World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

The Associated Press reports — A New Zealand volcano erupted with a brief blast of dark ash Wednesday, canceling flights but causing no significant damage.

Schoolchildren and dozens of other hikers who were walking on trails along the mountain's base were safe.

The eruption of Mount Tongariro, its second in less than four months, sent a dark ash plume about 1.9 miles into the sky. Authorities issued a no-fly alert above the mountain located in the sparsely populated area of central North Island.

Tongariro National Park, which has three active volcanoes, was the backdrop for many scenes in "The Lord of the Rings" movies

[Mr Lick]

Reuters reports — A Yemeni military transport plane crashed near Sanaa airport and burst into flames on Wednesday, killing all ten people onboard, an airport official said.

The plane came down in an abandoned produce market in the Hasaba district near the Yemeni capital's airport after suffering a technical problem, the official said

[Mr Lick]

Police and security personnel rush to the site of a bombing on a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel on Nov. 21, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Students' mass protest, London



























Cut them out of driving instead!












I say!!

[Mr Lick]

A car sits stuck in flood water on a lane in the village of Chilcompton near Wells, England. Heavy rain overnight has brought widespread disruption to many parts of the UK particularly in Somerset and Wiltshire and weather forecasters have warned of more wet and windy weather to come



Residents of Goma react as they listen to M23 rebel group spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kazarama, who attempted to calm and reassure the civilians following the fall of Goma to M23 rebels yesterday



A Palestinian man walks among debris after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City

[Mr Lick]

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, waves after meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Clinton has arrived in the region to try to bring about a ceasefire.



People protest to mark the one-year anniversary of fatal clashes on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, near the Interior Ministry in Cairo November 20, 2012. At least 42 protesters died during the clashes which occurred during Egypt's interim military rule.

[Mr Lick]

Gaza conflict

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Chelsea are hoping to appoint Roberto Di Matteo's successor on Wednesday.

Di Matteo was sacked following the 3-0 Champions League defeat by Juventus.

Owner Roman Abramovich is known to be a long-term admirer of Pep Guardiola but it is unclear whether the former Barcelona coach can be tempted back into management.

Chelsea have made contact with former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez to gauge his interest in taking charge on a short-term basis.

The club's board met earlier on Wednesday and their next appointment is likely to be a short-term role rather than a long-term replacement for Di Matteo, according to BBC Sports editor David Bond.

[Mr Lick]

Roberto Di Matteo - Chelsea career in pictures








Joined Chelsea in 1996



Scores after 42 seconds in the 1997 Cup Final against Middlesbrough



Scores the only goal in the 2000 Cup Final against Villa - probably the most boring final ever imo



Spells at MK Dons and West Brom as manager between 2008-11



Rejoins Chelsea as assistant manager to ABV in 2011



ABV sacked and Di Matteo takes over on 4 March 2012



Wins FA Cup Final against Liverpool in May 2012



Wins the Champions League final against Bayern on their home ground in the same month - it just doesn't get any better



Signs a 2 year contract in June 2012



A 3-0 defeat in Turin seals his fate despite earlier good league results

[Albert Shagnastier]

Lord Jesus - Please not Rafa

[Mr Lick]

Argentina governor's wife jailed for his murder

Susana Freydoz was the only suspect in the death of her husband

The wife of Argentine provincial governor Carlos Soria has been jailed for 18 years for killing him during a family argument.

Susana Freydoz shot her husband as the two argued at their ranch in Rio Negro province, where they and their family had gathered for New Year celebrations.

The judges ruled that she should remain in hospital where she is undergoing psychiatric treatment.

Mr Soria had been sworn in a few weeks earlier as governor of Rio Negro.

Mr Soria was at his ranch in General Roca, in south-central Rio Negro province, celebrating New Year with his family.

Freydoz was the only suspect in his murder, as she was the only person in a room with him when he was shot in the eye.

Prosecutors said the shooting happened "in the middle of a family argument".

[Mr Lick]

Rain causes flooding in parts of England



Flooding mainly in SW England and Midlands

[Mr Lick]

Nudity ban passed in San Francisco

Protesters disrobed in front of San Francisco city hall in protest last week

San Francisco lawmakers have voted to ban nudity in public places, ending a bitter dispute with a group of nudists.

City officials voted 6-5 in favour of banning anyone over five from exposing "his or her genitals, perineum or anal region" in most public locations.

"Freedom, expression and acceptance does not mean anything goes under any circumstances," district supervisor Scott Wiener said.

The ruling allows exceptions for certain street fairs and events.

A federal lawsuit has already been filed arguing the proposal infringes on free speech rights.

I think it's a caricature of what San Francisco is about” - Scott Wiener District supervisor


"I'm concerned about civil liberties, about free speech, about changing San Francisco's style and how we are as a city," Supervisor John Avalos said after the vote.

Mr Avalos and Mr Wiener both sat on the Board of Supervisors, which narrowly passed the measure.

The ordinance plan follows complaints about a growing number of naked men who have been gathering in a public plaza in the city's Castro district, a hub for the gay community.






Supervisor Scott Wiener: "People have been taking their clothes off and hanging out seven days a week and it's gone too far"


The city had previously passed a law requiring a piece of cloth between a nude resident and a public seating place. But after that proposal was passed the number of nude men who flocked to the plaza increased.

"The Castro and San Francisco in general, is a place of freedom, expression and acceptance," Mr Wiener said.

But he added: "Our public spaces are for everyone and as a result it's appropriate to have some minimal standards of behaviour."

Under the new law, a first offence would carry a maximum $100 (£62) fine, but prosecutors could also penalise offenders up to $500 and hand down a year in jail.

[Mr Lick]

Surrendered police officers hand in their weapons at the Volcanoes Stadium in Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on November 21, 2012. M23 rebels, who took the city yesterday, called on any remaining policemen and army soldiers to assemble at the stadium this morning to officially surrender.



Spokesman of the M23 rebel group Lieutenant-Colonel Vianney Kazarama arrives at the Volcanoes Stadium in Goma on November 21, 2012. Kazarama addressed the population of Goma in an attempt to calm and reassure the civilians following the fall of Goma to M23 rebels yesterday.

Rebel forces in the Congolese city of Goma called on any remaining policemen and government soldiers to surrender and hand in their weapons Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reported, a day after the city fell to the rebels.

"The journey to liberate Congo has started now ... We're going to move on to Bukavu and then to Kinshasa. Are you ready to join us?" Vianney Kazarama, spokesman for the M23 rebels, told a crowd of more than 1,000 in a stadium in Goma.

"Its a problem of governance; there no food, there's no money," Rashidi Benshulungu, a captain in military intelligence who had changed sides, told Reuters. "I'm not a politician, that's a problem for [Congo's President] Kabila. But we're following the ARC," he added, using an acronym used by the M23's combat force.

[Mr Lick]

Herzogstand cable car mechanics inspect parts of the lift during the annual safety revision above the small village Walchensee, southern Germany on Nov. 21. The inspection continues until Dec. 21. The cable car begins around 2,600 feet above sea level at the small village of Walchensee and ends in Fahrenberg around 5,300 feet. Cable cars are prepared for the upcoming skiing season all over the Bavarian mountains.

[Mr Lick]

Ehsamullah, 30, left, who lost his leg after being shot with an AK-47 and Hassibullah, 30, right, who lost his after stepping on a mine, practice walking with their prosthetic limbs at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) orthopedic center on Nov. 20 in Kabul.




Afghan National Army commando, Khairuddin Sultan, 21, is helped up by his friend Ala Mohamed who joined the army with him 18 months ago, as an orthopedic specialist molds a cast for his prosthetic legs on Nov. 19. Khairuddin, a double amputee, lost his legs when an IED exploded during a joint operation against the Taliban with U.S. special forces. The IED exploded while he was using a mine detector, sending shrapnel into his outstretched hand and blowing up his legs.



Bismillah Gul, 12, suffering from poliomyelitis, is helped by his father Masta Gul, after having traveled from Khost province to get treatment on Nov. 19 in Kabul.

[Mr Lick]

President Barack Obama pardoned two turkeys in an annual Thanksgiving rite on Wednesday, saying he wanted to offer the birds a second chance.

"They say life is full of second chances, and this November I couldn't agree more with that sentiment," a smiling Obama said in one of several lighthearted references to his re-election this month to a second term.

Cobbler, the newly designated national turkey, and his alternate, Gobbler, received a reprieve

[Mr Lick]

Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Wednesday, ending eight days of fighting that killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis.

Hundreds took to the streets of Gaza City to celebrate the cease-fire, NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reported. Celebratory gun fire erupted across the city, whose streets gradually filled with crowds waving Palestinian flags. Ululating women leaned out of windows and fireworks lit up the sky

[Mr Lick]

Built in 1948 by the British colonial government, Rumbek Central Prison houses some 600 prisoners who live in overcrowded cells with virtually no access to basic health care, sanitation, as well as adequate food and nutrition.






Inmates line up bowls of food for dinner in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 25



Shackled inmates wash their hands and feet at a yard in Rumbek Central Prison in Rumbek, South Sudan, Oct. 24.






A female inmate, said to be mentally ill, lies down in her cell, soiled with her own urine and feces, in Juba Central Prison in Juba, South Sudan, Oct. 23.

[Mr Lick]

Members of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) protest for change in the process of land reform amidst burning tires on a highway in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 21, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Demo 2012: student protesters

[Mr Lick]

Amsterdam, Netherlands: pigeons fly overhead as the honour guard waits for Slovakia's president, Ivan Gasparovic, to walk out of the royal palace for a wreath-laying ceremony at the national monument



Gaomi, China: a farmer unloads newly harvested corn at a grain store. China is expecting to harvest 201m tonnes of corn this year



Madrid, Spain: a woman walks past containers overflowing with rubbish after refuse collectors went on strike to protest against possible job cuts

[Mr Lick]

Palestinians gather on the balcony of a schoolyard of a UN operated school in Gaza City. 10,000 Gazans have sought shelter in UN run schools after the Israeli military dropped leaflets on the territory warning residents of certain areas to evacuate their homes



Masked demonstrators who are employees from the Telefonica phone company, protest on a street near a building where executives from the same company are participating in a business meeting in Barcelona Spain



People take part in an Airfood event, a giant picnic without any food, organised by French association Secours Populaire to demand the renewal of a European food aid programme in Paris. European heads of state are due to meet and will take decisions on European food aid in the next few days



Actor Kate Winslet holds her CBE for services to drama, which was awarded to her by the Queen during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.



Greater adjutant storks look on as a young Indian rag picker stand in a garbage landfill at Boragoan. Environmentalists claim that the population of greater adjutant storks has decreased in recent years due to climate change