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World
Mar 4, 2010

News in pictures on Thursday



Plumes of dust rise from landslides caused by a strong earthquake in the southern area of Kaohsiung county, Taiwan. A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Taiwan, causing widespread damage, and disrupting communications around the island. -- PHOTO: AP




Iraqi security forces frisk a man outside a polling station in Baghdad before allowing him in to cast his vote in the war-battered country's second general election since 2003. Voting began in Iraq's general election with security forces, the sick and prisoners casting their ballots ahead of polling day at the weekend. Election organisers expect around 800,000 people, who will not be able to go to polling stations on Sunday, to take part in the early voting session. -- PHOTO: AFP




Britain's Queen Elizabeth speaks as South African President Jacob Zuma listens during a Banquet at Buckingham Palace in London. The South African President is on a three day state visit to Britain. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

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Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left) introduces former Secretary-General of United Nations Kofi Annan to his ministers prior to a meeting in Jakarta. Mr Annan delivered a lecture to Indonesian government, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono and cabinet ministers. -- PHOTO AFP




Japanese money commodity trader Taisei Coins' displays a 50 New Zealand dollar gold coin, a large 10 New Zealand dollar silver coin and three two New Zealand coins designed after popular cartoon character Snoopy for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of its publication, in Tokyo. -- PHOTO: AFP




Farmers work in a cabbage field on the outskirts of the eastern Indian city of Siliguri. India's food inflation accelerated slightly in late February, defying government predictions that price rises would start to moderate, adding to pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates in April. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

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An Oscar statue wrapped in plastic is placed along the red carpet arrival area during preparations for the 82nd Academy Awards in Hollywood. The Oscars will be presented on Sunday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS




This photo shows farmers picking young rice trees to transplant them to a rice field in the northern province of Bac Ninh. Although Vietnam is a world leading rice exporter with a target of six million tonnes this year, farmers still use century old traditional farming techniques. -- PHOTO: AFP




This aerial photo shows Rongelap Island, one of more than 60 in a necklace of coral islands that was engulfed by a snowstorm of radioactive fallout on March 1, 1954. The US government is funding work to resettle the island's village. Fifty-six years after a US hydrogen bomb blast exposed Pacific islanders on Rongelap Atoll to radioactive fallout and forced them from their homes, the United States has given them an ultimatum to return. -- PHOTO: AFP

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Newton Marshall leads his dogs on the Takhini River after leaving Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. The creators of the Jamaica Dogsled Team are sending Marshall to the pinnacle of world-class competitions, the 1,760km Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. -- PHOTO: AP




A tourist runs from waves in front of Havana's seafront boulevard "El Malecon" after sea water entered and flooded parts of Havana due to high tides and big waves. -- PHOTO: REUTERS




The sun rises over Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier near the city of El Calafate, in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz. The vast amounts of water stored in glaciers play crucial roles in river flows, hydropower generation and agricultural production, contributing to steady run-off for Ganges, Yangtze, Mekong and Indus rivers in Asia and elsewhere. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

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The pyramids in the Meroe desert, north of Khartoum. Archaeologists say the desert of north Sudan holds mysteries to rival ancient Egypt. The Louvre will host its first exhibition at the end of March on the Meroe dynasty, the last in a line of "black pharaohs" that ruled the Kush kingdom on the banks of the Nile for more than 1,000 years until its demise in 350 AD. -- PHOTO: AFP




Cambodian soldiers test fire multiple rocket launchers (BM21) at the air field in Kampong Chhnang province, some 120 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh. Cambodia's military mounted a rare public test of rockets on March 4, amid a lingering troop standoff over disputed territory with neighbouring Thailand. -- PHOTO: AFP




A choir marking the 100 days countdown attends the opening of the Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium in Durban, South Africa, Wednesday. The stadium will host matches during the World Cup Soccer Tournament. -- PHOTO: AP