World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Cancer breath test 'step closer'



A breath test that can sniff-out cancer is a step closer to reality, according to a preliminary study.

Researchers found an "electronic nose" was able to identify chemical signals of cancer in the breath of patients with lung or head and neck cancer.

A cancer charity said it would take years of research to see if the breath test could be used in the clinic.

About 80 volunteers took part in the Israeli research, published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Of these 22 had various head-and-neck cancers, 24 had lung cancer and 36 were healthy.

The prototype breath test uses a chemical method to spot markers of cancer present in the breath.

The hope is that one day such a test could be used in a GP's surgery to give an instant diagnosis.

[Mr Lick]

BP oil spill one year on







A worker scans for oil left over from the spill at Perdido Key state park in Pensacola, Florida





Idle oyster harvesting boats sit docked in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Oystermen are prevented from using the boats because of restrictions on the type of harvesting that is allowed in the wake of the spill



Workers shuck oysters at Crystal Seas Oysters in Pass Christian, Mississippi



Concerned citizens attend a meeting in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for Gulf coast residents who have health problems possibly related to the oil spill



Brad Mizell points to sores on his arm in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Mizell worked on BP's Vessels of Opportunity programme which hired local fishermen to help clean up the oil spill



Cat Island, in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, still bears damage from the spill












A dead crab lies on an area of marsh ravaged by oil in Ocean Springs, Mississippi


A sand berm built to capture oil from the spill in Barataria Bay, Louisiana



Microbes degrade oil in the plume from the spill – a study by Berkeley Lab researchers has shown



A dead armadillo in Waveland, Mississippi



A dead sea turtle that washed ashore in Pass Christian, Mississippi





A young dead dolphin is found off the coast of Louisiana. Although the cause of death here is unknown, there have been usually high numbers of dead dolphins found in the region since the beginning of 2011

[Mr Lick]

A hilltop burns near Strawn, Texas. Hundreds of firefighters have been battling a wave of wildfires and are hoping for rain to help control the blazes.



Sudanese woman lies with her possessions in the village of Rumameri in Sudan's Abyei border region. With the country dividing, dozens of families have returned to the south after living for years in the north.



Gas prices at two competing gas stations are displayed in Los Angeles, California. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has topped four dollars in six states, with a national average of $3.83.

[Mr Lick]

A migrant worker from Niger carries his belongings in a makeshift camp near the port in Misrata, Libya. Muammar Gaddafi's forces have been attacking the rebel-controlled city for weeks.



Fidel Castro speaks with his brother Raul, the Cuban President, at the 6th Cuban Communist Party Congress in Havana. The unexpected Fidel appearance is the first time the two appeared together publicly in five years.



A Colombian policeman walks a ledge along a flooded street following heavy rains in Chia. Rains have been battering Colombia for the last year, killing hundreds and injuring hundreds more.



Bathers enjoy the fine weather at Fistral Beach in Newquay, England. The warm weather comes as many people are taking advantage of a late Easter and a Bank Holiday for the Royal Wedding to take extended breaks



The End Approaches

Soldiers supporting Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara patrol in the village of Zeaglo. With former leader Laurent Gbagbo already arrested, now a top Gbagbo general was captured after a tip from his lover.

[Mr Lick]

Turkish Election Controversy

Kurds protest in Istanbul after Turkey's electoral board barred prominent Kurdish candidates from standing in upcoming elections. Kurdish political leaders say this will lead to more national unrest.



Giant kites loom over the beach during the 25th annual International Kite Festival in Berck-sur-Mer, in northern France.



An Afghanistan Border Policeman patrols with Marines in Helmand province. The Marines are engaged in a two day effort to clear a local school of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) set by insurgents.



London's Regent Street prepares for the approaching royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

[Mr Lick]

Palestinians react after the coffin of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was moved out of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City April 18, 2011. Friends of the Italian activist Arrigoni arrived in Gaza to escort his body to Italy via Egypt. Hamas found his body on Friday after he was killed by al Qaeda sympathizers in the Gaza Strip.




New recruits from the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast (FRCI) gather at a base in Abidjan, April 18, 2011. Since former strongman Laurent Gbagbo was arrested last week, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has been trying to restore order in Abidjan and instill discipline among his troops made up of former rebels and rag-tag fighters.



People cover up from the rain with their coats as they wait to watch the procession of "El Cautivo" brotherhood, before the governing body of the brotherhood decided that penance could not be carried out in the streets due to rain, during Holy Week in the Andalusian city of Malaga, southern Spain, April 18, 2011. Hundreds of processions take place around the clock in Spain during Holy Week, drawing thousands of visitors.



A laborer works at a construction site in Beijing, April 18, 2011. China's house prices climbed less briskly in March after a slew of measures to curb speculation and limit home purchases tempered property inflation, data showed on Monday



An anti-government demonstrator (C), wounded during Sunday's night clashes with Yemeni security forces, reacts while being treated at a field hospital in Sanaa April 18, 2011. Yemeni forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired at a protest march in Sanaa on Sunday, wounding at least 22 people, doctors said, as opposition leaders met Gulf Arab mediators in Saudi Arabia.



An Afghan boy is seen through the broken windows of a department of the ministry of culture after a violent protest in Charikar, north of Kabul April 18, 2011. Three people were killed and at least 25 others wounded when a protest over the detention of a cleric by foreign troops turned violent in normally-peaceful northern Parwan province, the governor Baseer Salangi said.

[Mr Lick]

A Palestinian holds a poster of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni before his coffin was removed from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City April 18, 2011. The words on the poster read: "Freedom fighter martyr of solidarity Vittorio Arrigoni".



A man unloads bales of used clothes from a truck on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan April 18, 2011.



A rebel fighter holds up a packet of cigarettes with a "health warning" sticker which features a caricature of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi near the frontline along the western entrance of Ajdabiyah April 18, 2011. Libyan leader Gaddafi's forces fired rockets on Sunday at rebels stationed along the edge of Ajdabiyah, sending some residents fleeing from the eastern town, witnesses said. The words on on sticker reads "Warning, Muammar destroys Libya and causes death. The destructive impact of Muammar affects civilians and non-civilians alike."



A gaucho is unseated by an untamed or unbroken horse during the celebration of "Criolla" (Creole) Week in Montevideo April 18, 2011. Gauchos from all over the country come to Montevideo during Creole Week to compete for the award of best rider.



Bulldozers demolish the Lands End mansion in Sands Point, New York in this handout taken April 16, 2011 and released April 18, 2011. Bulldozers razed the storied mansion where F. Scott Fitzgerald partied and which some say inspired his novel 'The Great Gatsby,' leaving just a few chimneys standing on Long Island's Gold Coast on Monday.



Demonstrators show armaments used by anti-riot and military policemen during a protest against the arrest of opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Kireka suburb of Uganda's capital Kampala, April 18, 2011. Ugandan opposition leader Besigye and a number of associates were arrested as they prepared to take part in a third round of protests over rising food and fuel prices, police said on Monday.



Soldiers with red carnations in the barrels of their guns take part in the Army Day military parade in Tehran April 18, 2011.

[Mr Lick]

Manchester United squander chances in draw at Newcastle



Who the hell let these two out of the asylum?



Newcastle United's Mike Williamson (C) and Danny Simpson (R) challenge Manchester United's Nani (L) during their English Premier League soccer match at St James' Park in Newcastle, northern England, April 19, 2011.


A very entertaining game for both sets of fans and indeed neutrals. Lets see what the Gunners can do tonight against Spurs.

[Mr Lick]

The Royal guest list



David and Victoria Beckham are rumored to be among the 1,900 guests invited to attend the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Others rumored invitees include:









Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband Prince Daniel.



Richard Branson's children Holly and Sam.



Rapper Kanye West.



Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.



Britain's Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. What pheasant pluckers they are!



Musician James Blunt



Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said.




Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.



Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.



Harpist Claire Jones - official harpist to Prince Charles - He takes her everywhere



Director Guy Ritchie.





Jordan's King Abdullah



Norway's King Harald and Queen Sonja.



And of course yours truly - I'm not back in the UK just by chance you know!

[OhOh]

A researcher shows the first phase change random access memory (PCRAM) chip of China's self-owned intellectual property rights in Shanghai, east China, April 20, 2011. The first PCRAM chip of China's self-owned intellectual property rights was manufactured recently, jointly by Shanghai Institute of Microsystem And Information Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Microchip Technology Incorporated. The chip has the memory volume of 8MB. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

[Mr Lick]

British journalist Tim Hetherington dies in Libya



An award-winning British photographer has been killed while covering the conflict in the Libyan city of Misrata.

Liverpool-born Tim Hetherington, 40, is said to have been killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack. His family said he would be "forever missed".

US photographer Chris Hondros, 41, was also killed, and two others, including Briton Guy Martin, were injured.

Mr Hetherington, who co-directed Oscar-nominated war documentary Restrepo, was working for Vanity Fair magazine.

[Mr Lick]

Rioters torch Australia asylum seeker detention centre



Detainees at an Australian centre for processing asylum seekers have rioted and burnt down nine buildings.

The rioters threw roof tiles and other objects at firefighters, preventing them from putting out the blazes at the Villawood detention centre in Sydney.

The riot started with a rooftop protest from two detainees and spread to involve 100 people late on Wednesday.

Protests at Australia's detention centres have become more frequent as the number of asylum seekers has risen.

Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan said no injuries had been reported at Villawood.

''Protagonists on both sides of the asylum seeker debate will seize upon the riots”

Riot police had to be called in to restore order after the centre's unarmed guards retreated in the face of the riot.

[Mr Lick]

Ex-Rutgers student Ravi indicted in Clementi suicide



A former Rutgers University student faces 15 charges after allegedly using a webcam to spy on a homosexual encounter involving his roommate, who committed suicide afterwards.

A Middlesex County grand jury charged Dharun Ravi with bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and other charges.

Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped to his death from a bridge on 22 September.

Molly Wei, another student allegedly involved in the incident, was not named in the indictment in New Jersey.

Mr Clementi leapt from the George Washington Bridge in New York City last autumn after Mr Ravi and Ms Wei allegedly used a webcam to spy on him during a romantic encounter with a man.

Mr Ravi and Ms Wei both withdrew from Rutgers University in New Jersey following the incident.




Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge on 22 September last year

[Mr Lick]

Tributes paid to bomb disposal expert Capt Lisa Head



Tributes have been paid to a female bomb disposal expert who died in Afghanistan doing what she had said was "the best job in the world".

The family of Capt Lisa Jade Head, 29 and from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said "no-one was more loved".

Her commanding officer said she was a "passionate, robust and forthright individual" who lived life to the full.

Capt Head died in hospital on Tuesday from injuries sustained in an explosion while clearing roadside bombs.

She is only the second female member of the UK armed forces to die in Afghanistan in nearly a decade.

Her death takes the number of British military personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 364.

[Mr Lick]

Man bailed after four dead in Llanidloes car plunge



A man has been bailed by police after a collision in which a woman lost her mother, husband and two foster children when their car plunged into a Powys reservoir.

Police said two cars collided on the B4518 at the Llyn Clywedog reservoir near Llanidloes on Wednesday, and one had entered the water.

A woman from Pontypridd escaped from the car, but her family died.

A local man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was later released on police bail.

Police said the family had been travelling from Machynlleth, where they had been on holiday.



The woman driver managed to escape but her husband, mother and two foster children died.

Their bodies were recovered with the help of the fire service, a diving team and RAF helicopters.

The car, a Peugeot 807, was later recovered from the water on Wednesday night by a specialist team and taken away.

The other car, a Ford Modeo, was travelling in the same direction on the B road which skirts the reservoir, when the Peugeot plunged through a fence and over a 20ft (six metre) bank into 30ft (nine metres) of water.

[Mr Lick]

Montevideo, Uruguay: A gaucho is unseated by an untamed horse during traditional Creole Week rodeo



Berck-sur-Mer, France: The world's biggest kite flies during the 25th International Kite Festival



Sana'a, Yemen: Anti-government protestors chant slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh



Anand, India: Police officers perform stunts during the 50th-anniversary celebrations of Gujarat state



Beijing, China: Construction workers enjoy an afternoon snooze inside sections of a water pipe



Malaga, Spain: A woman watches a statue of Christ as a legionnaire guard of honour stands to attention during a Holy Week procession



Le Pont, Switzerland: A girl looks out over a drought-affected Lac de Joux



Iwaki, Japan: Men get haircuts from volunteer hairdressers in an evacuation centre



Possum Kingdom, USA : Smoke rises from an uncontrolled wildfire in Texas

[Mr Lick]

Ronaldo's late goal gives Real Madrid win over Barcelona in Copa del Rey



Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, left, and Pepe celebrate with the trophy after winning the Copa del Rey against Barcelona


Real Madrid claimed their first trophy under José Mourinho when Cristiano Ronaldo's dramatic extra-time winner secured a 1-0 victory over Barcelonain the final of the Copa del Rey tonight.

With penalties looming in a tense and occasionally brutal clash at Valencia's Mestalla stadium, the Portuguese forward leaped to crash home a 103rd-minute header from Angel Di María's superb deep centre. Di María was later sent off after receiving his second yellow card just before the end of extra time.

Real's first domestic cup since 1993 came in Mourinho's debut season since joining from Internazionale, denying Pep Guardiola's Barça, who lead La Liga by eight points, the chance of a second treble in three seasons.

The Spanish giants are also due to meet in the two-legged Champions League semi-final.

"It's a very important title; we're going to enjoy it," Ronaldo said. "Mourinho has done a good job. He's helped us a lot. Barça played very well but, as you know, the team who scores wins."

[Mr Lick]

Rafael van der Vaart shows Spurs' strikers the way to goal




Tottenham Hotspur 3

• van der Vaart 7,
• Huddlestone 44,
• van der Vaart 70

Arsenal 3

• Walcott 5,
• Nasri 12,
• van Persie 40

Also - Chelsea 3 Birmingham 1

[Mr Lick]

Medics drop cruise ship passenger into North Sea



A British tourist fell into the North Sea in subzero conditions as she was being carried on a stretcher off a cruise ship.

Janet Richardson, 73, from Penrith in Cumbria, was on the Ocean Princess, which had left Hull at the end of March for a coastal tour of Norway including viewings of the northern lights. Her 78-year-old husband, George, was with her.

When she fell seriously ill, the ship's captain decided she should immediately be taken to hospital in Norway.

However, while the rescue teams were moving her on a stretcher to a rescue boat, she fell into the sea – which was about -3C at the time. It then took almost eight minutes to retrieve her from the water.

She was eventually transported to hospital in Bodø, Norway, accompanied by her husband, who remained by her bedside for several days before she was airlifted to Cumberland infirmary in Carlisle, where she is receiving treatment.

[Mr Lick]

Misrata: Life inside Libya's besieged city












Ziad, whose brother Nasser Ali Afglio died fighting pro-Gaddafi forces, is consoled by a friend during the funeral for the young Libyan rebel






Libyan orphans sit in a room of a makeshift orphanage in a disused school in Misrata






The boot of a car is filled with the bread rations for five families in Misrata. The city is running low on commodities and people face queuing hours for food and other essentials






A rocket-propelled grenade rips into a building occupied by forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi in central Misrata



Doctors treat a baby injured by shrapnel that blasted through the window of his home



Tripoli Street in central Misrata

[Mr Lick]

Chris Hondros - a retrospective

Sadly, the award-winning photo journalist, who worked all over the world, has been killed in Misrata in Libya. Here is a collection of his work.



Chris Hondros in Afghanistan. Hondros, who was 41, has died after being seriously wounded while on assignment in Misrata in Libya















An employee of Lehman Brothers carries a box out of the company's headquarters building in New York after the 2008 financial crash



A traffic light hangs over floodwaters caused by Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans in 2005





US soldiers remove a polystyrene cover that plugged up the "spider hole" where Saddam Hussein was hiding in Ad Dawr, Iraq







A Liberian militia commander loyal to the government cheers after firing a rocket-propelled grenade at rebel forces at a key strategic bridge in 2003 in Monrovia



Hundreds of Liberians seeking refuge huddle outside a closed US compound surrounded by razor wire in Monrovia



A malnourished two-year-old girl sits at an Action Against Hunger feeding centre in Monrovia



A child Liberian militia soldier loyal to the government in Monrovia



A photograph taken through the window of a US Army Humvee in central Herat, Afghanistan



School children in the Nigerian village of Akaraolu play football while the nearby Oshie gas flare roars



Exhausted Israeli soldiers gather after a day's marching on the Israeli-Lebanese border



A Russian attack helicopter hovers over a convoy of Georgian police and international journalists on the outskirts of Gori, Georgia



Georgians are crushed up against a bus handing out humanitarian food aid in Gori, Georgia

[Mr Lick]

A fighter from the "Invisible Commandos" militia stands guard in an abandoned building overgrown with vegetation in the Abobo neighborhood of Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan, April 19, 2011. Ibrahim Coulibaly, the head of the Invisible Commandos, a powerful militia that fought against Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast, on Tuesday pledged allegiance to President Alassane Ouattara and dismissed reports that his men had fallen out with other fighters.



A gaucho rides an untamed or unbroken horse during the celebration of "Criolla" (Creole) Week in Montevideo, Uruguay April 19, 2011. Gauchos from all over the country and neighboring Argentina and Brazil come to Montevideo during Creole Week to compete for the award of best rider.



Residents sift through the ruins of their houses after a fire in Makati city, Metro Manila, April 19, 2011. Fire razed at least 900 shanty houses in Guadalupe, Makati City, on Tuesday, leaving more than 2,000 families homeless, police said.



Penitents take part in a procession of the "Via Crucis" brotherhood during Holy Week in Granada, southern Spain, April 19, 2011. Hundreds of processions take place around the clock in Spain during Holy Week, drawing thousands of visitors.



Passengers in a bus look at a policeman aiming his weapon as he travels at the back of a police pickup truck with slabs of marijuana seized during an operation against drug dealers in Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro April 19, 2011. About 3 tons of marijuana were seized and seven people arrested during the operation, local media said.



A medical personnel carries an injured man following clashes with the authorities during a protest calling for the ouster of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the capital Sanaa April 19, 2011. Yemeni police opened fire on protesters in Sanaa and Taiz on Tuesday, killing at least three people, as protesters tried to escalate their campaign to end President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule.



A broken suitcase is seen on a road near burnt vehicles, a day after election riots, in the Kaduna metropolis in northern Nigeria April 19, 2011. Medics in northern Nigeria on Tuesday treated hundreds of victims of rioting against President Goodluck Jonathan's election victory, some of them children with gunshot and machete wounds.



A boy runs behind a fountain during warm weather in Derby, central England, April 19, 2011.



Riot police clash with pro-Kurdish demonstrators during a protest against the High Election Board's decision in Istanbul April 19, 2011. Turkey's main Kurdish party threatened to withdraw from June's parliamentary election after 12 independents were barred from standing in a move sparking street clashes and an opposition appeal to recall parliament.



A rebel fighter mans a Grad rocket launcher in the front line along the western entrance of Ajdabiyah April 19, 2011. Rebels peered at Ajdabiyah's western gate into the desert through binoculars on Tuesday morning at what they said were Muammar Gaddafi's forces 30 km (20 miles) away.



Jirouemon Kimura poses on his 114th birthday at his home in Kyotango, western Japan in this handout photo released by Kyotango City Office on April 19, 2011. A Kyoto resident who became the world's oldest man earlier this month turned 114-years-old on Tuesday. Kimura of Kyotango, Kyoto Prefecture, became the world's oldest man after a resident of the U.S. state of Montana was reported to have died on April 14 at the age of 114, Kyodo news reported.



A model poses next to the Dongfeng EJ02 during the opening day of the Shanghai Auto Show April 19, 2011.



An image of former Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo is projected onto Brasilia's National Museum April 19, 2011, during the launch of the "Brasilia 51 Years - The World Cup Starts Here" campaign, April 19, 2011. The event campaigns for Brasilia to host the opening match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and celebrates the capital city's 51st anniversary, which falls on April 21, 2011.



A penitent tries to scare people off with his trumpet before the procession of the "Silencio y la Santa Cruz" brotherhood during Holy Week in Oviedo, northern Spain, April 19, 2011.



A rescuer helps down a 13-year-old girl who had attempted suicide at a building in a hospital in Nanchong, Sichuan province April 18, 2011. The girl had attempted to jump out of the window of a restroom on the fourth floor after doctors said she had to stay in the hospital due to a suspected mental disease, China Daily reported. She was eventually rescued.



A firefighter shouts for more water as they extinguish a fire that razed hundreds of houses at a squatters' colony in Makati City, Metro Manila, April 19, 2011. Fire razed at least 900 shanty houses in Guadalupe, Makati City, on Tuesday, leaving more than 2,000 families homeless, police said

[Mr Lick]

Scenes from Japan









A woman looks for her personal belongings at a collection center for items which were found in the rubble in Natori,

[Mr Lick]

Battle for Libya



Mohammed Hassan, 10, who has a head injury caused by a bullet, is seen in Misrata hospital, April 20, 2011.





A doctor's gloved hand is covered in blood in a Misrata hospital, April 20, 2011.









Local doctors tend to a badly wounded rebel fighter in the emergency ward of Ajdabiyah hospital

[Mr Lick]

A vendor of fried insects handing over a plate of fried crickets at a local market in Vientiane. Raising crikets for foods is seen as a solution to the malnutrition in the poor landlock country where a great number of people, especially children, suffer from.