World News in Pictures

[Mr Lick]

Renowned for their sword-fighting prowess and anti-Semitism in czarist Russia, the Cossacks are taking on new foes: beggars, drunks, unlicensed traders and improperly parked cars.

With the approval of city authorities, eight Cossacks clad in traditional fur hats and uniforms patrolled a Moscow train station on Tuesday looking for signs of minor public disturbances.

Patrol leader Igor Gulichev compared his forces to the Texas Rangers, the elite law-enforcement body in the U.S. state.

"They are just like Cossacks, and they work for the government, but they're welcomed with open arms. How come this should be allowed in America, but not in Russia, with our rich Cossack traditions? We're like Chuck Norris!" Gulichev said

[Mr Lick]

Brussels, Belgium: a police officer uses a shield to protect himself from milk being sprayed by dairy farmers, during a protest against EU agricultural policies



Havana, Cuba: a man takes pictures of chihuahua dogs in costume, from left, Petite, Legrand and Lentille, sitting on the hood of a classic American car at the Fall Canine Expo



Notre-Dame-des-Landes, France: demonstrators gather on a road as evacuation operations continue on land that will become a new airport



Rafah, Gaza Strip: members of the Hamas-run security forces inspect what appears to be part of an aircraft which washed ashore in the southern Gaza Strip



New Delhi, India: activists from the All India Confederation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe organisations demand affirmative action for the lower castes in the private sector

[Mr Lick]

Protests erupt in Egypt



An anti-Mursi protester holds up an Egyptian flag amongst others throwing stones during clashes with riot police at Tahrir Square in Cairo, November 27, 2012.

[Mr Lick]

Anti-Mursi protests

[Mr Lick]

European dairy farmers' protest

[Mr Lick]

Waves crash over lava as it flows into the ocean near Volcanoes National Park in Kalapana, Hawaii on November 27, 2012.



Reuters reports — A volcano on Hawaii's largest island is spilling lava into the ocean, creating a rare and spectacular fusion of steam and waves that officials said could attract thrill-seeking visitors if it continues.

Lava from a vent in Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii began flowing into the ocean 7 miles away on Saturday. The volcano has been erupting continuously from its Pu'u O'o vent since 1983.

[Mr Lick]

A man stands amid debris after a bomb attack in the Shuala district of Baghdad on November 28, 2012. The deadliest of three attacks occurred in the Shuala district, where a car bomb parked outside a Shiite place of worship exploded as people were leaving the building, killing nine.

[Mr Lick]

Egyptian Body builder Moustafa Ismail lifts free weights during his daily workout at World Gym in Milford, Mass. Ismail has been given the title of world's biggest arms, biceps and triceps, by the Guinness Book of World Records.

[Mr Lick]

In Myanmar an estimated 111,000 people were displaced by sectarian violence in June and October. The violence affected mostly the ethnic Rohingya people who now live in crowded IDP camps racially segregated from the Rakhine Buddhists in order to maintain stability. Around 89 lives were lost during a week of violence in October, the worst in decades. As of 2012, 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar. The Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, according to the United Nations.






A worker builds new housing aimed at offering the Rohingya an alternative to tented IDP (internally displaced peoples) camps on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar, Nov. 25



Rohingya pray inside a makeshift mosque during Friday prayer at an IDP (internally displaced peoples) camp on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar, Nov. 23.

[Mr Lick]

X Factor judge Louis Walsh heads into court with his legal team for his defamation case against the Sun. Walsh accepted €500,000 (£403,500) in libel damages over a false story that he sexually assaulted a man in Dublin



Syrian citizens inspecting the scene of a car bomb attack in the Jaramana district of Damascus. Terrorists set off two explosions that left several people dead and many wounded



Nadia Fanchini of Italy competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's downhill training in Lake Louise, Canada



Life in plastic is fantastic: fans wave union flags as they pose with wax figures of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, at the opening of the Madame Tussauds in Tokyo, Japan

[Mr Lick]

Battle for Syria

[Mr Lick]

The Hobbit premiere























Director Peter Jackson

[Mr Lick]

Former Ireland rugby international David Tweed guilty of child abuse

David Tweed is a former rugby international

Former Ireland international rugby player, David Tweed, has been found guilty of ten child sex abuse charges.

Tweed, who is now an elected councillor in Ballymena, County Antrim, faced a total of 14 abuse charges relating to two girls, over an eight-year period.

He has been convicted of nine indecent assault charges and one charge of gross indecency. The girls are now adults.

On Tuesday, Tweed was cleared on one count of indecent assault by the jury of ten women and two men.

The jury at Antrim Crown Court has yet to reach agreement on a further three charges - two of gross indecency and one of indecent assault.

The 53-year-old, who played rugby for both Ireland and Ulster, is now a member of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party.

He joined the TUV in November 2010 after defecting from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Tweed has been remanded in custody while the jury considers the remaining charges.

[Mr Lick]

No use putting your head in the sand when there's an emu walking around Barnstaple in north Devon. Police were called and grappled with the bird before managing to coax it into the waiting police van. Photograph: Devon and Cornwall Police



People walk through waters surrounding buildings as residents of Old Malton begin to deal with the aftermath of the recent floods. Fire crews continue to pump large volumes of surface flood water away from overflowing drains that have been threatening many properties in the area.



Syrian rebels celebrate on top of the remains of a government fighter jet that was shot down at Dar Ta-izzah. Syrian rebels captured the pilot manning the fighter jet



Exiled Tibetans shout slogans during a protest rally to express solidarity with Tibetans who have self-immolated and to appeal for immediate international intervention in New Delhi, India. At least 86 people have set themselves on fire since the immolations began in 2009



An Egyptian man slowly walks away as demonstrators and riot police clash near Tahrir Square in Cairo. Police fired tear gas into the square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce President Morsi's assumption of expanded powers

[Mr Lick]

New York: A worker with the Department of Environmental Protection works on the sewer system in the heavily damaged Rockaway neighbourhood



Florence, Italy: Traffic policemen stand in a flooded street after a storm



Madrid, Spain: A demonstrator holds a placard reading 'They steal your health!'

[Mr Lick]

Flooding in St Asaph, north Wales

[Mr Lick]

Firemen in a rescue dingy pass a van driving along a flooded street on the outskirts of Gloucester, western England, November 27, 2012. The men shouted, "It's a Nissan !" as they continued past the photographer



A woman sings the Portuguese national anthem during a protest against austerity, in front of Portugal's parliament in Lisbon November 27, 2012. Portugal's parliament gave final approval on Tuesday to a 2013 budget which promises a third year of recession and the biggest tax hikes in modern history to ensure international bailout terms are met. A few thousand protesters gathered outside parliament to oppose the bill, which far-left opposition lawmakers have promised to challenge in the country's constitutional court.

[Mr Lick]

Damascus car bomb blasts

[Mr Lick]

Protesters in Cairo



At least 19 people were killed in Baghdad following several explosions

[Mr Lick]

The foreign minister of neighboring Greece boycotted festivities on Wednesday marking 100 years of Albania's independence after its prime minister hailed a town over the border as "Albanian lands".

Ethnic Albanians from across the region meanwhile celebrated in the national colors of red and black with a 14 ton cake and bushy mustaches to honor the founding fathers.

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha's remarks were in a text he sent to a museum on Tuesday evening to mark the 100th anniversary of Albanian independence from Ottoman rule and honor the founder of modern Albania, Ismail Qemali



A chef cuts cake measuring 5920 square feet on the main boulevard of Tirana, Albania, Nov. 28.




Children eat cake measuring 5920 square feet prepared for the 100th anniversary of Albania's independence in Tirana, Albania, Nov. 28.

[Mr Lick]

Lauren Rae, left, and Olivia Marlow look at the ornaments on a Christmas tree in the Grand Foyer during the first viewing of the White House 2012 holiday decorations. The first lady welcomed military families to the White House for a viewing of the decorations.



Christmas decorations in the China room during the first viewing of the White House 2012 holiday decorations.

[Mr Lick]

Egyptian protesters clash with security forces near Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, on Nov. 28. Egyptian state television says the country's highest appeal court has decided to suspend its work nationwide to protest the president's decrees giving himself nearly absolute powers.



Protesters hit a riot policeman, center, after surrounding him during clashes in front of the U.S Embassy near Tahrir Square in Cairo on Nov. 28.



Hundreds of demonstrators were in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a sixth day on Wednesday to demand that President Mohammed Morsi rescind a decree they say gives him dictatorial powers, and two of Egypt's top courts stopped work in protest.

But in a move that one Muslim Brotherhood official said could help resolve the worst crisis of Morsi's five-month presidency, the assembly drawing up a new constitution said it would complete work on a final draft on Wednesday.

The official said the final draft could go to a popular referendum by mid-December. If approved it would cancel the constitutional declaration that extended Morsi's powers and sparked street protests that drew tens of thousands on Tuesday. Brotherhood and other Islamists have called for a rally backing the president on Saturday

[Mr Lick]

Flooding clear-up begins

People assess the damage to their homes as floodwaters start to recede in St Asaph, north Wales, but floods remain in other areas



























A row of seven cottages high above Whitby harbour are disappearing down the cliff following torrential rain. Properties below have been vacated as well, as the council makes plans for the immediate demolition of the houses

[Mr Lick]

Burma copper mine protest















Police broke up the protest by setting fire to their camp



More than 20 people were injured in clashes



Burmese are protesting about having to give up their land in order that the mine can expand

[Mr Lick]

Kate McCann was among the early arrivals for Lord Justice Leveson's announcement



As was the actor Hugh Grant who is a high profile campaigner on press intrusion



Sally and Bob Dowler, the parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, arrive at the QEII Conference Centre in London to attend the release of the Leveson report on media practices



Once more a focus of attention, on the day the Leveson Inquiry report is due to be published, Rebekah Brooks arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London where she is facing charges linked to alleged bribery of public officials