Picture News
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Schoolgirls in Kuala Lumpur cover their mouths as they return home after schools were closed when a noxious haze, blamed on forest fires in Indonesia, enveloped the Malaysian capital. -
A Sikh man is blasted by water cannons in New Delhi as he takes part in a protest against the government's refusal to prosecute a former minister implicated in the death of thousands of Sikhs. -
A triple jump competitor at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki searches for his kit after a trackside shelter was blown down by strong winds. -
One of the young tour guides at Linlithgow Palace near Edinburgh runs around Britain's oldest surviving fountain. The newly restored water feature was commissioned by James V of Scotland in 1537. -
A record 1.67 million overseas tourists have flocked to the historic Chinese capital Beijing during the first half of this year. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images -
Malaysia haze
A thick haze cloaked parts of Malaysia on Wednesday, including the capital Kuala Lumpur, after smoke from forest and peat fires filled the air. -
Malaysia haze
The top of the Petronas Towers, one of the world's tallest buildings, was almost invisible from the ground. -
Malaysia haze
Many people wore masks or pressed handkerchiefs to their faces when outside. Officials said the pollution - the worst since 1998 - was already causing health problems. -
Malaysia haze
The government bowed to public pressure and released previously secret figures on air quality, saying schools would be closed if the problem got worse. -
Malaysia haze
Tourists, too, were affected. Famous landmarks almost disappeared in the haze. -
Malaysia haze
Malaysia says hundreds of forest fires are raging on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, sending pollutants across the Malacca Strait and into Malaysia. -
Malaysia haze
But the pollution levels are also due to fires closer to home. In recent weeks firemen have been battling against peat fires outside Kuala Lumpur. -
The European Ariane rocket takes off from French Guiana, carrying aboard it the world's heaviest communications satellite. -
A worker carries a window from a Jewish home being dismantled in a settlement bloc in Gaza. -
In Gaza City meanwhile, a Palestinian man sews flags to prepare for celebrations marking Israel's planned withdrawal from the territory. -
Greenpeace activists enter the Hazelwood power station in Australia as part of a campaign to force its closure. -
Museum workers in London place Crivelli's painting, Dead Christ Supported by Two Angels, beneath the sculpture that inspired it, Donatello's Dead Christ Tended by Angels. -
US soldiers in Iraq practise with live ammunition rounds in this picture released by the US military. -
Syrian women pose after reaching the finals of a modelling competition, believed to be the country's first. -
Discovery landing
Nasa has been gearing up for the return of Discovery since Monday, but bad weather prevented the shuttle from landing until Tuesday. -
Discovery landing
After it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, the shuttle first appears as a white outline against the Californian night. -
Discovery landing
Only a few seconds later, it is almost ready to touch down at Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles, having plummeted through the sky like a 'hurling brick'. -
Discovery landing
It finally touches the ground, delivering its crew safely back to Earth. -
Discovery landing
Discovery was diverted to California after bad weather prevented it from landing at its home base of Cape Canaveral in Florida. -
Discovery landing
On the ground, Nasa employees watch anxiously as the shuttle makes its final approach...