrorism in connection with the civil unrest in 2010

[Mr Lick]

Right-to-die man Tony Nicklinson dead after refusing food



Tony Nicklinson, a man with locked-in syndrome who fought for the right for doctors to legally end his life, has died.

The 58-year-old was paralysed from the neck down after suffering a stroke in 2005 and described his life since then as a "living nightmare".

Last week Mr Nicklinson, from Melksham, Wiltshire, lost his High Court case to allow doctors to end his life.

His family solicitor said that he had refused food from last week.

Saimo Chahal said Mr Nicklinson died at home at about 10:00 BST accompanied by his wife, Jane, and two daughters, Lauren and Beth