World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Pakistan: US drone strike 'kills 15' people



At least 15 people have been killed in a US drone strike in the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan, officials say.
They told the Associated Press news agency that the attack took place in Shawal region near the Afghan border.
The US says North Waziristan is home to several militant groups involved in attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Officials say the drone fired five missiles, destroying a fortress-like militant compound in Zoi village.
A vehicle in the area was also reported to have been hit. Officials say the death toll may rise. They said all those killed were militants, but their group affiliations are still unclear.
The media are denied access to the area and independent confirmation of the claims is not possible.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the area is controlled by militants of the Haqqani network as well a group led by Hafiz Gul Ba

[Mr Lick]

A military exercise involving South Korean and US troops takes place close to the North Korean border

[Mr Lick]

A US Air Force C-5 cargo plane repatriates the bodies of american servicemen at Dover Air Force base, Delaware

[Mr Lick]

Gambling at the Global Gaming Expo Asia in Macau is booming, so much so that it has now overtaken Las Vegas

[Mr Lick]

The vessel 'ForEver' made completely of recycled materials makes its maiden voyage near Taipei on World Oceans Day

[Mr Lick]

Whale watchers spot a humpback of the coast of Sydney, Australia

[Mr Lick]

The crying icon of the Mother of God of Kazan goes on display in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk

[Mr Lick]

Multiple-choice AS-level exam answers 'all wrong'



An incorrect question has appeared on an AS-level exam paper - the third such mistake pupils have faced this summer.

The multiple-choice biology question, set by Edexcel, offered a selection of wrong answers but not the correct one.

The exam board said the question was worth one mark out of a possible 425 and marking would be adjusted to ensure "no candidate is disadvantaged".

The two other "unanswerable questions" were in maths and business studies AS-level papers set by other exam boards.

Students have complained that even if the questions are discounted, it is difficult to know how much the overall grade could have been affected by the time wasted trying to interpret a wrong question.

[Mr Lick]

Zippy voice actor Roy Skelton dies aged 79



Actor and singer Roy Skelton, best known for voicing puppets George and Zippy in the popular children's programme Rainbow, has died aged 79.

His daughter Samantha Skelton told the BBC that her father passed away after suffering a stroke.

The actor joined Rainbow in the early 1970s and remained with the show until it ended in 1992.

Geoffrey Hayes, who also starred in the show, said: "He really brought Zippy and George to life through his voice."

Skelton was "fabulous at improvising if something went wrong," he added.

"The most wonderful thing was if Zippy and George were having an argument between themselves, it sounded like he'd double-tracked it as they seemed to be talking over each other. It was a wonderful technique and I don't know how he did it.

"Although he was known for Zippy and George he was actually a fabulous actor with a great singing voice and a wonderful raconteur - he used to tell us some wonderful stories."

Skelton also voiced the Daleks in Doctor Who from 1967 to 1988, as well as the Cybermen and the Krotons.

[Mr Lick]

Man stabbed to death for £12 on birthday in Fulham



A man has been stabbed to death on his birthday in west London by robbers who made off with £12.

Chef Krzysztos Rusek was in a park in Fulham, celebrating his 30th birthday early on Tuesday with his girlfriend and some other friends, when a group of people tried to rob them.

Police said the robbers then stabbed Mr Rusek. He was taken to hospital but later died there.

His friend was stabbed in the leg.

[Mr Lick]

Doncaster Rovers mascot sacked for underwear pose



A woman who parades as the mascot Donny Dog at Doncaster Rovers has been sacked after posing in her underwear with the costume in a national newspaper.

Tracy Chandler, 40, said she received an email dismissal from the unpaid job after she appeared in the Sunday Sport in return for a donation to a children's charity.

She is urging fans to write to the club in an effort to get her role back.

Doncaster Rovers have refused to comment.

Ms Chandler said: "The photos were tongue-in-cheek and not seedy."

Although there had been no written contract with the club, she had been working as a mascot for over three years, she added.

"I did not tell the club I was going to do the photo as it all happened very quickly.

"I have put blood, sweat and tears into being Donny Dog and doing the charity work, and this is how they treat me."

Ms Chandler, who claims she is the only woman mascot in the country, was approached to pose for the photos after an article about her appeared in another newspaper.

[Mr Lick]

Circuses face new rules on animal use as ban ruled out



New regulations for circuses who have wild animals could lead to fewer being used to perform, the agriculture minister has said.

Jim Paice again ruled out a government ban but said the cost of a new licensing and inspection regime could lead to fewer performing animals.

The circus industry trade body said more robust regulation could see some circuses return to using animals.

The RSPCA has called for a Parliamentary vote on the ban.

Last month, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman announced there would be no ban but promised to enforce "high welfare standards".

During a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday Mr Paice said a ban would leave the government "vulnerable" to legal challenges under the Human Rights Act.

He said there was no strong evidence a ban was needed on welfare grounds and it may be disproportionate because there were "other means of protecting animals other than an outright ban".

"The quickest and most effective way of dramatically improving the welfare of animals in travelling circuses is a system of regulation and licensing," he added.

[Mr Lick]

Philippines massacre: Ampatuan assets frozen by court



A Philippine court has frozen $23m (£14m) worth of assets owned by those allegedly behind the worst massacre in the country's recent history.

Senior members of the Ampatuan family are accused of ordering the killing of 57 people in 2009.

Prosecution lawyers have welcomed the asset freeze, but question why it has only happened now, a year-and-a-half after the massacre.

The Ampatuans are one of the richest and most powerful clans in the country.

The Philippine Court of Appeal has ordered that funds in bank accounts, businesses and property belonging to the Ampatuan family should be frozen, while investigators work out how all the wealth was accumulated.

Andal Ampatuan Senior, who is accused of masterminding the massacre, is thought to own 27 homes and 91 vehicles.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council claims that some of the money was gained through illegal activities, and it now has 20 days to find enough evidence for this, in order to extend the asset freeze indefinitely

[Mr Lick]

MEPs attack UK resistance to EU budget rise



The European Parliament has clashed with the UK government over the EU's budget, with one leading Euro MP scorning a UK "provocation to Europe".
Guy Verhofstadt, head of the liberal group (ALDE), accused the UK of "continuing the policies of the past".

MEPs voted overwhelmingly for a 5% rise in the EU's budget for 2014-2020.
The UK and some other EU governments want the seven-year budget capped at the EU inflation rate, currently 3.2%. More tough negotiations are expected.

MEPs backed a report by the parliament's Policy Challenges Committee on the budget - called the EU's Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) - with 468 votes in favour and 134 against.

Mr Verhofstadt, a former prime minister of Belgium, said that increasing the EU's role could help reduce the UK's public sector budget, through pooling resources with other member states.


Richard Ashworth MEP defends UK opposition to the proposed budget rise

He urged the UK to join the euro and to work towards a single EU foreign policy "to make savings in the department of Mr William Hague".

British Conservative MEP Richard Ashworth defended Downing Street's opposition to the proposed 5% increase and accused Mr Verhofstadt of "missing the point and facing in the wrong direction".

Mr Ashworth, the leading UK Conservative on the Policy Challenges Committee, said the European Parliament would be "extremely unwise" to ignore EU-wide austerity measures.

"More Europe is not the answer, smarter Europe is," he said.

The European Commission will present its recommendations on the MFF on 29 June. It has already indicated that its position is similar to the parliamentary committee's.

[Mr Lick]

Mexico gunmen kill 11 at Torreon drugs clinic



Gunmen have attacked a drugs treatment centre in northern Mexico, killing 11 people and injuring two others.

Police said at least two armed men burst into the centre in Torreon, in Coahuila state, and opened fire.

Dozens of people have been killed over the past two years at such centres, in what officials say are often revenge attacks on rival drug gang members.

In another development, officials say 429 bodies have been found since April in graves in Durango and Tamaulipas.

On Tuesday afternoon, gunmen in at least two vehicles drew up at La Victoria drugs clinic in Torreon and stormed inside, police said.

Two of the people being treated there survived by hiding under their beds.

The motive for the shooting was not clear but officials said it was likely to be the work of drug gang hitmen.

[Mr Lick]

Rory McIlroy makes humanitarian trip to Haiti



NI golfer Rory McIlroy has played on many of the world's most luxurious and well known courses, but this week he took a break from the game before the US Open to travel to Haiti.

It was his first official overseas trip as Unicef Ireland ambassador.

The Caribbean country is still suffering the effects of the devastating earthquake which hit close to the capital, Port-au-Prince, in January 2010.

Thousands of people were killed and injured and over a million people were left homeless.

It was a chance for him to see the rebuilding efforts of the many aid agencies, including children's charity Unicef.

During his two-day trip he visited several newly built schools, a maternal centre and camps for people who lost their homes in the earthquake.

[Mr Lick]

Hundreds in Syria flee to Turkey, fearing army assault



Hundreds of Syrians are crossing the northern border into Turkey in an attempt to escape growing violence in their own country.

Many say they are fleeing the town of Jisr al-Shughour ahead of an expected military assault after dozens of soldiers were reportedly killed there.

Residents who stayed in the town have set up road-blocks in an attempt to stop security forces from entering.

Turkey said it would not close its doors to those seeking refuge.

[Mr Lick]

Washington, USA: A worker, surrounded by members of an honour guard team, cleans the red carpet at the White House



Benghazi, Libya: A butcher cuts meat in the window of his shop

[Mr Lick]

Port-au Prince, Haiti: The bodies of two children who died in a landslide



Paju, South Korea: A K1 tank fires smoke shells during a joint military drill

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Arizona, USA: A horse stands in the middle of a field as the Wallow fire approaches from Springerville



Islamabad, Pakistan: A vendor displays his toys on a roadside

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Kabul, Afghanistan: Newly trained soldiers from the Afghan army sit on the ground during a send-off ceremony



Islamabad, Pakistan: Vehicles move past workers, sleeping under a mosquito net, in the middle of a street

[Mr Lick]

Madrid, Spain: A man sets a tent at the Puerta del Sol square



Moscow, Russia: Women enjoy lunch by the fountains at Manezh Square



Beijing, China: A woman holds a branch of a tree to stretch at a park

[Mr Lick]

Family criticise staff at hospital where patient was left to die in a corridor



The parents of a man who was left to die in a hospital corridor after staff presumed he was drunk have criticised staff for stepping over his corpse and not checking on him for more than 10 hours.

CCTV cameras at the Edale House unit of Manchester Royal Infirmary captured staff pulling the lifeless body of Peter Thompson along the floor as though they were "dragging the body of a dead animal", according to his father, Alan Thompson.

The jury at Manchester crown court returned a misadventure verdict contributed to by neglect.

The Manchester coroner, Nigel Meadows, said Thompson's death was "wholly preventable" and he could have survived but for the neglect of nursing staff, three of whom faced disciplinary proceedings.

Meadows is writing to Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, which is responsible for Edale House, laying out his recommendations, and will also inform the Nursing and Midwifery Council, calling for an investigation into three of the nurses involved.

Two members of staff have been sacked over the incident and a third has been disciplined.

Peter Thompson, 41, from Gorton, was drunk and had taken anti-psychotic drugs, but instead of taking him to the accident and emergency department, staff at the unit left him sprawled on the floor, where he eventually died.

He entered the hospital at 7.45pm on 3 April last year, not long before he collapsed and died. He was pronounced dead the following morning, more than 10 hours after he arrived at the unit, when a nurse noticed he was not breathing.

[Mr Lick]

Michael Jackson concert insurer refuses $17.5m payout



The insurers of Michael Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts have asked a judge to nullify the singer's insurance policy, claiming they were not told that Jackson was taking drugs.

Underwriters at Lloyd's of London, which is suing promoters AEG Live, want the Los Angeles superior court to throw out AEG's $17.5m (£10.6m) policy.



The dispute has been in the making since Jackson's death in 2009. Within months of the cancellation of the singer's O2 Arena residency, the Associated Press was reporting that clauses regarding illicit drug use could excuse Lloyd's from paying out. This indemnity is no trifling matter: in the case of a successful claim, insurers of the 50-show run may owe more than £300m.


Lloyd's lawsuit against AEG claims the company failed to disclose the singer's medical history, "including, but not limited to, his apparent prescription drug use and/or drug addiction". They also allege that AEG did not disclose the star's use of propofol – an anaesthetic that has been blamed for his death. Attempts to settle the matter out of court were apparently unsuccessful and "underwriters therefore request that the policy be declared null and void".


Jackson died aged 50 at his home in Los Angeles on 25 June 2009, after allegedly receiving a dose of powerful sedatives from Dr Conrad Murray. Murray is due to stand trial in September on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty.

[Mr Lick]

Two wild elephants went on a three-hour rampage in the southern Indian city of Mysore, trampling one person to death and causing widespread panic.

State forest department officials said the young jumbos, which were later tranquilized and captured, came from a forest about 22 miles away with two others, who remain at large on the outskirts of the city.




A wild Indian elephant, with a tranquliser dart in its side, brushes past a car as it causes panic on a street in Mysore, India on June 8.






A wild elephant attacks a man during a rampage in Mysore on June 8. The man was killed.



An Indian elephant is linked by a heavy rope to others as it is led from the scene of its capture in Mysore