In this picture released exclusively to Reuters on January 31, 2009, Taliban militants pose with their weapons for pictures in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan January 30, 2009. Picture taken January 30, 2009.
Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon and State Member for Ashgrove, Kate Jones talks to troops from 7 Brigade, Enoggera Army Barracks
The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP talks to troops from 7 Brigade, Enoggera Army Barracks.
Able Seaman (AB) Ashley Semmens wearing the new Disruptive Pattern Navy Uniform (DPNU)
Seaman Alicia Kielty onboard HMAS Pirie wearing the new Disruptive Pattern Navy Uniform during Operation RESOLUTE.
Sailors from Assail 6 onboard HMAS Pirie wearing the new Disruptive Pattern Navy Uniform on board HMAS Pirie during Operation RESOLUTE.
JUNEAU, Alaska -- Coast Guard members listen to Jim Michener, an instructor for the Educational Training Company out of Sitka, Alaska, while he gives information for basic survival techniques. Twenty-four Coast Guard members participated in the five-day training course which gave them perspective on both being rescued and rescuing survivors in Alaska's harsh terrain. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo/PA3 Walter Shinn)
SAN FRANCISCO - An H-60 Pavehawk helicopter from the California Air National Guard 129th Rescue Wing hovers above the survivor of a small plane crash today, Jan. 29, 2009, approximately 10 miles west of Pillar Point. The rescue helicopter hoisted the man and transported him to Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco where he was treated for hypothermia and later transferred to San Francisco General Hosptial by local emergency medical services. (Coast Guard Photo)
SAN PEDRO, Calif. -- Petty Officer 1st Class Rick Leland, assigned to MSST Los Angeles/Long Beach, explains the Coast Guard's K-9 program to Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA 47th) Jan. 29 during her visit to Sector LA/LB. Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft, Commander of District 11, and Capt. Paul Wiedenhoeft, Commander of Sector LA/LB look on during the demonstration. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cory J. Mendenhall
SAN PEDRO, Calif. -- Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA 47th) and Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft, Commander of District 11, are greeted by aircrew members from Air Station Los Angeles Jan. 29 prior to a taking an aerial tour of the Port of Los Angeles during Rep. Sanchez's visit to Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cory J. Mendenhall)
MCKINLEYVILE, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2009)- A rescue swimmer from Air Station Humboldt Bay free falls from an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, while the Coast Guard Cutter Barracuda looks on. Coast Guard air crews conduct regular training with cutters and boats to ensure that all Coast Guard crews are always ready. (Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin J. Neff)
MCKINLEYVILLE, Calif. (Jan. 29, 2009)- A crew member from Air Station Humboldt Bay is hoisted to the HH-65 Dolphin helicopter as a rescue swimmer hangs on the basket to help stabilize the lift during rescue swimmer training off of the Humboldt County Coast. Air crews frequently conduct training with other Coast Guard units to ensure that all crews are always ready. (Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Kevin J. Neff)
Around 700 staff walked out of the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland and 400 more staged an unofficial strike at a refinery in Teesside(Andrew Yates/AFP/*****)
Bobby Buirds, a regional officer for Unite in Scotland, said that the workers at Grangemouth were striking to protect British jobs, not to confront the foreign workers(Andrew Yates/AFP/*****)
Moroccan soldiers attend a change of command ceremony of the NATO-led peacekeeping Kosovo Force (KFOR), in North Kosovo on January 30, 2009. The French KFOR command was handed over from outgoing General Michel Yakovleff, to new commander, General Philippe Bras. AFP/***** Images
French soldiers attend a change of command ceremony of the NATO-led peacekeeping Kosovo Force (KFOR), in North Kosovo on January 30, 2009. The French KFOR command was handed over from outgoing General Michel Yakovleff, to new commander, General Philippe Bras. AFP/***** Images
Iraqi army soldiers stand guard outside a polling center in the Azamiyah area of north Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. Iraqis passed through security checkpoints and razor wire cordons to vote Saturday in provincial elections that are considered a crucial test of the nation's stability as U.S. officials consider the pace of troop withdrawals. AP Photo by KHALID MOHAMMED
An Iraqi soldier stands guard as voters stand in line to cast their votes at a polling station during the country's provincial elections in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. Polls opened Saturday under extremely tight security, which includes driving bans in major cities and searches of all voters. The election is considered an important test of Iraq's stability after nearly six years of conflict. AP Photo by Karim Kadim
A Sri Lankan military helicopter flies over an armoured personnel carrier in Mullaittivu, January 27, 2009. Sri Lanka's government on Friday again pledged safe passage to thousands of people trapped in fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels, but said there would be no ceasefire with the separatist guerrillas. Picture taken January 27, 2009. Reuters
A Sri Lankan army soldier stands guard as a military helicopter takes off in Mullaittivu, January 27, 2009. Sri Lanka's government on Friday again pledged safe passage to thousands of people trapped in fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels, but said there would be no ceasefire with the separatist guerrillas. Picture taken January 27, 2009. Reuters
Residents walk past a U.S. soldier standing guard near a polling station in Baghdad January 31, 2009. Iraqis voted behind barbed wire and rings of police on Saturday in an election that tested the war-battered country's fragile security gains and which may ease lingering sectarian resentment still fuelling violence. Reuters
An Indonesian navy officer counts the number of Rohingya refugees at a naval base on Sabang island January 31, 2009. The refugees were found floating at sea on a wooden boat on January 7 and taken to the base. Indonesia said on Thursday it was still assessing what to do with a group of 193 Rohingya boat people, as one of the migrants said they would rather die than be sent back to Myanmar where they would face death. Reuters
I don't know who the hell this guy is but he looks like the Sri Lankan version of Chuck Norris!
Soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army patrolling a recently captured section of the road where an earth bund has been put up by the fleeing Tiger cadres at Mullaitivu 384 kms north-east of Colombo 31 January 2009. With almost all its main bastions having fallen into the hands of the government forces, the LTTE is now restricted to a mere 280 sq. km. area of jungle area, Vishvamadu and Puthukudyiruppu being the only prominent townships within. The Tamil Tigers as they are called have been waging an armed struggle for a separate homeland in the north and east since 1976. Cloaked with an image of invincibility, the outfit has spurned peace talks with successive governments. Nearly half the country was under its control by 2006. Since mid 2006, the incumbent government embarked to rid the island of the terrorist menace and presently the Tamil Tigers are losing real estate by the day. While the conflict has claimed the lives of over 75,000 from both sides, a military defeat for the LTTE is looming large and it may be vanquished as a conventional fighting force very soon, according to military sources
Russian policemen detain a participant of a banned National-Bolshevic ultra-left organisation, shouting 'We hate government!' during a communist protest rally in the centre of Moscow, Russia, 31 January 2009. Some hundred demonstrators demanded support for the working class amidst the national crisis
Iraqi policemen searches a child in front a polling station in Baghdad's Karada district, Iraq, 31 January 2009. About 15 million Iraqi voters will participate in the provincial elections under tight security measures imposed by the Iraqi security forces all over Iraq to protect voters and election stations
A Filipino boy holds a bullet in Manila, Philippines, 31 January 2009. Brunei on 30 January pledged to dispatch more troops to join an international team monitoring a six-year ceasefire between the Philippine government and Muslim separatist rebels in the strife-torn southern region of Mindanao
Private First Class Quinterra D. Peake of the U.S. Army wears the Purple Heart medal after receiving it at a ceremony at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, USA, on 30 January 2009. The Purple Heart medal is given on the behalf of the President to decorate members of the armed forces injured or killed by instruments of war while serving the U.S. military. PFC Peake was injured when a rocket propelled grenade hit his tower in Camp Herrera, Afghanistan
Pete Geren (L), Secretary of the U.S. Army, places a Purple Heart medal on Private First Class Quinterra D. Peake (C) as his mother Linda (R) stands beside during a ceremony at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, USA, on 30 January 2009. The Purple Heart medal is given on the behalf of the President to decorate members of the armed forces injured or killed by instruments of war while serving the U.S. military. PFC Peake was injured when a rocket propelled grenade hit his tower in Camp Herrera, Afghanistan
Pete Geren (L), Secretary of the U.S. Army, presents a Purple Heart medal to Sergeant Justin Smith (R) during a ceremony at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, USA, on 30 January 2009. The Purple Heart medal is given on the behalf of the President to decorate members of the armed forces injured or killed by instruments of war while serving the U.S. military. Sergeant Smith was injured by an improvised explosive device in Zormat, Afghanistan.
