World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Hundreds of people line up around the block from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles offices to apply for deportation reprieve on August 15, in Los Angeles, California. Under a new program established by the Obama administration undocumented youth who qualify for the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, can file applications from the U.S.

Citizenship and Immigration Services website to avoid deportation and obtain the right to work



People line up for assistance with paperwork for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, August 15. The U.S. government began accepting applications on Wednesday from young illegal immigrants seeking temporary legal status under relaxed deportation rules announced by the Obama administration in June.






A group of immigrants, known as DREAMers, hold flowers as they listen to a news conference to kick off a new program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles on August 15, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Under a new program established by the Obama administration undocumented youth who qualify for the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, can file applications from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website to avoid deportation and obtain the right to work

[Mr Lick]

Schoolchildren wearing Indian flag color dresses sit in front of the 17th century Red Fort during a gathering to mark 65th anniversary of India's independence from British rule, in New Delhi, India, on Aug. 15.



Indian army soldiers demonstrate a martial art technique on the occasion of 65th anniversary of India's independence from British rule, in Bangalore, India, on Aug. 15.



An Indian woman cadet from National Cadet Corps gestures towards her colleague on the occasion of 65th anniversary of India's independence from British rule, in Srinagar, India, on Aug. 15.



Members of police wait with their trumpets to perform as a school girl sits on steps during a gathering on the occasion of 65th anniversary of India's independence from British rule, in Bangalore, India, on Aug. 15.

[Mr Lick]

A man walks through a room at Dar Al Shifa Hospital, damaged in yesterday's Syrian Air force air strike, in the Sha'aar neighborhood of Aleppo on Aug. 15. The patients that were in the hospital when the air strike happened have now all been evacuated.






A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an AK-47 rifle in Aleppo on Aug. 15.

[Mr Lick]

A man carries the body of a boy killed in a Syrian Air Force air strike in Azaz

[Mr Lick]

Flooding in the Philippines

The Philippines government was still dealing with the devastation in the aftermath of massive flooding throughout the country when tropical storm Kai-Tak brought even more rain to flood-hit areas

































Children with dengue fever rest on beds at the Quirino hospital in Manila. Philippines authorities rushed relief supplies to the country's remote north in preparation for a new storm, which was also expected to dump heavy rain on other areas struggling with deadly floods

[Mr Lick]

Aksu, China: An ethnic Uighur man takes a nap on a board as his goat stands next to him at a demolition site

Had to include this amusing pic



Dharmsala, India: An exiled Tibetan places candles on the Tibetan Martyrs' Wall during a vigil in solidarity with Tibetans who self-immolated



Embrun, France: Competitors swim during the 29th edition of the Embrun Man triathlon



Panama City, Panama: The nearly extinct Panamanian Golden frog, one of the country's national symbols, inside a zoo enclosure

[Mr Lick]

England v Italy

All the best images as England take on their Euro 2012 conquerors, Italy, in an international friendly match in Berne, Switzerland



Following England's Euro 2012 exit just seven weeks ago, the two teams meet again in a friendly in Berne, Switzerland. The England manager, Roy Hodgson, talks with Italy's captain, Daniele De Rossi, before kick-off



Birmingham's reserve goalkeeper Jack Butland makes his debut for England this evening



Mattia Destro goes for the ball with Phil Jagielka during the opening exchanges



After 15 minutes Italy take a one-goal lead. Daniele De Rossi loses his marker and smashes his header past Butland despite early England pressure



England players look dejected after going a goal down



It's all square in Berne. Phil Jagielka gets on the end of a cross from Frank Lampard to put England level



England's Jermain Defoe scores the goal that brought victory over Italy, while Ignazio Abate looks on


England 2

• Jagielka 27,
• Defoe 79

Italy 1

• De Rossi 15

[Mr Lick]

Julian Assange: UK issues 'threat' to arrest Wikileaks founder



Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino: ''We are not a colony of Britain''


Ecuador has accused the UK of making a "threat" to enter its embassy in London to arrest Wikileaks' Julian Assange.

Mr Assange took refuge at the embassy in June to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over assault and rape claims, which he denies.

Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino also said a decision on the 41-year-old's bid for political asylum had been made and would be announced later.

The Foreign Office said it could revoke the embassy's diplomatic status.

In a statement issued as Mr Patino spoke, it said the UK had a "legal obligation" to extradite Mr Assange.

The Wikileaks website published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments, particularly the US, in 2010, and Mr Assange says he fears Sweden will pass him on to the American authorities.

A number of police officers are outside the Ecuadorean embassy, in Knightsbridge, where some of Mr Assange's supporters have gathered behind a police cordon.

Demonstrators also protested outside the British embassy in Ecuador's capital.

Images from Quito showed protesters holding signs saying "We are sovereign, not colonies" and a union jack being stepped on.

[Mr Lick]

A British policeman asks a taxi driver, who had apparently arrived following a request to pick up Julian Assange, to leave after he pulled up outside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where the Wikileaks founder has sought political asylum, on August 16, 2012.



Supporters of Julian Assange gather outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on August 16, 2012. Assange has been living inside the embassy since June 19 after requesting political asylum whilst facing extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.



NBC News wire services report — Protesters chanting slogans in support of Julian Assange tussled with police outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on Thursday after Britain said it might enter the building to detain the WikiLeaks founder holed up inside.

A Reuters reporter saw at least three protesters being dragged away by police as the crowd shouted: "You are trying to start a war with Ecuador." About 20 officers were outside the embassy trying to push away the crowd of about 15 supporters

[Mr Lick]

Vegetable market vendors pull back awnings and their produce off a railway track to allow a cross-country train to dissect through the middle of the town of Maeklong, in Samut Songkhram province, 37 miles west of Bangkok on August 16, 2012.

The bustling market, in the middle of the town, has to scramble from the tracks eight times a day as trains pass.

[Mr Lick]

European captain Jose Maria Olazabal has named Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn as three of his four vice-captains to face the United States in their defence of the Ryder Cup.

The trio were selected by Colin Montgomerie as vice-captains for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Olazabal will announce his fourth vice-captain, as well as his two wildcard picks, on 27 August.

"For me to have these guys by my side is fantastic," said Olazabal.

"All three are world-class golfers with tremendous experience of playing in the Ryder Cup which is absolutely invaluable."

The trio have played in 10 Ryder Cups between them, with nine wins to their credit.

"I am really pleased to be part of Jose Maria's team and I know that we can instil that relaxed atmosphere in the team room and help the captain get the best out of the players," said Clarke, who won the Open last year.

The Ryder Cup will take place at the Medinah Country Club, Chicago, from 28-30 September.

Lovely boys!!

[Mr Lick]

Fires burn on the south side of Highway 970, Washington State



People mark the 35th anniversary of the singer's death outside Graceland, Memphis

[Mr Lick]

A UN security boat approaches the hotel in Goma where defence chiefs from 11 african nations are meeting to discuss the details of a neutral force to intervene in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

[Mr Lick]

South Korea jails Hanwha head Kim Seung-youn



A South Korean court has sentenced Kim Seung-youn, chairman of the Hanwha group, to four years in prison for embezzlement.

The court said Kim had failed to show any remorse for using his position to benefit himself and his family, causing the company financial losses.

His sentence included a fine of 5.1bn won ($4.5m, £2.8m). A Hanwha spokesman said he would appeal against the verdict.

Kim was taken into custody immediately.

The move to send him straight to prison was seen as unusual, as previous cases involving top business officials had led to suspended sentences.

"We did not expect that Chairman Kim would actually be imprisoned," a Hanwha official was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

The court said that Kim used Hanwha affiliates to "unfairly support" companies that he owned. It also said he used his influence to help companies run by his brother.

"Chairman Kim incurred losses to the company by taking advantage of his influence as the Hanwha Group's major shareholder," the court said.

Kim was convicted in 2007 for abducting and assaulting workers in a karaoke bar, but his sentence was eventually suspended.

Hanwha is one of the largest business conglomerates in South Korea. It has 53 subsidiaries that span manufacturing, construction and finance companies.

[OhOh]

US loses its 3,600mph hypersonic X-51A Waverider jet

An unmanned hypersonic jet failed and broke up seconds into a test flight yesterday in the latest setback to hit one of the US military's most cutting-edge engineering projects, which could now be under threat.

The X-51A Waverider was designed to hit speeds of up to 3,600mph, six-times the speeds of sound, for a period of five minutes after being dropped from a B-52 bomber during a high-altitude flight.

[OhOh]

ALEPPO: With the West still refusing to arm Syria’s opposition in the bloody fight against the regime, rebels in the flashpoint northern city of Aleppo warn that they could turn to al Qaeda for help.

“We don’t want al Qaeda here, but if nobody else helps us, we will make an alliance with them,” said Abu Ammar, a rebel commander in the central Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo, scene of raging battles for almost a month. “And you can bet if al Qaeda comes here, they will brainwash the people,” he said.

[Mr Lick]

Northeastern India minority residents wait at a train station as they prepare to leave the city following rumors of communal violence against them, at a railway station in Bangalore on Aug. 16, 2012. Thousands of Indians from the northeast of the country have fled southern cities after rumors they would be attacked by Muslims in reprisal for recent ethnic violence, officials said.



Northeastern India minority residents of Bangalore wait on the platform of the city railway station to board trains bound to Guwahati on Aug. 16.

[Mr Lick]

Space shuttles Atlantis, left, and Endeavour face each other as the Endeavour backs out of the Orbiter Processing Facility and Atlantis is moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Building Aug. 16, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Endeavour will be moved to the California Science Center as a permanent exhibit and the Atlantis will be kept at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

[Mr Lick]

Jockey Jonatan Bartoletti, representing the Valmontone parish, rides to win the Palio race in Siena, Italy, on Aug. 16. Almost without fail since the mid-1600s, ten bareback riders compete twice a year around Siena's shell-shaped central square in a bid to win the Palio, a silk banner depicting the Madonna and child.







Fans celebrate after Moedi, the horse representing the Valmontone parish, won the Palio race.

[Mr Lick]

Flynn Harmon of Cle Elum, Wash. sits on his ATV holding Loner, a German Wirehaired Pointer while looking for his other dog, Frida. "I think she was just spooked with the helicopters flying overhead," Harmon said, "So I unlatched both of them and she just darted off into the trees over there. I've searched all that really well. I don't know if somebody possibly picked her up somewhere, I was gonna go start looking at the shelters." Helicopters are being used to try to extinguish the Taylor Bridge Fire, seen burning in the background. Thursday, Aug. 16.

[Mr Lick]

As Ramadan comes to a close, millions of Muslim city dwellers will head to their home villages to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which ends a month of fasting. Overcrowded trains & ferries can sometimes make the trip a perilous one.

[Mr Lick]

A policeman fires at protesting miners outside a South African mine in Rustenburg, 62 miles northwest of Johannesburg on Aug. 16.








South African police opened fire on Thursday against thousands of striking miners armed with machetes and sticks at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine, leaving several bloodied corpses lying on the ground.

A Reuters cameraman said he saw at least seven bodies after the shooting, which occurred when police laying out barricades of barbed wire were outflanked by some of an estimated 3,000 miners massed on a rocky outcrop near the mine, 62 miles northwest of Johannesburg.

Reuters reported: Police opened fire with automatic weapons on a group of men who burst out from behind a vehicle. The volley of bullets threw up clouds of dust, which cleared to reveal at least seven bodies lying on the ground, Reuters television footage showed.

The Marikana strikers have not made their demands explicit, although much of the bad blood at the mine stems from AMCU's challenge to the two-decade dominance of the National Union of Mineworkers, which is closely linked to the ruling African National Congress.




Police surround the bodies of striking miners after opening fire on a crowd at the Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg, South Africa on Aug. 16. South African police opened fire Thursday on a crowd of striking workers at a platinum mine, leaving an unknown number of people injured and possibly dead. Motionless bodies lay on the ground in pools of blood.

[Mr Lick]

Flames surround a house, Aug. 14, 2012, on a hillside above Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash. Wildland firefighters on-site advised that the house survived the fire




Firefighters from around Washington state converged Wednesday on a wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes, just one of the blazes being fought across parched western states.

But one house survived.

"The house was saved by defensible space," Bryan Flint, Washington state Department of Natural Resources spokesman, told The Associated Press. "The placement of the driveway and the lack of trees and brush up against the house help prevent the flames from reaching the house."

Where you choose to build your house on your property, what you build it out of and how you protect it will make your home more or less prone to fire risk, Rich Elliott, deputy fire chief, Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue, told NBC News.

“Those three things are 90 percent of the battle,” he said.

“It’s not like in a city,” Elliott said. “Firefighters can’t overwhelm a (wild) fire.”

[Mr Lick]

Aleppo, Syria: an injured Syrian boy evacuates a field hospital after an air strike



Sao Paulo, Brazil: a topless Femen activist squirts ink on the wall of the Russian consulate as another holds a sign that reads in Portuguese: 'Free Pussy Riot'



Bulacan, Philippines: Antonio Navarro Sambiilay bathes inside his flooded home next to the Pampanga river



Guatemala City, Guatemala: a woman stands in the street with her dog after being evicted from the Jacobo Arbenz settlement by military and police

[Mr Lick]

South African police open fire on striking miners – more pictures

Up to 18 people killed at Lonmin platinum mine where strike over pay has escalated into alleged turf war between unions



Police open fire on striking workers at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine



Protesting miners try to avoid the police









A policeman gestures in front of the bodies of miners