World News in Pictures

[Albert Shagnastier]

Blinding page.
As always.

How you holding up mate? Better every day?

[Mr Lick]

After a night of vicious street battles, Ukrainian anti-government protesters and police clashed once more in Kiev on Monday.

Protesters erected barricades from charred vehicles and other materials as the sound of stun grenades was heard in the freezing air. Some wore improvised protective gear as they prepared for a confrontation with police.

As many as 100,000 people gathered on Sunday in defiance of new laws that the U.S. and other Western governments say effectively outlaw peaceful protests

[Mr Lick]

Flooding in Philippines




lood victims are pulled on inflatable tire tubes as they are evacuated from heavy flooding brought by tropical depression "Agaton", in Butuan, in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, January 20, 2014



Residents use an improvised cable car to reach relief goods across a rampaging river after a non-stop downpour spawned by a low pressure area flooded New Bataan town, Compostela province, southern Philippines, January 14, 2014

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

Blessing of the animals




Pet dogs, Kitty (L-R), Toby, Luna and Ariel, are placed on a bench by their owners before they are blessed by a priest outside San Anton church in Churriana, near Malaga, southern Spain, January 17, 2014. Pet owners bring their animals to be blessed every year on the day of Saint Anthony, patron saint of animals

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

A fellow protester pours water over the hand of Prakrong Choochan, who was killed when a grenade was thrown at anti-government protesters last Friday, during a Buddhist ceremony in Bangkok January 19, 2014. Twenty-eight people were injured, seven of them seriously, in an explosion on Sunday at a camp of anti-government protesters in the centre of the Thai capital, medical officials said



A Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) soldier sits by the fire for warmth before the army destroys a poppy field in Nanbarkyaing village, Mantong township, in the northern Shan state January 15, 2014. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said opium production in Myanmar increased 26 percent in 2013 to an estimated 870 tonnes, the highest since joint-assessments with Myanmar's government began in 2002. The report said the increase is due to an expansion in the cultivation of areas in northern Myanmar from an estimated 51,000 hectares (510 sq km) in 2012 to 57,800 hectares (578 sq km) in 2014. It said 92 percent of opium poppy cultivation in the country is in Shan state, home to several armed groups that have been linked to the drugs trade for many years



Youth look at Mount Sinabung spewing ash near Sigarang Garang village in Karo district, Indonesia's North Sumatra province, January 19, 2014. More than 26,000 villagers have been evacuated since authorities raised the alert status for the volcano to the highest level in November 2013, local media reported

[Mr Lick]

Spectators gather during the Selcuk-Efes Camel Wrestling Festival in the town of Selcuk, near the western Turkish coastal city of Izmir January 19, 2014. Hundreds of wrestling camels competed in the annual event watched by thousands of enthusiasts in western Turkey.



Pope Francis gestures to a baby as he arrives for a pastoral visit at the Sacro Cuore Basilica in downtown Rome January 19, 2014



An anti-government protester kisses a Thai soldier, after some of the Thai police personnel stationed in the Government house left the place following an agreement between the army and protesters, in Bangkok, January 19, 2014. Thailand's military chief urged both sides in the country's prolonged political crisis to settle their differences, with signs that opposition protests against the government could be running out of steam



Naoki Yuasa of Japan crashes during the first run of the men's World Cup slalom ski race in Wengen January 19, 2014

[Mr Lick]

A boy stands at the site of car bomb attack near a juvenile prison in Baghdad, January 19, 2014. Mortar fire, car bombs and gunfire killed at least 14 people and wounded 55 in Baghdad on Saturday, police and medics said



ndonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih lies in a bed whilst being treated at a hospital in Sragen, Indonesia's Central Java province January 17, 2014. Thousands of people rallied in Hong Kong on Sunday to demand justice for Erwiana, who was badly beaten by her employer in a case that has sparked widespread outrage and a police investigation into accusations of torture. Erwiana had suffered extensive injuries but her condition was stabilising, a hospital spokesman said



A Russian Orthodox Christian takes a dip in an icy pond during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in the village of Strelna outside St. Petersburg January 19, 2014. Orthodox Christians celebrate the religious holiday of Epiphany according to the Gregorian calendar on January 19



A man carries a wounded child that survived after what activists said was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad in the Al-Maysar neighborhood of Aleppo January 19, 2014



Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic (R) jumps and kicks a corner flag as he celebrates scoring against FC Nantes during their French Ligue 1 soccer match at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris January 19, 2014.



Manchester United's goalkeeper David de Gea (C) is beaten by a shot from Chelsea's Samuel Eto'o during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London, January 19, 2014.

[Mr Lick]

Bahrain air show

[Mr Lick]

[Mr Lick]

A man has a rest on the so-called "stairway to heaven" - which counts 352 steps - on his way to the top of this former coal miners' dump in Neukirchen-Vluyn, western Germany



Workers clear snow inside the Gyeongbokgung Palace following overnight snowfall in Seoul, South Korea

[Mr Lick]

Ukraine protesters clash with police in Kiev























Many activists have held peaceful demonstrations. People gathered in front of the European Union delegation in Kiev on Monday calling for sanctions to be imposed on Ukraine's government.

[Mr Lick]

Two people were killed and several others injured after structural collapse and fire at an animal feed plant Monday in Omaha, Neb., officials said.

The Omaha Police Department confirmed the two deaths after Interim Fire Chief Bernie Kanger said crews had stopped rescue efforts and would start a slower recovery effort to retrieve victims. The International Nutrition plant is unstable, so rescuers must work slowly to ensure their safety, he said.

Thirty-eight employees were inside the plant at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) Monday when the accident occurred, officials said. Ten were transported to hospitals and several others had minor injuries

[Mr Lick]

A driver took a risk by attempting to drive across the frozen Yellow River in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. The car drove onto the ice at dusk and took 10 minutes to arrive at the opposite bank, more than half a mile away



David Beckham joins Del Boy and Rodney for a special BBC Sport Relief sketch that will be shown on Friday 21st March

[Mr Lick]

A pro-European integration protester aims his pneumatic gun at riot police during clashes in Kiev. Protesters clashed with riot police in the Ukrainian capital after tough anti-protest legislation, which the political opposition says paves the way for a police state, was rushed through parliament last week



A tank made of Renminbi banknotes is part of a large installation by Chinese artist Xu Zhen in a major show at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, China. Xu, from Shanghai, is one of the most celebrated modern Chinese artists known for his work in a wide range of media from performance art to porcelain

[Mr Lick]

California Highway Patrol officers participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Los Angeles, USA. The 29th annual Kingdom Day Parade honouring Martin Luther King Jr. was themed Ain't Gonna' Let Nobody Turn Us 'Round



U.S. President Barack Obama, with daughter Sasha and First Lady Michelle Obama, participate in a community service project at the D.C Central Kitchen in celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in Washington, DC



A pedestrian walks along the banks of the Neris river as temperatures dipped to just above 0F in Vilnius, Lithuania

[Mr Lick]

Horses are ridden into the surf at la Enramada beach along the southern Adeje coastline on the Canary island of Tenerife during the annual pilgrimage marking the Saint Sebastian, considered the patron protector of animals against pests and disease . The San Sebastian festivities in Adeje began at the end of the 19th century and starts with a traditional mass and blessing of the Saint's effigy that is then carried on the shoulders of the parishioners to the sea shore



A tractor drives through flood water still blocking the A361 between East Lyng and Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels. Large areas of Somerset still remain under water with some vital roads yet to reopen and many other areas of the West Country have also suffered from storms, coastal or river flooding

[Mr Lick]

A vehicle is buried after a rockslide in Nice, southeastern France. Many roads have been blocked in the Alpes-Maritimes due to landslides, floods and avalanches that followed heavy rain



Mexican Navy members check a light aircraft that landed in Aguacaliente village in Acapulco, Mexico, after it was chased in the air by a military aircraft that shot at it. The two civilian crew members escaped, leaving the aircraft abandoned

[Mr Lick]

Last man standing: A supporter of New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, sits as police stand guard during a demonstration in India



Members of the Ukrainian riot police are caught in the line of gasoline bombs hurled by anti-government protestors during the clashes in Kiev



A security guard scans rooftops during anti-government marches in Bangkok, Thailand

[Mr Lick]

A special forces policeman covers his rifle on the roof of the Congress Centre on the eve of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland



Smoke and fire from burning cars are seen following an explosion in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut, Lebanon. Two people were killed in the suicide car bombing



A protester gestures near a burned car as ro-European integration protesters clashed with riot police in Kiev, Ukraine.

[Mr Lick]

Protests against Ukraine government continue in Kiev – in pictures

Hundreds of protesters carrying clubs and wearing gas masks faced riot police in the government quarters of Kiev, a day after more than 200 people were injured in the worst violence in almost two months of anti-government rallies. The protesters demand that Ukraine allies itself more strongly with the European Union and that President Viktor Yanukovych calls early elections. Yanukovych refused in November 2013 to sign a partnership agreement with the EU and sought closer ties with Russia instead