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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

We bring you a presentation of some of the best photos from around the world in the month gone by

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) calls a time-out during a multiple question from an Indian journalist, as India's Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna smiles during their news conference at the US-India Strategic Dialogue in Washington.

The leaders reflected on the remarkable expansion and growth of the bilateral relationship since the inaugural Strategic Dialogue in 2010. They committed to further broaden and deepen the US-India global strategic partnership and charted a vision for the future, centered on promoting shared prosperity, peace and stability.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST
A soldier from the US Army's Alpha Company, 1-12 Infantry, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, runs across open ground to avoid sniper fire at Combat Outpost Pirtle-King in Afghanistan's Kunar Province.


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

The Space Shuttle Enterprise passes the Statue of Liberty as it rides on a barge in New York harbor. The Enterprise was being moved up the Hudson River to be placed at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

It was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform test flights in the atmosphere.

It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight. On September 17, 1976, the first full scale prototype was completed.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

Anori, the polar bear cub, swims in her enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal. Anori was born on January 4, 2012.

Polar bears are also highly adapted to the Arctic climate. Arctic temperatures can drop to minus 45 degrees C for days or weeks, but polar bears can withstand this due to their thick fat layer, a dense undercoat of fur with longer guard hairs, and black skin (which absorbs heat from sunlight).

Other Arctic adaptations include white-seeming fur for camouflage (the hairs are actually colourless and hollow), small ears and tail (which reduce heat loss), large furry feet (which act like snowshoes), and a digestive system very effective at absorbing and storing fat.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

The planet Venus makes its transit across the Sun as seen from Kathmandu. The planet Venus made a slow transit across the face of the sun on Tuesday, the last such passing that will be visible from Earth for 105 years.

The duration of such transits is usually measured in hours (the transit of 2012 lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes). A transit is similar to a solar eclipse by the Moon.

While the diameter of Venus is more than 3 times that of the Moon, Venus appears smaller, and travels more slowly across the face of the Sun, because it is much farther away from earth.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

Locals look at a forest fire approaching their house at Thymari coastal village, 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Athens.

The fire broke out on June 14 from sparks at a site where workers had been welding, and, fanned by strong winds, it quickly spread to engulf the settlements of Palaia Fokaia, Keratea and Legraina near the southern coast of Athens.

The four workers were charged with starting the blaze through negligence.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

Members of Yemen's elite Republican Guard and pro-army tribesmen gather for a group photo atop a military vehicle as they secure a road leading to Lawdar town in the southern province of Abyan.

Al Qaeda-linked militants retreated from Lawdar last month after encountering stiff resistance from pro-army tribal fighters, who have arranged themselves into popular committees to defend their town against attempts by the militants to control it.

Yemen's army recaptured the last al Qaeda stronghold in restive Abyan province on Friday in a major advance in its US-backed offensive to drive militants from towns across the south of the country.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST
A homeless man is pictured near a dog as he sits at the steps of a temple at the ancient city of Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu.


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi poses for a photograph after receiving her honorary degree at Oxford University, in Oxford southern England.

Myanmar's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday continued an emotional visit to Britain, where she left her family 24 years ago and took up her famous struggle against the military dictatorship in her homeland. 


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei wipes his face as he sits in a chair in the courtyard of his studio in Beijing. Ai said on Wednesday police had warned him to stay away from a court hearing his company's lawsuit challenging a demand for 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) for tax evasion.

Beijing's Chaoyang District Court agreed last month to hear the lawsuit from the company that markets Ai's work, a departure from the courts' consistent refusal to give dissidents, such as Ai, any hearing.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST
A protester shouts slogans during a protest outside the supreme constitutional court, which was making a decision on the validity of the law passed by the Islamist-led parliament that sought to bar Ahmed Shafik, Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, from the vote pitting him against the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy, in Cairo June 14, 2012.

Shafik got the green light to continue his bid for Egypt's presidency on Thursday when a constitutional court ruled against the law that would have thrown him out of the race.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the US side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The feat was broadcast internationally. The walk came after a two-year legal battle on both sides of the Canada-United States border to gain approval. For the walk he was required to wear a safety harness for the first time in his life.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A man jumps into a lake, located on the Tatyshev Island in the middle of the Yenisei River, with the air temperature at about 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A government employee wears a plastic bag over his head to shield himself from a dyed water cannon used by the police to disperse a protest by government employees, in Srinagar.

The police used water cannon and batons to disperse hundreds of government employees while detaining dozens as they attempted to reach the civil secretariat, which houses the offices of Kashmir's chief minister and his colleagues, to demand their long pending arrears and an increase in the retirement age from 58 to 60, employee union leaders said.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A Columbian soldier attempts to take shelter from the rain using a flag, before an inauguration ceremony to launch three new active army brigades at Tolemaida Air Base.

The new brigades will combat the ELN and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A tourist swims around the flooded ruins of an ancient Roman Bath in a small bay called Hamam Koy near Gocek Bay in Mugla province.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A wrestler reacts as he lifts his colleague in the mud at an "Akhaara" (a Kushti training centre) in Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Akharas are divided into different types according to the concept of God they worship. Shaiva Akharas for followers of Lord Shiva, Vaishnava or Vairagi Akhara for followers of Lord Vishnu and Kalpwasis for followers of Lord Brahma.

An Akhara is divided in 8 davas (divisions) and 52 marhis (centres). Each Marhi is governed by a Mahant. The top administrative body of the Akhara is Shree Panch (the body of five), representing Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and Ganesha.

It is elected on every Kumbh Mela and the body holds its post for 4 years.

Kushti (mud wrestling) is a traditional sport in India but more and more young athletes are now training to wrestle on mats instead of mud to gain access to top international competitions such as the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

In this image provided by the Purina, Cochiti, a six-year-old Whippet, competes in the diving dog competition during the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge in Del Mar, California.

This premier canine sporting event features dogs competing in a variety of events including dog surfing, dog diving, freestyle flying disc, head-to-head weave poles, Jack Russell hurdle racing and agility.  

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

An Afghan carpenter works at his shop in an old part of Kabul city.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

The Orvillecopter by Dutch artist Bart Jansen (back, left) flies in a gallery as part of the KunstRAI art festival in Amsterdam.

Jansen said the Orvillecopter is part of a visual art project which pays tribute to his cat Orville, by making it fly after it was killed by a car. He built the Orvillecopter together with radio control helicopter flyer Arjen Beltman (back, right).  


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

US President Barack Obama meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Los Cabos, Mexico. The leaders are in Los Cabos to attend the G20 summit.

The leaders reflected on the remarkable expansion and growth of the bilateral relationship since the inaugural Strategic Dialogue in 2010.

They committed to further broaden and deepen the US-India global strategic partnership and charted a vision for the future, centered on promoting shared prosperity, peace and stability.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A miner reacts to the headlight of his colleague as he works inside a coal mine in Lvliang, Shanxi province.

The State Administration of Coal Mine Safety of China has decided to launch safety checks on some domestic coalmines from June to August.

Market experts are concerned that the safety checks may negatively affect domestic coal supply during this peak period for coal consumption in China, Xinhua News Agency reported.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

David Therrien gets stabbed by the Devil in the men's 5,000 metre devil's run at the Donovan Bailey Invitational track and field meet in Edmonton, Alberta.

During the devil's run, the man in the last place on each lap can be caught by the devil, and if he is stabbed, he is out of the race.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST
An army soldier stands near a building destroyed during recent fighting between the army and Al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Yemeni city of Zinjibar.


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST
A man with an umbrella walks in front of the beach during a storm in Vila do Conde, Northern Portugal.


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

An aerial view of Christ the Redeemer statue is lit up in green to celebrate the Rio+20 forum in Rio de Janeiro.

The United Nations Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development summit was held from 20 to 22 June.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A member of the street-side audience waves at American-Japanese illusionist 'Cyril' as he performs a stunt where he appears suspended in the air from a lamp post in Mumbai.

The stunt was part of the promotional road show for a new TV program featuring Cyril.

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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

A boy sleeps during a sit-in protest against the military council at Tahrir Square in Cairo.

Egyptians find out on Sunday whether their next president will be a former military officer or an Islamist from the army's old adversary, the Muslim Brotherhood, after a long week's wait since a vote to pick a successor to the deposed Hosni Mubarak.


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Amazing PHOTOS of the Month: JUNE

Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

An Ukrainian woman and her daughter wait to repair of their Moskvich car in outside Donetsk.

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Last updated on: July 3, 2012 10:10 IST

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