Testa00sempre



Testa00solo

Testa01sempre


Voice of America
Aprile 2014
(305 foto)


April 01, 2014

1 Turkish riot police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators protesting outside the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) in Ankara against local election results which the Islamic-rooted party of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed sweeping victories.

2 A storm cloud can be seen behind a yacht as it sails off the coast of Sydney, Australia, Mar. 31, 2014. The Bureau of Meteorology last week forecast 'warmer and drier than usual' weather extending into winter for Sydney and most of south-eastern Australia over the next three months.

3 A census enumerator, right, collects information from a Muslim family as policemen provide security at Thae Chaung village in Sittwe, Rakhine State, western Burma. Enumerators fanned out across the country for a census that has been widely criticized for stoking religious and ethnic tensions, after the government denied members of a long-persecuted Muslim minority the right to identify themselves as "Rohingya."

4 The Kavir Desert in Central Iran was pictured from the International Space Station by one of the Expedition 38 crew members. The lack of soil and vegetation allows the geological structure of the rocks to appear quite clearly. According to geologists, the patterns result from the gentle folding of numerous, thin, light and dark layers of rock.

5 The magnitude of fluorescence portrayed in this visualization prompted researchers to take a closer look at the productivity of the U.S. Corn Belt. The glow represents fluorescence measured from land plants in early July, over a period from 2007 to 2011. (Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

6 George Uhl of Sterling Heights, Michigan, is seen before a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals in Detroit, USA, Mar. 31, 2014.

7 Teenagers pose while having their pictures taken with a phone as the sun sets in Encinitas, California, USA, Mar. 31, 2014.

8 A Balinese girl, right, tries to avoid a kiss from another during the "Omed Omedan" kissing festival in Bali, Indonesia. Locals believe the festival ensures the good health of those taking part and prevents bad luck hitting the village. During the festival, village priests dump buckets of water over couples to douse their passions.

9 People look at fish-shaped balloons in front of water fountains in Nice on the French Riviera.

April 02, 2014

1 Nuns stand at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican at the end of the Pope's weekly general audience.

2 People embrace on the upper floor of an apartment building located a few blocks from the coast where they gathered to avoid a possible tsunami after a powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake in Iquique, Chile, Apr. 1, 2014.

3 Thai firefighters fight the blaze after an explosion at a scrap shop in Bangkok, Thailand, April 2, 2014. Workers at the scrap shop in Thailand's capital on Wednesday accidentally detonated a large bomb believed to have been dropped during World War II, k

4 Exhibition curator Anna Reynolds (L) poses with a pair of Parisian dolls belonging to Britain's Queen Elizabeth (left doll) and her sister Princess Margaret, at Buckingham Palace in London. Toys and childhood outfits belonging to the royal family will form part of an exhibition "Royal Childhood" during the summer opening of Buckingham Palace from Jul. 26 - Sept. 28, 2014.

5 Female members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas take part in a military graduation ceremony in Gaza City.

6 Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado runs away from tear gas after she tried to take her seat at the national assembly in Caracas, Apr. 1, 2014. Congress last week stripped the opposition deputy of her post in parliament on charges of violation of the constitution by speaking at the Organization of American States with the backing of the Panamanian government.

7 A boy looks at a statue by German artist HA Schult during a preview of the artist's "Trash People" exhibition at the Ariel Sharon Park near Tel Aviv, Israel. The exhibition, featuring 500 human-sized figures made from recycled materials, has been travelling worldwide for 18 years and opens this weekend near Tel Aviv.

8 Hindu devotees break coconuts on a wooden log placed on another devotees lying on the ground as they perform a ritual during the "Danda" festival at Kulagarh village in Ganjam district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

9 Joff Summerfield, from Greenwich in south east London, rides his penny farthing bicycle past Buckingham Palace in central London. (Image provided by Visit London)

10 Bavarian musicians from Engetried play traditional horns in St. Peter's Square before the pope's weekly general audience at the Vatican.

April 03, 2014

1 Raindrops on a car window reflect a man walking past a stock index board in Tokyo, Japan.

2 Afghan election workers use donkeys to transport ballot boxes and election materials to polling stations as they walk through Mazar-i-Sharif to Kishindih district in Balkh province, Afghanistan. Elections will take place on April 5, 2014.

3 A sub-Saharan migrant is helped by a Spanish Guardia Civil officer after he fainted on top of a metallic fence that divides Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Spanish and Moroccan police have thwarted a fresh attempt by dozens of African migrants to try to scale border fences to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

4 A fire engine carries the body of Boston Fire Department Lieutenant Edward Walsh to his funeral at Saint Patrick's Church in Watertown, Massachusetts, April 2, 2014. Thousands of firefighters from across the United States lined the streets for the funeral of Walsh, one of two firefighters who died battling a blaze in a Boston apartment building last week.

5 A Cambodian technician carries a back-pack mounted with a device housing 15 cameras as he demonstrates the technique used to digitally map the Angkor Wat temple in north-western Cambodia. Angkor Wat has been digitally mapped for the first time, allowing people to visit the famed temples from the comfort of their armchairs using Google Street View.

6 Residents walk on a street during a sandstorm in Hami, northwestern China'as Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. Hami issued an "orange alert" for a sandstorm, warning residents to reduce outdoor activities and avoid dangerous jobs.

7 Activists from the Internet Party of Ukraine, dressed as Star Wars characters, hold a rally in front of the Ukrainian Central Elections Commission in Kyiv.

8 People walk along a cracked road in Iquique, northern Chile, a day after a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit off Chile's Pacific coast, April 2, 2014.

9 Afghan children look on as they walk in their neighborhood in the Kishindih district of northern Balkh Province.

10 An Australian Koala looks at a camera as it sits atop a branch in its enclosure at Wild Life Sydney Zoo.

11 An Iraqi worker operates a drill during a cleanup of the furnace pipes at a cement plant in Najaf, south of Baghdad, April 2, 2014.

April 04, 2014

1 A pigeon rests on a wild iguana in a tree inside Seminario Park in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

2 A worker attaches prayer petitions, with names written on cards, to lotus lanterns in preparation for the upcoming birthday of Buddha at Jogye temple in Seoul. Buddha's birthday falls on May 6 in South Korea.

3 A protester cries during clashes with police officers at a demonstration in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Cambodia. Demonstrators demanded the release of 21 detainees who have been jailed since January 3, when military police opened fire on workers striking over low pay, killing four people.

4 Crossrail workers climb out from "Victoria", a tunnel boring machine after breaking through at Whitechapel underground station in London. Crossrail is the largest infrastructure project in Europe and will provide a new link across London which is due to be completed in 2017.

5 A demonstrator throws garbage towards riot police officers during a European trade unions protest against austerity measures, in central Brussels, Belgium.

6 Flowering cherry trees stand in a street in Bonn, western Germany, April 3, 2014.

7 Gaurav Sharma, an independent candidate also known as the Indian Spider Man, arrives to file his nomination for the upcoming general election in Mumbai. India will hold its general election in nine stages staggered between April 7 and May 12.

8 Britain's Prince Harry plays on a swing with children as Mayor of London Boris Johnson (R) looks on during a viewing of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park ahead of its opening on April 5, 2014, at Stratford in east London.

9 A Lemur catta, also known as ring-tailed lemur, with its three-week-old cub clinging to its back sits on a tree at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria.

10 Indian villagers hold their legs as they walk in hot sand as part of a ritual during the annual Danda festival or the festival of self punishment at Harigada village in Ganjam district, Orissa state, India, April 3, 2014.

11 A Palestinian protester throws a rock towards Israeli police close to the Israeli Ofer military prison in West Bank town of Betunia during clashes.

12 Race goers react during racing on "Ladies' Day", the second day of the Grand National horse racing meeting at Aintree, northern England.

13 A bodybuilder strikes a pose backstage during an amateur competition in the Israeli city of Dimona, April 3, 2014.

April 05, 2014

1 A dog, trimmed to look like a lion, walks on the rooftop of Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, Japan. One hundred lion looking dogs gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mitsukoshi department store's mascot lion.

2 Afghan women stand in line while waiting for their turn to vote at a polling station in Mazar-i-sharif. Voting was peaceful during the first few hours of the presidential election, with only isolated attacks on polling stations.

3 Ukrainians lay on a store's floor, acting as dead bodies in a flash mob action protesting against the buying of  Russian goods in Kyiv.

4 Combat divers "Kampfschwimmer" of German special naval forces are seen on a boat during a presentation by the German Army "Bundeswehr" in Eckernfoerde, Schleswig-Holstein.

5 A cave explorer makes his way through tires during an annual international competition for speleologists in Raubichi, Belarus.

6 A Chinese boy runs along gravestones during the Qingming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chinese people honor the dead during the annual festival.

7 Tungurahua volcano spews a column of ash as seen from Ambato, Ecuador, April 4, 2014.

8 People take part in International Pillow Fight Day in central Bucharest, Romania.

9 Visitors ride a boat in the Chidorigafuchi moat as they enjoy fully bloomed cherry blossoms during spring season in Tokyo.

10 A Pakistani lawyer taking a thumb impression from nine-month-old toddler Mohammad Musa on a bail bond in Lahore. Baby Musa has been accused of attempted murder in a case observers say highlights endemic flaws in the country's legal system. The baby along with his father and other family members was booked for throwing rocks at gas company officials in the working-class Ahata Thanedaran neighbourhood on Feb. 1, the family's lawyer Chaudhry Irfan Sadiq told AFP.

11 Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain speeds past a barricade bearing a message for former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher during the qualifying session of the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir, south of Manama.

12 Jockey Nick Scholfield, bottom center, tumbles after falling from Teaforthree at the Chair during the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse Liverpool, England.

13 Children scavenge among twisted metal and corrugated iron sheets in the ruins of a slum after a fire in Davao City. A huge night fire destroyed more than a thousand homes in a slum in the Philippines' largest southern city, sending residents running for their lives, officials said.

April 07, 2014

1 Activists wave an old Soviet and Russian national flags in front of a barricade at the regional administration building, in Donetsk, Ukraine.

2 Two-wheel robots "MiP" demonstrate a dance as Japanese toy maker Tomy introduces the new toy robot in Tokyo. The 19cm-tall robots, developed by Canadian toy maker Wowwee, can be operated by smartphone to dance and run.

3 One of the polar bear twin cubs plays in their enclosure at Hellabrunn zoo in Munich, southern Germany. The cubs were born on Dec. 9, 2013 and have been named Nela and Nobby.

4 Actor Mickey Rooney waves to admirers as he departs the Regent Wall Street Hotel in New York. He was Hollywood's top box-office draw in the late 1930s-1940s. He died Sunday, April 6, 2014, at his North Hollywood home at age 93.

5 A handout picture released by the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) shows displaced people collecting millet they had stored underground in Khor Abeche, South Darfur.

6 People ride on a motorbike past damaged buildings in Bustan al-Basha district in Aleppo, Syria, April 6, 2014.

7 Members of the April 6 movement and other activists shout slogans against the government during a protest against the detention of several members of their movement in front of the Press Syndicate building in Cairo, Egypt, April 6, 2014.

8 A visitor wrapped with Israel's national flag walks towards the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City.

9 Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill releases a white dove to mark Annunciation Day in the Kremlin in Moscow. In Christianity, Annunciation celebrates the relevation to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a son, Jesus.

10 A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas carries a mortar shell as he explains to girls the dangers of unexploded ammunition, at a school in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

11 An anti-government protester throws a gas canister back at police during riots in Caracas, April 6, 2014. Protesters have been on the streets since early February calling for President Nicolas Maduro's resignation and complaining about a litany of problems from rampant crime to food shortages.

12 National Conference party supporters attend an election rally on the outskirts of Srinagar, India.

13 Policemen blocking protesters are seen through the mask of a protester during a protest against a greater US military presence, near the US embassy in Manila, Phillipines ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit in April.

14 Pope Francis poses with a baby as her mother (L) takes a picture, during a visit to parish San Gregorio Magno in Rome, April 6, 2014.

15 Female members of the Palestinian presidential guard take part in a training session in the West Bank city of Jericho, April 6, 2014.

16 People stand in queue to cast their votes during the first phase of elections in Mandai, in the northeastern state of Tripura. India started the world's largest election Monday, with voters in the remote northeast making their way past lush rice paddies and over rickety bamboo bridges to reach the polls.

April 08, 2014

1 Members of the Band of the Irish Guards are reflected in an brass instrument during the Welcome Ceremony of the Irish President Michael D. Higgins in the town of Windsor, west of London.

2 Dancers perform a traditional dance during the opening ceremony of ancient Thai New Year or Songkran festival celebrations in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. The festival starts on April 13, 2014.

3 A school utility worker mops a mural depicting the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at the Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino High School campus at Makati city east of Manila, Philippines.

4 Tulip farmers look for weeds in a field of tulips near the city of Noordwijkerhout, western Netherlands.

5 Communist lawmakers scuffle with right-wing Svoboda (Freedom) Party lawmakers during a parliament session of Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv.

6 An Indian artist dressed as Hindu goddess Kali participates in a procession to celebrate the Ram Navami festival - the birth anniversary of Lord Rama - in Allahabad.

7 Humboldt penguins swim in a pool at the Vincennes Zoo in Paris, France.

8 Activists of BUND and Campact ecological associations carry a giant head featuring German Chancellor Angela Merkel before a demonstration against the reform of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in front of the Chancellery in Berlin.

9 A musician plays a piano designed by car manufacturer Peugeot for Pleyel piano maker, displayed at the Milan Design Fair, in Milan, Italy, April 7, 2014.

April 09, 2014

1 Bradley Johnson of the United States performs with his dough during the freestyle event, part of the Pizza World Championships, in Parma, northern Italy.

2 Afghan shoppers look for brooms at a roadside shop in Herat.

3 Flames engulf a vehicle following a car bomb along al-Khudary Street in the Karm al-Loz neighborhood in the central Syrian city of Homs.

4 Leyla Ali Adow (C), a suspected Somali illegal migrant arrested in a police swoop, reacts after being processed for deportation at a holding station in Kenya's capital Nairobi.

5 A U.S. flag is removed because of high winds prior to a memorial ceremony for shooting victims that President Barack Obama will attend in Fort Hood, Texas. Last week's shooting rampage left four dead and more than a dozen injured.

6 A tourist takes pictures of tulips at the Keukenhof park, also known as the Garden of Europe, in Lisse, the Netherlands.

7 Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, holds her son Prince George as she talks to other parents at a Plunket play group event at Government House in Wellington, New Zealand.

8 Brandt Snedeker hits out of a bunker on the 13th hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, USA.

9 A tourist reacts as an elephant sprays her with water in celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province.

10 New French police officers stand at attention during a ceremony at the Police Prefecture in Paris, France.

11 Parrots are seen in a bird-cage at the Paris Zoological Park in the Bois de Vincennes in the east of Paris, France.

April 10, 2014

1 People take a tour in an "upside down home" in St. Petersburg, Russia. The exhibition charges less than $10 for a walk through three-room and two-bathroom house.

2 U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel reviews the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Mongolian Ministry of Defense in Ulaanbaatar.

3 Jimmel, an owl-faced monkey, protects her one-month old baby at the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium.

4 Somalis run from a fireball and explosion during a market fire in the capital Mogadishu.

5 A pro-Russia protester stands at a barricade outside a regional government building in Donetsk, Ukraine.

6 Protesters use their phones to show lights outside the parliament building in Taipei, Taiwan, after an occupy protest ended over a contentious trade pact with China.

7 A Bee shaped hot air balloon floats over rice fields during the Philippine International Balloon festival in Lubao town, Pampanga province, north of Manila.

8 Balinese men carry an animal statue during cremation ceremony at a beach in Bali, Indonesia. The cremation is an essential rite of passage for Balinese Hindus as it is considered a means of releasing the soul from the body so that it can be reincarnated.

9 Catherine (L), Duchess of Cambridge, holds the hand of a baby in the crowd after laying a wreath with her husband, Britain's Prince William, at the war memorial in Seymour Square in the town of Blenheim, New Zealand.

10 Different types of bullets are seen after impact on a flak jacket displayed at the "Expo Seguridad," or Security Expo in Mexico City, Mexico, April 9, 2014.

11 Police bomb disposal experts search for evidence next to the remains of a car after a car bomb explosion in central Athens, Greece. A bomb exploded outside a Bank of Greece building before dawn, causing some damage but no injuries.

12 She Ping, a 34-year-old beekeeper, is seen during an attempt to cover his body with bees, in Chongqing municipality, China. He used queen bees to successfully attract more than 460,000 bees, weighing over 45 kg (99 lbs), within 40 minutes, local media reported.

13 Quentin Coton competing in a men's 200m breaststroke serie during the French Swimming championships in Chartres.

April 11, 2014

1 A Palestinian man uses a slingshot to throw back a tear gas canister towards Israeli soldiers during clashes in the West Bank village of Silwad, north of Ramallah.

2 Swimming instructors conduct lessons for children and adults donning mermaid costumes in the latest attraction at the country's largest oceanarium in Manila, Philippines.

3 South Korean army soldiers man their K1 tank after a live firing drill at the U.S. Army's Rodriguez range in Pocheon, South Korea.

4 Massive flames are seen devouring both vehicles just after the crash, and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky April 10, 2014 until firefighters had quenched the fire, leaving behind scorched black hulks of metal. The FedEx tractor-trailer crossed a grassy freeway median in Northern California and slammed into the bus carrying high school students on a visit to a college. At least 10 were killed in the fiery crash.

5 A Sotheby's employee poses with the "Graff Vivid Yellow," at 100.09 carats - one of the rarest yellow diamonds of its size, in central London ahead of the forthcoming New York auctions of contemporary, impressionist and modern art.

6 Thai Buddhist women take part in a blindfolded boxing bout as part of celebrations of the Songkran festival marking the Thai new year in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat. The Thai new year falls on April 13. 

7 A suspected illegal construction is seen covered by green plants atop a 19-story residential building in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China.

8 Masked pro-Russian activists pass by a barricade as they guard a regional administration building that they had seized earlier in Donetsk, Ukraine.

9 A South Korean army soldier looks at the mock target through a pair of binocular during a U.S.-South Korea joint live-fire military exercise at a training field in Pocheon, South Korea. 

10 A man runs while he carries two children during an eviction in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Squatters in Rio de Janeiro are clashing with police after a Brazilian court ordered that 5,000 people be evicted from abandoned buildings of a telecommunications company.

11 Two coffee mugs featuring a picture of a stamp with Adolf Hitler's portrait on it can be seen in Herford, western Germany. A German furniture store chain has apologized for accidentally selling the coffee mugs it had ordered from a Chinese supplier.

12 Jimmel, an owl-faced monkey, protects her one-month-old baby at the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium on April 10, 2014.

13 A Christie's employee poses with 'Jim Beam-J.B.Turner Train stainless steel and bourbon' by Jeff Koons on display at the auction rooms in London.

14 With the Jefferson Memorial in the background, Steven Paska, 26, (r) of Arlington, Va., kneels as he asks Jessica Deegan, 27, his girlfriend of two years, to marry him, near cherry blossom trees in peak bloom along the tidal basin in Washington, April 10, 2014.

April 13, 2014

1 An Ethiopian Orthodox Christian priest holds a holy book for women to kiss at Deir El Sultan in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, during Palm Sunday services in Jerusalem's Old city.

2 Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, smile after taking a ride on a jet boat along the Shotover River in Queenstown, New Zealand.

3 A Filipino boy participates in Palm Sunday rites outside the Holy Family Parish Church in Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines.

4 Iraqis walk past election campagin billboards in Kahramana Square in the capital Baghdad.

5 A boy takes part in the celebration of Thingyan, the water festival which marks the country's new year in Rangoon, Burma.

6 The pack rides through a cobblestoned section during the 112th edition of the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic cycling race between Compiegne and Roubaix, northern France.

7 A firefighter shines a flashlight as he stands with others near burning homes as a forest fire rages towards urban areas in the city of Valparaiso, Chile.

8 Nantes' French midfielder Jordan Veretout (L) falls as he vies with Guingamp's French midfielder Younousse Sankhare during the French L1 football match between Nantes and Guingamp at the Beaujoire stadium in Nantes, western France.

9 A pro-Russian protester holds a shield at a check point, with black smoke from burning tires rising above, in Slaviansk. Ukraine's Interior Minister on Sunday urged residents in the eastern city of Slaviansk to stay indoors.

10 The Jefferson Memorial can be seen through cherry blossoms in full bloom along the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. (Elizabeth Pfotzer/VOA)

11 Devotees roll on thorny bushes laid on the ground to reach a temple as they perform a ritual during the "Danda" festival in Khurda district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

12 Children take part in a religious procession to mark the Palm Sunday in St. Petersburg, Russia.

13 A Minnie Mouse look-alike mascot waits to greet visitors to a park in Beijing, China.

14 Revellers take part in a water fight during Songkran Festival celebrations on Silom Road in Bangkok, Thialand.

15 A monster character from the game Evolve looms over gaming enthusiasts at the PAX East convention in Boston, Massachusetts, April 12, 2014.

April 14, 2014

1 Britain's Prince William hits a ball using a cricket bat while attending a promotional event for the upcoming Cricket World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand.

2 People dance with umbrellas during a celebration for the New Year of the Dai minority in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, China.

3 Velocity art installation by Poetic Kinetics is seen during day 3 of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 13, 2014 in Indio, California.

4 An Afghan shopkeeper shows a selection of burqas to a customer at a bazaar in Herat, April 13, 2014

5 A Pro-Russian activist stands during the mass storming of a police station in the eastern Ukrainian town of Horlivka.

6 People carry masks and different animal floats down a street during celebrations on Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali new year in Dhaka.

7 Edmond Aviv sits on a street corner holding a sign in South Euclid, Ohio declaring he's a bully, a requirement of his sentence because he was accused of harassing a neighbor and her disabled children for the past 15 years, April 13, 2014.

8 A rhinoceros plays with a football in his enclosure at the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, central Germany, April 13, 2014.

9 Water is sprayed on revelers during the traditional new year water festival in Rangoon, Burma. Burma began celebrating Thingyan on Sunday, marking the New Year according to the traditional Burmese Lunisolar calendar.

10 The new Solar Impulse 2 aircraft is pulled out of its base for the first time for tests with solar panels in Payerne, Swizerland. An attempt to fly around the world in stages using only solar energy will be made in 2015.

11 Rescue workers work to recover victims at the site of a blast at the Nyanya Motor Park, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the center of Abuja, Nigeria.

12 Devotee walk on burning coal as they perform a ritual during the Danda festival at Mandhasal village in Khurda district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

13 Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items in final preparation for the Passover holiday in the town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel.

14 A strong wind blows a scraf in a woman's face as she crosses a street in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.

April 15, 2014

1 An Indian firefighter wearing a fire proximity suit walks through a wall of flames during a demonstration of firefighting skills for Fire Safety Week in Bhubaneswar. Fire Safety Week runs April 14-20 across India.

2 A combination photo shows the moon during a total lunar eclipse as seen from Mexico City.

3 A female member of a "Maidan" self-defense unit stands guard in front of the Ukrainian parliament building in Kyiv. Russia declared Ukraine on the brink of civil war on Tuesday as Kyiv said an "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Moscow separatists was underway.

4 Crew aboard the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield move the U.S. Navy's Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle into position for deployment in the southern Indian Ocean to look for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, April 14, 2014.

5 A picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is sprayed by an anti-North Korean protester during an anti-North Korea rally against recent missile launches and provocative acts, on the birthday of its founder, Kim Il Sung, in Seoul, South Korea.

6 Oscar Pistorius rubs his eye in court in Pretoria, South Africa after earlier questioning by state prosecutor Gerrie Nel. Pistorius is charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

7 U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has stickers put on her face by 20-month-old Lily Oppelt during a visit with children at the Fisher House at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, April 14, 2014.

8 Indian girls dressed as Hindu Goddesses wait for the Hanuman Jayanti procession to start, in New Delhi, India.

9 Goats feed on a tree in Manggarai park in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta.

10 The moon during a total lunar eclipse over the Juscelino Kubitschek Memorial in Brasilia. The entire event was to be visible from North and South America.

11 Algerians residing in France prepare to vote, ahead of Algeria's presidential election, at a polling station in Marseille.

12 A worker (bottom) takes a break at a construction site in Kuala Lumpur.

13 An airliner crosses the moon's path above Whittier, Calif., approximately one hour before a total lunar eclipse, April 14, 2014.

14 A sick internally displaced Muslim girl sits next to her mother in a house in the town of Boda.

April 16, 2014

1 A visitor walks next to a sand sculpture on elections made by sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik at a beach at Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Around 815 million people have registered to vote in the world's biggest election.

2 Polly Dreezer, aged three, points to graffiti art on a wall near the headquarters of Britain's eavesdropping agency, Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, western England.

3 A rescuer climbs into a compartment in search of trapped passengers at the scene of a derailed train at Teghria village near Jagiroad Rail Station in Morigaon district, some 90 kms from Guwahati, in India's northeastern state of Assam.

4 Jordanian artist Nezam Nimeh, 58, cleans his artwork which is a scale model of the Dome of the Rock in Amman.

5 Models stand near vehicles on display at the New York International Auto Show in New York City.

6 Maritime police search for missing passengers in front of the South Korean ferry "Sewol" which sank at the sea off Jindo.

7 A relative waits for their missing loved one at a port in Jindo, South Korea.

8 A fighter jet flies above as Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured personnel carrier in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.

9 People enjoy the last day of water festival on Pyi Road in Rangoon, Burma, (VOA/MoeMoe Htun).

10 A Russian flag is seen on top of an armoured personnel carrier in Slaviansk Ukraine.

11 A gaucho rides a wild horse during the annual celebration of Criolla Week in Montevideo, Uruguay, April 15, 2014.

12 Survivors, families of victims, officials, first responders and guests pause as the flag is raised at the finish line during a tribute in honor of the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, April 15, 2014.

13 Algerians walk down decorated stairs in the center of the Algerian capital.

14 A woman paste cow dung cakes on a wall for drying in the northern Indian city of Allahabad.

April 17, 2014

1 Family members of passengers missing on the overturned South Korean ferry Sewol react at the port in Jindo.

2 South Korean relatives of passengers on board a capsized ferry react as they wait for news at a gym in Jindo.

3 Rescue boats sail around the South Korean ferry "Sewol" which sank, during the rescue operation in the sea off Jindo. South Korean coastguard and navy divers resumed searching on Thursday for people still missing, many of them students from the same high school, after a ferry capsized in sight of land.

4 Customs officers look at confiscated counterfeit FIFA World Cup replica trophies in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China, April 16, 2014. The local customs office seized a total of 1,020 unauthorized FIFA World Cup replica trophies before they were shipped out to Libya.

5 A boy with a toy gun poses for a picture in front of barricades at the police headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk.

6 Firemen try to extinguish a fire as houses burn in a squatter colony in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

7 A masked flagellant lies prostrate on the ground as he prays outside a chapel during a Maundy ritual by penitents to atone for sins in Angeles, Pampanga north of Manila.

8 People cross the Chenab river on a trolley tied to wires to cast their vote at Harshi village in Doda district, north of Jammu, India.

9 An Indian Muslim woman displays her inked thumb after casting her vote at a polling station in Bangalore.

10 A Pakistani Christian woman fills jerry cans with water from a hand pump at a slum area of Islamabad.

11 A diver dressed as the Easter Bunny swims among sharks, rays and other species of fish in the Shipwreck habitat at the South East Asia Aquarium of Resorts World Sentosa, a popular tourist attraction in Singapore. The performance is part of the Easter celebrations.

12 Cleo a white Bengal tiger looks through the glass of her enclosure at the Buenos Aires Zoo, Argentina, April 16, 2014.

13 A man surfs with his kite in the Mediterranean sea at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, during the vacation of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

April 18, 2014

1 Students at Danwon High School in Ansan hold messages for missing schoolchildren who are among the unaccounted for passengers trapped in a South Korean capsized ferry.

2 A parked car suffered damage when a adobe wall collapsed on it after a strong earthquake shook Chilpancingo, Mexico.

3 Pope Francis lies on the floor as he prays during the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday at St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

4 A flag in the colors of the Ribbon of Saint George, which has become a symbol of pro-Russian sentiment, flutters as pro-Russian supporters gather outside the mayor's office in Slaviansk, Ukraine.

5 Christian worshippers carry a cross during a procession along the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday during Holy Week in Jerusalem's Old City.

6 Six-week-old Ewan Bingham, takes a look at his dad, Lt. Chris Bingham, of Cranford, New Jersey, after Chris disembarked from the USS Harry S. Truman in Norfolk, Virginia. The carrier strike group is returning from a nine-month deployment. There were 171 babies born to sailors aboard the ship during the deployment.

7 Indian Hindu devotees walk through a dust storm after taking a holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, in Allahabad.

8 Brazilian soccer fan Anderson poses in front of the media after picking up his 2014 World Cup tickets in Rio de Janeiro. FIFA venue ticketing centers were opened in the World Cup host cities.

9 A man reads a newspaper with front page headlines about the death of Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in Aracataca, the town were he was born in Colombia's Caribbean coast. Garcia Marquez died in Mexico City on Thursday.

10 Wearing ghilli suits, Iranian army troops march in a parade as one of them hold up his weapon, marking National Army Day in front of the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini just outside Tehran.

11 A visitor takes a picture in one of the greenhouses of the Royal Palace in Laeken, near Brussels, Belgium. The Royal Greenhouses open once a year to the public for a blooming extravaganza of 5,000 plants including giant ferns and exotic trees, some 250 years old.

12 Penitents from "Los Dolores" brotherhood gather prior to a Holy Week procession in Cordoba, southern Spain. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week.

13 Fog surrounds the mountains in Goncalves, in the state of Minas Gerais in southwestern Brazil.

14 Tourists, one holding some flowers she picked, take pictures in a field of tulips near Lisse, western Netherlands. Tourism peaks around the Easter weekend with thousands flocking to the fields to admire field of tulips left to blossom to harvest the bulbs later.

April 21, 2014

1 U.S. President Barack Obama kisses first lady Michelle Obama alongside the Easter Bunny during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.

2 Women in traditional costumes are sprayed with water as members of the Marghareta Dance Group perform Easter folk traditions of the region in the Museum Village in Nyiregyhaza, northeast of Budapest, Hungary.

3 A Syrian girl collects her belongings from rubble after her building was destroyed in an air strike reportedly by government forces in the northern city of Aleppo.

4 Actress and former model Deborah Leng (C) arrives at the funeral service for Peaches Geldof at the St Mary Magdalene and St Lawrence church in Davington, southeast England. Geldof was found dead at her home on April 7, 2014.

5 Britain's Prince William carries his son George while looking at an Australian animal called a Bilby, which has been named after the young prince, during a visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo, April 20, 2014.

6 A boy wades through a creek while collecting reusable materials after a fire razed a residential slum area in Caloocan City, Metro Manila in the Philippines.

7 A snowboarder tries to cross a 26-meter-long pool of water at the foot of a ski slope at the Bobrovy Log ski resort near Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, April 20, 2014.

8 Members of the national police confront demonstrators during a protest against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, April 20, 2014.

9 Boston Marathon elite runners Josphat Boit (L) and Meb Keflezighi (R) race to the finish line during the 2014 Boston Marathon in Massachusets, USA. (USA Today Sports)

10 An Arara parrot sits in an aviary at the city zoo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 20, 2014.

April 22, 2014

1 A Pakistani customer looks in a mirror before buying a pair of sunglasses from a roadside vendor in Islamabad.

2 A weeping relative of a passenger aboard the sunken Sewol ferry prays as she awaits news on her missing loved one at a port in Jindo, South Korea.

3 Searchers and divers look for people believed to have been trapped in the sunken ferry boat Sewol near the buoys marking the vessel in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea.

4 People stand outside the Palace of the Fine Arts surrounded by yellow paper butterflies after a public viewing of the ashes of late Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Mexico City, April 21, 2014. Garcia Marquez died in Mexico on Thursday, at age 87.

5 A bride and groom jump for a picture in front of barricades outside a regional government building seized by pro-Russian armed men in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine.

6 Afghan day laborers work at a brick factory on the outskirts of Kabul, April 21, 2014.

7 A man with a seagull on his head smiles at tourists near the harbor in Sydney, Australia.

8 Aceh students coat their bodies in mud and roll a globe (symbolizing the Earth) during an Earth Day celebration in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

9 Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge stand in front of Uluru, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Northern Territory of Australia.

10 Jasmine Josephine loses her wig as she walks across the stage during judging at the 35th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest in Des Moines, Iowa, April 21, 2014.

April 23, 2014

1 A mock protester throws a water bomb during police exercises to manage civil unrest in Manila, Philippines ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama.

2 A man uses a net to catch fish in a stream in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.

3 A woman applies lipstick while her family's concrete house is being demolished in a squatter colony in Tondo, Manila.

4 People cover their faces as strong winds blows insulation material off a building in Hami, northwest China's Xinjiang region.

5 A woman cries while praying during a candlelight vigil in Ansan, to commemorate the victims of capsized passenger ship Sewol and to wish for the safe return of missing passengers.

6 Police train their fire hose at protesters as the latter try to force their way closer to U.S. Embassy for a rally against next week's visit of U.S. President Barack Obama in Manila, Philippines.

7 People read free books on International Book Day in Bucharest, Romania.

Portugal.

9 US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is briefed on the ATLAS ROBOT which is one of the most advanced humanoid robots ever built at the Pentagon by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) personnel, April 22, 2014.

10 A slum dweller's pets (puppies and a cat) look on from a plastic container next to religious statues and other belongings, after a squatter colony was demolished in Tondo, Manila.

11 Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa controls the ball during their Champions League semi-final first leg soccer match against Chelsea at Vicente Celderon Stadium in Madrid, Spain, April 22, 2014.

12 A rebel fighter carries an anti-tank weapon as he heads with his fellow fighters towards their positions in the Armenian Christian town of Kasab, Syria.

13 Jackie Bradley, Jr. #25 of the Boston Red Sox jumps up for a fly ball at the center field wall but comes up missing it against the New York Yankees during the game at Fenway Park  in Boston, Massachusetts, April 22, 2014.

14 A military policemen stands in position during a violent protest in a favela next to Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 22, 2014.

15 An octopus is lowered during a pre-game ceremony in Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series between the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins in Detroit, April 22, 2014.

16 A boy dressed up as Sao Jorge, also known as Saint George, attends Sao Jorge's day celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

April 24, 2014

1 Supporters of India's main opposition wave at their candidate, Narendra Modi, as he arrives to file his election nomination papers in Varanasi.

2 A polling official ink-marks the index finger of a female voter during the sixth phase of polling of the Indian parliamentary elections in Gauhati, India.

3 A member of the Ukrainian special forces takes position at an abandoned roadblock in the city of Slavyansk.

4 Coastguard boats and search and rescue teams take part in recovery operations at night at the site of the 'Sewol' ferry, off the coast of the South Korean island of Jindo.

5 U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) bows to "Asimo" the robot while visiting Miraikan or the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, in Tokyo, Japan.

6 Crowd participants dance at the IIFA Stomp event, the opening act for the 15th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards at Curtis Hixon Park in Tampa, Florida, April 23, 2014.

7 Smoke rises after what activists said was an air strike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on the outskirts of the Duma neighborhood of Damascus.

8 A boy wears a headband that reads "shut down the fourth nuclear power plant" during an anti-nuclear demonstration in Taipei, Taiwan.

9 French soldiers of the Sangaris operation escort a Muslim woman after she was attacked by anti-Balaka rebels while shopping outside the mosque of the PK12 district, Bangui, Central African Republic.

10 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides the multiple-rocket launching drill of women's sub-units under KPA Unit 851 in this undated photo released April 24, 2014 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

11 Huge lightning strikes cross the skies as thunderstorm supercells pass through areas in Archer City, Texas,  April 23, 2014.

12 A boy holding a white chrysanthemum pays tribute at a temporary group memorial altar for victims of capsized passenger ship Sewol in Ansan, South Korea.

13 An employee vacuums the carpet next to Bernard Buffet's "Deux clowns, saxophone" during a media preview of Christie's Shanghai Spring Auction in China. Christie's will present the auction on April 26.

14 Daryl Cura demonstrates smoking an e-cigarette at Vape store in Chicago, April 23, 2014. The federal government wants to ban sales of electronic cigarettes to minors and require approval for new products and health warning labels under regulations being proposed by the Food and Drug Administration.

April 25, 2014

1 A member of the British military plays a bugle on top of the Wellington Arch before the start of two minutes of silence during a dawn service to mark the 99th Anzac Day on Hyde Park Corner in London.

2 A soldier stands on a memorial filled with wooden crosses and red poppies during an Anzac Day service at Polygon Wood in Zonnebeke, Belgium. Anzac Day is commemorated by New Zealand and Australia to remember the service of those who fought in all wars.

3 A Palestinian protester stands with his national flag draped over himself near burning tires during clashes with Israeli soldiers following a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the occupied West Bank.

4 A rescuer gestures at a site hit by what activists said was a barrel bomb dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo's Karam al-Beik neighborhood.

5 A photographer makes portraits of a model at Branch Brook Park in Newark, N.J., April 24, 2014.

6 Bulgarian Roma kids react to being photographed as they salvage materials from a demolished shack in a Roma suburb in the city of Plovdiv. Municipal authorities started demolishing some 50 illegally built shacks, houses and shops in the suburb.

7 Nuns pose in front of a tapestry featuring Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

8 A rainbow appears over the sky of the city of Sao Paulo, April 24, 2014. Sao Paulo is one of the host cities for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil.

9 A globular star cluster called Messier 5 (M5) containing 100,000 stars or more and packed into a region around 165 light-years in diameter is seen in an undated image taken by NASA's Hubble Space telescope and released April 25, 2014.

10 Brides sit together during a mass wedding ceremony in Peshawar. A total of 25 couples from Pakistan's northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated in the ceremony, organized by the Al-Khidmat Foundation.

11 A groom yawns as he sits with others during a mass wedding ceremony in Peshawar, Pakistan.

12 Heavyweight boxing world champion Vladimir Klitschko of Ukraine faces Axel Leapai of Australia (R) after the official weigh-in in the western city of Muelheim, Germany. Klitschko will be facing Leapei in a title match on April 26.

13 The moon rises in the sky above the domes of the Smolny Cathedral in St.Petersburg, Russia.

14 An E-Fan aircraft is seen on the tarmac for its first public flight during the e-Aircraft Day at the Bordeaux Merignac airport, southwestern France. The all-electric plane E-Fan was developed by Airbus Group.

15 Police take part in a drill in preparation for dealing with mass disturbances in Beijing, China.

April 28, 2014

1 Udomsak Ratanotayo (l) and Suttinan Boonsomkiat wear storm trooper costumes while donating blood at the Thai Red Cross in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai Star Wars fans will donate blood and give toys at an orphanage as part of a promotional campaign.

2 A police officer uses a fire extinguisher outside the Taipei Railway Station after anti-nuclear demonstrators were removed from the area.

3 Pro-Russian armed men in military fatigues pose for a photograph with a child as they stand guard outside a regional administration building seized overnight by pro-Russian separatists, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka.

4 An Iraqi policeman shows his ink-stained finger and his ID after casting his ballot at a school in Baghdad's Karrada commercial district.

5 A Russian-built Proton rocket with Russian relay satellite Luch-5V and the Kazakh communication satellite KazSat-3 aboard blasts off from a launch pad in the Russian-leased Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome.

6 Relatives and families of members of Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi react after hearing an Egyptian court has recommended the death sentence for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters, and handed down a final capital punishment ruling for 37 others, in front of the court in Minya, south of Cairo.

7 A boy wearing a mask of Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, prime ministerial candidate for India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), waits for the start of an election campaign rally being addressed by Modi in Kheralu town in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

8 A chimney collapses as it is demolished by explosives in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.

9 Mourners line up to pay tribute to victims of the sunken passenger ship Sewol near a temporary group memorial altar for the victims in Ansan, South Korea, April 27, 2014.

10 A general view shows St. Peter's Square during the canonization ceremony of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II at the Vatican, April 27, 2014.

11 A boy dressed as a Pope yawns as he prepares to join a parade in celebration of the canonization or the elevation to sainthood in the Vatican of Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII at suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippine, April 27, 2014.

12 A newly wed couple poses for photos on a field of tulips near a replica Dutch windmill at Shunyi International Flowers Port in Beijing, China.

13 Crystal Palace's mascot Kayla, a North American Bald Eagle, flies in the stadium to entertain the fans ahead of the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park stadium in London, April 27, 2014.

April 29, 2014

1 A visitor stands in front of QR-codes information panels during a ceremony to open an information showroom dedicated to the Zaryadye park project in central Moscow, Russia. The showroom, shaped as a dome which houses exhibition halls covered with QR-codes information panels and displaying digital illustration of the project, was opened by Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on the site of the future park in a few minutes walk distance from Red Square and the Kremlin, according to organizers.

2 Children wear protective glasses as they try to see a partial solar eclipse from Sydney's Observatory Hill, Australia.

3 An Indian woman carries a container of drinking water on her head and holds her child’s hand as they walk on the hot sand of the Daya River in the heat on the outskirts of eastern Bhubaneswar. Many of the Indian cities faces severe water scarcity especially in the summer season as summer temperatures soar above the 40°C (104°F).

4 Jets perform during Saudi security forces' Abdullah's Sword military drill in Hafar Al-Batin, near the border with Kuwait.

5 A resident makes his way down Jackson Street and away from the tornado damaged area in Tupelo, Mississippi. On the second day of ferocious storms that have claimed at least 19 lives in the southern United States, a tornado tore through the Mississippi town of Tupelo causing widespread destruction to homes and businesses, according to witnesses and local emergency officials.

6 Rescue workers and volunteers search through debris in a lake a day after nearby homes were destroyed by a tornado near Vilonia, Arkansas.

7 Anti-narcotic workers wait as bags containing cocaine are burned during a drug incineration in Lima, Peru.

8 Police use a water cannon on "Bayan Muna" (My Country First) activists who tried to march to the U.S. embassy as they protest a state visit by President Barack Obama in Manila, Philippines. Hundreds of activists gathered near the U.S. embassy, protesting a new defence agreement which they say underscores unequal relations between the Philippines and the United States.

9 A sea gull flies over Capitol Hill's Southwest duck pond in Washington, D.C. (Diaa Bekheet/VOA)

10 Yemeni female university students celebrate during their graduation ceremony in Sana'a, April 28, 2014.

11 South Korea's Yang Ha-eun eyes the ball as she serves to Russia's Olga Baranova during the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

12 Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF) supporters sing as they raise their hands during their protest outside the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) building in Johannesburg. The march is in protest against the public broadcaster refusing to air the party's election commercial.

13 An aerial view shows a boat making its way on the Scharmuetzelsee near Bad Sarow, eastern Germany.

14 A man dressed as a monkey reacts as he begs on a street in New Delhi, India.

April 30, 2014

1 A worker manipulates a hot iron rod at a factory in Islamabad, Pakistan.

2 A gust of wind blows away Pope Francis' cap as he leaves at the end of his weekly general audience, at the Vatican.

3 Soldiers of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment of the French Foreign Legion stand guard during the rehearsal of the ceremony in the ancient theater of Orange marking the commemoration of the battle of Camaron, which occurred on 30 April 1863 between the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican army. The ceremony will mark the regiment's last public appearance in Orange before its move to its new base in Carpiagne.

4 A worker walks through a salt pan on the eve of May Day or Labour Day on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Chennai.

5 Charles Milam takes a break while searching his destroyed home on Clayton Avenue in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, April 29, 2014. Milam, his wife and his granddaughter were at home at the time of the tornado, and all survived.

6 A group of recently ordained novice Buddhist monks walk barefoot on a daily alms round through a rural Thai village for their food. The youngsters have chosen to ordain as monks for the summer holidays. (Photo taken by Matthew Richards in Thailand)

7 A competitor performs at the FMX Course competition during the World Extreme Games in Shanghai, China.

8 A relative of a woman that recently gave birth to twins holds one of the babies before departing towards Chad's border, escorted by troops from the African Union operation in Central African Republic (MISCA) in the northern town of Kaga Bandoro.

9 Italian artist Frans looks at his work in the Via Margutta, a small Roman street renowned for inspiring the works of sculptors, painters, poets and film directors, during the annual exhibition “100 Painters on Via Margutta” in Rome.

10 Great white pelicans swim on a pond at the zoo in Krefeld, western Germany.