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Selected and fresh photos from around the web.
BASRA, IRAQ - OCTOBER 18: People gather around a Land Rover as it arrives at the village Al Houta on October 18 2008 near Basra, Iraq. The trip by the 51 Sqn Royal Air Force Regiment Force Protection Wing was part of a 'key leader engagement' (KLE) visit to the village close to the Basra Airbase to recruit local labour and engage with the village shiek. Visits of this type are seen as key in efforts to continue winning the support of the local Iraqi population. Although improved security in the region has brought some benefits such as improved trade and commerce, much of the infrastructure remains in a poor state of repair. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has indicated that the number of UK troops could be scaled down - especially as the security situation in the south of the country continues to improve.
Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks during a campaign rally in the rain at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, September 27, 2008.
A puppy stands on a truck carrying people to be evacuated from the area in preparation for the approach of Hurricane Gustav in Batabano, on the southern coast of Cuba, August 30, 2008. Powerful Hurricane Gustav roared toward western Cuba on Saturday with 125 mph (205 kph) winds on its way to the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico after a deadly pass through the Caribbean.
BANGKOK, THAILAND - AUGUST 30: A member of Anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stands behind barbed wire outside Government on August 30, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. The protesters want to unseat the seven-month old coalition government lead by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, arrive for a meeting in New Delhi, India, Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. Medvedev, on his first visit to India as president, said Russia can help India fight terrorism and investigate the deadly attacks in Mumbai.
Hanoi Catholic Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet attends the consecration ceremony for Father Laurent Chu Van Minh, the newly ordained Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of the Hanoi Diocese, at Nam Dinh Church, 90 km (56 miles) outside Hanoi December 5, 2008. Father Laurent worked as a barber and teacher for 32 years before he was consecrated as a priest in 1994 at the age of 51. Vietnam has 8 million Catholics, the second largest community in Asia after the Philippines.
NEW YORK - DECEMBER 04: Actor Harold Pirraneau attends the 2008 Stockings with Care celebrity bartending night at Bar 13 on December 4, 2008 in New York City.
A memorial tribute to shoe mogul Thomas Bata is shown at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto September 3, 2008. Bata died earlier this week at the age of 93.
A visitor takes a close look at a photo by French photographer Bettina Rheims during the inauguration of her exhibition "Can You Find Happiness?" on March 7, 2008 at the c/o-Gallery in Berlin. The exhibition runs from March 8 to May 11, 2008.
Forty-five euro coins, worth 500 Slovak Crowns or 16,60 euros, are seen in Bratislava where Slovakian banks and post offices started selling them on December 1,2008 before Slovakia joins the euro zone on January 1, 2009.
People walk behind the European Union's flag during the annual gay parade in Budapest July 5, 2008. Several hundreds of demonstrators clashed with the police in the center of Hungarian capital as police tried to separate them from the participants of the Gay Pride march.
What was interesting was there was such a large audience of mostly students, some of whom were quite partisan, so there was a really good atmosphere in there ... These competitions make students realise that they can be taken seriously by outsiders and that what they do in the short term can have a real long-term relevance. And having a company such as Merrill Lynch involved – and prize money – makes it seem more real. 
If DSP Merrill Lynch says they (have) been around for X amount of years, well, so were the Lehman Brothers, and they just dropped dead
The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced its approval of the notice of Bank of America Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina, to acquire Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc., New York, New York, and thereby indirectly acquire Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co., FSB, New York, New York; Merrill Lynch Bank USA, Salt Lake City, Utah; and Merrill Lynch Yatirim Bank A.S., Istanbul, Turkey.
Merrill Lynch is expected to enhance Bank of America's current strengths by creating a company with the leading position in wealth management as well as in global debt underwriting, global equities and global merger and acquisition advice
Why am I sitting here? Tyco is still a viable company, still alive and kicking ... Bear Sterns is under, Lehman Brothers is under. Merrill Lynch had to be acquired. There are all kinds of banks going under right now.
under his watch, some of the biggest institutions that were the responsibility of the New York Fed -- Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and, most recently, Citigroup -- faltered.
