A wealth of compelling news pictures on the Associated Press wire today covering world events as diverse as the economic woes in the financial markets, the recovery from Hurricane Ike, the election campaigns in the United States and more. (18 images)
This photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense shows U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates shaking hands with a reporter while walking with Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, right, prior to a television interview on Camp Victory in the green zone of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008. Secretary Gates is in southwest Asia to meet with Iraqi and Afghan leaders and to preside over the changing of the Commanding General of Multi-National Force Iraq. Tech Sgt. Jerry Morrison / U.S. Department of Defense
Supporters of Bolivia's President Evo Morales march in Sugal towards the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. President Morales and Bolivia's opposition governors signed Tuesday a pledge to hold talks over key reforms long sought by both rival factions. AP / Dado Galdieri
Costa Rican coast guard officers, right, look on as U.S. Navy officers stand on a self-propelled semi-submersible that was intercepted carrying around seven tons of cocaine and four Colombian crew members as it is towed in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Costa Rica's Security Minister Janina del Vecchio said in a statement Tuesday that the 70-foot (20-meter) vessel was intercepted by the U.S. Navy in international waters near the country last Saturday. AP / Kent Gilbert
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is seen with his reflection, as delivers a speech during the budget debate 2009 at the parliament in Berlin on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. AP / Miguel Villagran
Israeli Foreign Minister and candidate for Kadima party leadership Tzipi Livni, right, is greeted by a supporter after casting her ballot in the Kadima primary in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Israel's popular foreign minister faced off against a grizzled former military chief on Wednesday in the leadership race for the ruling Kadima party - an election that could determine the country's next prime minister. AP / Ariel Schalit
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. greets supporters after a rally in Elko, Nev., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. AP / Chris Carlson
Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov., Sarah Palin points to her running mate, Republican presidential candidate, Sen., John McCain, R-Ariz., as she explains to supporters the qualities that will make, in her opinion, McCain the best choice for president during a town hall style meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., Wednesday night, Sept. 17, 2008. AP / Stephan Savoia
Trader Christopher Crotty rubs his eyes as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday Sept. 17, 2008. Wall Street stumbled again Wednesday, with anxieties about the financial system still running high even after the government bailed out the insurer American International Group Inc. AP / Richard Drew
Trader Joseph Acquafredda, left, check the numbers near the close of trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday Sept. 17, 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 449.36 or - 4.06 percent. AP / Richard Drew
Necie Chenall, left, hugs her neighbor, Glenda Frascone, who lost her home and family winery after Hurricane Ike passed through Oak Island, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Oak Island, a coast community of fishermen and retirees, was nearly wiped out by the massive storm. AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez
A helicopter flies overhead as Pat Sanders boils water in front of this home in Galveston, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Officials are urging residents to leave the island hit by hurricane Ike but Sanders, a life long resident, had vowed to stay put with his family. Sanders is cooking the meat from his freezer as it thaws and has stored supplies and water to last for weeks. AP / LM Otero
Chalin Sejour, 28, sits in front of her destroyed house with her belongings covered in mud in Gonaives, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 17,2008. Long after the floodwaters from three hurricanes and a tropical storm have receded from Haiti's mud-caked streets, new bodies are still showing up every day, officials said Wednesday. AP / Ariana Cubillos
A Kashmiri woman reaches near her injured relative at a hospital following a grenade blast in Srinagar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Suspected rebels hurdled a grenade on a security picket on Wednesday wounding 10 including two security officers, police said. AP / Mukhtar Khan
A Palestinian Muslim girl prays in the men's mosque before the evening prayer called 'tarawih', during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Muslims throughout the world are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, where observers fast from dawn till dusk. AP / Muhammed Muheisen
British model Naomi Campbell on the catwalk at the Fashion For Relief show, during London Fashion Week at the Natural History Museum in central London, Wednesday Sept. 17, 2008. Funds were raised by the show and a following auction for The White Ribbon Alliance charity to be used directly to promote and increase awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for women and newborns in developing and developed countries. AP / Lefteris Pitarakis
Actor Denzel Washington, center, greets Shonnetta Henry, 18, of Denver, at the launch of "Be Great", a national youth advocacy campaign for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, in Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. Henry is the Clubs' "youth of the year." The campaign urges people to volunteer and raise awareness about troubling trends involving young people, such as high dropout rates. AP / Jacquelyn Martin
Dancers of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform during a dress rehearsal in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. The theater company, celebrating its 50th anniversary, is in Istanbul for a three performances as part of an international tour. AP / Murad Sezer
Fireworks explode over the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, as Chinese paramilitary police officers wait to raise the national flag to start the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Beijing Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. AP / Elizabeth Dalziel
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