THE WORLD OF ART

THE WORLD OF ART & CULTURE IN PICTURES. Cont'd.

Photos from left to right: A model presents an embroidered and printed yellow and red evening gown with red leather bolero designed by French fashion designer Julien Fournie for Torrente's Spring/Summer 2004 haute couture fashion collection in Paris. An Iraqi woman waves from a bus carrying the first group of Iraqi Muslims, en route to the annual Haj pilgrimage, as it leaves a depot in Baghdad

Photos from left to right: Veiled Iraqi women take part in a protest against a French bill forbidding conspicuous religious signs in public schools, including Muslim hijab, or veils and scarves, during a demonstration near the French interest section in Baghdad. Jennifer Stewart - also known as Living Liberty - touches up her make-up as she braves the cold in Times Square after taping an advertisement to promote tourism for the Statue of Liberty.

THE WORLD OF ART & CULTURE IN PICTURES. Cont'd.

Photos from left to right: A man smokes a cigarette while standing close to a "no smoking" sign inside Ireland's oldest pub, the Brazen Head in Dublin, just hours before a ban on smoking in public places comes into force. A young bread seller carries her merchandise in a suburb of Bissau, the day of the legislative elections in Guinea Bissau. The elections come six months after President Kumba Yala was deposed in a coup.

Photos from left to right: A dog with a placard saying "I am a deputy, respect me" sits during a mass in honour of San Lazaro in Masaya City. The placard refers to a statement made to police by the daughter of former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman upon Aleman's arrest in December. Cuban dancers perform in Cosi Fan Tutte at the Great Theater of Havana. Mozart's comic opera has returned to Cuba after its last performance almost 40 years ago under German Armin Heinemann's direction.

THE WORLD OF ART & CULTURE IN PICTURES. Cont'd.

Photos from left to right: A Vietnamese farmer examines chicken eggs in Hatay province, 16km west of Hanoi. A man lies dead in the entrance to a local school in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Angry mobs rampaged through the capital after President Jean Bertrand Aristide fled the country.

Photos from left to right: South Koreans wave flags in Seoul as they celebrate the 85th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese rule. Seven-year-old Salaj Mohammed Kasim weeps during a police raid on an embroidery workshop in Bombay. Over 90 child labourers were rescued in India's financial hub while working in the embroidery workshop, police said.

THE WORLD OF ART & CULTURE IN PICTURES. Cont'd.

Photos from left to right: A model wears a creation from Bulgarian fashion designer Irina Serdareva during a fashion show in Sofia. Bystanders adorned in green get into the spirit along the route of the St. Patrick s Day Parade in Montreal.

Photos from left to right: The statue of WW2 Russian general Georgii Zhukov is seen in front of the huge fire engulfing the Manezh exhibition Hall close to the Kremlin in central Moscow. A single red candle and a Spanish national flag with black ribbon are held by Sydney's Spanish community during an emotional gathering in Sydney to pay their respects to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Madrid.

Continues on the following pages.