Testa00sempre



Testa00solo

Testa01sempre


Voice of America
Maggio 2012
(277 foto)


France's far-right National Front candidate for the presidential election, Marine Le Pen, center, delivers her speech at Opera during the traditional May Day march in Paris. (AP)

Armed North Korean soldiers joke with Chinese tourists as they keep guard at Hwanggumpyong Island, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Reuters)

Hundreds of thousands of people march through Havana's Revolution Square during the May Day parade, Cuba. (Reuters)

Malian military junta troops, who carried out a coup in March, guard a street after renewed fighting in the capital Bamako. Forces of Mali's ruling military junta battled troops loyal to ousted president Amadou Toumani Toure in several parts of the capital Bamako for a second day, forcing residents to flee their homes. (Reuters)

Shop owners look out from under the shutters of their shop during an anti-government protest in the capital Manama, Bahrain. Dozens of protesters tried to march towards the capital square Bab al-Bahrain during an anti-government rally organized by Al Wefaq. Riot-police fired tear-gas and sound grenades to disperse the protesters. (Reuters)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and President-elect, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin drink beer in the Zhiguli beer bar in Moscow. (AP)

Men guide a camel while ploughing farmland in the area of Bani Matar, outside the Yemeni capital Sana'a. (Reuters)

Newlyweds dressed in Han-dynasty costumes bow to each other during a traditional group wedding ceremony in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. (Reuters)

Cheerleaders perform during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Pune Warriors and Deccan Chargers in Cuttack, India. (AP)

A nun films as Pope Benedict XVI holds his weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican. (Reuters)

Smoke billows out from a compound after it was attacked by militants in Kabul, Afghanistan. Taliban insurgents attacked a compound housing foreigners in the Afghan capital, killing seven people, hours after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit. (AP)

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (C) and members of parliament from the National League for Democracy take their oaths in the lower house of parliament in Naypyitaw. (Reuters)

A man walks in the M'bere refugee camp near Bassiknou in the Nema region of Southwestern Mauritania. More than 320,000 people have fled their homes in Mali since mid-January, with more than half seeking refuge in neighboring countries, U.N. officials said. (AFP)

China's Wang Mengyu hits a shot past Argentina's Carla Rebecchi (L) during the women's International Invitational Hockey Tournament at the Riverbank Arena in the Olympic Park in London. (Reuters)

Smoke is seen after United Arab Emirates F-16 fighter jets fired missiles during joint military maneuvers with the French army in the desert of Abu Dhabi. (Reuters)

A cyclist passes by a statue of a giant bicycle in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Reuters)

A laborer stacks firewood in a brick kiln as smoke billows from a chimney on the outskirts of Jammu, India. (Reuters)

Tear gas fired by Israeli troops falls near Palestinian stone-throwers during clashes outside Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The clashes broke out following a protest in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners. (Reuters)

Canadian female action sports star Jolene Van Vugt makes a practice run prior to setting a new land speed Guiness World Record for a motorized toilet in Sydney, Australia. After a few technical issues with the toilet Van Vugt beat the existing record of 68 km/h by 7 km/h, after completing the stunt in both directions with an average of the two speeds taken to give her the new world record. (AFP)

A double rainbow appears in the sky as lightning strikes during a severe thunderstorm in Hamilton, Ohio, USA, May 1, 2012. (AP)

A Malian refugee pulls a jerrican of water at the Mbere refugee camp near Bassiknou, southern Mauritania, 60 km from the border with Mali. The fighting in Mali has left more than 60,000 people internally displaced. (AFP)

Birds flying over the marsh near the village of Smolichi, 160 km (100 miles) south of Minsk, Belarus. (AP)

Children wait for alms from passing devotees during the chariot festival of Rato Machhindranath in Lalitpur, Nepal. Rato Machhindranath is known as the god of rain and both Hindus and Buddhists worship Machhindranath for good rain to prevent drought during the rice harvest season. (Reuters)

Women march during a demonstration demanding a trial for Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sana'a. (Reuters)

Traditional drummers wait for dancers from a school to perform during their debut with a traditional country dance form known as Kandian dance at the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Reuters)

Members of the 1st Battalion and 7 Company the Coldstream Guards line up for inspection before being presented with their new colors by the Queen at Windsor Castle, near London. (Reuters)

A man rides his bicycle between policemen in riot gear who are guarding the venue of a meeting of the European Central Bank in Barcelona, Spain. (Reuters)

Lawmakers debate in the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires. The nationalization of the country's biggest oil company is expected to sail to final congressional approval. (Reuters)

A model wearing designs by Jenny Lee stands in a static display during Australian Fashion Week in Sydney. Lee used natural props including leaves and branches from the country's native trees such as Gum Trees. (AP)

Grooms take part in a mass wedding ceremony in Tabuk, 1500 km (932 miles) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 2, 2012. Governor of Tabuk Prince Fahad Bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz and a local group organized the mass wedding for about 1600 couples to help youths who are unable to afford expensive ceremonies because of the rising cost of living. (Reuters)

A Thai cleaning worker at Bangkok Art and Culture Center (AP)

A little Golden Lion Tamarin at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany (AP)

A giraffe near Lesser flamingos at Lake Oloidien near Naivasha. Kenya's Lesser flamingos are currently in abundance in the country's drier regions after heavy rains nationwide have altered the salinity of the water in many lakes forcing the birds to fly to drier regions. (AFP)

Yves Rossy, known as the Jetman, flies over Rio de Janiero, Brazil, during a successful flight, May 2, 2012. The Swiss aviator dropped from a helicopter and deployed the jet-powered carbon-kevlar "Jetwing" and used his body to steer as he flew over the city before landing on Copacabana Beach. (Reuters/Breitling)

Actress Scarlett Johansson and actor Jeremy Renner pose by her star after it was unveiled on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, May 2, 2012. (Reuters)

A protester, right, waves a stick at Egyptian soldiers during clashes outside the Ministry of Defense in Cairo. (AP)

Gas-filled balloons explode during a campaign rally by Armenia's ruling party in the central Republic Square in Yerevan. (Reuters)

The Turanor Planetsolar ship arrives in the port of Monaco after completing the first around-the-world trip using solar energy. (Reuters)

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, center, in academic dress, is congratulated after he received five honorary degrees from several universities at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. (AP)

A radar station at the missile defense facility in Sofrino, 50 km (31 miles) northeast of Moscow, Russia (AP)

A Chinese woman protesting about her own grievances is taken away by plain clothes security personnel and uniformed police officers outside the hospital where blind activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng is recuperating in Beijing. (AP)

Hot walker Cesar Zarko holds Kentucky Derby entrant Union Rags during his bath after a morning workout at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. (AP)

Serbian police officers escort an arrested ethnic-Albanian, in Belgrade, Serbia. Police have arrested 8 people in the tense, ethnic-Albanian dominated south - five of whom on suspicion of war crimes against Serbs during a 2001 conflict. (AP)

Slovakia's team players gather near their goal before their 2012 IIHF men's ice hockey World Championship Group H game against the Canada in Helsinki, Finland. (Reuters)

Citroen 2CV cars are parked at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, before a rally tour. (Reuters)

A Crimson rumped Toucanet in the private reserve of Paz de las Aves (Peace of the Birds) near Nanegalito, Ecuador (AFP)

Cannons fire a salute outside Moscow's Kremlin wall after the inauguration ceremony of president elect Vladimir Putin as Russia's new President. Vladimir Putin took the oath of office for a third term as Russia's president. (AP)

A new Vatican Swiss Guard gives a salute while holding the flag during the swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican, May 6, 2012 at the Vatican. Twenty-six Swiss men have joined the oldest standing army in the world, swearing to give up their lives to protect the pope as the Vatican's newest Swiss Guards. (AP)

Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish (C) of Britain crashes during the final rush of the 190-km third stage of the Giro d'Italia in Horsens, Denmark. (Reuters)

Lanterns release by Buddhist worshipers fly during a procession commemorating Waisak day which marks the birth, death and enlightenment of Buddha at the 9th century Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. (AP)

Greek presidential guards perform ceremonial duties at the monument of the unknown soldier in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens. (AP)

Mascots representing a variety of sports club and associations participate in the Mascot Grand National 2012 in aid of the Have a Heart Charity at Kempton Park race course in Sunbury on Thames, southern England. (Reuters)

A full moon as seen from West Orange, New Jersey, rises over the skyline of Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center (L) in New York, May 6, 2012. (Reuters)

Members of the Jordanian military band walk after their performance at the opening of the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference at King Abdullah I Airbase in Amman. (Reuters)

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (R) poses with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a Turkish-Italian meeting at Villa Madama in Rome. (Reuters)

A South Korean worker attaches a Buddhist's name card on lantern to prepare for the celebration of the upcoming Buddha's 2,556st birthday on May 28 at the Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea. (AP)

A boy cries as he holds his sister in his lap after a confrontation with squatters and police personnel, who arrived to demolish houses that were built illegally, in Kathmandu. The demolition drive is a run up to the Nepalese government's decision to force out squatters from their place of residence and introduce an alternate settlement along with a property ownership document, according to the local media. (Reuters)

A tourist walks besides kayaks and canoes on Fulong beach in New Taipei city, northeastern Taiwan. (Reuters)

Members of a local dance troupe perform in Setif during a visit by Algeria President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at the commemoration of the Algerian war of Independence. (Reuters)

Rea Inu Bake, from the Indian tribe Hunikui, takes part in a protest against slave labor outside the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia. Brazil's lower house is expected to vote on a constitutional amendment that would punish landholders found to be using slave labor. (AP)

Singer Lady Gaga reacts as she gives her autographs to fans upon arrival at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan. (AP)

Spain's Feliciano Lopez (R) returns the ball to Jurgen Melzer of Austria during the men's singles match at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Spain. (Reuters)

A woman talking on a mobile phone walks by the electronic stock board of a securities firm showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index, top left, which dropped 123.34 points to 9,058.31 in Tokyo. Asian stock markets fell, spooked by disappointing U.S. corporate earnings and fears that political turmoil in debt-crippled Greece is pushing it closer to financial disaster. (AP)

The judicial Law Lords in their traditional ceremonial robes wait for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II to read the Queen's Speech to lawmakers in London. (AP)

Ukrainian soldiers dressed in WWII uniforms during a parade at the World War II memorial on the Victory Day in Kyiv. (AP)

Cambodian Prince Norodom Chakravuth, rear center, holds plow handles to mark an annual royal plowing ceremony in Phnom Penh. The ceremony was held to mark the start of rice-farming season. (AP)

Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlene visit the Prince Albert II Leisure center in La Turbie, southern France near Monaco. (AP)

Students attend a lecture on the impact of terrorism at their school in Sana'a. Yemen launched an awareness campaign against terrorism in schools this week. (Reuters)

Relatives inspect the list of the passengers on board of the missing Russian airplane at Halim Perdanakusumah airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100 carrying 46 people lost contact with air controllers while flying over mountains during a demonstration flight in western Indonesia, officials said. (AP)

Russian soldiers march during the Victory Day Parade on the Red Square in Moscow, which commemorates the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany. (AP)

A woman drinks water on a hot summer day in New Delhi. Heat wave conditions prevailed in the city and the northern state of India with the mercury rising above 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time this summer. (AFP)

Residents of the town of Kibumba walk on the road to Rutshsuru, some 30 kms (20 miles) from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma, heading to the Nord-Kivu capital as they flee fighting between Congolese army deserters led by ex-general Bosco Ntaganda and the regular Congolese army (FARDC) near the Virunga national park on the border with Rwanda. (AFP)

Astana's riders cycle to a third place during the team time trial 33.2-km fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia in Verona, Italy. (Reuters)

U.S. surfer Patrick Gudauskas competes in the round one of the Billabong Rio Pro men's surfing competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP)

A long exposure picture shows a seasonal fog illuminated by the lights of Cape Town harbor as the city prepares for the start of the southern hemisphere winter, May 8, 2012. (Reuters)

Palestinian cyber activists work during a sit-in in Gaza City in support of more than a thousand prisoners who are observing an open-ended hunger strike in Israeli jails. At least 1,550 Palestinian prisoners are currently on hunger strike to demand improved conditions, including family visits and increased access to lawyers, an end to solitary confinement and administrative detention. (AFP)

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik beats a jingo drum displayed at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul, South Korea. Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary arrived in Seoul for a six-day visit. (Reuters)

Flames and smoke raise from burning cars after two bombs exploded, at Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, heavily damaging a military intelligence building and leaving blood and human remains in the streets. (AP Photo/SANA)

Greek actress Ino Menegaki (R), playing the role of High Priestess, lights the Olympic flame during the torch lighting ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the site of ancient Olympia in Greece. (Reuters)

Students during a training session at a gymnastic course at Shenyang Sports School in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China, May 9, 2012. Some 60 students, between the ages of 6 to 15, undergo a nine-year gymnastic program. (Reuters)

A man floats in the water with his belongings as another stays under a burning house during a fire in a slum area in Manila, Philippines. Officials say the fire that swept through a sprawling squatters' colony left two people missing, some 10,000 others homeless. (AP)

An Israeli soldier looks through his binoculars as he monitors the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila from the Israeli town of Metula, as seen from the Lebanese side of the border. The Israeli military is building a wall that will run several kilometers along part of its border with Lebanon. (AFP)

Protesters call on the Chinese government to pull its vessels from Scarborough Shoal during a rally in front of the Chinese consulate in Manila, Philippines. The Philippines and China are in a standoff over the shoal after the Philippine navy accused Chinese boats of illegally fishing in the area. (AP)

International Space Station crew member U.S. astronaut Joseph Acaba signs an autograph near an illustration of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, at the space museum of the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Reuters)

Yemeni protesters hold umbrellas in the colors of their national flag during a demonstration in the southern port city of Aden. Demonstrators called for the trial of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and demanded the removal of his relatives from their positions in the military. (AFP)

Slain Cambodian anti-logging activist Chut Wutty's son, Chheuy Udom Rasmey, stands near a portrait of his father during a commemoration ceremony in Koh Kong province May 11, 2012. About 300 people traveled to the Cardamom Mountains in southwestern Cambodia to attend. (Reuters)

Members of the Samaritan sect take part in the traditional pilgrimage marking Passover atop Mount Gerizim near the West Bank city of Nablus in the early morning. The Samaritans, who trace their roots to the biblical Kingdom of Israel in what is now the northern occupied West Bank, observe religious practices similar to those of Judaism. (Reuters)

Garmin-Barracuda rider Ramunas Navardauskas of Lithuania wearing the leader pink jersey arrives prior to the start of the 209km sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia from Urbino to Porto Sant'Elpidio. (Reuters)

A Pakistani girl cools off in a water channel in Lahore. Heatwave conditions have brought temperatures in excess of 40 degrees celsius in many parts of the country. (AFP)

Chao He, of China, performs during the men's three-meter springboard preliminaries at the USA Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP)

Refugees from Burma with their belongings at a makeshift camp in New Delhi, India. Hundreds of refugees have been camping outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) seeking refugee status and asylum in India. (AP)

Officials and mourners perform funeral prayers over the coffin of former Taliban minister Maulvi Arsala Rahmani, a senior member of the High Peace Council, in Kabul. Gunmen shot dead the top peace negotiator in the capital on May 13, 2012. (Reuters)

Hye Man cries as a Buddhist monk shaves his head during a service to celebrate Buddha's upcoming birthday at Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea. Hye Man is one of nine children who entered the temple to participate in Little Buddha camp, which allows youngsters to experience a monk's life for three weeks. (AP)

Workers watch as the forward section of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is moved onto a barge at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth, southern England. (Reuters)

A South Sudanese woman waiting to be flown back to her country sits at Khartoum Airport. The first batch of South Sudanese, who are among more than 12,000 South Sudanese stuck in Kosti port in White Nile State for up to a year, was flown back to their country in an evacuation assisted by the International Organization for Migration. (Reuters)

The space shuttle Enterprise is lowered onto a transport vehicle at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in Queens, New York. The shuttle will be placed on a barge that will move by tugboat up the Hudson River to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in June. (NASA/Kim Shiflet)

A Sunni gunman fires during clashes, in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon. Street battles pitting Lebanese Sunnis, who generally support the Syrian uprising, against Alawite supporters of Assad's regime killed at least one person. (AP)

Armed policemen ride on a locomotive transporting the Soyuz TMA-04M to its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome. (Reuters)

A worker (L) sets up a giant canvas of the official poster of the 65th Cannes Film Festival featuring U.S. actress Marilyn Monroe on the facade of the Festival Palace in Cannes, France. (Reuters)

Keeley Scothern of Madame Tussauds waxworks museum in London puts the finishing touches on a new figure of the Queen in honor of her Diamond Jubilee. (AP)

Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero holds the football trophy after winning their 28th Italian Series A title at the end of their match against Atalanta at the Juventus stadium in Turin, Italy. (Reuters)

The Soyuz TMA-04M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin to the International Space Station. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

France's outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy and outgoing First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leave the Elysee Palace at the end of a handover ceremony in Paris as newly-elected President Francois Hollande (R Rear) and companion Valerie Trierweiler look on from the steps of the palace. (Reuters)

Local radio personalities Fitzy, right, and Wippa, left, lift Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the world shortest person, as water rushes in at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Dangi, a 72-year-old Nepalese man who according to the Guinness World Records, is 54.6 centimeters (21.5 inches), touches the ocean and sand for the first time in his life. (AP)

Oil tankers, which were used to transport NATO fuel supplies to Afghanistan, are parked at a compound in Karachi, Pakistan. (AP)

Warsaw residents and tourists sign a giant football with Poland's national symbols in downtown Warsaw. Emotions are building up for the Euro 2012 football championships that will kick off with a Poland-Greece match in Warsaw on June 8 and will close in July in Kyiv, Ukraine that co-hosts the event. (AP)

Sri Lankan army officers prepare for a rehearsal of a military parade in Colombo. Sri Lanka will commemorate the government's victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in an annual military pageant scheduled for May 19. (AP)

A poster of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is covered with eggs thrown by protesters, outside the gate of JP Morgan Chase annual stockholders meeting, in Tampa, Florida. (AP)

A worker rides past a garbage dump as she returns home along highway 5, near Hanoi, Vietnam. (Reuters)

A woman walks in front of the sculpture 'Living together' (2012) in the exhibition 'Re-Generation' of Chinese artist Xu Jiang in the Kunsthalle im Lipsiusbau, a museum of the Dresden State Art Collection (SKD), in Dresden, eastern Germany. (AP)

A surfer falls off his board while riding after sunset in Cardiff, California. (Reuters)

Police and spectators watch the slab of rock that is breaking away from Valegion in Preonzo in southern Switzerland. About 300,000 cubic meters of the Valegion mountain collapsed and crashed into the valley below close to the village of Preonzo. (Reuters)

A paint spattered supporter of the Frankfurt Occupy Camp is taken away by police officers in front of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. (AP)

Electronic boards displaying stock information at the ADX Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange stock market, UAE. (Reuters)

A girl plays with her brother as they search for usable items at junkyard near the Danyingone station in Rangoon's suburbs, Burma. (Reuters)

Torchbearer Dimitrios Chondrokoukis, a Greek high jump athlete, lights a cauldron with the Olympic Flame atop the Athens Acropolis, Greece. (AP)

Refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo alight from a UNHCR truck on arrival at the Nyakabande refugee transit camp in Kisoro town 521km (312 miles) southwest of Uganda's capital Kampala, May 15, 2012. The refugees fled the Masisi region in Congo's North Kivu province since fighting broke out between Congolese troops and fighters loyal to a renegade general Bosco Ntaganda. (Reuters)

Women try to salvage their belongings after a fire in a slum at Shyamoli in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Reuters)

An oil slick flows through the mangrove near an illegal oil refinery along the Diebu creek in Nigeria's Bayelsa state, May 15, 2012. (Reuters)

An installation 'Past - Future', constructed of burnt white paper cylinders, created by Chinese artist Qin Chong on display at Asia's art fair 'Art HK 12' in Hong Kong (AP)

American actress Eva Longoria arrives for the opening ceremony and screening of Moonrise Kingdom at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France. (AP)

A special diamond-studded version of a Victorinox USB stick is displayed in the company's museum at the Swiss Knife Valley visitor center of Swiss knife manufacturer Victorinox in the central town of Brunnen, Switzerland. (Reuters)

Confetti falls and flags fly from Harrods department store in London as employees of the store celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's forthcoming Diamond Jubilee. (AFP)

A Cambodian man drives an ox-drawn cart through his flooded farm during the rainy season in Phlang village, about 34 kilometers (21 miles) west of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP)

A bumble bee flies toward a flower in Springfield, Illinois, USA. (AP)

A surfer exits the water on Barra da Tijuca beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP)

Greek athlete Niki Liosi lights the Olympic torch from a cauldron with the Olympic Flame atop the Athens Acropolis. Greece formally hands over the Olympic flame to a London delegation led by Princess Anne and including David Beckham at the Panathenaic stadium. (Reuters)

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano delivers a speech to members of the constituent assembly in Tunis, Tunisia. (AP)

Sri Lankan army  sniffer dogs during rehearsals of a military parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka (AP)

A gay rights activist (R) clashes with an Orthodox Christian activist in Tbilisi, Georgia. Dozens of gay rights activists marching on the streets to mark The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) were stopped by Orthodox Christian activists. (Reuters)

Newly produced trucks at an industrial port before they are loaded to a cargo ship in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. Japan's economy bounced back from a year-end lull in the first quarter, powering ahead of other major industrial nations. (Reuters)

A worker arranges flowers during preparations for the Chelsea Flower Show in London. (Reuters)

A village boy leads his goat past a parched pond on the outskirts of the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar, India. (AP)

Students from the Yermolov Cadet School test their helmets before a parachute jump outside the southern Russian city of Stavropol. (Reuters)

Artemis Racing of Sweden competes against other multihulls, during the America's Cup World Series regatta in Venice, Italy. (Reuters)

Balinese Hindus carrying Pratima, the symbol of God, walk on a beach during a cleansing ceremony called Melasti in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. Balinese believe that through this cleansing ceremony, they can drive bad spirits away and cleanse their spirituality. (Reuters)

A 3-year-old Poodle looks at people touring a pet fair in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP)

The sun rises behind some coastal grasses in Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA. (AP)

Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, makes a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cleveland Indians' Carlos Santana of a hit in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP)

Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on a screen televised from their headquarters in Menlo Park moments after their IPO launch in New York, May 18, 2012. (Reuters)

Members of the Tamang ethnic community participate in a protest against the government demanding ethnicity-based federalism outside the building of the Constitution Assembly hall in Katmandu, Nepal, May 18, 2012. (AP)

Victims of a May 11 fire rest at a relief complex in Manila, Philippines, on May 18, 2012. (AFP)

Lebanese students dance during The Big Dance event in downtown Beirut, near the parliament, May 18, 2012. (Reuters)

Aerial view taken from a hot air balloon of downtown Warsaw, Poland, and the Vistula River with the Swietokrzyski Bridge, May 18, 2012.  The country will host the Euro 2012 soccer championships' opening match between Poland and Greece on June 8. (AP)

Hong Kong actor Chow Yun Fat walks down the catwalk during the Hugo Boss Black Fashion Show in Beijing, China, May 18, 2012. (AP)

Montpellier's French forward Olivier Giroud (R) practices with the ball during a training session on May 18, 2012 at the Grammont stadium in Montpellier, southern France. (AFP)

A Yorkshire Terrier looks on prior to the World dog show in Salzburg, Austria, May 18, 2012. (AP)

A rhesus macaque eats watermelon, provided by zookeepers to help the monkeys deal with hot summer temperatures, at the Kamla Nehru Zoological Gardens in Ahmedabad, India, May 18, 2012. (AFP)

Policemen in riot gear push protesters away from the site of the NATO Summit in Chicago, USA. (Reuters)

Girls wearing traditional dresses, bow at the 40th Coming of Age Day Ceremony and representation of traditional 'Gwan-Rye' in Seoul, South Korea. The ceremony is held to authorize boys and girls at the age of 20, who have been living under the protection of their families, as independent individuals. (AP)

A Cambodian family transports sacks loaded with corns to a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP)

Policemen gather at the site of a suicide bomb attack at a parade square in Sana'a, Yemen. (Reuters)

The old tower is damaged after an earthquake in Finale Emilia. A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on May 20, 2012, killing at least three people and causing serious damage to the area's cultural heritage. (Reuters)

An annular solar eclipse occurs as the moon passes between the Earth and the sun as partially seen at sunrisefrom the coastal township of Gumaca, Quezon province, 187 kilometers (116 miles) southeast of Manila, Philippines. (AP)

A flower-covered Mini Cooper during the Chelsea Flower Show in London. The Chelsea Flower Show is the most prestigious of Britain's flower shows and is held every year in the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital. (AFP)

Iceland entrant Greta Salome, left, and Jonsi perform during rehearsals for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP)

Singer Cheryl Cole is helped up the stairs as she arrives for the screening of Love at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, May 20, 2012. (AP)

The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is seen during a time exposure as it lifts off from space launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This launch marks the first time, a private company sends its own rocket to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. (AP)

An Egyptian man passes a mural depicting presidential candidates Amr Moussa (C) and Ahmed Shafiq (L) and a combination of the faces of former president Hosni Mubarak and Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi in Cairo. (Reuters)

Demonstrators stage a peaceful protest near the Sule Pagoda, in central Rangoon, Burma, against the power blackouts across the country. (Reuters)

A boy slides down in to a swimming pool as the sun shines in the northern German city of Hameln. (AFP)

A man spreads rose petals, which will be used to make incense sticks, on the floor to dry in a compound in Lahore, Pakistan. (Reuters)

Niagara Falls emergency officials rescue a man who plunged over Niagara Falls and survived in an apparent suicide attempt, May 21, 2012. He was taken to the Hamilton General Hospital, Canada, where a spokeswoman says he has critical but non-life-threatening injuries. (AP)

African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers from Burundi patrol after fighting between insurgents and government soldiers on the outskirts of Mogadishu. (Reuters)

Water from heavy rains partially covers a car abandoned in a street of Saint-Max, near Nancy, after a storm dumped heavy rains in eastern France overnight. (Reuters)

Members of the English National Ballet outside the Orangery restaurant at Kensington Palace in London as part of a publicity event for a summer charity fundraiser with Swan Lake as the theme (Reuters)

A boogie boarder rides a wave during high tide in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AFP)

A Red Panda Bear sleeps in the Panda Bear enclosure at the Beijing Zoo. (AFP)

Competitors leave the starting blocks in the T42/43/44 Mens 100 meter race during the BT Paralympic World Cup at Sportcity in Manchester, north-west England. (AFP)

Demonstrators carrying the national flag of Nepal participate in a mass gathering organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, demanding for peace, social harmony and the punctual implementation of a new constitution in Kathmandu. (Reuters)

An Egyptian woman votes during the first day of the presidential election at a polling station in Alexandria. Egyptians went to the polls to elect a new president after the fall of ex-President Hosni Mubarak last year. (AP)

Supporters of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, wearing Adolf Hitler masks, shout slogans calling for the acquittal of the Chief Justice in the ongoing impeachment trial. (AP)

Kazakh honor guards greet visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during an official welcome ceremony in the capital Astana, Kazakhstan. (AFP)

The Cisne Branco from Brazil sails by the Statue Of Liberty in New York to participate in Fleet Week activities. This year's event marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812. (AP)

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb prepares to catch a ball during NFL football practice in Owings Mills, Maryland. (AP)

The Se metro station is void of commuters in the morning during rush hour due to a metro workers strike, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (AFP)

Residents flee from renewed clashes between Somalia government forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Islamist militants in the capital Mogadishu. (Reuters)

A woman places a hand on the coffin of one of the victims of a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane that crashed on Salak Mountain, during a ceremony at Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. The remains of all 45 victims of the crash were officially handed over to their families during the ceremony. The plane crashed into a volcano 64 km (40 miles) south of Jakarta on May 9, 2012, during a exhibition flight killing all 45 people on board. (Reuters)

A stork collecting material for its nest flies over a field near Biebesheim, western Germany. (AFP)

Italy's Samuel Pizzetti swims in the Men's 1500 meter Freestyle final at the European Swimming Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. (AP)

An explosion is seen during a live-fire display at a conference held by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) on the use of fire support from both the ground and the air in a complex combat environment, at the Shivta Field Artillery School in southern Israel. (Reuters)

Orthodox priests walk in a religious procession to mark the Day of St. Cyril and Methodius, founders of the Cyrillic alphabet, at the Cathedral Square in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (AP)

Kuwaiti men attend a parliament session requested by opposition MPs to grill Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali over alleged financial and administrative irregularities in Kuwait City. (AFP)

Deputies of the Ukrainian opposition and the pro-presidential factions scuffle during a session in the parliament in Kyiv. Opposition deputies brought proceedings to a halt inside the parliament when they staged an action against the bill about the basics of the language policy.

A police officer and a dog stand guard near packages of marijuana seized in Cali, Colombia. (Reuters)

The Solar Impulse aircraft is being pulled out of the hangar for takeoff at Payerne airport, Switzerland. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA prototype aircraft, which has 12,000 solar cells built into its 64.3 meters (193 feet) wings, attempted its first intercontinental flight from Payerne to Rabat in Morocco with a few days for a technical stop and a change of pilot in Madrid. This flight will act as a final rehearsal for the 2014 round-the-world flight. (Reuters)

Yemeni officers and soldiers carry coffins of soldiers who were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a parade square during their funeral procession in Sana'a. (AP/Yemen Defense Ministry)

The lower bow section of the nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, is lowered into position at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. (AP)

Female Egyptian voters stand in line to cast their vote in Cairo. (AP)

A California Fire aircraft drops flame retardant on the Topaz Ranch Estates Fire in Wellington, Nevada, May 23, 2012. (Reuters)

Yuki Nonaka of Japan hits a return to Yeh Tung-Yi of Taiwan in their women's preliminary round game in the ITTF World Tour 2012 China Open in Shanghai, China. (AFP)

The Museum of Contemporary Art is lit with an electronic canvas during a media call one day before the start of the Vivid Festival in Sydney, Australia. (Reuters)

From left, actors Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron during a photo call for The Paperboy at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France. (AP)

Supporters of different Egyptian presidential candidates argue outside the Al-Fatah Mosque in Cairo on May 25, 2012. (AFP)

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi greets supporters after an inauguration ceremony of a branch of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Yangon, May 25, 2012. (AP)

An Israeli border police officer prepares to shoot tear gas toward Palestinian demonstrators during clashes in the northern West Bank village of Kufr Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kdumim, May 25, 2012. (AP)

A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to throw stones at Israeli soldiers aduring clashes in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, May 25, 2012, following a protest against the confiscation of Palestinian land to expand a nearby Jewish settlement. (AFP)

Norwayâ??s Tooji performs during the Second Semi-Final of the Eurovision 2012 song contest in the Azerbaijan's capital Baku, May 25, 2012. (AFP)

Supporters of the late Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito arrive for Tito's 120th birth anniversary celebrations in Belgrade, Serbia, May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

A cat rests on a roof in Istanbul, Turkey, May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

Heidi and Steve (R) pose during a Wave-Gothic meeting on May 25, 2012 in Leipzig, eastern Germany. Organizers expect some 20,000 visitors from all over the world for the dark music and arts festival running until May 28, 2012. (AFP)

Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber returns to his opponent Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia during the World Team Cup tennis tournament in Dusseldorf, May 25, 2012. (AP)

Two monkeys quench their thirst as a third takes a dip on a hot summer afternoon on the outskirts of Jammu, India, May 25, 2012. (AP)

An artist paints a woman's body during the 6th International Fonambules Body Paint Festival in Mexico City, May 25, 2012. (AP)

A soldier from the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, Task Force Bulldog fires at a Taliban position after they attacked the Combat Outpost (COP) Boston in Kherwar district in Logar province, eastern Afghanistan, May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

A Pakistani family rides a motorbike past plastic pools displayed for sale on a roadside in Gujranwala, Pakistan, May 25, 2012. (AP)

Japan's Yoko Sakuma, right, competes against compatriot Kana Kurokawa during the final of the Individual women competition at the 15th World Kendo Championship in Novara, Italy, May 26, 2012. (AP)

A woman tries on a wedding gown during a wedding expo at an exhibition center in Beijing, May 26, 2012. (AP)

in the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad, May 26, 2012. Thousands have gathered in the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad to bury the remains of 66 Muslim Bosnians killed and thrown into the river by Bosnian Serb forces at the start of the country's 1992-95 war. The victims' remains were discovered two years ago, when a man-made lake that divides Bosnia and Serbia was partially drained for the maintenance of a dam. (AP)

Sauber Formula One driver Sergio Perez of Mexico loses a tire following contact against a wall during the qualifying session at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix, May 26, 2012. (Reuters)

Children tackle an obstacle course during the Public and Military Day show in Siauliai, Lithuania, May 26, 2012. (AFP)

Youths pose for the photographer as they jump into the sea in Brighton, England, May 26, 2012. (Reuters)

Actors Matthew McConaughey, right, and Reese Witherspoon arrive for the screening of Mud at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, France, May 26, 2012.

Revellers attend the Wave-Gothic Festival in Leipzig May 25, 2012. (Reuters)

A locomotive painted in Irish national colors crosses a bridge over Vistula river in Warsaw, Poland. The Polish railways presented locomotives painted in national colors of Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland and Croatia, all playing in group C in the upcoming Euro 2012 soccer championships. (AP)

Georgian opposition supporters gather on the square in the capital Tbilisi to show their opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili, in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years. The demonstration, which drew at least 40,000 people. (AP)

Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo is greeted by South Korean little Buddhist monks upon his arrival at Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea. (AP)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France returns against Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia in the first round match at the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris. (AP)

Rowers take part in the Vogalonga, or long row, in Gran Canal in the Venice lagoon, Italy. The annual boating event features a 30km course starting at St. Mark's Square. (Reuters)

A visitor looks at participant's details for potential dating at the second Shanghai Marriage Expo in Shanghai, China. (AFP)

Loreen of Sweden performs after winning the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP)

Nepal's Brahmins and Chhetri society members clash with police in Katmandu. Leaders of the country's main political parties are meeting in a last-minute attempt to agree on a new constitution before a midnight deadline. (AP)

Red Bull Formula One driver Mark Webber of Australia sprays champagne after winning the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. (Reuters)

U.S. military academy cadets throw their caps into the air after their graduation ceremony at West Point, New York, May 26, 2012. (Reuters)

An artist performs during the annual 'Kyiv Fire Fest' in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)

People jostle as they collect water from a truck from Water and Sewerage Authority in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Water supply to Dhaka dwellers has dropped drastically in the last one month due to power cuts and the summer heat, local media reported. (Reuters)

Supporters of Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmad Shafiq celebrate after the official results for the first round were announced in Cairo. Egypt's electoral commission confirmed that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi would face ex-prime minister Ahmed Shafiq in a June presidential runoff. (AFP)

A fire burns in a clothing stall after an explosion in a shopping complex in Kenya's capital Nairobi. A blast struck a shopping complex in Nairobi's business district during lunch hour, wounding more than a dozen people. (Reuters)

Women interact with 'Screaming rapture', a light and sound installation by Liam Ryan, Frank Maguire and Jason McDermott during the Vivid Festival in Sydney, Australia, May 27, 2012. (Reuters)

President Barack Obama speaks at the Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. (AP)

Residents remove sand bags from a bus used as a barricade by tribal militants loyal to the powerful al-Ahmar family during last year's fighting with security forces, in Sana'a, Yemen. (Reuters)

Workers repair a cave-in area on a road in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. The cause of the cave-in, measuring about 6 meters (20 ft.) in depth, 15 meters (49 ft.) in length and 10 meters (33 ft.) in width, is still under investigation. (Reuters)

A Kurdish man walks between coffins draped with Kurdish flag containing the remains of victims during a burial ceremony in Sulaimaniya, 260km (162 miles) northeast of Baghdad. More than 700 Kurds, killed by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, were honored in a ceremony in northern Iraq. (Reuters)

Sebastian Worch lands in river Rhine with his flying Statue of Liberty vehicle during the Red Bull Flying event in Mainz, central Germany. (AP)

An Egyptian supporter walks on scattered electoral flyers with pictures of presidential runoff candidate Ahmed Shafiq in front of his ransacked campaign headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. A mob set fire late Monday to Shafiq's campaign headquarters, the first sign of unrest after the voting yielded divisive candidates. (AP)

People stand in front a collapsed building in Cavezzo, Italy. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the same area of northern Italy stricken by another fatal tremor on May 20. (AP)

Protesters in Manila celebrate after hearing more than two-thirds of the Philippine Senate voted to oust Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. The Senate voted to remove the country's top judge for failing to disclose his wealth, a landmark victory for President Benigno Aquino as he pushes a campaign to root out endemic corruption in the Southeast Asian nation. (Reuters)

A victim of the Lapindo mud volcano takes part in a theatrical performance on a retaining dike in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. Six years after it erupted from the well of a gas company linked to one of Indonesia's richest men, the mud volcano known as 'Lusi' is still spewing toxic sludge over Java's countryside. (AFP)

A passenger stands at the check-in desks during a protest by the cleaning staff at Barcelona's airport. Staff working for a company which has a contract with the airport demonstrated against pay and benefits cuts made by their employer. (Reuters)

A formation of U.S. Navy Blue Angel fighter jets perform a flyover above graduating midshipmen during the United States Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremonies in Annapolis, Maryland. (AP)

An Indian man takes a drink of water provided by a local charity outside a Hindu temple on a warm morning in New Delhi, India. The temperature in the Indian capital soared in recent days reaching 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP)

Serena Williams of the U.S. returns in her first round match against Virginie Razzano of France at the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris. (AP)

A Qatari man walks in a graveyard during a funeral procession in Doha. Qatar's interior ministry said at least 19 foreign nationals, including 13 children, were killed in a fire that ripped through the Villaggio Mall in Qatar Monday. (Reuters)

A newlywed couple waits for a wedding photo session at the Bund, a popular tourist destination in Shanghai, China. (AP)

A visitor tastes wine behind a glass window illustrating wine during Vinexpo Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong. More than 14,000 visitors from 33 countries are attending the expo's seventh edition, the region's largest international wine and spirits exhibition, according to organizers. (Reuters)

Coal miners move a tree trunk to make a barricade on motorway A-66 to protest against government spending cuts in the mining sector in Campomanes, near Oviedo, northern Spain. (Reuters)

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi greets migrant workers from Burma, as she visits them in Samut Sakhon province in Thailand. Nobel Peace Prize winner ventures outside the country for the first time in 24 years. (Reuters)

Joanne Gregory carries the London 2012 Olympic torch on a hand-drawn boat across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales, Britain. (Reuters)

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor listens to the judge at the opening of the sentencing judgement hearing at the court in Leidschendam, near The Hague, Netherlands. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for backing Sierra Leonean rebels in their war of murder, rape and mutilation. (Reuters)

A woman crosses a flooded street by stepping on wooden tables amid heavy rainfalls in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, May 29, 2012. (Reuters)

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, right, and Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Belem presidential palace, in Lisbon, Portugal. (AP)

Thai police move in to maintain order and to protect speaker of the House of Representatives Somsak Kiatsuranont (C) during a heated parliamentary debate over a controversial draft national reconciliation bill in Bangkok. (Reuters)

A duck quenches it's thirst from a tap at the Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan, where temperatures reach up to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP)

The Dragon spacecraft floats on the surface of the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles off Mexico's Baja California after its mission to the International Space Station. (AP/SpaceX, Michael Altenhofen)

Activists perform during a campaign marking the World No Tobacco Day in Seoul, South Korea. (AP)

Buddhist monk Thich Tam Man kowtows on a road in the Ninh Binh province, about 90 km (56 miles) south of Hanoi. He started his journey in 2009 from his monastery at Hoang Phap pagoda, near Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh city, to Yen Tu mountain, which is about 150 km (93 miles) east of Hanoi. The distance he will travel is about 1800km (1118 miles), and with every step he takes, for 10 hours a day, Tam Man will kneel and pray. He believes that with every prayer he makes, he will be able to atone for his previous mistakes, and pray for world peace. (Reuters)

An opposition activist attends a protest rally to defend Article 31 of the Russian constitution, which guarantees the right of assembly, in Moscow. The sheet of paper attached to the protester's face reads 'I keep silent'. (Reuters)

The 'Council of the Baltic Sea States' leader summit at the Oceaneum in Stralsund, Germany (Reuters)

A construction worker stands on scaffolding at the construction site of a bridge on the outskirts of Jammu. India's annual economic growth slumped in the January-March quarter to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent. (Reuters)

A model takes to the catwalk at the Giorgio Armani fashion show held in Beijing, China. (AP)

Lightning strikes behind the campanile on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas, USA, May 30, 2012. (AP)