World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Egyptians will hear results of their first free election in six decades on Thursday, with the Muslim Brotherhood expecting to pick up two-fifths of the vote for an assembly that might limit the power of the generals.

The Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest and best-organized Islamist group, hopes its new Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) will secure a solid platform in parliament, saying it hopes to form a coalition government once polls are over in January.

[Mr Lick]

Papuan demonstrators erupt in a short lived celebration as they raise the banned Morning Star flag on a bamboo pole in Timika, eastern Indonesia, on the 50th anniversary of the region's claim to independence, on Dec. 1, 2011. Shortly afterwards, Indonesian police and troops opened fire to break up the protest.






Papua is the most remote region in Indonesia and the last to be relinquished by its Dutch colonial masters a half century ago. It was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot of tribal leaders that has widely been dismissed as a sham, according to the Associated Press.

[Mr Lick]

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has helped light the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, putting a spotlight on a small-town spruce from Pennsylvania.

The 74-foot (22.5-meter)-tall Norway spruce was illuminated by 30,000 lights during a ceremony Wednesday night.

The crowd was entertained by Neil Diamond and Cee Lo Green. Justin Bieber and Tony Bennett provided pre-taped performances.

[Mr Lick]

Awaiting the Winners
Egyptian men chat at a cafe in Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Al Noor Salafi Muslim Party have been performing strongly as official results are expected to be soon released for the first post-revolution election



All Dressed Up
Protesters gather in London. More than two million public sector workers are staging a nationwide strike over cuts to their pensions, causing disruptions throughout the United Kingdom.



On the Rise
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on November 30, 2011. News that the Fed will act with other central banks to support liquidity and boost the global economy triggered a market surge.

[Mr Lick]

A woman lights candles to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the War of Independance in Bangladesh

[Mr Lick]

A Buddhist monk waits to pray at a Worlds Aids Day commemoration in Colombo, Sri Lanka

[Mr Lick]

Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych has a guided tour of the Hall of Names during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem

[Mr Lick]

Hilary Clinton in talks with the Burmese government

[Mr Lick]

Madonna settles noisy neighbour dispute

Madonna has since found somewhere else to rehearse

Singer Madonna has settled a dispute with her neighbour, who took legal action against the star over the noise she made in her New York apartment.

In 2009 Karen George filed legal papers complaining that Madonna was repeatedly using the flat as a rehearsal space.

Ms George said she was driven from her apartment at times by the "unbearable" noise and vibrations".

Madonna's lawyers said the matter had been resolved, but no further detail has been released.

In 2009 Ms George said dance routines subjected her to "blaring music, stomping and shaking walls" for up to three hours a day.

She also launched legal action against the management company of the Manhattan building, saying it had failed to act on her complaints.

Madonna did attempt to subdue the noise, but Ms George said it did not work, according to an August court ruling that turned down the singer's effort to dismiss the legal action.

The singer had always maintained that the noise levels never breached legal limits.

However, she claims she has since built a studio elsewhere and no longer uses the apartment for rehearsals.

Madonna moved into the seventh-floor apartment in the building, which overlooks Central Park, following her divorce from film director Guy Ritchie.

[Mr Lick]

The moon hangs over Earth's limb like a holiday ornament in a picture from the International Space Station



La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain






An electrical worker at work on an electrical pylon as smoke rises from a power plant in the town of Obilic, Kosovo, Dec. 1. Media reports state that delegates from 195 countries are presently gathering in Durban, South Africa, during the 17th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17).



Performers wearing large masks dance in Durban on Dec. 1, as part of the entertainment for the UN-Climate change Conference. New tensions and alignments are emerging at the UN talks, reflecting subtle but far-reaching changes in the geopolitics of climate change. Delegates and veteran observers say the shifts challenge the very heart of the nearly two-decade-old climate process, which until now has neatly divided the world into two blocs -- the north and the south, the rich and the poor



A delegate works on his tablet on the floor of the COP 17 Exhibition Center during the COP 17 / CMP 7 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference 2011 in Durban, South Africa, Dec. 1. COP 17 is the 17th session of the Congress of the Parties (COP) comprising 194 countries meeting to discuss the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between 28 November and 09 December 2011.

[Mr Lick]

A van parked in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles and another car are shown damaged by trees early Thursday, Dec. 1, as high winds up to 50 and 60 MPH tore through the southland. High winds flipped over trees and trucks and knocked out power to more than 300,000 California customers



Keith Curo, of Pasadena, stops to look over the damage caused by a fallen tree at a Shell gas station on the corner of North San Gabriel Avenue and East Colorado Boulevard, Thursday, Dec. 1, in Pasadena, Calif. Some of the worst winds in years blasted through California overnight, sweeping through canyons, gusting up to 97 mph, and toppling trees and trucks while knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.

[Mr Lick]

Protesters participate at a demonstration during a 24-hour strike in Athens on Dec. 1. Greece's new government sees its resolve tested as unions take to the streets against the latest austerity cuts demanded by its European peers in return for funds to keep the country afloat. Thursday's general strike, the sixth this year, has shut down public services and disrupted train and ferry services but flights were not affected and the Athens stock exchange was open, as was most of the capital's metro system.



Protesters march in front of the parliament building during a rally on Dec. 1, in Athens, Greece. In the wake of previous waves of salary cuts, lay-offs and tax hikes, unions called a 24-hour general strike to protest against new austerity measures introduced by George Papandreou's government, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the Central European Bank

[Mr Lick]

Yemeni anti-government protesters hold up posters of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara and senior Yemeni officials with an inscription in Arabic reading: 'Wanted' (left) as they march to demand the trial of Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 1. At least five people were killed in an attack by forces loyal to Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the southern city of Taiz, the Yemeni news website Al-Masdar reported. Fifteen were injured, some seriously, when the pro-Saleh troops shelled the city, the report quoted a medical source as saying. Taiz has been a focal point of anti-Saleh protests that have gripped the impoverished Arabian peninsula country since February

[Mr Lick]

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards march down the Royal Mile during a Homecoming Parade to mark their return following a successful tour of duty in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Dec. 1 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In keeping with tradition dating back hundreds of years, the Regiment paraded from the Castle Esplanade, down the Royal Mile to Canongate Kirk to show their thanks for the support that members of the public have shown them during their tour of duty.

[Mr Lick]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi over dinner at the U.S. Chief of Mission Residence in Rangoon, Myanmar, Dec. 1. Clinton is traveling to the country on a two-day visit, the first by a U.S. Secretary of State in more than 50 years.



U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Myanmar's President Thein Sein at the President's Office in Naypyitaw Dec. 1, 2011. Clinton prepared for her first substantive talks with Myanmar's new leaders on Thursday, a meeting U.S. officials hope will embolden reformers in the reclusive country where entrenched military interests still loom large.






U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pours water over a Buddhist statue, as she tours the Shwedegon Pagoda, a Buddhist temple founded between the 6th and 10th centuries AD, in Yangon, Myanmar, Thursday, Dec. 1.

[Mr Lick]

A police officer salutes on Yazahdani Road as Hillary Clinton's motorcade drives to a meeting with the Burmese president, Thein Sein, in Naypyitaw

[Mr Lick]

Europa League: Fulham and Stoke City's matches



Fulham visited FC Twente needing a win to book their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League. Incidentally, Fulham's manager, Martin Jol, used to play for FC Twente, whose passage to the next round was already secure before kick-off



Andrew Johnson screwed an effort wide as Fulham spurned one of painfully few chances in the first hour



He and his team-mates have suffered a bit of a goal drought in the last month in all competitions. The last time a Fulham player's name appeared on a scoresheet was 3 November - it was Steve Sidwell against Wisla Krakow



The game appeared to be heading for a draw as Fulham resisted growing pressure but, with one minute remaining, Marc Janko tapped home a right-wing cross



The goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was livid, as was Johnson who was needlessly dismissed in the closing stages for kicking the ball away. Fulham must now win their final group match to progress. Final score: 0-1

[Mr Lick]

The former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko was in the Dynamo Kyiv starting lineup at the Britannia Stadium to face a Stoke City side who needed only a point to seal their qualification to the knockout stages



He soon experienced the physical approach for which Stoke have become notorious



Kyiv bossed the first half and looked to take the lead when Olexandr Aliev fired at goal ...



Stoke's Matthew Upson deflected the effort into his own net to put the visitors 1-0 up in the 28th minute



The Stoke City manager, Tony Pulis, looked concerned at half-time



But a fine leap and header from Kenwyne Jones in the 81st minute rescued the point that Stoke required. Final score: 1-1

[Mr Lick]

New York AIDS Day Protest Ends With Arrests
Protesters march up Broadway from New York City's Zuccotti Park on World AIDS Day. Several arrests were reported after they refused to move while calling for making "Wall Street pay to fight AIDS at home and abroad."



Liz Taylor's Jewelry Up for Auction
A pearl, diamond, and ruby necklace and two pearl and diamond ear pendants owned by the late Elizabeth Taylor stand on display at Christie's in New York. The necklace is expected to fetch at least two million dollars.

[Mr Lick]

Examining the Scene
Police officers investigate the site of an explosion in Wuhan, China. The blast at a China Construction Bank branch reportedly injured at least six people; authorities are still trying to determine its cause.



Mass Flamingo Electrocution in India
Flamingos stand in their enclosure at the Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden in Ahmedabad, India. As many as 139 were reportedly electrocuted when they wandered on to high tension cables.



Come Together
Yoko Ono watches Queen Elizabeth II smile during a visit to the Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. Ono was married to the late John Lennon from Liverpool's legendary group The Beatles.

[Mr Lick]

The Ultimate Insult
Pakistanis hang shoes on portraits of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Karachi. The NATO attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers continue to inspire national outrage.



Practice Makes Perfect
Servicemen work on a routine ahead of the British Military Tournament at Earls Court in London, England. Around 700 participants from the Army, Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force will perform.

[Mr Lick]

Hillary Clinton held hands with Aung San Suu Kyi on the porch of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's lakeside home — where she spent much of the past two decades under house arrest — and thanked her for her "steadfast and very clear leadership."
After the meeting, they embraced and seemed visibly moved by their encounter.
"You have been an inspiration but I know that you feel you are standing for all the people of your country who deserve the same rights and freedoms as people everywhere," Clinton told Suu Kyi

[Mr Lick]

In China it is believed swimming in near freezing water during the winter months strengthens the immune system of one’s body.
What do you think?

[Mr Lick]

Is this the world's biggest bug? As with all superlatives, it depends on your definition. But the sight of a New Zealand giant weta chomping down on a carrot surely has to give you the creeps, even if it's rivaled by other giant creepy crawlies

[OhOh]

A Long March-3A carrier rocket lifts off at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 2, 2011. China successfully launched into space the tenth orbiter for its independent satellite navigation and positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass System here early Friday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)