News in pictures - News - The Independent

News in pictures

An employee writes a note on the message board at the new headquarters of Facebook in Menlo Park, California. Facebook unveiled plans for the biggest ever Internet IPO that could raise as much as $10 billion, but made it clear CEO Mark Zuckerberg will exercise almost complete control over the company, leaving investors with little say.<br/>Reuters

A stray dog runs on a snow-covered field, while a crow flies above, near Bucharest. Record-low temperatures in parts of Eastern Europe pushed the death toll from Arctic conditions to at least 89 people on Wednesday, and have forced Russian gas provider Gazprom to warn over supplies to Europe. Europe had enjoyed a relatively mild winter up until last weekend, but a Siberian system swinging in from the east brought that to an abrupt halt. Fourteen people in Romania and eight people in neighbouring Bulgaria have now died in the cold snap.<br/>Reuters

Members of the Mashco-Piro tribe observe an expedition of the Spanish Geographical Society from across the Alto Madre de Dios river in the Amazon basin of southeastern Peru, as photographed through a telescope by Spanish explorer Diego Cortijo on November 16, 2011, and distributed by Survival International on January 31, 2012. Survival International has the Mashco-Piro tribe listed as one of around 100 uncontacted indigenous tribes in the world.<br/>REUTERS/Diego Cortijo-Spanish Geographic Society via Survival International

A young man stands weeping near a wall damaged by shrapnel from a bomb attack in Peshawar. Residents standing nearby said the young man had lost his father in the bombing. Three people were killed and eight others wounded in a suspected suicide bombing at a house in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police officials said. The house belonged to the leader of a pro-government tribal militia fighting against militants in the nearby Khyber tribal region.<br/>Reuters

Revellers rest in a park after attending a Chinese New Year parade at Chinatown in New York January 29, 2012. The Lunar New Year began on January 23 and marked the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac.<br/>Reuters

A woman holds her Persian cat during an international cat exhibition held in Fleurus, southern Belgium.<br/>Reuters

Demonstrators pray in Tahrir square in Cairo during a protest demanding the army hand over power to the civilians.<br/>Reuters

A member of the Cryophil amateur winter bathing club leaves the Yenisei River with an air temperature some minus 26 degrees Celcius in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.<br/>Reuters

James Wallace wears a kilt as he stands outside the entrance to Edinburgh castle. Scotland's nationalist leader Alex Salmond marked Burns Night on Wednesday, when Scots toast their national poet, by unveiling his plans for an independence referendum in defiance of British government proposals.<br/>Reuters

Artist Frank Buckley sits on the toilet of the house he has built out of 1.4 billion decommissioned euro notes from the Central Bank's mint. Bricks of money make up the walls and shredded bills carpet the ground on the first floor of the empty office building for let on Coke Lane in Smithfield where Buckley has set up camp. He has been building for 12 hours every day, and living on-site since December.<br/>Reuters

Two scuba divers from the Italian Navy inspect inside the Costa Concordia cruise ship. Divers on Monday found two more bodies on deck number four of the Costa Concordia, the capsized cruise liner resting half-submerged near the port of Italy's Giglio island, said Franco Gabrielli, head of the civil protection agency.<br/>Reuters

People rush to place joss sticks at the Guan Yin temple in Singapore. Worshippers gather annually at the temple on the eve of the Lunar New Year with hopes to be the first person to offer joss sticks when the clock strikes midnight, believed to bring prosperity and luck. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on January 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac.<br/>Reuters

Melinda Star Guido, one of the smallest surviving babies born according to the Global Birth Registry, is pictured as she is discharged from the LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. Guido was born on August 30, 2011 at 24 weeks and weighed 9.5 ounces at birth.<br/>Reuters

Verdi Fire Chief Jon Sieben and other firefighters mop up hot spots just south of Reno Nevada. A wind-driven fire that raged through parched brush near Reno, Nevada, engulfing at least 20 homes and forcing residents and livestock to flee by the thousands, was 50 percent contained on Friday morning, officials said.<br/>Reuters

Sculptures by British artist Antony Gormley stand silhouetted against the sky in Woolwich, south east London.<br/>Reuters

Israeli youths with their faces painted hold signs during a demonstration in protest of the discrimination against Israelis of Ethiopian descent, in Jerusalem.<br/>Reuters

Employees of Lejaby lingerie company demonstrate to save jobs on the stairway in the Cour des Voraces in Lyon.<br/>Reuters

An oil removal ship is seen next to the Costa Concordia cruise ship as it ran aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island.<br/>Reuters

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles after receiving France's highest award The Legion of Honor from France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe at the French embassy in Yangon. The award is seen around her neck.<br/>Reuters

A cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island. At least five people were killed and rescuers were looking for other victims on Saturday after Costa Concordia, a large Italian cruise ship, carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground overnight, took on water and tipped over.<br/>Reuters

Leonhard Stock carries the Olympic flame as he skis down the ski jump during the opening ceremony of the first winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck.<br/>Reuters

Stern section of the stricken container ship Rena is almost totally submerged, about 14 nautical miles (22 km) from Tauranga, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island.<br/>Reuters

A girl sits in the Algerian town of Laghouat January 11, 2012, where she has been living in for a week since her home was bulldozed as part of a government re-housing scheme. Most of her neighbours were re-housed in new apartments, but several families were not on the list for re-housing.<br/>Reuters

Cygnus X, one of the most active regions of star birth in the Milky Way galaxy, is pictured in this NASA handout image. The composite infrared image taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the cloud of dust and gas 4,500 light years away from earth in the constellation Cygnus. Most stars are thought to form in huge star-forming regions like Cygnus X.<br/>Reuters / NASA

A girl walks hand-in-hand with a woman on their way to church in the Fort National neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, January 9, 2011. Haiti will this week mark the first anniversary of the earthquake that killed around 250,000 people and wrecked much of the capital Port-au-Prince on Jan 12, 2010.<br/>Reuters

Students hold earthen pitchers filled with water as they take a holy bath ahead of the Magh Mela festival during a ceremony in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. The ceremony was organised to resemble the annual month-long religious festival held during the Hindu month of Magh, when thousands of Hindu devotees take a holy dip in the waters of the Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, in Allahabad.<br/>Reuters

Eric Wong, managing director of a capsule bed manufacturer, poses in a modified capsule bed inside a showroom in Hong Kong. The beds, which are modified for the Hong Kong market, have adjustable ceilings, a large air conditioner and a TV. They are aimed at university students and budget mainland Chinese travellers visiting the territory and will cost $450 a month or $30 a night, according to the manufacturer.<br/>Reuters

Yogini Bidve, the mother of murdered Indian student Anuj Bidve reacts as she visits the spot where he was killed in Salford, northern England. Bidve, who was studying at Lancaster University, was shot in the head at close range on December 26, 2011.<br/>Reuters

Visitors view buildings made from blocks of ice for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in the Heilongjiang province of northeastern China, which opened today. The exhibition, thought to be the size of 70 football pitches, was made of 180,000 cubic metres of ice and features horse-drawn rides for children.<br/>AP

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa on the day of the Iowa caucus.<br/>Reuters

Several tons of dead herring washed up on a beach in Nordreisa, northern Norway, at the weekend, puzzling locals and marine scientists.<br/>EPA

Marco Fois of Italy dives into the Tiber River from the Cavour bridge, as part of traditional New Year celebrations in Rome January 1, 2012. Five men jumped into the muddy waters of the Tiber, continuing an annual tradition which dates back to 1946.<br/>Reuters

The number 2012 is written with sparklers during a long exposure in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) during New Year's Eve celebrations in Vienna.<br/>Reuters

Homeless Typhoon Washi survivors pray during a holy mass at a school building turned into an evacuation centre in the southern Philippines city of Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao island. The death toll has risen to 1,249 with about 1,100 missing, disaster officials said this week.<br/>Reuters

Locals gather around bodies of people who were killed in air strikes in Ortasu village near the southeastern Turkish town of Sirnak.<br/>REUTERS/Emin Bal/IHA

A Catholic priest walks inside a church made of snow in the Bavarian village of Mitterfirmiansreut, near the German-Czech border. The snow church is likely to become a tourist attraction till the beginning of spring.<br/>Reuters

North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un cries as his father, North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il, lies in state in this still image taken from video<br/>Reuters

Girls plant paper flowers with messages written by the Indonesian and Japanese society during a ceremony to commemorate the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Lhoknga, Aceh province<br/>Reuters

Members of Berlin's ice swimming club "Berliner Seehunde" (Berlin Seals) take a dip in the Orankesee lake in Berlin as part of their traditional Christmas ice swimming session<br/>Reuters

Employees carry babies as they expose the babies in the sun to prevent jaundice at the CareBay maternity care centre in Shanghai. CareBay provides services for "Zuo Yue Zi," or confinement period in Mandarin, a Chinese practice for mothers who have just given birth to stay indoors, undergo a restrictive diet and set of activities for a month.<br/>Reuters

Britain's Prince William dances with Vanessa Boateng as his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge looks on during a reception at Centrepoint's Camberwell Foyer in London<br/>Reuters

North Korean traffic control women react as they make a condolence call for deceased leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang<br/>Reuters / Kyodo

People gathered to mourn as the coffin of late former Czech President Vaclav Havel is transported on a gun carriage to Prague Castle for the funeral ceremony in Prague December 21, 2011. Havel, the playwright-turned-president whose "Velvet Revolution" toppled Communist rule, died on Sunday at his country home in Hradecek, northeast of Prague, after a long respiratory illness.<br/>Reuters

The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency<br/>Reuters

<p>A tearful announcer dressed in black announces the death of North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il on North Korean State Television in this still image
from video. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died on a
train trip, state television reported on Monday, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear programme. The announcer dressed in black said the 69-year old had died
on Saturday of physical and mental over-work on his way to give "field guidance". </p><br/>

<p>People light candles and hold the national flag in tribute to late former Czech President Vaclav Havel at Wenceslas Square in Prague. Havel, a dissident playwright who was jailed by Communists and then went on to lead the bloodless "Velvet Revolution" and become Czech president, died at 75 on Sunday. </p><br/>

<p>People gather during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution in Sidi Bouzid. Tens of thousands of people packed a provincial town square to celebrate the first anniversary on Saturday of Tunisia's democratic revolution in the place where it began, unleashing a tide of popular revolt that has transformed
the Arab world.</p><br/>

<p>A protester flashes a victory sign with his bloodied hand as other protesters throw stones at army soldiers at the cabinet near Tahrir Square in Cairo. Stone-throwing demonstrators clashed with troops wielding truncheons and electric prods in central Cairo on Friday, witnesses said, in the worst violence since the start of Egypt's
first free election in six decades. </p><br/>

<p>Girls hold up the flags of Qatar (R), Tunisia (2nd R), Egypt and Libya (L) during Libya's first festival of the Amazigh songs in Benghazi.</p><br/>

<p>First lady Michelle Obama and U.S. President Barack Obama applaud troops
at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The visit is seen as
marking the end of the Iraq war with a tribute to the troops who fought
and died in a conflict Obama opposed from the start.
</p><br/>

Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have rescued 54 students from the basement of an Islamic seminary, or madrassa, where they said they were kept in chains by clerics, beaten and barely fed. Police raided the Zakariya madrassa late on Monday on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub. They were now investigating whether it had any links to violent militant groups, which often recruit from hardline religious schools.<br/>Reuters

Yang Guang, a male giant panda, eats bamboo as he sits in his new enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo during a press view in Edinburgh. A pair of giant pandas have been loaned to the zoo by China, moving British officials to say that the loan strengthened ties between the two countries.<br/>Reuters

Palestinian boys throw oranges towards Israeli police during clashes in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Shuafat. The clashes broke out during a protest against the construction of a new Israeli checkpoint nearby.<br/>Reuters

Todd Engle (centre) and Mary Rose Engle (right) hold weapons as they pose for a photograph with a man dressed as Santa Claus at the Scottsdale Gun Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.<br/>Reuters

LA Nathan Attis of Plymouth is embraced after disembarking from the Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean at Devonport naval base in Plymouth, southwest England. The ship returned in time for Christmas after a seven and a half month deployment.<br/>Reuters

Female prisoners say goodbye to policewomen as they are released from Bang Kwang Central Prison in Bangkok. Over 2,700 prisoners were released from the prison today after being given royal pardons on the occasion of the 84th birthday of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej. According to local media, a total of 26,000 inmates will be released within three months under the annual royal pardon decree.<br/>Reuters

A woman watches television in her flooded house in Cali. At least 96 people have died as a result of heavy rain, authorities said. Colombia's weather office expects La Nina-related downpours to continue at least until the end of the first quarter of next year.<br/>Reuters

Shi'ite Muslims bleed after flagellating themselves during an Ashura procession in Mumbai. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala.<br/>Reuters

Ugandans Kenneth Sebagal (R) and Malou Geofrey from Third Country Nationals, that provide base security for Camp Kalsu, walk through the base near Hillla, as they leave the base after serving at the camp en route for home to Uganda.<br/>

Anarchists burn flares, shout and hold a banner during a protest after voting closed in Russia's parliamentary election in central Moscow. Vladimir Putin's ruling party suffered a big drop in support in a parliamentary election on Sunday, exit polls showed, as voters signalled their growing unease with his domination of Russian politics before a planned return to the presidency next year. Banner reads "We were cheated".<br/>Reuters

A nun casts her vote at a polling booth in Sarajevo. Croatian nationals living in Bosnia will go to the polls on December 3 and 4.<br/>Reuters

Recruits of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) take part in a training session at a military base in Jinan, Shandong Province, December 2, 2011.<br/>Reuters

People gather around lit candles to mark the upcoming World AIDS Day in Kathmandu November 30, 2011. World AIDS Day, which falls on December 1, 2011, aims to raise awareness to tackle the prejudice towards HIV-infected people and help stop its spread.<br/>Reuters

A worker loads palm fruits into a truck at a palm plantation in the Serdang Bedagai district of Indonesia's North Sumatra province. Major palm oil buyers and suppliers will assess the impact of erratic weather, a looming global recession and resilient demand on prices at an annual Indonesian industry meeting this week.<br/>

A man leans against the wall of City Hall at the Occupy LA encampment after the 12.01am eviction deadline in Los Angeles on November 28, 2011. The nearly two-month-old encampment is among the oldest and largest on the West Coast aligned with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations protesting economic inequality in the country and the excesses of the U.S. financial system.<br/>Reuters

Rescue teams search for victims at the site of the collapsed Mahakam II Bridge, also known as Kutai Kartanegara Bridge, in Tenggarong, East Kalimantan November 27, 2011. At least four people died and more than a dozen others were reported injured and 24 missing when the 705-metre-long (2,313-feet) suspension bridge connecting Tenggarong and Tenggarong Seberang districts in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan collapsed on Saturday, according to local media. The bridge was the longest bridge in Kalimantan.<br/>Reuters

Nepalese monks with lit candles attend the "Together for World Peace" event organized by the International Dhammadayada Association, Nepal (IDNA) in Kathmandu.<br/>Reuters

Palestinian children stand to form Pablo Picasso's Dove of Peace as part of a project by British aerial artist John Quigley and the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), at the foot of the Mount of Temptation in the West Bank city of Jericho. It took some 1000 children from United Nations schools to create the project produced as part of the "Peace on Earth" project, which will be broadcast globally from Bethlehem's Manger Square on Christmas day, a U.N. press release said.<br/>Reuters

The Kermit the Frog balloon floats down Central Park West during the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving day parade in New York.<br/>Reuters

Anti-government protesters react as they celebrate the signing by Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh of a deal to step down in Sanaa November 23, 2011. Saleh signed a deal on Wednesday under which he stepped down from 33 years in power and 10 months of protests against his rule that have brought the country to the edge of civil war.<br/>Reuters

A Russian police officer moves to detain an activist from the opposition group "Another Russia" during a protest against forthcoming elections in central Moscow November 22, 2011. Russia will vote in parliamentary elections on December 4.<br/>Reuters

A protester has his eyes washed with milk to protect against tear gas, during clashes with police in Cairo.<br/>Reuters

A wounded protester is rushed to a field hospital near Tahrir Square during clashes with Egyptian riot police in Cairo November 20, 2011. Police backed by the army used batons and teargas on Sunday to charge protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding Eygpt's ruling generals swiftly hand power to civilians, in some of the worst violence since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.<br/>Reuters

Eveline Constance Heijkamp, a 22-year-old Occupy Amsterdam demonstrator, prepares for her wedding to Gijs Peskens (not pictured) in a tent on the Beursplein in Amsterdam November 19, 2011. Occupy Amsterdam demonstrators have set up tents on the Beursplein since October 15, 2011.<br/>Reuters

Soldiers of a special forces unit walk after a military exercise in Tibi, near Alicante.<br/>Reuters

A girl washes the lid of a cooking pot amid the ruins of a market destroyed by city officials in Benin's main city of Cotonou November 17, 2011. Vendors and local residents said police used bulldozers and razed the local market in an effort to tidy the city ahead of a three-day visit by Pope Benedict XVI.<br/>Reuters

A man strolls in front of the Benetton store in downtown Rome November 16, 2011. Benetton withdrew an advertisement using an image of Pope Benedict kissing an imam on the mouth after the Vatican protested on Wednesday at the Italian clothing firm's latest shock campaign.<br/>REUTERS

An Iranian student holds up an anti-U.S. poster as he attends a demonstration to show his support for Iran's nuclear program, before a ceremony to form a human chain around the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), in Isfahan<br/>Reuters

An Occupy Oakland camper reads a book by candle light at the Occupy Oakland campsite in Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, California November 14, 2011. Anti-Wall Street protesters in Oakland rejected a call by the California city's police union on Friday for them to leave their encampment, creating the potential for a showdown.<br/>

Japan's PM Noda arrives for a news conference after the conclusion of the APEC Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii<br/>Reuters

Officials from TEPCO and Japanese journalists look at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from a bus in Fukushima<br/>Reuters

Artist Ted Harrison poses for photographs with his art installation at St Paul's Cathedral, in London<br/>Reuters

Crosses commemorating the British military casualties in Afghanistan are seen in the Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey in central London<br/>Reuters

A man and his dog make their way through a flooded area in Ayutthaya in Thailand. Thailand's worst floods in half a century have killed more than 500 people, damaged millions of tonnes of rice, forced a series of industrial estates to close and threaten to inundate the capital, Bangkok.<br/>REUTERS

A Liberian election official waits for voters at an empty polling station during presidential elections, in the capital Monrovia.<br/>Reuters

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra speaks to officials on a truck during her visit to a flooded area in Bangkok<br/>REUTERS

British singer Jessie J performs at the MTV Europe Music Awards show in Belfast November 6, 2011.<br/>REUTERS

Muslim pilgrims pray on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat during the annual haj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Mecca.<br/>REUTERS

An Occupy Wall Street campaign demonstrator sits covered in a blanket in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New York.<br/>REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

People gather around a dead whale after it beached on the Maule beach at the gulf of Arauco, some 550 km southwest of Santiago, near Concepcion city on November 4, 2011. The 16-meter long whale was found dead at an area which is apparently used to raise their young. The cause of its death is still unknown, local media said.<br/>

A fireman holding flares sits on a traffic light during a demonstration against reforms to notably change the methods of firefighter recruitment on November 3, 2011 in Paris.<br/>Getty Images

Nepalese police arrest a Tibetan woman during a protest in Kathmandu. About 20,000 Tibetans live in Nepal with valid refugee papers, while many are believed to be residing illegally. With China's influence over Nepal increasing, the Nepalese government's stands strong against Tibetans exiles whose protests in support of their homeland has increased in recent years. Nepal ceased issuing refugee papers to Tibetans in 1989 and recognizes Tibet to be a part of China.<br/>

A modified model of the Long March CZ-2F rocket carrying the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China's Gansu Province. China launched the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft early on Tuesday, paving the way for a docking exercise with another craft. The docking, if successful, will pave the way for China to operate a permanent space station around 2020, and make the nation the world's third to do so.<br/>

A servicewoman representing the Koytashskoye infantry unit holds a child as she casts her ballot during the presidential election at a polling station in the village of Koytash outside the capital Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan began voting on Sunday to elect a new president capable of bridging divisions that threaten stability in the former Soviet republic, a vital step to completing bold reforms to create Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy.<br/>

Police officers wait to assist residents passing through flood waters in Bangkok's Chinatown. Receding floodwaters north of Bangkok have reduced the threat to the Thai capital, the prime minister said on Saturday, but high tides in the Gulf of Thailand will still test the city's flood defences.<br/>

A relative of one of the nine men accused of orchestrating the April 28 bombing of an outdoor cafe, gestures as he attends the final hearing in court in Sale.. A Moroccan judge sentenced Adel Othmani to death on Friday for plotting and carrying out the bomb attack on the cafe in Marrakesh that killed 17 people, including eight French nationals. The blasts were the deadliest in Morocco since coordinated suicide bombings carried out by Islamist militants in the commercial capital, Casablanca, in 2003.<br/>

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, seen in this video grab from TF1 French television in a prime time interview from the Elysee Palace in Paris, speaks to the nation about the eurozone economy the day after a summit in Brussels.<br/>

Colombian students mock riot police during a demonstration in Bogota October 26, 2011. Thousands of students marched in a nationwide protest against the government's reform of public universities, student organizations said.<br/>Reuters

Rescue workers carry a baby from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van. A 14-day-old baby was rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Tuesday, 46 hours after an earthquake struck southeast Turkey, a Reuters Television journalist said.<br/>Reuters

A NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldier from Germany is reflected on a window of a bus, as a Kosovo Serb man sitting inside the bus looks out at erected barricades, in the village of Jagnjenica, near the town of Zubin Potok. Serbian President Boris Tadic urged an end to a tense stand-off between Serbs and NATO troops in Kosovo but was rebuffed by hardline Kosovo Serb leaders after five hours of talks late on Sunday.<br/>Reuters

Rescue workers rescue people trapped under debris after an earthquake in a village near the eastern Turkish city of Van. Turkey's Kandilli Observatory estimates that some 500 to 1,000 people were killed in a powerful earthquake in southeast Turkey's Van province on Sunday, broadcaster CNN Turk reported. Separately, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reporters some 10 buildings had collapsed in Van city and around 25-30 buildings collapsed in the nearby district of Ercis.<br/>Reuters

Protesters and members of Occupy Wall Street wait for the start of the march, during an annual demonstration calling for a stop to police brutality in New York.<br/>Reuters

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa.<br/>Reuters

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, covered in blood, is pulled from a truck by NTC fighters in Sirte in this still image taken from video footage. Gaddafi was killed on Thursday as Libya's new leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule, sparking wild celebrations that eight months of war may finally be over.<br/>Reuters

A youth throws a petrol bomb at police during riots with police in Athens' Syntagma (Constitution) square. Greek unions begin a 48-hour general strike on Wednesday, the biggest protest in years, as parliament prepares to vote on sweeping new austerity measures designed to stave off a default that could trigger a crisis in the wider euro zone.<br/>Reuters

Newly released Palestinian prisoner Fotnah Abu Aleish (R) is hugged by her brother upon arrival to the Askar refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus. Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and hundreds of Palestinians crossed Israel's borders in opposite directions on Tuesday as a thousand-for-one prisoner exchange brought joy to families but did little to ease decades of conflict.<br/>Reuters

The tanker Awanuia and a tug boat carry out operations to pump oil from the stricken container ship Rena, about 14 nautical miles (22 km) from Tauranga, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, 13 days after it struck the Astrolabe Reef. Rough weather on Tuesday forced salvage teams to halt pumping oil from the stricken container ship in what has turned into the country's worst environmental disaster in decades.<br/>Reuters

</p><p>Libyan government fighters shoot from the roof of a building at pro-Gaddafi forces in Sirte. Libyan government fighters battled on Sunday to subdue pockets of resistance by pro-Gaddafi fighters, whose refusal to abandon the ousted leader's hometown of Sirte is delaying Libya's move to democracy.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves a protest outside St Paul's Cathedral, next to the London Stock Exchange, in central London. Demonstrators worldwide shouted their rage on Saturday against bankers and politicians they accuse of ruining economies and condemning millions to hardship through greed and bad government. </p><br/>Reuters

<p>Thai soldiers help residents crossing a strong stream of floodwaters in Pathum Thani province. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra tried to reassure residents of Bangkok on Friday that the capital should largely escape the flooding that has covered a third of the country since July and caused damage of at least $3 billion. </p><br/>Reuters

<p>Benjamin Fodor, aka Seattle superhero 'Phoenix Jones', speaks to the media after making a court appearance in Seattle, Washington. Prosecutors have so far declined to charge Fodor, a onetime mixed-martial arts competitor who was arrested on Sunday after he pepper-sprayed a group of nightclub patrons he believed were involved in a street brawl downtown. </p><br/>Reuters

<p>The Berlin cathedral is seen as it is illuminated during the Festival of Lights in Berlin. Several landmarks of the German capital, including boulevards, squares, towers, historical and modern buildings, will be illuminated during the festival.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>Policemen detain an activist from women's rights organisation Femen who took part in a rally near the Pecherskiy district court in Kiev. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich hinted at possible imminent changes to the law which may benefit former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, convicted on Tuesday of abuse-of-office and sentenced to seven years in jail. Activists gathered to protest against the conflict between Yanukovich and Tymoshenko, which is evident in participants' opinion, and to prevent the bloodshed between the two sides, according to local media.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>People make their way through a flooded area in Ayutthaya province. Thai rescue workers scrambled on Monday to prevent a humanitarian disaster as the worst flooding in half a century swamped large sections of the country, shut factories and stranded thousands of people.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>Egyptian Christians clash with soldiers and riot police during a protest against an attack on a church in southern Egypt, in Cairo. Nineteen people were killed in Cairo on Sunday when Christians, some carrying crosses and pictures of Jesus, clashed with military police, medical and security sources said, in the latest sectarian flare-up in a country in political turmoil. </p><br/>Reuters

<p>Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh delivers his speech on state television in this still image taken from video. Saleh said on Saturday he would leave power in the coming days, the closest the veteran leader has come to announcing he plans to step down after nine months of mass protests against his 33 year rule.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>The newly inaugurated skyscraper tower of Huaxi village is seen in Huaxi village, Jiangsu province. Huaxi, also known as China's richest village, celebrates its 50th anniversary with the inauguration of a massive 328-meters (1,076 feet) high skyscraper that screams for attention from its lowly skyline. A solid gold bull weighing a tonne also greets visitors at a viewing area on the 60th-floor of the tower, a testament to the wealth of the village. In Huaxi, those from the original 2,000 residents have at least a house, a car, and $250,000 in the bank and enjoy universal health care and free education. Officials from elsewhere in China tour Huaxi to find out how this once sleepy village, with just 576 residents in the 1950s, is now so rich and why non-local businessmen would donate million-dollar factories to buy the privilege of a local residence permit.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>Prisoners wade through a flooded jail as they evacuate to another jail at Ayutthaya prison in Ayutthaya province, nearly 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok. At least 224 people have died in flooding in Thailand since mid-July and water has inundated the 400-year-old Chai Wattanaram temple in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, a World Heritage Site, officials said on Tuesday.</p><br/>Reuters

<p>A tribute message to the late Steve Jobs written in lipstick is seen on the window of the Apple Store in Santa Monica, California. Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after a years-long and highly public battle with cancer and other health issues.</p><br/>Reuters

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The 10 Best sledges

Not all of them require snow...

Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy

Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy

Confronting the real reasons for puttting things off can help us beat it

Fun in the sunset years

Fun in the sunset years

A new movie follows retirees moving to India for low-cost care and a culture of respect for the elderly. For many Britons, it's already a reality

Picture preview: Lucian Freud drawings

Lucian Freud drawings

Picture preview

Silent revolution at the Baftas as the French take top awards

Silent revolution at the Baftas

The Artist wins in seven categories, with Meryl Streep the other big success story

Whitney Houston: The diva who had – and lost – it all

The diva who had – and lost – it all

Nick Hasted charts the highs and lows of Whitney Houston's life

How Picasso won over (some of) the British

How Picasso won over (some of) the British

Winston Churchill and Evelyn Waugh hated his work, but Picasso provided inspiration for a whole generation of UK artists

Topshop: A Decade Of Design

Topshop: A Decade Of Design

When London Fashion Week starts on Friday, Topshop will celebrate 10 years backing its brightest young stars

John Prescott: 'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

At 73, John Prescott isn't mellowing. In fact he's taking a shot at becoming a police commissioner