24 hours in pictures

London: Young girls with union jack umbrellas walk past the Houses of Parliament Photograph: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty

Vistahermosa, Colombia: A military helicopter pilot flies over a former rebel stronghold Photograph: William Fernando Martinez/AP

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: A model prepares for the unveiling of the spring/summer collection of the Daspu fashion house Photograph: Sergio Moraes/Reuters

Mosul, Iraq: An Iraqi woman and girl look on as US soldiers patrol their neighbourhood looking for militants and weapons Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Iowa, US: A man carries his two cats to dry land from their flooded and evacuated home in Cedar Rapids Photograph: David Greedy/Getty

New York, US: The Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, arrives for a town hall meeting at the Federal Hall Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

Texas, US: A pair of young raccoons, one an albino, lounge on a chain-linked fence Photograph: Jason Palmer/AP

Dos Beida, Chad: Refugees from Sudan's western Darfur region wait outside an aid distribution building at Djabal camp Photograph: Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters

California, US: Bride and bride wedding cake figures at the Renellie warehouse, whose sales have gone from 50 to 150 a day since a state ruling allowed gay marriage Photograph: Damian Dovarganes/AP

Munich, Germany: A woman poses with the colors of the German flag painted on her face for Euro 2008 Photograph: Michaela Rehle /Reuters

Hyderabad, India: A child plays among sarees left out to dry at a cotton saree factory Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters

Málaga, Spain: Striking truck drivers stand near a motorway during a protest against rising fuel costs Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters

Washington DC: A large bee hovers around the flowers in the grounds of the White House Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP

Santiago, Chile: Students take cover from a police water cannon during a protest against education reform Photograph: Cristobal Saavedra/Reuters

Minnesota, US: Lightning strikes during a storm that rolled across north-western Minnesota Photograph: Eric Stromgren/Bemidji Pioneer/AP

Sichuan, China: Survivors of last month's earthquake crowd for lunch at a tent community Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP

London: Christie's employees and a client sit on The Dundas Sofa by Thomas Chippendale, which has a guide price of £800,000 - £1.2m Photograph: Cate Gillon/Getty

Atlanta, US: A male weedy sea dragon carries eggs on his tail at the Georgia Aquarium Photograph: John Bazemore/AP