News Pictures Of The Day: Thursday 20th March 2014

The Best News Pictures Of The Day
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Pictures of the day from The Huffington Post brings you the very best news and sports images, from around the world chosen and created by our own photo editors, Elliot Wagland, Tahira Mirza and Michael Cripps.

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Gorilla mother Kumili arms her newborn at the zoo in Leipzig, central Germany. The baby gorilla was born during the night between 10 and 11 March 2014 and its sex is still unknown. It's the second gorilla baby born within four months in this monkey group.

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The Mayor of London Boris Johnson with twins, Sarah Hope (left) and Victoria Bacon (right) who will be taking part in the London marathon to raise funds for Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope, a charity that helps amputees, outside City Hall, central London.

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Amanda Holden during the redevelopment launch as construction begins on new kennels at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, London.

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Campaigners dressed as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (left) and Prime Minister David Cameron pose in front of a mock up of a flooded 10 Downing Street in London, to urge the Prime Minister to act on climate change and to call on politicians to reach agreement on new energy targets at this week's EU Council meeting in Brussels.

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George Osborne lays a brick during a visit to a Barratt Homes building site in Nuneaton, the day after he said in his annual budget that the government would extend the equity loan portion of the Help to Buy scheme for four years longer than planned to 2020, a move he said would deliver 120,000 new homes.

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U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, front left, her daughters Sasha, front right, Malia, right in the back, and Michelle Obama's mother Marian Robinson, left in the back, arrive at Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, Thursday, March 20, 2014. Michelle Obama has arrived in Beijing with her mother and daughters to kick off a seven-day, three-city tour where she will focus on education and cultural exchange

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To mark the Spring Equinox and encourage donations, British Heart Foundation (BHF) shops recreated a 20-metre squared version of Van Gogh's Tulips using a quarter of a ton of donated items, in London's Hyde Park.

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NASA image shows a portion of the Florida Keys taken by Astronaut Rick Mastracchio from the International Space Station.

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Thieves dug a 50ft (15m) tunnel under a building to steal thousands of pounds from a cash machine.

Police believe the gang may have spent months digging the "complex" structure to get at the cash at a Tesco store in Eccles, Salford. They tunnelled beneath nearby wasteland and under the shop before raiding the store in Liverpool Road between midnight and 6am last Friday, March 14.

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Three judges for the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest hold the champion, a Swiss Emmentaler,

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Judges taste and sniff the top 16 cheeses to narrow it down to the top three for the 2014 World Championship Cheese Contest. The champion was a Swiss Emmentaler, which took top honors out of 2,615 butter and cheese entries from 21 other countries.

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An unidentified man posing for a photo with two Tibetan mastiffs after they were sold at a 'luxury pet' fair in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. One of the Tibetan mastiff puppies (L) was sold in China for almost two million USD, a report said on March 19, in what could be the most expensive dog sale ever.

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A cottage named Wave Breaker is hit by a tide amplified by a nor'easter hitting the Mirlo Beach section of Rodanthe, N.C., on Hatteras Island. Erosion of the shoreline is causing the development to disappear.

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Russell Crowe Snubbed By Pope
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(01 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe (C) and Tiziana Rocca (R) attend Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(02 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe (3rd L) attends Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(03 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe attends Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(04 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe attends Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(05 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe (R) poses for a picture with a fan during Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(06 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe attends Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(07 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe (3rd L) and Tiziana Rocca (L) attend Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(08 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe (3rd L) and Tiziana Rocca (4th L) attend Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph by saying the saint is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Pope Francis Attends His Weekly Audience at St Peters Square(09 of09)
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VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - MARCH 19: Actor Russell Crowe (C) and Tiziana Rocca (R) attend Pope Francis' weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on March 19, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for the General Audience on Wednesday Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St. Joseph pointing out that he is a model for all fathers and educators. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Crowe and the makers of the big-budget film "Noah" attended Pope Francis' general audience Wednesday but didn't get what they most wanted: a papal meeting and photo-op. Crowe had lobbied hard for a papal thumbs up for his film and the ensuing publicity a Francis blessing would bring. The film has been banned in much of the Muslim world because of its depiction of the prophet, while U.S. conservatives have complained it took liberties with the Biblical account of the flood.

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Two 14-week old polar bear twins explore their enclosure at the Hellabrunn zoo in Munich, Germany, The cubs who were born on Dec. 9, 2013 were presented to the public for the first time.

Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(01 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Babies(02 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs are pictured with their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(03 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs are pictured with their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(04 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play next to their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Babies(05 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs are pictured with their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(06 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play next to their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Babies(07 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs are pictured with their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(08 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play next to their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(09 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play next to their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(10 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play next to their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(11 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play next to their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(12 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs are seen with their mother Giovanna during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Munich Zoo Presents Twin Polar Bear Cubs(13 of13)
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MUNICH, GERMANY - MARCH 19: 14 week-old twin polar bear cubs play during their first presentation to the media in Hellabrunn zoo on March 19, 2014 in Munich, Germany. The male and female twins were born on December 9, 2013 in the zoo. (Photo by Alexandra Beier/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)