Air Algerie AH5017: One Briton Among Plane Victims Killed in Crash


A British man was among those killed when an Air Algerie flight crashed in Africa, the Foreign Office has confirmed.


Flight AH5017 came down in southern Mali, killing 118 people, including 54 French nationals.


The plane, an MD-83, carrying 110 passengers and a crew of six took off at 1:17am local time on Thursday from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on a flight to Algiers.


Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane less than an hour later, after it had passed northward out of the country's air space.


A statement from the FCO said: "It is with deep regret that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms the death of a British man on board Air Algerie flight AH5107.



It is with deep regret that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms the death of a British man on board Air Algerie flight AH5107.


- FCO



"We are providing consular support to his family at this tragic time, and we ask that the media respect the privacy of those grieving."


News of the death of the Briton, named David Morgan was announced as the first photos emerged of the crash site.


Fifty-one of the passengers on the plane were French citizens, and when it was reported missing, French warplanes based in the region were dispatched to hunt for it.


An entire family comprising three generations from France was killed in crash. A girl named Chloe was killed in the tragedy along with her parents, Bruno Cailleret and Caroline Boisnard, as well as her elder brother and grandmother.


The five had been returning from a trip to Burkina Faso, where Ms Boisnard's uncle lived.


They had been due to land in the southern city of Marseille after flying via Algiers, which is where the doomed aircraft was heading.


The loss of the family in the disaster has left the small town of Menet in central France "devastated", according to Denise Labbe of the town hall.


Ms Labbe said: "Everyone is devastated in the town. We all know the family, who live in front of the town hall. No one can quite believe it. It's like having a bad dream."


Chloe had been excited about the trip to Burkina Faso, but expressed her fears about flying for the first time she said, adding: "She had confided in her teacher before leaving about her fear of taking the plane, which she was doing for the first time," said Ms Labbe.


A family of 10, including four children, from the Rhone-Alpes region of France were also killed in the crash.


The death toll increased from 116 to 118 after the final passenger manifest was released.


Early theories about the cause of the crash have focused on the weather. Fierce thunderstorms were pounding the Sahara region where the plane would have flown.


According to the official, Gen Gilbert Diendéré, chief of the general staff, a close aide to Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore and head of the crisis committee set up to investigate the crash, the storms probably played a role in bringing the plane down.



Isis Behead Assad Soldiers After Over Running Syrian Army Base


Isis Iraq Crisis Baghdad

Militants of the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis), seized the military base in Raqqa.Reuters



Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) have released images of captured soldiers being beheaded following a battle for a large Syrian military base on the outskirts of the city of Raqqa.


Manned by Division 17 of the Syrian army, the base is believed to have been seized during a night raid by Isis fighters.


It is the largest military base of its kind in north-eastern Syria and is said to be well-stocked with weapons and ammunition.


According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors casualties in the conflict, the assault on the base began with two suicide car bomb attacks.


Many Isis fighters and government soldiers are believed to have been killed in the battle for the base camp after Syrian army helicopters attacked Isis positions around the base.


While the Syrian army would not confirm the claims that the base had been overrun, they are said to be organising a counter-attack,


Isis already controls much of Raqqa province and describes the territory under its control in Iraq and Syria as a caliphate.


Violent clashes between Isis and the Syrian army have intensified in recent weeks. The Shrine of Yunus in the Iraqi city of Mosul was blown up by Isis militants who also captured a gas field in the central province of Homs, killing more than 200 people.


Since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, at least 170,000 people have been killed, a third of them civilians, while nine million people have fled their homes.



Pictures of the Week: Best Photos of Past Seven Days



Contestant Verena Bayr tries to stuff five grams of snuff into her nose within a minute during the World Snuff Championship 2014 in Berg im Gau, southern GermanyAFP




Allie Shaughnessy, dressed as Marvel Comics character Mystique, attends Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego, CaliforniaReuters




Cycling fans dressed as superheroes pose in the French Alps during the 177km 14th stage of the Tour de FranceReuters




Race leader Vincenzo Nibali pushes a spectator away as he cycles to win the 145.5km 18th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Pau and Hautacam in FranceReuters




Circus performers pose at London Wonderground at the Southbank Centre. From left to right: Zoe L'Amore, Missy Macabre, The Lizard Man, Danik Abishev, Heather Holliday, The Space CowboyGetty




Malaysia's Wong Poh San performs with the clubs during the women's rhythmic gymnastics team competition at the Commonwealth Games in GlasgowReuters




A tiny black-capped squirrel monkey baby clings to its mother at London Zoo's Meet the Monkeys exhibitZSL London Zoo




A bull stands inside a clothes shop in Varanasi, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Cattle are considered sacred in India and allowed to roam freelyReuters




Three-legged Chihuahua Stella Star attends Mercedes Benz Swim Fashion Week in MiamiReuters




Two dogs play together in a dog park in East Massapequa, New YorkGetty




Crowds reach out to touch Xolo, the Giant Dog, one of the giant Royal De Luxe street puppets taking part in Liverpool's World War I centenary commemorationsGetty




People in a boat pass a 22-metre tall inflatable golden toad, created by Chinese artist Guo Yongyao, at Yu Yuan Tan Park in BeijingAFP




German pianist Stefan Aaron plays a piano on a "flying carpet" platform suspended from a helicopter, over Munich airportReuters




A flamingo walks across the lagoon at dawn while volunteers wade out to gather flamingo chicks for tagging at the Fuente de Piedra natural reserve, near Malaga, southern SpainReuters




An adult flamingo stands with flamingo chicks in an enclosure before they are tagged at Fuente de Piedra lagoon in SpainGetty




An aerial view of sailing boats on the Ammersee lake in Utting, GermanyAFP




People sunbathe on the beach at Wannsee, near BerlinReuters




An aerial view of the Costa Concordia during the refloat operation at Giglio harbour, two and a half years after the luxury liner capsized off the Italian coast, killing 32 peopleReuters




The Costa Concordia cruise liner is towed away from Giglio island where it capsized two years ago, killing 32 peopleReuters




The flooded interior of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner is seen in this picture released by the Italian CarabinieriReuters




A man pushes his electric bicycle against strong wind and heavy rainfall along a flooded seaside street as Typhoon Rammasun hits Haikou, Hainan province, ChinaReuters




Buses are submerged in floodwaters on a street in Fuzhou, Fujian province, after Typhoon Matmo made landfall in ChinaGetty




A worker walks past a 6.5-metre high scarecrow that was secured to the ground as Typhoon Matmo approaches the town of Shanhsing in Ilan county, TaiwanAFP




The wreckage of a burnt aircraft is pictured after shelling at Tripoli International Airport in LibyaReuters




The TransAsia Airways turboprop passenger plans crashed after an aborted landing during stormy weatherAFP




Part of the wreckage is seen at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in the Donetsk region of eastern UkraineReuters




Ronald Visee holds a Dutch flag flying at half-mast as a hearse carrying the remains of victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane disaster travels to HilversumReuters




Israeli armoured personnel carriers manoeuvre outside the northern Gaza Strip as the Jewish state stepped up its ground offensiveReuters




A Palestinian man carries a baby after being evacuated from a UN-run school that was hit by Israeli shellingReuters




Palestinians bury the bodies of two young boys Abdulrahamn Abed al-Nabi, 1, and Hadi Abed al-Nabi, 3, who were killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza StripReuters




A Palestinian man, in clothes stained with the blood of his father, killed by Israeli shelling, mourns at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza StripReuters




Palestinian security forces carry the body of Mahmoud al-Shawamrah during his funeral in the West Bank town of Al-Ram near Jerusalem. Israeli troops shot al-Shawamrah during clashes with stone-throwers in the occupied West Bank on MondayReuters




The grandmother of Israeli soldier private first class Jordan Bensimon cries over his coffin during his funeral in Ashkelon, Israel. Bensimon was 22 and originally from FranceGetty




Friends and relatives of 20-year-old Israeli Staff Sergeant Moshe Melako of the Golani Brigade, who was killed during fighting with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, mourn during his funeral at the Mt Herzel military cemetery in JerusalemAFP




A rebel fighter sits on stacked chairs as he aims his weapon through a hole inside a house in the town of Morek in Hama province, SyriaReuters




Belgian Fathers Fail to Bring Home their Jihadist Turned Teenage Sons From Syria


ISIS Crucifixion Syria

Isis is known for its brutality and holds public executions and corporal punishments.ISIS



Two Belgian fathers who set out to find and then bring back their jihadist turned teenage sons in Syria have been unsuccessful, according to Al Arabiya News.


The teenagers, 18-year-old, Lucas, and 19-year-old, Abdelmalek, went missing on 11 June when they escaped to Syria and later joined the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (Isis) group.


Despite undertaking the dangerous journey himself soon after, Pol Van Hessche, father of Lucas, was unable to convince his son to return home after meeting on the Turkey-Syria border.


"The boys are staying in the desert... it was not easy to speak to them. My son looked scared because the police will put him into prison as soon as he goes back to Belgium," said Hessche.


Hessche said Isis allowed him to meet his son for an hour, however, the militants accompanied them throughout the duration of the meeting.


Idriss Boutalliss, father of Abdelmalek, said that the two boys were being taught a strict version of Sharia law in a house with Europeans and other nationalities.


The fathers had arranged the meeting with the assistance of another Belgian father, Dimitri Bontinck, whose son was rescued from Isis last year in Syria.


Lucas and Abdelmalek were among the approximately 2,000 Europeans who have travelled to Syria to fight against the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad's regime.



India Seeks 'Visible Outcomes' on Food Subsidies as WTO Deadline Nears


India Wheat Sacks

Workers remove plastic sheeting from sacks of wheat at a storage facility on the outskirts of Amritsar city, India.AFP



India will find it difficult to support landmark global customs rules in the absence of "an assurance and visible outcomes" that a permanent solution is being negotiated over its concerns about public food stockholdings, Trade Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.


In a written reply to a question in parliament, just hours before a crucial meeting in Geneva, Sitharaman said India's concerns about food subsidies and food security for its impoverished population had not been addressed post the Bali accord.


Her response was short and it was not immediately clear whether her statement hinted at a softer stance.


"While there has been progress on the Trade Facilitation Agreement [TFA], other decisions, including a decision on public stockholding for food security purposes and other development issues have been sidelined," Sitharaman said.


"Till there is an assurance and visible outcomes... India would find it difficult to join the consensus on the Protocol of Amendment," she added.


India's Demand


India has an ambitious plan to subsidise food for two-thirds of its population, but doing so puts it at risk of flouting World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules that cap farm subsidies at 10% of production, distorting trade.


In Bali, WTO members agreed to give India a pass on its food stockpiles until 2017, giving countries time to negotiate a permanent solution. But New Delhi has demanded expeditious negotiations on food security and wants the WTO to find a permanent solution by 31 July, the deadline to rubber stamp the Bali deal.


Process Stalled


Diplomats from 160 WTO members were to sign the Bali agreement into a protocol, which triggers the implementation of the first phase of the deal, on 24 July but India's demand stalled the process.


A group of 25 countries including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and Thailand have warned that failing to seal the trade facilitation deal will, in effect, ruin the possibility of further global trade reform, a longstanding Indian demand.


The Bali deal is tipped to inject $960bn (£566bn, €714bn) into the global economy and promises to cut red tape at customs the world over. The deal is expected to create 21 million jobs globally.


A failure could prove disastrous for the WTO.



PetroChina Revisits Plan to Auction Mega Gas Pipeline Arm


PetroChina Revisits Plan to Auction Gas Pipeline assets

PetroChina revisits plan to auction natural gas pipeline assets.AFP



PetroChina, the country's biggest oil and gas producer, is revisiting a plan to auction its multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline division, and could now sell it to an affiliate, according to a report.


Selling PetroChina Eastern Pipelines to PetroChina United Pipelines, 50% owned by PetroChina, will help the energy giant retain control over China's national gas grid and raise cash to fund oil and gas exploration, Reuters reported.


The move will also save PetroChina the trouble of shortlisting investors wealthy enough to absorb a large asset like Eastern Pipelines, whose net asset value is estimated at between $4.7bn (£2.8bn, €3.5bn) and $6.3bn.


United Pipelines has a total registered capital of 40bn yuan ($6.46bn).


A final decision to sell is expected in the fourth-quarter of 2014.


Pursued by the news agency, PetroChina's spokesman, Company Secretary Mao Zefeng, refused to comment.


Beijing Disappointed


Abandoning the auction will throw Beijing's plans, to open up the corrupt state-dominated energy sector to domestic private investors, out of gear.


PetroChina controls more than 80% of the nation's natural gas grid and some private players have complained that the monopoly hurts their business.


"It's almost a done decision to let the joint venture... acquire Eastern Pipelinee. Few private investors also have the financial appetite to swallow such a massive asset," a Beijing-based energy industry executive told Reuters.


"It's a possibility that PetroChina actually would like to see. They are moving in that direction," a financial industry executive briefed on the matter told the news agency.


PetroChina said in May it will auction Eastern Pipelines, which controls the twin west-to-east, cross-country gas pipelines in China.


PetroChina and its parent firm, China National Petroleum (CNPC), are at the centre of one of the biggest corruption probes to have hit the Chinese energy sector in years.


PetroChina United is a joint venture PetroChina set up in 2013 with Taikang Asset Management, which owns a 30% stake, and Beijing Guolian Energy Industry Investment Fund, which owns 20%.



Hamas's Military Wing Fires Three Rockets at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport


FAA lifts ban on US flights to Israel

Air Berlin and Lufthansa are not yet resuming flights to Ben Gurion International airport in Tel AvivReuters



Hamas' military wing has claimed responsibility for the launch of three rockets at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport after US and some European airlines had resumed flights.


A statement from the Palestinian militant group said: "At 11.45am (8.45 GMT), the Qassam Brigades bombarded Ben Gurion airport with three M75 rockets."


An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that missiles were fired from Gaza. The European Aviation Safety Agency has lifted a recommendation that airlines refrain from flying to Tel Aviv airport.


But Germany's two largest airlines, Air Berlin and Lufthansa, said they are not yet resuming flights to Ben Gurion.


Lufthansa said it "acknowledges the considerable efforts made by Israel to provide the best possible protection for Ben Gurion Airport" with its missile defense system. It said flights will resume "as soon as this protection can be verifiably guaranteed".


The US Federal Aviation Administration also lifted the recommendations but warned that the situation remained "very fluid".


According to flight trackers, Air Canada flight AC84 circled over southern Israel several times on Friday because it was unable to land in the airport.



Domino's Pizza Killer Who Stabbed Driver on Final Shift was 'Murderer Waiting to Happen'


Kasim Ahmed: A killer waiting to happen, said judge who jailed Domino's pizza murderer for life

A murder waiting to happen was how the judge described Kasim Ahmed before jailing him for life



A 'natural born killer' who knifed to death a Domino's Pizza delivery driver on his final shift, has been jailed for life.


Devastated relatives of Thavisha Lakindu Peiris questioned why Kasim Ahmed, 18, was free to kill the Sri Lankan, who was working for the takeaway pizza firm in order to pay off study debts.


Peiris was stabbed multiple times in Sheffield, Yorkshire, on his final shift before embarking on his dream career as a software engineer.


Ahmed already had a string of arrests for street violence on his record and regularly carried a knife for the purpose of carrying out robberies.


He targeted Peiris because he wanted his iPhone and attacked when Peiris refused to hand it over, stabbing the 25-year-old 14 times, last year.


Ahmed was jailed for life for murder at Sheffield Crown Court, along with accomplice and cousin Shamraze Khan.


Justice Coulson condemned Ahmed, saying: "In the light of your criminal history this was a murder that was waiting to happen."


Peiris' brother decried the fact his killer had repeatedly been turned loose by the authorities, despite his abysmal offending record.


"He was a natural born killer with a killer's instinct and should never have been allowed out of prison.


"He was clearly a very dangerous man and he should never have been released so he could kill normal people. It is shocking that he was allowed out on the streets to kill my brother."


Prior to his death, Peiris had been working 60 hours a week delivering pizzas in Sheffield, Yorkshire, to pay his family back for money they contributed to his studies.


Mr Justice Coulson told Ahmed: "You don't like to be challenged. It's an affront to your self-esteem. So you stabbed him. You then decided to stab him again and again."


"You brutally killed someone performing a form of public service just because you wanted his mobile phone," the judge said.


Peiris' family told of their pain in a statement: "We are now left with nothing but broken hearts."



India: Uranium Company Boss Says Deformed Children from Nearby Villages 'Imported from Elsewhere'


Malformation uranium

This photograph taken on 20 October 2011 shows 6 year-old Lal Mohan Bankira suffering from cerebral palsy. Bankira is the alleged indirect victim of uranium radiation from the mining and ore processing facility of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL)Getty Images - AFP



The boss of an Indian uranium company has dismissed allegations that his mines might be responsible for the large number of deformed children in nearby villages.


Diwakar Acharya, chairman of the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), said the deformed kids "may be imported from elsewhere."


Last February, photographs of deformed children in an Indian newspaper prompted the Jharkhand high court to demand an explanation from UCIL and government agencies.


The high court found that the health of at least 50,000 people is at risk due to the presence of uranium mines in the area, and that many children living near the mines were born with swollen heads, blood disorders and skeletal distortions.


However Acharya said that "activists and doctors come with an agenda to Jadugora, a town of about 19,500 people in Jharkhand that's home to the company's main operations.


"See, what happens is, you say you are a specialist and you'll come and treat, but all you do is, you are convinced UCIL is evil and you have come here only with the sole motive of finding reasons which would validate your preconceived notions."


Acharya was responding specifically to a 9 July report by Bloomberg News, which was purportedly based on interviews with several doctors as well as dozens of families affeced by deformities.


UCIL has previously faced allegations about the effect of its uranium mines.


A 2007 study by Indian Doctors for Peace and Development – which aims at preventing disease and infirmity – said that the risk of suffering from congenital malformation was higher in families that lived close to the mines.



Ecuador to Create Government-Run Digital Currency as It Bans Bitcoin


Ecuador has banned digital currencies including bitcoin, but is looking to create a state-run digital currency, taking cues from modern cryptocurrency technology.


An amendment to the country's existing monetary and financial laws approved by the National Assembly of Ecuador bans all decentralised digital currencies. The amendment was approved by 91 members, and President Rafael Correa will now sign the bill into law.


However, the new law gives the government permission to make payments in electronic currency and proposes the creation of a national digital currency, which is backed by the assets of the central bank, the Banco Central del Ecuador.


The central bank will develop and integrate the new currency into the country's financial system. Ecuador is currently using the US dollar as its official currency.


"Electronic money will stimulate the economy; it will be possible to attract more Ecuadorian citizens, especially those who do not have checking or savings accounts and credit cards alone. The electronic currency will be backed by the assets of the Central Bank of Ecuador," the National Assembly said in a statement.


The development comes as a severe blow to bitcoin businesses in the country, which would be required to shut down their operations all of a sudden.


The law prohibits decentralised digital currencies' "emission, production, initiation, falsifications, or any other type of simulation, and its circulation through any channel or way of representation".


Those who violate the ban will face prosecution and they all their bitcoins or similar holdings will be confiscated.



Talisman Energy's Southeast Asian Assets a Likely Good Fit for Repsol


Talisman Energy's Southeast Asian Assets a Likely Good Fit for Repsol

Talisman Energy's Southeast Asian assets a likely good fit for RepsolReuters



Repsol, which is exploring a deal with Canadian oil and gas producer Talisman Energy, will be better off with an acquisition of Talisman's trophy assets than a buyout of the entire firm, according to an energy banker.


Repsol, which is eyeing acquisitions to boost growth outside its home market Spain, should consider Talisman's Southeast Asian oil and gas assets that are expected to account for a large part of the Canadian firm's 2014 cash flow, the unnamed energy banker told Reuters.


The assets are spread across Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.


Pursued by the news agency, Talisman could not be reached for comment.


Talisman, which has a market capitalisation of nearly C$11bn ($10.2bn, £6bn, €7.6bn) operates in some of North America's most sought-after petroleum areas -- the Eagleford shales in Texas and the Marcellus shale region in Northeast America, and in Northeast and Western Canada's up-and-coming Duvernay and Montney shale blocks.


The firm also has oil assets in Iraq's Kurdistan region and in the North Sea, the latter are held in a joint venture with China's Sinopec.


"Everyone is looking at tuck-in assets like conventional oil and conventional gas and deepwater oil that they can add to their portfolio and keep the growth curve going," according to the energy banker familiar with Talisman.


"I think that a sale of the company is not going to happen, because I don't think the final price per share would be fair for them, or particularly attractive."


"The assets that people want are the assets that everybody wants."


"I'd say some of their assets could go in a heartbeat but Talisman also knows that, and Talisman wants to extract maximum value for the whole thing, so that's where the dance now goes on," the energy banker added.


Talisman's stock finished at C$11.76 in Toronto on 24 July and is down 4.85% this year.


Spain's largest oil company, which has been on the lookout for assets to boost its exploration and production business, said it will return cash to shareholders if it fails to identify a company or assets that meet its acquisition goals.


Talisman shares surged 13% on 23 July after it confirmed that it had been approached by cash-rich Repsol "with regards to various transactions," but the stock is well off its record highs of over C$25 a share in 2008.


In May 2014, Talisman Chief Executive Hal Kvisle said the weakness of the North Sea business had delayed the company's turnaround.



Hot Shots Photos of the Day: Creepy Dolls, Circus Performers, Comic Con


Two porcelain dolls found on doorsteps of residences in the Talega community of San Clemente, California are seen in this photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Police said they were investigating as many as eight homes that have had porcelain dolls left on their doorsteps over the past week. Homeowners claimed the dolls bear a resemblance to their own daughters

Two porcelain dolls found on doorsteps of residences in the Talega community of San Clemente, California are seen in this photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Police said they were investigating as many as eight homes that have had porcelain dolls left on their doorsteps over the past week. Homeowners claimed the dolls bear a resemblance to their own daughtersReuters



Allie Shaughnessy, dressed as Marvel Comics character Mystique, attends Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego, California

Allie Shaughnessy, dressed as Marvel Comics character Mystique, attends Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego, CaliforniaReuters



Circus performers pose at London Wonderground at the Southbank Centre. From left to right: Zoe L'Amore, Missy Macabre, The Lizard Man, Danik Abishev, Heather Holliday, The Space Cowboy

Circus performers pose at London Wonderground at the Southbank Centre. From left to right: Zoe L'Amore, Missy Macabre, The Lizard Man, Danik Abishev, Heather Holliday, The Space CowboyGetty



Malaysia's Wong Poh San performs with the clubs during the women's rhythmic gymnastics team competition at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

Malaysia's Wong Poh San performs with the clubs during the women's rhythmic gymnastics team competition at the Commonwealth Games in GlasgowReuters



Ross Murdoch of Scotland reacts with shock after winning the gold medal in the men's 200m breaststroke final at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – beating fellow Scot and favourite Michael Jamieson

Ross Murdoch of Scotland reacts with shock after winning the gold medal in the men's 200m breaststroke final at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – beating fellow Scot and favourite Michael JamiesonGetty



Conor Munn from Northern Ireland prepares for the men's 50m butterfly heats during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

Conor Munn from Northern Ireland prepares for the men's 50m butterfly heats during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in GlasgowReuters



Race leader Vincenzo Nibali pushes a spectator away as he cycles to win the 145.5km 18th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Pau and Hautacam in France

Race leader Vincenzo Nibali pushes a spectator away as he cycles to win the 145.5km 18th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Pau and Hautacam in FranceReuters



Ronald Visee holds a Dutch flag flying at half-mast as a hearse carrying the remains of victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane disaster travels to Hilversum

Ronald Visee holds a Dutch flag flying at half-mast as a hearse carrying the remains of victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane disaster travels to HilversumReuters



Thousands of Indonesian motorists wait to board a ferry at Merak port in western Java island before dawn, to make the sea crossing to Sumatra ahead of the Muslim festivities of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. Indonesia is the world's most populous Musilm nation

Thousands of Indonesian motorists wait to board a ferry at Merak port in western Java island before dawn, to make the sea crossing to Sumatra ahead of the Muslim festivities of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. Indonesia is the world's most populous Musilm nationAFP



Kuwaiti men and women, separated by a wall, pray at the Grand Mosque in Kuwait City during

Kuwaiti men and women, separated by a wall, pray at the Grand Mosque in Kuwait City during "Lailat al-Qadr" (Night of Destiny) which falls on the 27th day of the holy fasting month of RamadanAFP



Afghan men make special sweets in preparation for Eid al-Fitr, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in Kabul

Afghan men make special sweets in preparation for Eid al-Fitr, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in KabulReuters



Israeli security officers take position as Palestinian protesters marching against Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip clash with Israeli soldiers and border police at the Israeli Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah

Israeli security officers take position as Palestinian protesters marching against Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip clash with Israeli soldiers and border police at the Israeli Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and RamallahAFP



Palestinians run past a fire following what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike on a building in Gaza City

Palestinians run past a fire following what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike on a building in Gaza CityReuters



A news photographer works outside the northern Gaza Strip

A news photographer works outside the northern Gaza StripReuters



People walk through the rubble of the Prophet Younis Mosque in Mosul, Iraq, after it was destroyed in a bomb attack by Isis militants

People walk through the rubble of the Prophet Younis Mosque in Mosul, Iraq, after it was destroyed in a bomb attack by Isis militantsReuters



A diver swims near replicas of amphoras in the Historical Underwater Park in Mali Losinj, Croatia

A diver swims near replicas of amphoras in the Historical Underwater Park in Mali Losinj, CroatiaReuters



A bolt of lightning strikes a skyscraper in Tokyo at dusk

A bolt of lightning strikes a skyscraper in Tokyo at duskReuters



A tiny black-capped squirrel monkey baby clings to its mother at London Zoo's Meet the Monkeys exhibit

A tiny black-capped squirrel monkey baby clings to its mother at London Zoo's Meet the Monkeys exhibitZSL London Zoo