World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

He could have been going out for a stroll in the park as opposed to entering a cauldron packed with 80,000 screaming fans. Despite declaring that prior to the Games he was only “95% fit”, Usain Bolt seemed completely unfazed by the roars of a crowd that had waited all morning to see the Jamaican superstar begin the defence of his 100m title. He duly received a rapturous reception equalled only by that given to British heptathlete Jessica Ennis moments earlier. Overcoming a slow start, the Jamaican world record holder stepped up a gear to win his heat in 10.09sec with ease, as he took the first step towards what promises to be the greatest sprint showdown of all time. “That’s London for you,” he said. “I expected that kind of noise”



The look on the faces of Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland said it all. A picture of proud astonishment, Copeland, racing in her first ever senior event, looked at her partner and mouthed the words “We won the Olympics”, as if to verify that the pair really had just won the women’s lightweight double sculls: “We’re going to be on a stamp tomorrow!” she joked. The pair secured Team GB’s first ever women’s lightweight double sculls title by a full length, beating China into second and the Greek world champions third. The crowd roared their encouragement as the most improved crew of the British team put in an astonishing surge to go one length in front with more than 500m to go, maintaining their lead to the line



Women's team pursuit champions Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott

[Mr Lick]

The USA's Serena Williams celebrates winning the gold medal in the women's singles



Great Britain's Andrew Triggs Hodge, Tom James, Pete Reed and Alex Gregory retain their Olympic title in the men's coxless four



Great Britain's Katherine Driscoll competes during the trampoline qualification at the North Greenwich Arena

[Mr Lick]

Britain's Andy Murray and his teammate Laura Robson celebrate their victory at the end of their mixed doubles quarter-final match against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt



Jessica Ennis wins the 800m to secure gold in the heptathlon



Britain's Daniel Sturridge reacts after missing the decisive penalty during the men's football quarter-final between Britain and South Korea

[Mr Lick]

Britain's Greg Rutherford after winning the men's long jump final



Mo Farah crosses the line to win gold in the men's 10,000m

[Mr Lick]

Syria: inside Aleppo

Syrian government forces and Free Syrian Army fighters are clashing in Aleppo as more rebels pour in to confront regime loyalists as what is being seen as a looming, decisive battle



Syrians walk past a burning vehicle. Syria's armed forces pounded the rebel-held Salaheddin district of Aleppo from the air and ground, with violence also raging in the Shaar and Sukkari districts



A Free Syrian Army fighter issues orders

[Mr Lick]

Kenya's Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego celebrates finishing second in the women's 10000m final during the London 2012 Olympics Games at the Olympic Stadium August 3, 2012.



(L-R) Susie Scanlan Kelley Hurley, Courtney Hurley and Maya Lawrence of the U.S. celebrate their victory at the end of the women's eppe team bronze medal fencing competition against Russia at the ExCel venue during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 4, 2012.



A devotee climbs onto a wooden pole to retrieve a goat from a pond during the Deopokhari festival in Khokana August 4, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Britain's Jessica Ennis celebrates winning her women's heptathlon 800m heat at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012



A participant demonstrates his skills using a water jetpack during a recreational sporting competition at an entertainment centre near the village of Pleshchenitsy, 70 km (44 miles) northeast of Minsk, August 4, 2012.



Britain's Jack Green reacts after falling during his men's 400m hurdles semi-final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012.



Syrian refugee women mourn as they attend the funeral of five Free Syrian Army fighters, killed by Syrian security forces near Idlib province of Syria, in Yayladagi in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border August 4, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

China's Xu Lijia sails during the ninth race of the Laser Radial sailing class at the London 2012 Olympic Games in Weymouth and Portland, southern England, August 4, 2012.



Britain's Jessica Ennis competes in the women's heptathlon Group B long jump event during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012.



Participants of the Canal Parade pose as their boats passes through the canals as part of the annual gay pride parade in Amsterdam August 4, 2012

[Mr Lick]

Great Britain's Peter Kirkbride reacts during his men's 94Kg group B weightlifting competition at the ExCel venue at the London 2012 Olympic Games August 4, 2012.



Clarisse Cruz (R) of Portugal falls during her round 1 women's 3000m steeplechase heat during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012.



A bridge built over a stream leading to the river Tawi is damaged by flash floods on the outskirts of Jammu August 4, 2012



A police officer holds his gun as he stamps out a torch thrown by an activist of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) affiliated Youth Association Nepal during their torch rally to demand the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai in Kathmandu August 4, 2012.



Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce reacts to winning the women's 100m final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Luther, Oklahoma, US: Residents look at the remains of their homes after a wildfire that may have been deliberately set



London, UK: A fan carrying his baby watches the men's handball match between France and Iceland at the Copper Box during the London 2012 Olympic Games



Dhaka, Bangladesh: Travellers queue to collect tickets at a railway station ahead of Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the holy month of Ramadan

[Mr Lick]

Revelers dressed as Viking warriors celebrate, in Catoira, Spain, during the annual Viking Festival on Aug. 5. The Festival that takes place on the first Sunday of August, commemorates the Viking raids on the northwestern coasts of Spain around 1000 years ago.

[Mr Lick]

A man wipes away tears outside the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wis., where a shooting took place on Sunday, Aug 5.





A temple committee member, Ven Boba Ri, told the Journal-Sentinel that people inside the temple described the shooter was a white male in his 30s.

"We have no idea," he said of the motive. "It's pretty much a hate crime. It's not an insider."

Ri told the Journal-Sentinel the gunman walked up to a priest who was standing outside the temple and shot him. Then he went inside and started shooting





























At least six people were killed and many more wounded when a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a temple in Oak Creek. Police say the gunman was shot by an officer who engaged him in fire immediately after arriving on the scene

[Mr Lick]

A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover during clashes with Syrian Army soldiers in the Salah al-Din neighborhood of central Aleppo, Syria, Aug. 5.

Saleheddine, the focus of fighting in Aleppo, used to be one of its busiest and mostly heavily-populated shopping and residential districts.

Restaurants, pet shops, clothes and electronics stores - all shuttered - stand in tightly packed rows, creating a maze that only long-term residents can easily negotiate.

[Mr Lick]

Christine Ohuruogu wins silver with an amazing run down the back straight in the women's 400m. She collapses before finding out the result



Andy Murray and Laura Robson get silver in the tennis in the mixed doubles



Andy Murray wins gold by beating Roger Federer in the men's tennis final at Wimbledon



Great Britain's gymnast Louis Smith competes during the men's pommel horse final for a silver medal



Great Britain's gymnast Max Whitlock competes during the men's pommel horse final for bronze.



Ben Ainslie wins gold in the men's Finn class



Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson take the silver medal in the men's Star class

[Mr Lick]

It's time for the big one, the men's 100m final. Usain Bolt is as confident as ever, even joining in when the loudspeakers urge the crowd to shush



Bolt makes a slow start while Gatlin gets out fast



... but Bolt strides back into contention ...






Bolt looks across to see Gatlin straining and, further beyond him, Yohan Blake is also diving for the line



It takes half a second before he realises he's won - he's clocked an impressive time of 9.64 seconds despite his start



Bolt performs his customary pose in celebration



And then runs off draped in the Jamaican flag



Yohan Blake is celebrating too after finishing second. He edged Gatlin into third, making it a fabulous night for Jamaican sprinting

[Mr Lick]

Oklahoma wildfires destroy homes

Wildfires have burned out of control in Oklahoma, destroying homes and shutting down highways in a state that has suffered 18 straight days of sweltering temperatures and persistent drought. Emergency officials counted 11 different wildfires around the state, with at least 65 homes destroyed

[Mr Lick]

Mars landing

[Mr Lick]

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, center, holds a cabinet meeting to discuss railway ticket pricing on a train leaving Omsk on Aug 6, 2012. Deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich is at left and Enegy Minister Alexander Novak at right.




Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visits a railway museum in the village of Tpoki in Siberia on Aug. 6, 2012

[Mr Lick]

A survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb offers a prayer for victims of the world's first atomic bombing at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, on August 6, 2012.

As dignitaries from 71 countries joined a crowd of 50,000 on Monday to mark the 67th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack, Japanese officials vowed to revamp energy policies in the wake of the devastating Fukushima nuclear accident.

On Aug. 6, 1945, about 140,000 people were killed by an American atomic bomb that hastened the end of World War II. Another blast in Nagasaki three days later killed 70,000 more.

[Mr Lick]

Britain's Andy Murray celebrates after defeating Switzerland's Roger Federer in the men's singles tennis gold medal match at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 5, 2012.



A wild cow jumps at revellers following the running of bulls at the San Fermin Criollo festival in Ubate, Colombia, August 5, 2012.



Italy's Giulia Lapi and Mariangela Perrupato are seen underwater as they perform in the synchronised swimming duets technical routine qualification round during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre August 5, 2012.



China's Lin Dan lies on the ground as he is congratulated by his coaches after winning his men's singles badminton gold medal match against Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Wembley Arena August 5, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Kenya's Ezekiel Kemboi reacts on the track after winning the gold medal in the men's 3000m steeplechase final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 5, 2012.



Serena Williams (center, R) and her sister Venus Williams, of the U.S., stand on the podium with their gold medals during the presentation ceremony for the women's doubles tennis at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 5, 2012.



Fans surround Jamaica's Usain Bolt as he celebrates after winning the men's 100m final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 5, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Sikh temple shooting - more pics

[Mr Lick]

Malawi women dance and sing during the visit of Hilary Clinton to the Lumbadzi Milk Bulking Group



The Bristol International Balloon Festival in it's 34th year



Usain Bolt crosses the line to win gold in the Men's 100m Final

[Mr Lick]

Somalis celebrate during a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of terror group Al-Shabab's withdrawal from Mogadishu at Konis Stadium in the north of the capital on Aug. 6, 2012. Somali president Sheikh Shrif Sheikh Ahmed attended the ceremony and declared the day a national day to be called 'Peace day' and marked each year.

On Aug. 6 Somalia marked one year since African Union and Somali government forces drove out the hardline Islamist militants al-Shabab from the capital Mogadishu. Life has been returning to normal for many Mogadishu residents since al-Shabab left the city. However, the change is fragile and the Islamist fighters, who control much of the country's southern area, remain a great threat to the stability of the capital. The population of Somali refugees reached more than one million last month according to The United Nations Refugee Agency






Twelve-year-old Yusuf Abdrahaman lies on a stretcher as he waits to be transported to another clinic in Mogadishu, Somalia on Aug. 6. Abdrahaman was injured when a wall collapsed on him while playing outside.



A Burundian soldier serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia patrols in an armed personnel carrier in Mogadishu on Aug. 6.



The Mogadishu fishing harbor



African Union soldiers from Uganda play a board game as they rest at their camp in Mogadishu, Somalia on Aug. 6.

[Mr Lick]

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets with area Sikh members at the Sikh Cultural Society in Queens following the deadly shootings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin by an Army vet on Aug. 6, in New York City. The suspected gunman has been identified as 40-year-old Wade Michael Page, who allegedly killed six people at a temple in Wisconsin August 5, was shot to death by police. He was an army veteran and reportedly a former leader of a white supremacist heavy metal band. Three others were critically wounded in the attack.



Members of New York's Sikh community listen as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly hold a news conference after meeting with area Sikh members at the Sikh Cultural Society in Queens on Aug. 6, in New York City.



New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks outside of the Sikh Cultural Center in Richmond Hill Queens in New York on Aug 6. The Mayor's press conference is in response to a shooting the at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek Wisconsin on August 5,2012 that left seven people including the suspected shooter dead and three injured. Mohan Singh Khatra, chairman of the Sikh Cultural Center in Richmond Hills, lost his 70-year-old uncle in the attack.



A member of New York's Sikh community listens as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly hold a news conference after meeting with area Sikh members at the Sikh Cultural Society in Queens on Aug. 6, in New York City.



Authorities have identified the alleged gunman in the deadly shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple as Wade Michael Page, an Army veteran who may have ties to white supremacist groups.