News in pictures on Friday 05.03.2010

[General Veers]

World
Mar 5, 2010

News in pictures on Friday

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A paramilitary police officer stands guard in front of Tiananmen gate before the opening session of the National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People early Friday morning. -- PHOTO: AP

An Indian Nihang (religious Sikh warrior) shows off his skills in the Sikh martial art known as 'Gatka' while participating in a procession during The Amritsar Heritage Festival in Amritsar. The festival which runs from March 4 -7, aims to preserve and promote Punjabi culture, began with a cultural procession through the city. -- PHOTO: AFP

The northern Indian city, Kanpur, is one of the country's major leather centres, housing more than 400 of the nations estimated 2,100 tanneries, and environmentalists have for years accused the sector of spewing toxic waste into the holy river Ganges which flows through the city. -- PHOTO: AFP

 

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Relatives mourn near the bodies of Maniya Saroj, 60, Priti, 8, and Ankit, 10, before their funeral in Kazipur Maharajganj, Kunda, 180 kilometers southeast of Lucknow, India. Police launched a criminal investigation Friday into a deadly stampede at a Hindu temple in northern India as relatives made funeral preparations for the 63 victims, most of them women and children. -- PHOTO: AP

Aerial view of the damages caused by the tsunami in Tubul, 50 km away from Concepcion, Chile, after the 8.8 magnitude quake that killed more than 800 people and ravaged its infrastructure. -- PHOTO: AFP

Protestors lay face down on Interstate 880 after they were arrested by Oakland police officers for attempting to block the freeway following a rally for the national day of action against school funding cuts and tuition increases in Oakland, California. -- PHOTO: AFP

 

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Japanese men load frozen tuna from a cold room on to carts after a tuna auction at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Japan says it will not comply if a ban on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna is imposed. -- PHOTO: AP

View of a collapsed bridge on the expressway A-5, some 150 km south of Santiago. Chile said on Thursday it was reviewing the official death toll of Saturday's massive quake and tsunami, which currently stands at 802, because in some places the missing were counted as dead. Reconstruction in Chile will take at least three years, President Michelle Bachelet said Thursday, as she acknowledged the country would need international aid. -- PHOTO: AFP

Chinese ethnic minority delegates pose for photographers after arriving for the opening session of the nine-day National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. -- PHOTO: AFP

 

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Chris Martin, lead singer of the British rock band Coldplay, performs in concert at Simon Bolivar Park in Bogota. -- PHOTO: AP

Police arrest protesters on Interstate 880 in Oakland, California on Thursday after they stopped traffic during the evening commute after a protest against fee hikes and class cutbacks in the state education system. -- PHOTO: AP

A Chinese paramilitary guard stands in front of the Great Hall of the People during the opening session of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing. -- PHOTO: AFP

 

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An earthquake survivor plays soccer next to the tent where he is living with his family five days after a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused widespread destruction in Dichato. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

An earthquake survivor stands inside a test where she is living with her family five days after a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused widespread destruction in Dichato. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

An Oscar statue is covered in protective plastic on the red carpet as preparations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards continue outside the Kodak Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday at the Kodak Theatre. -- PHOTO: AFP

 

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Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas sits in the living room of his home in Santa Clara, central Cuba. Farinas began a hunger strike at his home on Feb 23, 2010, in solidarity with fellow dissident Orlando Zapata who died the same day of his own hunger strike. The Cuban Human Rights Commission said the a total of five dissidents, including Farinas, are fasting for the freedom of political prisoners. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

The conductor of a military band performs ahead of the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. -- PHOTO: REUTERS