News In Pictures

[Da Ji]

The peloton rolls out of San Francisco at the start of Stage Three of the 2010 Tour of California from San Francisco to Santa Cruz in San Francisco, California. -- PHOTO: AFP

A student on strike waves a flag while demonstrators protest outside Rio Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Government union workers held a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in support of university students who have been on strike for nearly a month to protest budget cuts and course changes. The banners read in Spanish: 'We're parents, you're not alone', left, and 'Think, read and act'. -- PHOTO: AP

People dressed as Independence heroes take part in Haitian Flag Day celebration in Arcahaie, Haiti. Haitians celebrate on Tuesday the 207th anniversary of the creation of their flag. -- PHOTO: AP


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[Da Ji]

Traditional Burundian drummers carry their drums on their heads during a political rally by Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza in the town of Rugombo in northern Burundi. Mr Nkurunziza told journalists that he hoped his very personal brand of 'grassroots development' and religious fervour will earn him re-election. -- PHOTO: AFP

A security guard stands during the opening of Democratic People's republic of North Korea state art exhibition 'Flowers of Kim Il Sung' outside the country promoting socialist ideology of North Korea in Vienna. The exposition will be open to public from 19 May til September 5, 2010. -- PHOTO: AFP

Picture shows London 2012 Olympic Games' Olympic Mascot, Wenlock (L), and Paralympic Mascot, Mandeville, during their launch at St Paul's School, in east London. Two ultra-modern creatures with just one eye each have been unveiled as the mascots for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

Romanian volunteers of 'Green Agent' NGO plant fir trees in Piatra Craiului National Park. In the National Park Piatra Craiului, in the heart of the Carpathians, some 300 hectares of forest were cleared between 2004 and 2007, according to the NGO Agent Green, which has denounced this as a 'crime'. More than 180,000 hectares have been cleared illegally in Romania since 1990. -- PHOTO: AFP

Chinese participants of the Waist Drum Tournament, perform at Grand View Garden in Beijing, China. More than 1,500 waist drum fans from 50 teams in Beijing gathered for the 'Baizhifang Cup' waist drum tournament. Waist drum, also known as Yaogu in China, is a Chinese traditional musical instrument people perform, sometimes with group dancing, for festivals and celebrations. -- PHOTO: AP

A motorcyclist and a pillion rider travel past an artwork created by Carlos Andres Gomez called 'Existence' near Cali. Gomez sculpts figures in the earth to raise awareness of environmental issues. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


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[Da Ji]

Black belt ninjutsu instructor Kaylan Soto (C) trains ninjas in combat techniques at the Ninja Senshi Ryu (Ninja Warrior School) near Sydney. Mr Kaylan and his black-clad students have become local heroes after they saved a 27-year-old German medical student from three Australian muggers who struck outside their martial arts school. -- PHOTO: AFP

Chinese students gather to relieve stress prior to China's three-day make-or-break college entry exams, which shapes the working lives of many students, at a high school in Hanshan, east China's Anhui province. Meanwhile, a recent wave of violence has caused widespread fears over public safety in China with more than 80 injured in five previous attacks at schools and kindergartens over the past two months. -- PHOTO: AFP

Anti-North Korea protesters break a mock North Korean missile with portraits of the North's founder Kim Il-sung, his son and current leader Kim Jong-il and what they say is Kim Jong-il's son Kim Jong-un at a protest in front of the Defence Ministry building in Seoul. North Korea said on Thursday it would take strong measures, including war, if the South imposes sanctions after blaming it for sinking a navy ship. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

A man carries his son on a cart in La Terminal market, Guatemala City. The EU signed trade accords with Peru, Colombia and Central America during the EU-Latin America summit in Madrid. -- PHOTO: AP

Workers view the first of 156 of Los Angeles iconic lifeguard towers that will receive a new look as part of a massive public art and civic project called 'Summer of Color' at Santa Monica beach. Summer of Color is the culmination of the efforts of nearly 6,000 children in schools, hospitals, and social service programs - and 2,500 adult volunteers. -- PHOTO: AFP

Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters gather during the beginning of a sit-in protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Protesters gathered on Thursday, the second anniversary of President Ma Ying Jeou's inauguration, for a three-day sit-in protest to pressure the government to hold a referendum on its proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


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[Da Ji]

A 1957 Messerschmitt KR200 microcar, also known as Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter), is a three-wheeled bubble car capable of reaching speeds of up to 100 kmh (60 mph). It was designed by aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 to 1964. There are 36 units remaining in Cuba, 16 in the US and around 100 in Germany. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Uruguayans display pictures of relatives who 'disappeared' during the military regime (1973-1985) during at an annual demonstration in Montevideo on Thursday. Thousands of Uruguayans marched along 18 de Julio, the main avenue of the city, claiming to know about the more than 150 missing Uruguayans that were kidnapped by military forces. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

French Navy helicopter carrier 'Jeanne d'Arc', appears through the fog of Le Havre harbor, Normandy, on Friday before its last mission to Rouen. The ship made 79 trips around the world since 1964. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

A hot-air balloon floats near Reimersdorf, northern Germany, as temperatures reach eight degrees Celsius on early Friday morning. -- PHOTO: AP

France's national soccer team players run in the French Alps resort of Tignes during with a week of altitude training in preparation for the World Cup. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

A tram passes the UniCredit SpA headquarters in Milan, Italy. UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Profumo said that contagion from Greece's debt crisis will be managed and that Europe should concentrate on growth and not just cutting public debt. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


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[Da Ji]

A volunteer feeds milk to a malnourished kitten and baby monkey at an animal hospital at Hathijan village at the outskirts of the Western Indian city of Ahmedabad. According to doctors, the hospital receives 5 to 10 baby animals daily for treatment who are found by volunteers in the streets. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

In Burkina Faso, farmers are divided on the opportunity to launch a massive genetically modified (GMO) cotton production, despite that large cotton production companies would give them incentives. To appeal to the farmers, cotton companies have adopted a series of measures: augmentation of the price at which they would buy the cotton and funding for maintenance needs such as pesticides and fertiliser. -- PHOTO: AFP

Burundian men and women gather in a field near a cluster of homes donated by the United Nations and known as a 'Peace Village' near the south western Burundian town of Mutambara. Some 300 resident families who live in Peace Village are part of a larger group of some 500,000 Burundian refugees who have come back to Burundi since 2002 after having fled to neighbouring countries running away form a bloody 13-year civil war. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

Thousands of demonstrators dance and sing as they participate in the National Indigenous March that arrived in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires after traveling some 2,000 km across the country, as part of the commemorations for the bicentennial of the Independence and to claim for a multicultural state that respects the rights of native peoples. -- PHOTO: AFP

An Iraqi girl rides a donkey pulling a load of bricks at a brick factory in southern Iraq. -- PHOTO: AP

Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel transport a dead body from a military helicopter in Charikar city of Parwan province, north of capital Kabul. Bodies and wreckage of an Afghan passenger plane that crashed with 43 people on board have been found on a mountainside with no immediate sign of any survivors. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

Director Hong Sang Soo takes photographs during a photo call for 'Ha Ha Ha', at the 63rd international film festival, in Cannes, southern France on Friday. -- PHOTO: AP

Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters gather during the second day of a sit-in protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Protesters gathered on Thursday, the second anniversary of President Ma Ying-jeou's inauguration, for a three-day sit-in protest to pressure the government to hold a referendum on its proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

A traditional dancer awaits the arrival of endangered east African black rhinoceroses from South Africa at Seronera airstrip in Tanzania's Serengeti park as the start of an initiative that will see 32 of the huge beasts flown to Tanzania from South Africa. An explosion in poaching in the 1960s and 70s saw the population of east African black rhinos in Tanzania plummet from over 1,000 to just 70. -- PHOTO: REUTERS



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[Da Ji]

Bridget Hargrove of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, her four-year-old son Ayden and one-year-old daughter, Emma, wade in a baby pool away from the oil contaminated Gulf of Mexico on Grand Isle beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Three-month-old sea lions Liz (R) and Leo are seen at an Orca rehabilitation base in Lima. The baby sea lions are being cared for by members of Orca, Organization for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Animals, until they are able to survive in the wild on their own, after being abandoned by their mother when they were seven days old. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Martial artist Khaled Dahdouh, also known as the Prince of Sands, hangs with his hands nailed to a board from a crane, during a stunt in front of the Sednaya monastery, north of Damascus. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


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[Da Ji]

A model is painted during the 5th International Fonambules Body Paint Festival in Mexico City. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

A member of Colombia's General Prosecutor?s office stands next to coffins containing the remains of victims of armed groups during a ceremony to deliver them to relatives in Medellin, Colombia. Prosecutors handed the remains of 51 people killed by leftist rebels and paramilitary groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s in provinces of north-eastern Colombia, following DNA tests to identify them. -- PHOTO: AP

Visitors walk past the wreckage of an Israeli tank at Hezbollah's "Tourist Complex" in Mlita in southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah Shiite militia inaugurated a "tourist complex" displaying its own heavy weapons and those left by Israel, to mark the 10th anniversary of Israel's pull-out from south Lebanon. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

A clown speaks to riot police officers outside the National Congress where Chile's President Sebastian Pinera delivers his first annual State of the Nation address in Valparaiso. -- PHOTO: AP

Nepalese devotees pull the chariot of Rato Machhendranath in a narrow street of Patan, on the outskirts of Katmandu, Nepal. In this month-long festival, a sixty-feet high chariot of Rato Machhendranath, the rain-bringing deity, is pulled around the streets of Patan in a plea for prosperity and good crops. -- PHOTO: AP

Pregnant women with their bellies painted cheer a teammate on during an event to celebrate the "Healthy Maternity Week" in Lima. More than 250 pregnant women participated in a dancing competition organised by a public hospital to encourage a healthy maternity. -- PHOTO: REUTERS



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[Da Ji]

South African traditional dancers perform during a 2010 FIFA World Cup street party at Vilakazi street in Orlando East, Soweto, South Africa. With just twenty days to go to the FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament, supporters enjoyed the party in Soweto Vilakazi Street where two of South Africa's Noble Peace Price winners - former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu - once lived. -- PHOTO: AP

An animal rights activist from Anima Naturalis sits in a cage dressed as an exotic bird during a protest against mistreatment of animals in Guadalajara. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Malaysian dancers perform a traditional 'Sewang' dance during the Citrawarna Malaysia or Colours of Malaysia cultural festival in Kuala Lumpur. With the theme 'The Faces of Malaysia', the event is aimed to higlight Malaysia as a tourist attraction as well as to showcase Malaysia's cultural heritage through music, songs and dance. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[Da Ji]

Spectators watch as teams compete in the Fisherman's Dragon Boat Races in the Stanley district of Hong Kong. The sport originated in China some 2,000 years ago and involves boats powered by teams of paddlers competing over distances typically between 200 and 2000 metres. -- PHOTO: AFP

People from Catamarca province perform during a parade of civilians representing all the Argentine provinces along 9 de Julio Avenue in Buenos Aires. The parade is part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the May revolution, that opened the road to the independence of Argentina from Spain in 1816. -- PHOTO: AP

Protestors demonstrate against US bases in Okinawa in front of the Okinawa prefectural government offices, in Naha, on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. The placards read 'angry'. The governor of Japan's Okinawa said on Sunday it would be tough to accept a US-Japan plan to keep a controversial US air base on the island, dealing a blow to the government ahead of a mid-year election. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


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[Da Ji]

Bangladeshi villaegrs stand in fromt of their flooded home during tidal movements in Gabura. Cyclone Aila slammed into southern Bangladesh and while the initial deathtoll was low, less than 300 people were killed , compared to 4000 by cyclone Sidr in 2007 - a huge tidal surge destroyed the network of rivers embankments. -- PHOTO: AFP

Visitors look at a plastinated human body at 'Body - The Exhibition', in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Plastination is a technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts in which water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties of the original sample. -- PHOTO: AFP

A child is seen at Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning closing campaign rally of his People's National Movement (PNM) in Port of Spain. Mr Manning, one of the Caribbean's most enduring political figures, looks highly vulnerable in his bid for a fourth term in general elections on Monday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


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[Da Ji]

People from La Rioja province perform during a parade of civilians representing all the Argentine provinces along 9 de Julio Avenue in Buenos Aires. The parade is part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the May revolution, that opened the road to the independence of Argentina from Spain in 1816. -- PHOTO: AP

Inter Milan football supporters react after the victory of their team against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions league final football match near the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. -- PHOTO: AFP

A masked horseman, known as a 'Curucucu' rides a horse during the 'Cavalhadas' festival in Pirenopolis, central Brazil. The tradition of the masked horsemen's festival was introduced in the country in 1826 by a Portuguese priest to celebrate the 'Holy Spirit' and to commemorate the medieval victory of Iberian Christian knights over the Moors. -- PHOTO: AP

Citizens from the Kozanow district of Wroclaw reinforce a barrier against the rising water of the Sleza river with sandbags in Wroclaw. Presidential candidate Jaroslaw Kaczynski expressed his solidarity with the Polish government on Saturday in its struggle against deadly floods that have swept the country for the past week. -- PHOTO: AFP


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[chobolan]

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An anti-US base banner painted with a dugong, an animal that is often seen off the coast, is displayed onto the barbed wire ag football match at Stamford Bridge. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Voodoo dolls hang from a tree at the general cemetery in Port-au-Prince. -- PHOTO: AP
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Farmers help a horse to jump into an amphibious vehicle in flooded Juliszew village in central Poland at Wisla river. Flash floods caused by days heavy rainfall have hit parts of central Europe, killing at least 14 people, disrupting power supplies and forcing thousands of people from their homes. -- PHOTO: AFP
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[chobolan]

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In this photo provided by the San Diego Zoo, Yun Zi, a 8-month-old panda cub, embraces one of his toys this morning at the San Diego Zoo. The toy, and others like it, was made possible through donations from an online baby shower for Yun Zi and his family. -- PHOTO: AP
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A Canadian soccer fan waits for the start of the friendly soccer match between Argentina and Canada in Buenos Aires. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Faithfuls read the bible before a mass at the St. Mary (Mariam) Coptic Orthodox in Entoto, on the outskirts of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Emperor Menelik II was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889 in this church. He established the church as part of his effort to build up his new capital Addis Ababa which meant New Flower in English. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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[chobolan]

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A South African fan reacts during their international warm-up match against Bulgaria at the Orlando stadium in Soweto, South Africa. -- PHOTO: AP

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French Eva Gina Runner performs during the 2010 French Air guitar Championships final, as part of the Art Rock Festival in Plerin, western France. Runner won the event by pretending to play a US rock band Smashing Pumpkins song. -- PHOTO: AFP

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An image released by Nasa shows the Heart and Soul nebulae in an infrared mosaic from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.Located about 6,000 light-years from Earth, the Heart and Soul nebulae form a vast star-forming complex that makes up part of the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. The nebula to the left is the Heart, designated IC 1805 and named after its resemblance to a human heart. To the right is the Soul nebula, also known as the Embryo nebula, IC 1848 or W5. Also visible near the bottom of this image are two galaxies, Maffei 1 and Maffei 2. Maffei 1 is the bluish elliptical object and Maffei 2 is the spiral galaxy. -- PHOTO: AP



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