Photographers were treated to a festival of colors at the annual Hong Kong Flower Show....NSI News Source Info # 310

Photographers were treated to a festival of colors at the annual Hong Kong Flower Show.

Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Entry, Fleet Air Arm and Fleet Divisions at Sydney Harbor....NSI News Source Info # 309

Crew members from the HMAS Collins greeted the governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir, during a ceremonial exercise involving the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Entry, Fleet Air Arm and Fleet Divisions at Sydney Harbor. The event marked the culmination of the navy's largest exercise.

Elephants ate a buffet of fruit and vegetables during Thailand's National Elephant Day....NSI News Source Info # 308

Elephants ate a buffet of fruit and vegetables during Thailand's National Elephant Day at Ayutthaya Elephant Palace & Royal Kraal, 50 miles north of Bangkok.

Paramilitary policemen attend a training session at a military base in Yinchuan....NSI News Source Info # 307

Paramilitary policemen attend a training session at a military base in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. President Hu Jintao of China urged the military to "staunchly defend" national sovereignty in comments published days after a brief confrontation with a United States Navy ship.

National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing....NSI News Source Info # 306

Delegates to the the National People's Congress voted on the last day of the annual legislative session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

President Dmitry A. Medvedev of Russia as he entered the hall for a meeting in Moscow's Kremlin....NSI News Source Info # 305

Soldiers opened the door for President Dmitry A. Medvedev of Russia as he entered the hall for a meeting in Moscow's Kremlin.

Posters of Lebanese candidates for legislative elections hang on residences in Tripoli....NSI News Source Info # 304

Posters of Lebanese candidates for legislative elections hang on residences in Tripoli. Lebanon's political factions pledged last week to refrain from violence in the run-up to a crucial legislative election on June 7, the president's office announced after all the parties met.

Israeli demonstrators in Jerusalem calling for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit....NSI News Source Info # 303

Israeli demonstrators in Jerusalem calling for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Hamas-allied militants in Gaza in 2006. Corporal Shalit's family and friends have set up a protest tent near Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's residence in the waning days of his administration for his release.

A mudslide hit several houses and vacation homes in Namsos, about 330 miles north of Oslo in central Norway....NSI News Source Info # 302

A mudslide hit several houses and vacation homes in Namsos, about 330 miles north of Oslo in central Norway. Seven people were rescued. According to media reports, road construction workers using explosives in the area may have set off the landslide.

An army helicopter plucked a person from the roof of Bangladesh's biggest shopping mall in the capital, Dhaka....NSI News Source Info # 301

An army helicopter plucked a person from the roof of Bangladesh's biggest shopping mall in the capital, Dhaka, as a fire raced through the upper levels of the high-rise complex, killing at least seven people and injuring 50 others.

A woman reading the Jobs for You newspaper at an employment fair in Moscow....NSI News Source Info # 300

A woman reading the Jobs for You newspaper at an employment fair in Moscow.

Demonstrators in Pakistan Defy Ban....NSI News Source Info # 299

Police in Pakistan detained dozens of protesters across the country, as hundreds of lawyers and opposition political activists began a four-day national march. The attempts to halt the march over two days deepened the popular discontent with the president, whose six months as leader of Pakistan have been marked by a worsening insurgency by Al Qaeda and the Taliban, a weak economy and what is widely perceived as rule by an accidental leader.

Madoff’s Bail Revoked After Guilty Pleas to All Charges....NSI News Source Info # 298

The disgraced financier Bernard L. Madoff arriving at Federal Court in Manhattan. Mr. Madoff was later handcuffed and led off to jail after a hearing in which he pleaded guilty to running a vast Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of billions of dollars.

Nashi rallied under the slogan "Thieves must sit in prison." Now back on trial, Mr. Khodorkovsky....NSI News Source Info # 297

Members of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, or Ours, were reflected in a puddle at a protest in Moscow against a jailed Russian oil tycoon, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky. Nashi rallied under the slogan "Thieves must sit in prison." Now back on trial, Mr. Khodorkovsky, 45, stands accused of laundering more than $20 billion and embezzling hundreds of millions of tons of oil when his company, Yukos Oil, was Russia's largest private company. If he is convicted, he could be sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

Sudan....NSI News Source Info # 296

Women attended a rally in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to protest the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for crimes in Darfur. Three foreign aid workers with Doctors Without Borders were abducted in the conflict-ridden Sudanese province on Wednesday night, the organization said. The kidnappings came a week after the government expelled 13 foreign relief organizations in the wake of the court's issuing the arrest warrant.

Japan has appointed, Shizuka Fujioka, Yu Kimura and Misako Aoki "ambassadors of cute" in a bid to raise the country....NSI News Source Info # 295

Japan has appointed, from left, Shizuka Fujioka, Yu Kimura and Misako Aoki "ambassadors of cute" in a bid to raise the country's international profile. Will this help the current prime minister, Taro Aso, who has seen his approval ratings drop and recently accepted the resignation of his finance minister, who was criticized for appearing to be drunk at a news conference in Rome? It remains unclear.

The Royal Hospital, known as Chelsea Pensioners....NSI News Source Info # 294

From left, Lewis Prangle, Winifred Phillips, Dorothy Hughes and Ralph Dickinson at The Royal Hospital in West London. Retired servicemen who live at The Royal Hospital, known as Chelsea Pensioners, have started to accept women for the first time reflecting the increased number of female army recruits since the 1950s.

Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. poses with her World Cup trophies March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 293

Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. poses with her overall women's Super-G Ski and women's downhill World Cup trophies after the women's Super-G race at the Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in Are March 12, 2009.

Indonesia's gold mining area Southeast Sulawesi province March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 292

Villagers pan for gold in a traditional gold mining area in Bombana district of the Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi province March 12,2009. About 60,000 people set up temporary settlements to pan for gold in this area however a local government source said it will be closed down due to environmental degradation it causes.

Gold mining area in Bombana district of the Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi province March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 291

Villagers collect mud material containing gold from the earth in a traditional gold mining area in Bombana district of the Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi province March 12,2009. About 60,000 people set up temporary settlements to pan for gold in this area however a local government source said it will be closed down due to environmental degradation it causes.

Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus escorts NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Prague March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 290

The Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus (L) escorts NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to a ceremonial lunch marking the 10th anniversary of the Czech Republic's entry to the Alliance at Prague Castle in Prague March 12, 2009.

Crab-eating macaque baby looks at its mother flossing to clean teeth by using human hairs in Lopburi, March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 289

In this undated image released Thursday, March 12, 2009 by Prof. Nobuo Masataka of Kyoto University Primate Research Institute of Japan, a crab-eating macaque baby looks at its mother flossing to clean teeth by using human hairs in Lopburi, north of Bangkok,Thailand. A research team from Japan's Kyoto University, filming the activities of monkeys, found that some mother monkeys teach their infants how to clean their teeth by using human hairs. They appear to be flossing in the same manner as humans. Amongst a group of around 250 monkeys, about 100 have taken up the activity of flossing.

The philanthropist and wife of late publisher and ambassador Walter Annenberg, died early Thursday March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 288

In a Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007 photo, Britain's Prince Charles, left, Gov. Ed Rendell, center top, and his wife, federal appeals court Judge Marjorie Rendell, second left, applaud Leonore Annenberg at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. A family spokeswoman says Annenberg, the philanthropist and wife of late publisher and ambassador Walter Annenberg, died early Thursday March 12, 2009, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., according to a family spokeswoman. She was 91.

Liechtenstein bowed to outside pressure Thursday, March 12, 2009 by agreeing to adopt international standards....NSI News Source Info # 287

In this Feb. 20, 2008 file photo a sign with the emblem of the Principality of Liechtenstein is shown in front of the castle of Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein bowed to outside pressure Thursday, March 12, 2009 by agreeing to adopt international standards on cross-border tax cooperation, an effort to shed its label of "tax haven".

US free style wrestler Michael Zadik, fights with Iranian Mostafa Hosseinkhani in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 12, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 286

US free style wrestler Michael Zadik, right, fights with Iranian Mostafa Hosseinkhani, during Iran's Takhti Wrestling Cup, at the Azadi stadium in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 12, 2009.

Prince Charles with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto Palace, on March 11, in Brasilia....NSI News Source Info # 285

Prince Charles (left) shakes hands with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a meeting at Planalto Palace, on March 11, in Brasilia. The British Royals are on a five-day official visit in Brazil.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi speaks during a seminar in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott....NSI News Source Info # 284

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi speaks during a seminar in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott. Kadhafi on Wednesday urged Mauritanians to look beyond past hostilities to a future after presidential elections, after meeting rival sides of a coup-sparked.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy announces in Paris that France would rejoin NATO's integrated military command....NSI News Source Info # 283

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy announces in Paris that France would rejoin NATO's integrated military command, March 11, 2009, more than 40 years after his predecessor Charles de Gaulle pulled out of the alliance's inner circle.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, March 11, in Brasilia....NSI News Source Info # 282

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arrive for a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto Palace, on March 11, in Brasilia. The British Royals are on a five-day official visit in Brazil.

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in Washington March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 281

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (L) during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington March 11, 2009.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Jiechi with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 280

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Jiechi (L) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington March 11, 2009.

US President Barack Obama signs execuitve order creating the Women and Girls Couincil at the White House in Washington....NSI News Source Info # 279

US President Barack Obama signs his execuitve order creating the Women and Girls Couincil at the White House in Washington, DC. Obama paid poignant tributes to the grandmother who raised him and his mother who died of cancer, at the launch of a high-level forum to advise him on women's issues. Wed Mar 11, 7:03 PM

Chinese trawler uses a grapple hook in an apparent attempt to snag the towed of ship USNS Impeccable....NSI News Source Info # 278

A crew member on a Chinese trawler uses a grapple hook in an apparent attempt to snag the towed acoustic array of the military Sealift Command ocean surveillance ship USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) in the South China Sea in this picture taken March 8, 2009 and released March 9.

Wed Mar 11, 6:35 PM

Asia Golden Rice export company in Bang Pakong, Thailand has orders from Africa and United Arab Emirates....NSI News Source Info # 277

Workers loaded a ship with 1,000 tons of rice bound for Africa at the Asia Golden Rice export company in Bang Pakong, Thailand. The company has orders from Africa and United Arab Emirates to help it survive the financial crisis.

A Tibetan sheepherder kept watch on his herd atop a small hill in Qinghai Province, China....NSI News Source Info # 276

A Tibetan sheepherder kept watch on his herd atop a small hill on the outskirts of Jintan township near the Qinghai Lake in Qinghai Province, China. The area was still under tight security a day after the 50th anniversary of the the Dalai Lama's flight into exile after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Dalai Lama Says China Has Turned Tibet Into a ‘Hell on Earth’....NSI News Source Info # 275

Exiled Tibetan monks attended a prayer meeting during a 'Cho nga Chodpa,' the day of Miracle festival, at Kapan Monastry in Kathmandu, Nepal. The festival is an annual event held on Day 15 of the Tibetan New Year.

Some Banks, Feeling Chained, Want to Return Bailout Money....NSI News Source Info # 274

Neel Kashkari, the interim assistant secretary at Treasury running the bailout program, testified on Capitol Hill before the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee about the money used by banks through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

Four Are Charged With Assault in Fight That Preceded a Death....NSI News Source Info # 273

The senior class from Catholic Xaverian High School in Brooklyn lined the sidewalk in front of the mosque at the Beit El-Maqdis Islamic Center for the funeral procession for their classmate Sharif Abdallah, who died after chasing suspects from an altercation at a party in Brooklyn early Sunday. Four people were charged with gang assault in a fight that preceded his death.

Australian fashion designer Colette Dinningan at Fall-Winter 2009-10 ready-to-wear collection in Paris....NSI News Source Info # 272

A model wore a creation by the Australian fashion designer Colette Dinningan at the showing of her Fall-Winter 2009-10 ready-to-wear collection in Paris.

Holi celebrations held for the Bollywood fraternity in Mumbai, India....NSI News Source Info # 271

Colored powder was thrown on a woman during Holi celebrations held for the Bollywood fraternity in Mumbai, India. Holi, also called the Festival of Colors, marks the arrival of spring.

Britain's Prince Charles at the Brazilian National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 270

Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall walk past a welcoming delegation as they arrive for a meeting at the Brazilian National Congress in Brasilia March 11, 2009. Prince Charles is in Brazil on an official visit.

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, Britain's Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in Santiago....NSI News Source Info # 269

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, center, Britain's Prince Charles, right, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, review the honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Monday, March 9, 2009. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are on a four-day official visit to Chile.

Toyota said March 11, will cut pay and production by 10 percent at its British plants, for one year starting from April 1...NSI News Source Info # 268

A Toyota logo and cars are seen at a dealer in Croydon, south London, Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Japanese car maker Toyota said Wednesday it will cut pay and production by 10 percent at its British plants, for one year starting from April 1, to cut costs while avoiding layoffs.

China's Chunlai Bao at Badminton Swiss Open tournament in Switzerland, Wednesday, March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 267

China's Chunlai Bao returns a shuttlecock to China's Jin Chen during their men's singles first round match at the Badminton Swiss Open tournament in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, March 11, 2009.

Lakh Lakh Vadhaiyan....Sehwag Powers India To Series Win, March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 266

Virender Sehwag raises his bat after reaching his century, New Zealand v India, 4th ODI, Hamilton, March 11, 2009.

A Tibetan sheep herder wearing a balaclava leads his herd into a fenced field in Qinghai province March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 265

A Tibetan sheep herder wearing a balaclava leads his herd into a fenced field on the outskirts of Jintan township near the Qinghai Lake in Qinghai province March 11, 2009. The area was still under tight security a day after the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's flight into exile after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

Japan's electronics giant Toshiba introduces the prototype housekeeping robot "ApriAttenda" in Tokyo on March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 264

Japan's electronics giant Toshiba introduces the prototype housekeeping robot "ApriAttenda" which is ables to open doors of a refrigerator and picks up a box during a demonstration of its ability at the company's laboratory in Kasawaki, Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo on March 11, 2009. The robot has wired controled hands with three fingers on its arm and small CCD camerasin the palms of its hands. The 1-meter tall roboto can become 0.3m taller to work at high place.

The former North Korean spy in Seoul on March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 263

Shigeo Iizuka (L) and Koichiro Iizuka (C), the brother and son of Japanese national Yaeko Taguchi who is believed to be abducted by North Korea, say goodbye to former North Korean spy Kim Hyun-Hee (R) at the end of a press conference in Busan, about 420 kms (262 miles) southeast of Seoul on March 11, 2009. The former North Korean spy, who now lives in South Korea, met the relatives of Taguchi abducted by Pyongyang three decades ago in an attempt to shed light on her fate.

Cathay Pacific Airways on March 11, 2009 reported it has lost $1.1 billion in 2008....NSI News Source Info # 262

An attendant stands in front of a column of Cathay Pacific Airways self check-in machines at the Hong Kong Airport March 11, 2009. The Hong Kong airline on Wednesday reported it has lost $1.1 billion in 2008 due to the plunging demand amid the global economic crisis and volatile fuel prices.

India's Virendar Sehwag at fourth one-day cricket international against New Zealand in Hamilton March 11, 2009....NSI News Source Info # 261

India's Virendar Sehwag watches the ball during their fourth one-day cricket international against New Zealand in Hamilton March 11, 2009.