Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's broadcast region and beyond. For more photo galleries, see our <strong><a href="http://www.rferl.org/archive/rferl-photo-blog/latest/16235/16235.html" target="_blank">"Picture This"</a></strong> archive.
Photos Of The Week #12
1
Afghans gather near a shrine to celebrate the Afghan New Year (Norouz) in Kabul on March 21. (epa/Sabawoon)
2
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is silhouetted against the sky as she arrives for a session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin on March 20. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)
3
Ukrainian servicemen watch a TV broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a law that ratifies a treaty making Crimea part of Russia, at a Ukrainian military base in the Crimean town of Belbek on March 21. (Reuters//Vasily Fedosenko)
4
Azerbaijani enthusiasts of Varzesh-e Pahlavani, an ancient Iranian martial art, perform during celebrations of the Persian New Year, known as Noruoz, in Baku on March 19. (AFP/Tofiq Babayev)
5
Israeli street performers run along next to a marathon contestant as they pass the Old City walls and the Tower of David complex during the fourth annual Jerusalem Marathon. (AFP/Jim Hollander)
6
A woman dressed in national costume offers traditional local dishes during Norouz celebrations in Bishkek. (epa/Igor Kovalenko)
7
An elderly man sells plastic bags at the central market in Chisinau, Moldova. (AFP/Daniel/Mihailescu)
9
Iraqi Kurdish people carry torches up a mountain where a giant flag of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region is laid, as they celebrate Norouz Day, a festival marking their spring and new year, near Dahuk, on March 20. (Reuters/Azad Lashkari)
10
Afghan zookeeper Qurban Ali (right) attempts to intervene as Marjan, a lion (center), plays at his cage in Kabul's zoo. (AFP/Shah Marai)
11
Supporters of Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai attend an election campaign rally in Konduz Province. (Reuters/Ahmad Masood)
12
Two women, believed to be Ukrainian servicewomen, carry their uniforms as they walk past an armed man, believed to be a Russian serviceman, while leaving a military base in Perevalnoye, near Simferopol in Crimea on March 19. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)
13
A Ukrainian MI-8 military helicopter is seen near the village of Salkovo in the Kherson region adjacent to Crimea on March 18. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
14
Kyrgyz horsemen participate in the traditional Central Asian sport of Kok-Boru (goat dragging) in Bishkek. (epa/Igor Kovalenko)
15
A man drapes the Russian flag on his shoulders as he stands on the coast of the Bay of Sevastopol, Crimea. (epa/Zurab Kursikidze)
16
A woman holds a portrait of Russia's President Vladimir Putin as others wave Russian flags as the preliminary results of referendum on Crimea joining Russia are announced on March 16. (Reuters/Baz Ratner)
17
An Iraqi Kurd woman visits a graveyard for the victims of a gas attack by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 1988, as people mark the 26th anniversary of the attack in the Kurdish town of Halabja on March 16. (AFP/Safin Hamed)
18
Members of a "Maidan" self-defense battalion take part in training at a Ukrainian Interior Ministry base near Kyiv on March 17. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
19
A man holds a Crimean flag outside the parliament building in central Simferopol on March 17 after the region declared independence from Ukraine following a referendum on March 16. (AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)
20
Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with the Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Jurf al-Sakhar on March 17. (Reuters/Alaa al-Marjani)