Picture desk live: the day's best news images

Despite rumours of ill health, Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, was very much in attendance at this year's celebrations marking the country's 32nd anniversary of independence. Members of Zimbabwean forces participated in the military review, checking their shoulders were at the regimental distance from each other Photograph: Li Ping/Xinhua Press/Corbis

A Pakistan army helicopter carrying President Asif Ali Zardari and other officials flies over the site of an avalanche at the Gayari camp near the Siachen glacier. Rescuers are still searching for nearly 140 soldiers buried by the mass of snow and rock that fell on top of their sleeping quarters Photograph: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma smile as they join volunteers to pack boxes at a food distribution centre in Damascus for victims in Homs, where the president's forces are fighting rebels Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Police officers patrol by boat past a home submerged in flood waters after heavy rains triggered the Chico River to overflow its banks in Cota, Colombia. Torrential rains, floods and landslides have killed over a dozen people nationwide this year Photograph: Fernando Vergara/AP

Nicolas Sarkozy speaks to his party members during an election campaign meeting, using large television screens to make sure people at the back can see and hear him Photograph: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images

… Meanwhile, Socialist party candidate François Hollande suggests he has his feet firmly on the ground by getting up close to the people, shaking the hands of well wishers through the window of his car during a campaign visit to Amiens in north France Photograph: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

Perhaps proving that women's rights are improving in Bahrain, female riot police are deployed on the streets of Manama during an anti-government rally demanding the release of human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja Photograph: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

It's a distinctive look but it might catch on … a model wears a design by Jade Davies and Gemma Landing as part of Alternative fashion week at Old Spitalfields Market in London Photograph: Tim Whitby/Getty Images

The blast furnace at the Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) plant in Redcar is back in operation, marking the return of steel-making to Teesside. The plant employs 1,800 workers and hopes to produce 3.6m tonnes a year Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters

On the other side of the economic coin, anti-eviction activists demonstrate at the entrance of Luzmila Lopez's home as they try to stop her eviction in Madrid. Eviction due to mortgage arrears has brought the euro debt crisis home for many Photograph: Andrea Comas/Reuters

This picture was actually taken yesterday – before the start of our new photo series – but it deserves to be seen. Members of Team GB practise their routine during previews at the FINA Olympic Games synchronised swimming qualification event at the Aquatics Centre in London Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

With just 100 days to go until the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27 July there have been all sorts of events to mark the occasion. At Kew gardens a large set of Olympic rings have been created from at least 20,000 flowers Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

A poignant scene as Private Stephen Bainbridge, who lost both his legs in Afghanistan, welcomes home The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, as they march through Inverness. The soldiers are returning from a six-month tour in Afghanistan Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

First Lady Michelle Obama gives such a warm greeting to members of the military and their families on her arrival at the 911th Air Base in Pennsylvania Photograph: Rex Features

This new Hubble telescope image comprises one of the largest mosaics ever assembled from Hubble photos. It shows several million young stars vying for attention in what is described as a raucous stellar breeding ground in 30 Doradus, a star-forming complex located in the heart of the Tarantula nebula. Truly spectacular! Photograph: NASA/Reuters

Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay performs as the band kicks off its North American tour in Edmonton, Alberta. If you didn't have an earworm today, you'll have one now Photograph: Jason Franson/AP

Anders Behring Breivik at the start of the third day of proceedings in the courthouse in Oslo. His defiant closed-fist salute has been the subject of speculation Photograph: Reuters

Moving scenes as the Palestinian Khader Adnan, left, a senior member of Islamic Jihad, is greeted in the West Bank village of Arrabeh near Jenin following his release from an Israeli prison Photograph: Mohammed Ballas/AP