May 01, 2014
1 A Syrian man reacts as he carries the body of a boy following reported air strikes by government forces in the Halak neighbourhood in northeastern Aleppo.
2 Worshipers attend the Day of the Spiritual Indoctrinator annual celebrations at the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) community in the Planaltina neighborhood of Brasilia, Brazil. The Vale do Amanhecer is a Christian Spiritualistic doctrine founded by the spiritualist visionary known as Tia Neiva (Aunt Neiva) in 1958 in Brazil's Federal District.
3 Tourists visit an upside-down house at Fengjing Ancient Town, Jinshan District, south of Shanghai, China.
4 A man tries to protects himself as security forces beat him during the International Workers' Day rally at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Authorities broke up a protest of garment workers and opposition party supporters who rallied to celebrate the Labor Day despite the government's ban on public assemblies.
5 A woman dressed up as a witch walks at the summit of Brocken mountain in the Harz region celebrating the Walpurgisnacht pagan festival, April 30, 2014. Legend has it that on Walpurgisnacht or May Eve, witches fly their broomsticks to meet the devil at the summit of the Brocken Mountain in Harz. In towns and villages scattered throughout the mountain region, locals make bonfires, dress in devil or witches costumes and dance into the new month of May.
6 African migrants walk along a border fence covered in razor wire as Spanish Civil Guard vehicles are positioned in front of them, during their latest attempt to cross into Spanish territory between Morocco and Spain's north African enclave of Melilla.
7 Cars sit on the edge of a sinkhole in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore, USA, April 30, 2014, as heavy rain moves through the region. Road closures have been reported due to flooding, downed trees and electrical lines elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic.
8 Rob Jernigan takes a photo of a friend's house in the Springdale Forest Subdivision in Pensacola, Florida, April 30, 2014. A state of emergency was declared in Pensacola's Escambia County where emergency officials fought to save motorists stranded by flood waters.
9 Firefighters and rescue workers work along the tracks where several CSX tanker cars carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire along the James River near downtown Lynchburg, Virginia, USA, April 30, 2014.
10 A woman shows her identity card next to another protester as riot police use water cannons during clashes after hundreds of people tried to reach the city's main Kizilay Square to celebrate May Day in Ankara, Turkey.
11 People collect garbage to be sorted and sold to nearby recycling centers in a district near Najaf, Iraq.
12 Zoltan Veres of Hungary performs with his MXS airplane during an air show in Budapest.
13 A man runs during heavy rain with hail in Plauen, south eastern Germany.
14 Leicester Morris Men dance at Bradgate Park in Newtown Linford, central England. The May Day Morris celebration is a traditional rite thought to be connected to changing seasons and fertility.
15 An Indian fisherman casts his net into the Mohanadi River near Munduli, some 30 kms away from Bhubaneswar. As the water level of the Mohanadi River and other rivers start to recede due to increasing temperatures, villagers living nearby turn to fishing to meet their consumption needs.
May 02, 2014
1 A bystander throws a tear gas canister back at the al-Azhar University campus. The canister was originally shot by the Egyptian security forces towards protesters at the school in Cairo.
2 The fifth brightest galaxy in the sky Centaurus A, is shown in this handout photo provided by NASA May 1, 2014. Centaurus A is an active galaxy about 12 million light years from Earth and is part of a "quartet of galaxies" collaboration of professional and amateur astronomers that combines optical data from amateur telescopes with data from the archives of NASA missions.
3 A soldier and a paramilitary officer help to move part of a damaged car at the scene of a car bomb attack in Nyanya, Abuja, Nigeria.
4 Civilians find cover from the rain under a Ukrainian army armored personnel carrier at a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk.
5 A protester reacts to being hit by pepper spray and then treated with a milky liquid during an anti-capitalist demonstration in Seattle, Washington, May 1, 2014.
6 Relative of an employee runs between the bleachers before workers play in a soccer match to commemorate Labour Day at the Arena Sao Paulo Stadium in Brazil, May 1, 2014.
7 Worshippers attend the Day of the Spiritual Indoctrinator annual celebrations at the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) community in the Planaltina neighborhood of Brasilia, May 1, 2014.
8 Justin Rose of England chips in for eagle on the 15th during the second round of the Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
9 Injured children cry after, according to activists, two barrel bombs were thrown by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar al-Assad in Hullok neighbourhood of Aleppo, May 1, 2014.
10 Tourists take a 'selfie' picture as demonstrators burn a trash container during a May Day rally in Barcelona, Spain, May 1, 2014.
11 People look at a fireworks display after the closing campaign rally of Presidential candidate for the ruling Democratic Party, Jose Domingo Arias, in Panama City, Panama, May 1, 2014.
12 Groundskeepers remove a tarp from the field during a rain delay between the first and second baseball games of a doubleheader between the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates, May 1, 2014, in Maryland.
13 Horses get baths after morning workouts at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
14 A natural stream in the Chibika moutains in the Djerid region of south west Tunisia, west of the governorate of Tozeur.
15 Palestinian Muslim worshipers walk in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound following Friday prayers in Jerusalem's Old City, Israel.
16 Rescue workers attempt to remove sludge to rescue a group of miners in a gold mine that collapsed in San Antonio, in the rural area of Santander de Quilichao, department of Cauca, Colombia, where independent mine workers were excavating the mine without authorization.
17 A lion is given a shower to cool down as temperatures rose at a zoological park in the Indian city of Jamshedpur.
May 03, 2014
1 Andy Carroll (R) of West Ham United and Vlad Chiriches of Tottenham Hotspur jump for a header during the English Premier League soccer match at Upton Park in London.
2 Susan Thorsgaard (C) of Denmark's FC Midtjylland fights for the ball with Anita Gorbicz (13) and Raphaelle Tervel (20) of Hungary's Gyori Audi ETO KC during their Women's Handball Champion's League Final Four semi match in Budapest.
3 Russian military helicopters fly in formation during rehearsals for the Victory Day military parade, with the Kremlin and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower seen in the foreground, in central Moscow. Russia marks their victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9.
4 An Afghan villager cries as she sits on top of a mud field in Argo district of Badakhshan province after a massive landslid buried a village. Rescuers searched in vain for survivors after a landslide buried Aab Bareek village, killing 350 people and leaving thousands of others feared dead amid warnings that more earth could sweep down the hillside.
5 The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby speaks with female priests after their march celebrating the 20th anniversary of women becoming ordained priests in the Church of England in London.
6 German riot police enter the Hamburg SV supporters block during a break of their German Bundesliga first division soccer match against Bayern Munich in Hamburg.
7 A visitor takes pictures of Snoopy sculptures created by Mexican artists and on display during the "Snoopy Visits Guadalajara" event at a gallery in Guadalajara, Mexico, May 2, 2014.
8 Paramilitary policemen direct passengers at a railway station during the traffic rush of the May Day holiday in Hefei, Anhui province, China.
9 Manuel Espinosa holds his 4-month-old son Edward, brought to him by his wife, as he takes a break from mining gold in La Pampa, located in the Madre de Dios region of Peru, May 2, 2014.
10 People take pictures of Pope Francis with cameras, mobile phones and tablets during a meeting with members of the Catholic Action at Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican.
11 Women bring flowers in memory of people killed in recent street battles outside a trade union building, where a deadly fire occurred, in Odessa. At least 42 people were killed in street battles between supporters and opponents of Russia in southern Ukraine that ended with pro-Russian protesters trapped in a flaming building.
12 A villager salvages utensils from a burnt house after the area was set on fire in ethnic violence at Khagrabari village, in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.
13 Participants are sprayed with color powder during the Color Run in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Color Run is a five-kilometer, un-timed race held worldwide with the aim of promoting healthy living and to benefit a charity that organizers choose in each of the cities the run visits.
14 Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte (6) climbs the wall chasing the ball as fans reach for the home run ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Colby Rasmus in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, May 2, 2014.
May 04, 2014
1 A woman sporting headgear with portraits of South African president Jacob Zuma attends a final African National Congress (ANC) election rally in Soweto, on the edge of Johannesburg.
2 A man holds carnations through a broken window of a burnt trade union building, the site of recent street battles between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian supporters, in the Black Sea port of Odessa.
3 Men take part in a traditional wrestling competition in the village of Draginovo in the Rhodope mountains, southeast from the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
4 People hold up their voting cards during the annual Landsgemeinde meeting at the Zaunplatz square, in the eastern Swiss town of Glarus. Glarus is one of Switzerland's two remaining Landsgemeinden, a 700-year tradition of an open-air assembly in which citizens can make key political decisions directly by raising their hands.
5 Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa serves to Hong Kong's Jiang Huajun during their women's semi-final match at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
6 A trader attempts to extinguish fire with a bucket of water at the City Stadium open air market in Kenya's capital Nairobi.
7 May 3, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Adrien Broner (blue gloves) lands a punch against Carlos Molina during their fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 3, 2014. (Credit: Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports)
8 Yemeni soldiers stand near a rocket launching during a major offensive against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the Maifaa region of Shabwa province.
9 A Bavarian mountain rifleman in a traditional outfit stands in front of portable toilets as he attends a parade in the southern village of Miesbach, Germany. About 5,000 mountaineers from Bavaria joined the traditional annual parade to honour Patron Bavariae, the Patron of Bavarian mountain rifleman.
10 Illegal immigrants, who were abandoned by traffickers in a remote desert area, wait inside a military base in Dongola town, after being located by Sudanese and Libyan forces, May 3, 2014.
11 Members of the Star Wars fan club celebrate "Star Wars Day" in front of the Colosseum in central Rome, Italy.
12 A participant takes part in the Bristol Park and Slide project, an interactive temporary installation by artist Luke Jerram set up in Park Street in the centre of Bristol, southwest England.
May 05, 2014
1 Displaced Afghans wait for aid near the site of a landslide at the Argo district in Badakhshan province.
2 A man points at a big crack in a damaged road following a strong earthquake in the Phan district of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
3 3Colorful carp streamers flutter in the air over the Sagami River in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo to mark Children's Day. It is a tradition in Japan to fly carp streamers on Children's Day.
4 A girl reads massages written on paper ships for the victims of the sunken ferry Sewol at a group memorial altar in Seoul, South Korea.
5 Ronnie O'Sullivan of England plays a shot during the World Snooker Championship 2014 final against Mark Selby of England at The Crucible in Sheffield, England.
6 A reveller poses during the 18th Gay Pride Parade in Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 4, 2014.
May 06, 2014
1 A Buddhist monk and villagers examine a damaged Buddha statue following an earthquake in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand.
2 Cars are engulfed in flames after a bomb hidden in a car exploded at a police station parking lot in Hat Yai district in Songkhla province, southern Thailand.
3 Soldiers of KPA Units 966, 462, 101, 489, who took part in building the workers' hostel of Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang Textile Mill, applaud during a photo session with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang.
4 Participants take part in a bun scrambling competition during Bun Festival at Hong Kong's Cheung Chau island. The festival celebrates the islanders' deliverance from famine many centuries ago and is meant to placate ghosts and restless spirits.
5 Hundreds of people, who believe that laughter is the best medicine for a happy and healthy life, take part in an attempt to break a world record of the largest gathering of senior citizens at a laughing exercise in Mumbai, India, May 5, 2014.
6 Boats sail in the bay of the Ionian island of Corfu, Greece, May 5, 2014.
7 A swallow feeds her babies in their nest under the ceiling of a residential house in Dongfeng township of Guiyang, Guizhou province, India, May 5, 2014.
8 Venezuelan artist Cristobal Ochoa (R) and his performance partner Jean-Paul Fowler promote the Artist Open Houses part of the Brighton Festival on the seafront in Brighton.
9 Debris rises in what the Free Syrian Army fighters and Islamic rebels said was an operation to strike the Al-Sahaba checkpoint, which is considered a gateway to Al-Dayf valley, and remove forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in Maarat Al-Nouman, Idlib province, May 5, 2014.
10 Sea gulls fight over food thrown to them in the Southwest duck pond outside Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, May 6, 2014. (Diaa Bekheet/VOA)
11 A girl holding to an inflatable hammer in the color of the Israeli flag stands on a beach at Tel Aviv during an aerial show as part of celebrations for Israel's Independence Day to mark the 66th anniversary of the creation of the state.
12 San Diego Padres center fielder Will Venable (left) is soaked with Powerade by catcher Rene Rivera (44) after Venable drove in the winning runs during the twelfth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Petco Park in San Diegom, California, May 5, 32104. The Padres won 6-5 in twelve innings. (Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports)
13 Troops from the U.S. Army's 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team parachute during a NATO-led exercise "Orzel Alert" (Eagle Alert) held together with Canada's 3rd Battalion and Princess Patricia's Light Infantry, and Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade in Bledowska Desert in Chechlo, near Olkusz, south Poland, May 5, 2014.
May 07, 2014
1 This composite image shows one of the clusters, NGC 2024, which is found in the center of the so-called Flame Nebula about 1,400 light years from Earth. In this image, X-rays from Chandra are seen as purple, while infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are colored red, green, and blue. Astronomers have studied two star clusters and the results show that the simplest ideas for the birth of these clusters cannot work.
2 Villagers displaced by the recent deadly landslide receive their lunch in the Argo district of Badakhshan province, Afghanistan.
3 Chinese trishaw drivers take a nap while waiting for customers in an alley near the drum tower, a tourist spot in Beijing.
4 Singer Conchita Wurst representing Austria performs the song ' Rise Like a Phoenix' during a rehearsal for the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest in the B&W Halls in Copenhagen, Denmark.
5 Voters queue at the Rakgatla High School voting station in Marikana, South Africa, where residents reported waiting for more than four hours in the country's general elections.
6 Mango, a 19-year-old male Syrian brown bear, rests on a bed as zoo veterinarians and staff prepare him for surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back after it was discovered in an x-ray, in the Ramat Gan Zoological Center's animal hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel.
7 Facebook employees take a group selfie with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, center, at the Facebook office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 6, 2014.
8 Armed paramilitary police officers stand guard at Beijing Railway Station. An assailant stabbed six people at a railway station in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, police and state media said.
9 A model poses with a vivid yellow 100.09 carat diamond (L) and a 103.46 carat diamond ring during an auction preview at Sotheby's in Geneva, Switzerland. These items are expected to reach between $15,000,000 to 25,000,000 and $3,500,00 to 5,000,000 when they go on sale in Geneva on May 13.
10 The Sydney Opera House is reflected in a harborside hotel window in The Rocks district of Sydney, Australia.
11 A sadhu (Hindu holy man) casts his vote at a polling station at Ayodhya in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
12 The wreckage of a small plane that crashed into a house is lifted by a crane in Northglenn, Colorado, USA, May 6, 2014. The pilot of a single-engine airplane pulling an advertising banner walked away uninjured after it crashed into an unoccupied home in suburban Denver and set the building on fire, authorities said.
13 Vietnamese female militants, dressed in ethnic minorities costumes, hold WWII-era submachineguns while marching during the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Dien Bien Phu battle in the historic city. Viet Minh forces overran the French garrison in Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954 after a 56-day siege, forcing the French government to abandon its colonial rule in Indochina.
14 U.S. singer Miley Cyrus performs at the O2 Arena in central London, May 6, 2014.
15 A 65-year-old Poloroid Land camera by Harvard drop-out and Polaroid inventor Edwin Land. Today marks the 105th birthday of Land. (Diaa Bekheet/VOA)
May 08, 2014
1 A man takes a nap on a bench at a park in Tokyo, Japan.
2 Seized plastic handguns created, using 3D printing technology, are displayed at Kanagawa police station in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan.
3 Damaged buildings and rubble are seen in old Homs city, Syria.
4 Visitors stroll in the flower garden covered by over 800,000 Shibazakura or Moss Phlox in full bloom during the Fuji Shibazakura Festival at the foot of Mount Fuji in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi prefecture, Japan.
5 A bouquet of flowers stands on a burned car at the site of clashes between pro-Russia gunmen and the Ukrainian army, four kilometers (2.5 miles) north of Slovyansk, Ukraine, May 7, 2014.
6 A supporter of Pakistan's Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) political party chants slogans along with others during a protest demonstration against Amnesty International in Karachi.
7 Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates winning a point during her match against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, Spain.
8 A Palestinian boy holds a cutout symbolizing a key that reads "it is my right to return to my home" during a rally in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, May 7, 2014.
9 The White House posts a Twitter photo showing First Lady Michelle Obama holding a sign with hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, May 7, 2014.
10 A restaurant promoter wearing a traditional Chinese costume waits for customers in Beijing.
11 An Amur tiger walks over the new Big Cat Crossing as visitors look on at the Philadelphia Zoo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania May 7, 2014. The new animal exploration trail experience called Zoo360 of see-through mesh trails enables animals to roam around and around and above Zoo grounds.
12 A mosque is pictured through shattered glass in the old city of Homs, Syria as rebel fighters withdrew from the city center in line with a negotiated withdrawal deal with the government after having held out under tight siege for nearly two years.
13 An Estonian soldier of the European Union Force in the Central African Republic patrols a street in Bangui.
14 Recruits take part in military exercises in the shooting range of the Ukrainian National Guard near the village of Novy-Petrivtsi not far from Kyiv .
15 A Palestinian man smokes a cigarette as he takes part in a demonstration in Gaza City in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails.
16 Horses perform during a preview of the "Cavalia" show, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in Brussels, Belgium.
May 09, 2014
1 A police station is ablaze in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. Fighting between government forces and insurgents in the city left several people dead on Friday.
2 Women carry placards as they attend a protest demanding the release of abducted secondary school girls in the remote village of Chibok, in Lagos, Nigeria.
3 A man walks down steps past a tribute to victims of the Sewol ferry, in Seoul, South Korea. The confirmed death toll stands at 273, with 31 still unaccounted for, after four more bodies were retrieved from the sunken ship overnight.
4 Local residents carry portraits of their ancestors, participants in World War II, as they celebrate Victory Day in St. Petersburg, Russia. About 30,000 people walked in the march named 'Immortal regiment.' Victory Day marks the defeat of Nazi Germany and is Russia's most important secular holiday.
5 A Syrian resident of Homs looks at a damaged building after returning to the Christian Hamidiyeh neighborhood of the old town of Syria's central city. The last rebels left Homs under an evacuation deal that hands the government a symbolic victory.
6 People pass a mural by French street artist Christian Guemy, also known as C215, which depicts Pope Francis giving the thumbs-up sign, in a subway station in Rome. The mural is near a ticket booth at the subway stop at the Spanish Steps, one of the capital's most popular tourist stops.
7 An anti-government protester waves a Thai national flag during a rally in downtown Bangkok. Country's anti-graft commission indicted ousted PM Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday on charges of dereliction of duty in overseeing a widely criticized rice subsidy program.
8 A Hindu priest walks up the 272 stairs to the Batu Caves temple outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The temple built inside the centuries-old, limestone-formed Caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India and is dedicated to Lord Murugan.
9 Kerry Keane, Christie's musical instruments specialist, poses for a photograph with the Kreutzer Stradivarius violin in London. The violin, estimated to be worth between $7.5 million (4.45 million pounds) and $10 million (5.9 million pounds), will be sold in New York on June 18.
10 Young Hindu students wear Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or the common man party, caps and wait for the arrival of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal during an election rally in Varanasi, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
11 Russian fans support their team during the Group B preliminary round match between Switzerland and Russia at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk, Belarus.
12 Graffiti artist Barba works on a mural in celebration of the 2014 soccer World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mural will be a part of a contest organized by city hall.
May 11, 2014
1 Maltese dogs are presented during a dog show at the "Hund & Katz" pets fair in Dortmund, western Germany.
2 A Ukrainian serviceman speaks on a phone at a checkpoint outside the southeastern port city of Mariupol.
3 New priests lay on the floor as Pope Francis leads their ordination ceremony during a solemn mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.
4 Austria's Conchita Wurst poses with her trophy before a news conference in Vienna. Wurst, popularly known as "the bearded lady," won the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest with the James Bond-theme-like ballad "Rise Like a Phoenix", before a global TV audience of about 180 million people in 45 countries.
5 A new-born White-mantled Black Colobus tries to reach a leaf to eat in the warm weather at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan.
6 Devotees with their mouth pierced with rods participate in an annual religious procession as part of a ritual to worship the Hindu goddess Maha Mariamman in the northern Indian city of Amritsar.
7 Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates on the podium after winning the Spain Formula One Grand Prix at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain.
8 Buddhists pray during a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Buddha, at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
9 A professional clown, whose son has gone missing, holds a flower at a monument honoring mothers, where many gathered after participating in the National March for Dignity on the day Mexicans celebrate Mother's Day in Mexico City, May 10, 2014.
10 A participant operates the "Flying Dim Sum", a self-made flying machine, during the Red Bull Flugtag (Flight Day) event at Hong Kong's financial Central district.
11 People walk near an installation made of 400 gas masks in the shape of the radioactive material hazard symbol in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 10, 2014. The installation marks the 28th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and was made by an anonymous group of artists, known as Destructive Creation, local media reported.
12 Manchester City's captain Vincent Kompany (C) celebrates with the English Premier League trophy following their soccer match against West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northern England.
May 12, 2014
1 Buddhist monks perform the "three steps one bow" ceremony at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore on the eve of Vesak Day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.
2 A polling official, right, marks the finger of an elderly man with indelible ink before he casts his vote at a polling station in Kunwarpur village, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Jaunpur district, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
3 A handout picture released by the Boudewijn Seapark Animal Park shows newborn baby seal Conchita at the Boudewijn Seapark in Brugges. The baby seal, which was born on the eve of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, is named after Austria's bearded transvestite and winner of the contest Conchita Wurst.
4 A multi-layered lenticular cloud hovering near Mount Discovery, a volcano about 70 kilometers (44 miles) southwest of McMurdo Station on Antarctica’s Ross Island.(Credit: IceBridge project scientist Michael Studinger)
5 Members of the Fife and Drum Corps march during the re-opening ceremony for the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The monument was closed in 2011 after it suffered widespread damage caused by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake along the East Coast.
6 Workers set up a giant canvas of the official poster of the 67th Cannes Film Festival featuring actor Marcello Mastroianni on the Festival Palace in Cannes.
7 A Turkmenistan man performs on a horse during the opening ceremony of 2014 International Akhal-Take Horses Association Special Conference and China Horse Culture Festival at Forbidden City, in Beijing, China.
8 Chinese dancers perform for the opening ceremony of 2014 International Akhal-Take Horses Association Special Conference and China Horse Culture Festival at Forbidden City, in Beijing, China.
May 13, 2014
1 Men hang Vesak lanterns ahead of Vesak Day celebrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Vesak Day, which is celebrated on May 14 and 15 in Sri Lanka, commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.
2 An Iraqi policeman stands near burning vehicles moments after one in a series of bombs hit the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City, in Baghdad, Iraq, killing tens.
3 Faithful gather during a candle light vigil at the Our Lady of Fatima shrine in Fatima, Portugal. Every year on May 12 and 13 thousands of Catholic pilgrims arrive in the Fatima Sanctuary to attend Masses and pray in honor of the Virgin Mary, where it is believed she was witnessed by three shepherd children in 1917.
4 Soldiers take part in a ceremony presenting the troops who will provide security during the World Cup at Brigadier Sampaio Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 12, 2014.
5 Members of the British male dance ensemble BalletBoyz perform during a dress rehearsal at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.
6 Buddhist devotees pour water on a sacred tree during a ceremony at the Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon, Burma, on the full moon day of Kasone Festival to mark Buddha's birthday in Rangoon.
7 A child drops coins into golden Buddha statues as a symbol of blessings on Vesak Day at the Thai Buddhist Chetawan Temple in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur.
8 Anaheim Ducks right wing Devante Smith-Pelly, left, scores past Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick during the second period of Game 5 of NHL hockey's second-round Stanley Cup playoff series in Anaheim, California, May 12, 2014.
May 14, 2014
1 Sea turtles crawl before being returned to the ocean on a beach in Bali, Indonesia.
2 A man kisses his son, rescued from a coal mine in Manisa, Turkey, after an explosion, in which more than 200 miners died.
3 Student supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohamed Morsi, set off fireworks during clashes with riot police after a demonstration outside Cairo University, Eygpt.
4 A boy paddles his boat along the weed-covered Anchar Lake in Srinagar, India.
5 A Syrian woman comforts her children after their house in the Sahour nieghborhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo was bombed.
6 Firefighters rest near a damaged Chinese owned shoe factory in Vietnam's southern Binh Duong province. Foreign factories in industrial zones were set on fire and rampaged in an angry reaction to Chinese oil drilling in a part of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam, official said.
7 A Palestinian boy holds a large cutout of a key as he walks with others along the controversial Israeli barrier during a rally ahead of the 66th anniversary of Nakba (disaster) in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
8 A helicopter drops water on a burning hillside next to homes as firefighters battle the Bernardo Fire, north of San Diego, California, May 13, 2014. More than 20,000 homes and other residences were being evacuated in and around San Diego as a fast-moving, fire and county officials said.
9 A woman walks through a display of portraits which were made as part of the Inside Out art project by French artist JR at Xintiandi area, in downtown Shanghai, China.
10 Ground personnel arrive at the landing site seconds after the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
11 Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is carried in a chair to a medical tent just minutes after he and Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA, landed in their Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
12 Three-week-old white lion cubs play with each other in their enclosure in Hangzhou zoo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province.
May 15, 2014
1 A woman shouts during a vigil in Abuja calling for the release of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted in the remote village of Chibok.
2 A protester is kicked by Yusuf Yerkel (L), advisor to Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, as Special Forces police officers detain him during a protest against Erdogan's visit to Soma, a district in the country's western province of Manisa, May 14, 2014.
3 A laborer removes the skin of garlic at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India.
4 Two people embrace on the plaza of the National September 11 Memorial in New York to watch the telecast of the dedication ceremony.
5 A water bomber makes a drop on the Coco Fire as fire fighters continue their battle in the hills surrounding San Marcos California. Wildfires were raging in southern California, keeping thousands of residents and students away from their homes after San Diego county officials maintained evacuation advisories.
6 An emergency vehicle makes its way past a rising moon as it travels along a burned-out hillside near San Marcos, California, May 14, 2014.
7 Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts as he takes shelter from sand blown by the wind during the men's singles match against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia at the Rome Masters tennis tournament, Italy.
8 A members of the honour guard cleans the boots of fellow guards ahead of a welcoming ceremony for the visiting Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva (not seen), outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
9 A Bosnian man views the scene after a landslide caused by flooding in the village of Topcic polje near Zenica, 120 kms north of Sarajevo.
10 A girl with the number 66 painted on her face, during a ceremony in the West Bank city of Jenin, marking the 66th anniversary of what the Palestinians call the "Nakba," or “catastrophe” referring to their uprooting in the war over Israel's 1948 creation.
11 A worker cleans up oil, spilled from a pipe that burst causing about 10,000 gallon of crude oil to flow onto streets, covering an area of about a half-mile in Los Angeles, California.
12 Bangladeshi residents gather near the site where a ferry capsized and sank in bad weather on the river Meghna in Munshiganj district, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital Dhaka. At least ten people dead and hundreds more are missing, police and officials said.
13 The head of a full-scale replica of the Sphinx, which is part of an unfinished theme park that will also accommodate the production of movies, television shows and animation, is seen behind trees on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China.
May 16, 2014
1 Heron-hooded dancers perform as they parade down the streets toward Asakusa Shrine in the compound of Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan prior to the annual Sanja Festival, one of the three major festivals scheduled on May 16-18.
2 People stand on a terrace of their flooded house as they wait to be evacuated in the town of Obrenovac, east of Belgrade, Serbia.
3 Overall leader Michael Matthews salutes fans prior to the start of the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Italy cycling race, from Sassano to Montecassino, Italy, May 15, 2014.
4 Photographers shoot pictures as guests arrive for the screening of the film 'Mr. Turner' at the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, May 15, 2014.
5 An Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter prepares to launch a hot air lantern adorned with the BJP lotus party symbol at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
6 Palestinian protesters run from tear gas fired by Israeli troops during clashes near Israel's Ofer Prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
7 A man walks past a damaged building in the Idlib countryside, Syria.
8 An anti-government protester waves a flag during a rally outside a compound of the country's parliament where members of the Senate are gathered for a meeting, in Bangkok, Thailand.
9 A police water cannon is used against anti-government protesters in Soma, Turkey where the mine accident took place. Hundreds of protesters took part in the march against the government and there were clashes with the police forces.
10 The Cocos Fire rages near homes in San Marcos, California, May 15, 2014. Wildfires were raging in southern California keeping thousands of residents away from their homes.
11 Mario Huettenhofer, chief of the German company 3D Fab, presents his own face as a 3d print during the international fairs FabCon 3.D and Rapid.Tech in Erfurt, Germany.
May 18, 2014
1 An aerial view of a flooded orchard near city of Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2 Evacuees from the Serbian town of Obrenovac are seen lying on beds in a shelter hall in Belgrade. Two Russian cargo planes carrying food, generators and rescue boats land in Serbia as part of a relief effort after the worst floods in over a century kill more than 35 people in the Balkans.
3 A professional artisan of kabuki makeup paints a man's face with a pattern of makeup called "Kumadori" at an art event in Tokyo, Japan.
4 Workers carry a log at a timber factory by the river Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
5 A Filipino transgender places shoes of her friend underneath her gown as they prepare to join a transgender parade called "Grand Trans-Santacruzan" as they mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines.
6 A boy rides his bicycle along Third Street of the Alvorada neighborhood in Brazil which is decorated for the 2014 World Cup in Manaus, one of the tournament's host cities, May 17, 2014.
7 Supporters attend a speech by Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi calling for the amendment of the 2008 Constitution at a rally in Aungpinlae Stadium in Mandalay.
8 Canada's Eric Lamaze, riding Powerplay, competes during the International Jumping of France in La Baule-Escoublac, western France.
9 A street performer breathes fire on the eve of the feast day of the town's patron Saint Rita in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines, May 17, 2014.
10 Juventus' supporters hold up banners which read, "With...You", referring to Juventus' coach Antonio Conte, during the Italian Serie A soccer match againt Cagliari at Juventus stadium in Turin.
11 A woman leads her painted buffalo onto a stage during a buffalo bodypainting competition in Jiangcheng county, Yunnan province, China. Artists from eight countries compete for a 100,000 yuan ($16,042) prize reward during the competition, according to local media.
12 Cast members Sylvester Stallone (L), Dolph Lundgren (2ndL), Harrison Ford (2ndR) and Jason Statham pose on a tank as they arrive on the Croisette to promote the film "The Expendables 3" during the 67th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes.
13 Artists of the Catalan theater company "La Fura dels Baus" perform the "Red Humana" (Human Network) play during the Noche Blanca (White Night) festival in Burgos, northern Spain, May 17, 2014.
14 A boy navigates a coin on his face as he participates in parlour games organized by residents during feast day, in honor of their patron saint, Santa Rita De Casia, in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines. The feast day of Santa Rita De Casia, which is celebrated on the third Sunday of the month of May, is observed by residents with colourful street dances and games.
15 Lightening strikes across the sky during a thunderstorm in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, May 17, 2014.
16 A child cheers during a concert by Eurovision Song Contest winner Conchita Wurst of Austria in Vienna.
17 Orthodox Jews of the Satmar Hasidim celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer in the village of Kiryas Joel, New York. Lag Ba'Omer marks the anniversary of the death of Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai approximately 1,900 years ago.
18 An air force officer assists a jumper with his parachute during a War Victory parade in Matara. Sri Lanka held a military parade and memorial for fallen soldiers to mark the fifth anniversary of the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, which ended a quarter-century civil war.
May 19, 2014
1 A Palestinian protester uses a toy gun during clashes with Israeli troops over the controversial Israeli barrier in Kfar Aqab near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
2 A man walks through a field of maize, planted under a film of biodegradable plastic which raises the soil temperature at the start of the season, near the city of Londonderry, Northern Irealand.
3 A woman makes a tower using ice from an overnight hailstorm in the Aclimacao neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
4 Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs of the Swiss Air Force perform at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Selchow near Schoenefeld south of Berlin, Germany.
5 Leader of anti-government protesters Suthep Thaugsuban reacts as he is hugged by a supporter during a march in Bangkok, Thailand.
6 People sit on an oversize picnic table in Soho Square in London.
7 A model wearing a dress made of 1,000 Orchida Vanda petals, designed by Judith Blacklock, poses for photographers in the M & A Garden during media day at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.
8 A floral display at the Chelsea Flower Show in London
9 Boats are seen anchored by the river Buriganga, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
10 A row of statues are seen on the top of a building next to apartment blocks in Beijing, China.
11 A girl sits over the original fossilised femur of a dinosaur displayed at the Egidio Feruglio Museum in the Argentina's Patagonian city of Trelew, May 18, 2014. According to the palaeontologists Jose Luis Carballido and Ruben Cuneo, the fossils are those of a sauropod and preliminary tests date them at some 90 million years old.
12 In this photo provided by Red Bull, Jon Devore, Jeff Provenzano, Amy Chmelecki and Sean MacCormac, of the Red Bull Air Force, fly past the Freedom Tower, lower right, during a wingsuit flight in New York, May 18, 2014.
13 Actress Sarah Gadon reacts as her skirt is blown by the wind during a photo call for Maps to the Stars at the 67th international film festival in Cannes, southern France.
May 20, 2014
1 Thai soldiers take their positions in the middle of a main intersection in Bangkok's shopping district. Thailand's army declared martial law to restore order after six months of anti-government protests which have left the country without a proper functioning government, but the move did not constitute a coup, military officials said.
2 Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, the prime ministerial candidate for India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), bows down in respect at the steps of the parliament house upon his arrival to attend the BJP parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi.
3 Photojournalists run away from a explosion of a tear gas canister, fired by police in a bid to disperse rioting university students in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Public university students started their protests, which are against the planned hiking of fees and lowering of maximum loan awarded to students by the Higher Education Loans Board, local media reported.
4 Mammoth researcher Professor Adrian Lister looks at Lyuba, a baby woolly mammoth considered to be the most complete example of the species ever found, at the Natural History Museum in London, May 19, 2014. Lyuba - "love" in Russian - was discovered frozen in clay and mud in Russia's Yamal Peninsula of Siberia in 2007 and is estimated to have died around 42,000 years ago at one month age.
5 Malawians start voting after polling was delayed by several hours at a voting station in Blantyre's central district during the general elections.
6 Residents try to excavate a car trapped in the mud caused by a landslide at the village of Topcic Polje, near the Bosnian town of Zenica, 90 kilometers north of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
7 Cast member Rachid Youcef jumps during a photocall for the film Geronimo presented as part of the specialsscreenings at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France.
8 Detail of Marion Cotillard's dress is pictured as she poses during a photocall for the film Deux Jours, Une Nuit (Two Days, One Night) in competition at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.
9 A security person struggles with an umbrella as Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) walks out of a plane upon arriving for the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Shanghai, China.
10 A jetliner leaves a vapour trail as it passes in front of the moon in this photo taken from the Algerian capital Algiers.
11 A police officer (top) grabs a man who tries to jump off the seventh floor of a hotel, in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, May 19, 2014. The 32-year-old man attempted to commit suicide after a failed relationship.
12 World Champion Christian Sprenger of Australia swims during a swimming clinic session for children with special needs on the rooftop pool of the Marina Bay Sands resort hotel in Singapore.
13 A white-faced saki is pictured in its enclosure at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin, Germany.
May 21, 2014
1 An Indian boy with his face painted participates in a procession on the occasion of Chandan Yatra festival in Puri, 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar. Chandan Yatra means Sandalwood Voyage, where devotees smear the deities of the Lord with cooling sandalwood paste.
2 Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) walks away after shaking hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before the opening ceremony in the Expo Center during the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in Shanghai, China.
3 A Palestinian girl cries as she walks past her family's house after it was demolished by Israeli bulldozers in Om Ajaj village, north of the West Bank city of Jericho.
4 A sloth peeks out from behind a door on a floating house in the 'Lago do Janauari' near Manaus, Brazil, May 20, 2014.
5 Actress Sophia Loren takes a photo of photographers during a photo call for Human Voice (Voce Umana) at the 67th international film festival in Cannes, southern France.
6 Students of the Krasnoyarsk choreographic college take part in a dress rehearsal of a performance at the State Theater of Opera and Ballet in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, May 20, 2014.
7 A boy cools himself in a fountain just outside Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.
8 Giant pandas from China, Feng Yi (female) and Fu Wa (male) arrive inside their cages at the MASkargo Complex in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pandas were on a 10-year loan to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, local media said.
9 A boy dives out of the water at the Olympic open air public pool in Berlin, Germany.
10 A crow carries twigs in its beak at a park in Tokyo, Japan.
May 22, 2014
1 The 3.2 gigapixel Global Selfie mosaic, hosted by GigaPan, was made with 36,422 individual images that were posted to social media sites on or around Earth Day. NASA asked people around the world to answer a question “Where are you on Earth Right Now?” on social media, with a selfie. The goal was to use each picture as a pixel in the creation of a “Global Selfie” – a mosaic image that would look like Earth appeared from space on Earth Day. People on every continent – 113 countries and regions in all – posted selfies.
2 Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) soldiers ride rubber boats near Eniyabanare Island during a military drill, off Setouchi town on the southern Japanese island of Amami Oshima, Kagoshima prefecture, in this photo taken by Kyodo.
3 A boy gestures with a knife in front of a barricade that is on fire during a protest after French troops opened fire on protesters blocking a road in Bambari, Central African Republic.
4 A hippopotamus has its teeth cleaned by a keeper in its enclosure in Qingdao Wildlife World in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province, China.
5 A police officer fires to disperse people who are protesting the Soma mine disaster that killed 301 miners, in Istanbul, Turkey. A protester was seriously injured during clashes.
6 In this photo released by the Italian Navy, a fishing boat filled with migrants is towed toward the Navy ship San Giorgio that is bound for Sicily.
7 Judge Jennifer Lopez, an American singer and actress, takes a "selfie" during the American Idol XIII 2014 Finale in Los Angeles, California, May 21, 2014.
8 French Navy sailors attend a ceremony in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris.
9 Twenty-one-month-old Adelson Gannod looks at a young male Sumatran tiger while visiting the new $19.5-million tiger habitat at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in San Diego's San Pasqual Valley, USA, May 21, 2014.
10 A model dressed as a mermaid poses in front of the Eiffel Tower during sunrise in Paris.
May 23, 2014
Thai soldiers secure an intersection in downtown Bangkok to prevent pro-government demonstrators from gathering to protest against the coup.
2 A Greek Orthodox monk pours oil into lamps at the tomb of Jesus at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City two days ahead of a visit by Pope Francis to the Holy Land.
3 Graduates hold umbrellas during graduation, as part of a mass dance with more than 4,000 graduates dancing in Ljubljana and other Slovenian towns, according to organizers.
4 French actress Marion Cotillard touches U.S. actor Leonardo Di Caprio on the cheek during an auction at the amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS 2014 event in Antibes at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in France, May 22, 2014.
5 French chocolate maker Jean-Patrice Paci holds a Palme d'Or chocolate creation in his shop during the 67th Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, will be awarded Saturday May 24, 2014.
6 Passengers stuck on a bus in the middle of a protest look on as Members of the Homeless Workers Movement march against money spent on World Cup preparations in Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 22, 2014. The upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup starts 12 June.
7 Pavlo Klets, 24, rides a Tyrolean traverse over the Dnipro River, suspended by a cable wire with metal clamps pierced directly into the skin of his back to set a national record for the longest distance travelled on a Tyrolean traverse.
8 People look through a light installation on the opening night of the Vivid Sydney light and music festival in Australia.
9 A dog sleeps in front of Buddhist monks begging for alms outside a temple near Government House in Bangkok, Thailand.
10 Prairie dog cubs play with their mother at the Hannover Zoo in Germany, May 22, 2014.
May 25, 2014
1 A judge watches the leather ring held by two competitors with their middle fingers at the Alps Finger Wrestling championships in Reichertshofen, southern Germany. Competitors battle for the title in this traditional rural sport where the winner has to pull his opponent over a marked line on the table.
2 A man prepares a ballot in a booth at a polling station in the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillya. Ukraine held a presidential election seen as the most important in the country's history as it battles a deadly pro-Russian insurrection in the east.
3 Shi'ite pilgrims beat themselves as a sign of grief at the holy shrine of the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim during the annual commemoration of the saint's death at Kazimiyah district of Baghdad, Iraq.
4 Pope Francis touches the wall that divides Israel from the West Bank, on his way to celebrate a mass in Manger Square next to the Church of the Nativity, believed by many to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
5 Soldiers take up positions to block protesters against military rule at a shopping district in central Bangkok, Thailand. Military tightened its grip on power as it moved to douse smouldering protests fuelled by social media and to rally commercial agencies and business to revitalize a battered economy.
6 A anti-coup protester holds a banner at Amarin Plaza in central Bangkok, Thailand. (Steve Herman/VOA)
7 Pedestrians walk through of the field of United States flags displayed by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund on the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. The 37,000 U.S. flags are planted in memory of every fallen Massachusetts service member from the Revolutionary War to the present.
8 Motorist wait for the annual Rolling Thurnder motorcycle rally in the Pentagon parking lot in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day weekend. (Dimitris Manis/VOA Greek Service)
9 About 1,400 electoral officials sort ballot papers after the conclusion of voting in the European Parliament elections at the Messe in Munich, Germany.
10 A white peacock opens its plumage at Nogeyama Zoo in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, Japan.
11 Paramilitary policemen demolish a building after an earthquake hit Yingjiang county, Yunnan province, May 24, 2014. At least 13 people were injured after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Yingjiang county in southwest China, Xinhua News Agency reported.
12 A Hindu devotee with coconuts attached to his body with pins, walks on hot coal during anniversary celebrations of a Hindu temple in Rangoon, Burma.
13 A woman's face is projected onto an art sculpture on the third night of the Vivid Sydney light and music festival, Australia.
May 26, 2014
1 Kashmiri government employees demonstrate as riot police spray purple-dyed water during a protest march in Srinagar. Indian police detained dozens of government employees as they tried to stage a protest march demanding the regularisation of contractual jobs and an increase in salary.
2 Guests and members of the media watch as the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft is rolled out to the launch pad by train at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for May 29 and will send Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, ESA, and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA on a five and a half month mission aboard the International Space Station.
3 Service towers move towards the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft set on its launch pad at Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
4 Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (center, R) and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (centre, L) walk as they attend a welcoming ceremony at the state guest house in Tokyo.
5 Real Madrid's Iker Casillas (R) and Sergio Ramos hold up the Champions League trophy during a victory ceremony at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, May 25, 2014. Real Madrid won its 10th Champions League title after beating Atletico Madrid in the final match in Lisbon.
6 A litter of white Bengal tiger cubs at the White Zoo in Kernhof, Austria. The five cubs were born at the private zoo on May 25, 2014.
7 U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
8 Sri Lankans hold on to the sides of a passenger train in Colombo.
9 India’s new prime minister Narendra Modi, center left, shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, right, and Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, second right, watch during Modi’s inauguration in New Delhi. Modi took the oath of office as India's new prime minister at the sprawling presidential palace, a moment made more historic by the presence of the leader of archrival Pakistan.
10 Kurdish militants clash with Turkish riot police at Lice in Diyarbakir, as Kurdish demonstrators clash to protest against construction of a new gendarmerie outpost in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey.
11 Two men paddle in a canoe on a flooded road in Trysil, southeast Norway. Rain and melted snow have increased the water level in the river Trysilelva.
12 An aerial view of decommissioned German-made Marder fighting vehicles in the compound of the Koch Battle Tank Dismantling firm in the eastern village of Rockensussra, some 300 km (186 miles) south west of Berlin.
13 Competitors tumble down Coopers Hill in pursuit of a round Double Gloucester cheese during the annual cheese rolling and wake near the village of Brockworth near Gloucester in western England. With a disputed history dating back to at least the 1800s, the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling involves hordes of fearless competitors chasing an eight-pound Double Gloucester cheese down a steep hill.
May 27, 2014
1 Passengers line up and wait for a security check during morning rush hour at Tiantongyuan North Station in Beijing. China tightened security checks at subway stations following an attack in country's troubled Xinjiang region which killed 31 people on May 22.
2 Women attend a prayer meeting calling on the government to rescue the kidnapped girls of the government secondary school in Chibok, in Abuja, Nigeria.
3 An Afghan laborer polishes a metal pot at an aluminium workshop in Herat.
4 People take pictures of released floating lanterns dedicated to deceased loved ones during a ceremony marking remembrance and reflection, held by Shinnyo-en Buddhists honoring victims of war, famine, and natural disasters on Memorial Day, at Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, May 26, 2014.
5 A tea delivery boy with empty tea pots attached to a rope hang on to his forehead, collects empty tea cups and tea-pots from an outdoor telephone stand in Rangoon, Burma.
6 French UMP conservative party member and former minister Nadine Morano, center, addresses reporters outside the French National Assembly in Paris. The leader of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative party is resigning amid a scandal over financing of Sarkozy's losing 2012 presidential campaign.
7 Spanish bullfighter Roman grabs the horn of a Guadaira ranch fighting bull after being tossed during a bullfight at the San Isidro fair in Madrid, Spain, May 26, 2014.
8 A child wearing a costume performs a tea ceremony ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival in Shenyang, Liaoning province. The festival is commemorated in memory of Chinese patriotic poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in 277 B.C.
9 Two men play drums while practicing choreography for a parade in Panama City, May 26, 2014.
10 Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley tries to reach a 2-RBI double hit over his head by Atlanta Braves' Justin Upton during the third inning of a baseball game in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 26, 2014.
May 28, 2014
1 Afghan schoolchildren sit outdoors at an open classroom in Ghazni.
2 The 2014 graduating class of the U.S. Military Academy toss their hats during commencement ceremonies at West Point, New York.
3 Underclassmen listen from the back of the stadium as U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a commencement ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
4 A handout picture released by the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) shows Aisha Abdala, a displaced woman from Katila, South Darfur, cooking next to her shelter at the al-Sereif camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Nyala, South Darfur, Sudan.
5 Mounted police try to impede native Brazilians from marching towards the Mane Garrincha soccer stadium during an anti-world cup demonstration in Brasilia, May 27, 2014.
6 An Afghan immigrant uses a blanket to keep warm near makeshift shelters before he was evacuated by French police from an improvised camp in Calais, northern France.
7 Students console one another at the University of California Santa Barbara's Harder Stadium during a memorial service in honor of the victims of Isla Vista rampage in Santa Barbara, California.
8 A sub-Saharan migrant sits on top of a pole set in a metallic fence that divides Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
9 Protesters scuffle with Thai soldiers during an anti-coup demonstration at the Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand.
10 People take a rest around an artificial pond with images of carp at the bottom, in Tokyo, Japan.
11 U.S. singer Miley Cyrus performs during the World Music Awards at Monte Carlo Sporting Club in Monaco, May 27, 2014.
12 Slovakia's Anna Schmiedlova returns the ball to USA's Venus Williams during the French tennis Open second round match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France.
May 29, 2014
1 Firefighters try to douse the flames after a fire broke out in a commercial building at a textile market in Surat in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The cause of the fire is being investigated and no causality is reported, fire officials said.
2 A female member of the honor guard looks on ahead of a welcoming ceremony for Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak outside the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China.
3 Italy's Camila Giorgi returns the ball to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova during the French tennis Open second round match at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France.
4 Afghan refugee children play with plastic bags as kites as the sun sets on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.
5 Well-wishers hand cold drinks to Thai soldiers securing the area to prevent an anti-coup demonstration at Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand.
6 Speller Jacob Daniel Williamson of Cape Coral, Florida, reacts after he correctly spelled a word during round five of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland.
7 Mexico's fans perform before the start of the of the Mexico vs Israel friendly football match at Azteca stadium in Mexico City, May 28, 2014.
8 Statues, called "Survivors" created by Indonesian artist Dadang Christanto, are erected at the site that has been overwhelmed by mud oozing from a mud volcano, in Porong, East Java, Indonesia. The statues were installed to commemorate the 8th year since the mud volcano.
9 In this photograph received by Himex, the organizers of the Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon, marathon participants run at the start of the race at Gorapshep near Mount Everest Base camp in Nepal.
10 This handout picture taken and released by Japan's Coast Guard shows black smoke rising from a 998-ton oil tanker off the coast of Hyogo prefecture, around 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of Tokyo.
11 Indian villagers participate in an annual fishing festival at Haripur in Bhargavi River,on the outskirts of the eastern city of Bhubaneswar.
12 Actress Elle Fanning arrives at the world premiere of "Maleficent" at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California, May 28, 2014.
13 Lightning illuminates the sky over downtown Monterrey, Mexico, May 28, 2014.
14 He Liang rides his home-made suitcase vehicle along a street in Changsha, Hunan province, China, May 28, 2014. He spent 10 years modifying the suitcase into a motor-driven vehicle. The suitcase has a top speed of up to 20km/h and the power capacity to travel up to 50-60km after one charge, according to local media.
15 People look at the Russia's Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew of European Space Agency's German astronaut Alexander Gerst, Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and U.S. NASA astronaut Gregory Wiseman blasting off from the launch pad at Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome.
16 The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-13M space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
May 30, 2014
1 People mourn translator Andrei Mironov, 60, who was killed along with Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli during fighting in eastern Ukraine, at a memorial service in Moscow. One of the last political prisoners to be held during the Soviet era, Mironov dedicated the rest of his life to exposing human rights abuses.
2 Policemen of the "Choque" special unit pose during the presentation of security forces for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, in Flamengo beach in Rio de Janeiro.
3 Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union shout slogans during a protest against a gang rape of two teenage girls in Katra village, outside the Uttar Pradesh state house, in New Delhi, India.
4 A soldier takes up position in front of a large screen at the Victory Monument, where anti-coup protesters were gathering on previous days, in Bangkok, Thailand.
5 Mons. Fabio Fabene, right, is embraceed by Pope Francis during his Episcopal Ordination, at the Vatican.
6 A Bangladeshi man works at a factory that manufactures plastic mannequins in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Workers at the factory earn less than US $5 a day.
7 Kashmiri Muslim women offer prayers following celebrations for "Meeraj-un-Nabi" at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar. Thousands thronged to the shrine, which houses a relic believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammed, to celebrate concluding ceremonies of the ascension of Prophet Mohammed to Heaven.
8 A mine artist covered in newspapers and reading a book sits between stalls on the opening day of the annual book fair in Madrid, Spain.
9 Rotary members and friends climb Sydney Harbour Bridge in an attempt to break the Guiness World Record for the most people on the bridge at one time and the most flags on the bridge at one time in Sydney, Australia. The number of people on the bridge, 340, beat the previous record of 316. The number of different international flags flown, 219, beat the previous record of 143.
10 Participants of the Khamoro World Roma Festival dance through the historical center of Prague, Czech Republic. The festival aims to showcase Roma culture and improve relations between society and members of the Roma community.
11 A seven-week-old white lion cub plays at a private zoo in Abony, east of Budapest, Hungary.
12 Colombia's Nairo Quintana pedals on his way to win the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Itay cycling race, in Bassano del Grappa.
13 A man takes a nap on a cushion which is displayed as a promotional event of a fashion brand at a shopping mall in Beijing. Temperatures reached 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 F) since it hit a record high of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) Thursday, the highest since 1951.
14 A woman jogs at the seaside of Alimos in front of a tree during a windy day, Athens, Greece.
