The day in pictures

1 of 12 A young boy rolls toilet paper to sell on the streets of Kabul - President Hamid Karzai has admitted that two years after the fall of the Taleban most Afghans are still "living in fear".

2 of 12 French President Jacques Chirac salutes Peul fighters on his arrival in Tahoua, Niger, the first French leader to visit the country in over 20 years. He goes on to visit Mali during his four-day tour of west Africa.

3 of 12 A baby tapir investigates its new surroundings at London Zoo - the three-week-old calf is an endangered Malaysian tapir, and only the third to be born at the zoo for nearly 100 years.

4 of 12 Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch Bush ally, takes the US president's security into his own hands, blocking opposition MPs from getting near him at a parliamentary address.

5 of 12 A man runs from riots in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince where supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide blocked anti-government demonstrators holding a rally.

6 of 12 In Nebraska, the widow of a man killed on patrol in Baghdad hugs the Stars and Stripes presented to her at his funeral.

7 of 12 No mourners for 13-would be immigrants from Somalia found dead aboard a wooden boat off the coast of Sicily.

8 of 12 Iraqi boys relax near graffiti referring to the US dollar on a wall in Baghdad, on the day an international donors conference takes place in Madrid to discuss Iraq's reconstruction. The dollar is the accepted currency alongside Iraqi dinars.

9 of 12 Scientists say they have discovered a new bird species, a blue-flecked seed-eating finch or Carrizal Seedeater, in Venezuela, but its habitat is being threatened by a dam project in the south-east of the country.

10 of 12 Russian Su-27's fly over the new Kant air base near the Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek - President Putin opened the air base, which he hopes will strengthen security in the volatile Central Asian region.

11 of 12 US law enforcement officials use pepper spray to deter University of West Virginia fans from tearing down the goal posts as they storm the field after victory over Virginia Tech.

12 of 12 South Korean soldier Kim Sun-gu is greeted by a delighted relative as he returns from six months on duty in Iraq.