Norouz celebrations, Ukrainian protests, and parachuting priests.
Photos Of The Week -- March 17-23
1
Spectators try to catch sweets thrown to the public during a Norouz (New Year) celebration in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 21. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)
2
Wearing their traditional costumes men cook a dish made from wheat germ called "semene" as they celebrate Norouz in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, on March 22. (AFP)
3
Afghan boys selling balloons wait for customers on the second day of Norouz celebrations in Kabul on March 21. (AFP/Shah Marai)
4
Kyrgyz girls wearing traditional costumes dance on Ala-Too Square in Bishkek as part of Norouz celebrations on March 21. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledo)
5
Kurdish Iraqis hold burning torches as they celebrate Norouz in Irbil on March 21. (EPA/Kamal Akrayi)
6
Russian Orthodox priests from the Airborne Forces undergo practical training before parachute jumps at the Ryazan Higher Airborne School outside Moscow on March 21. (AFP/Andrey Smirnov)
7
President Barack Obama walks past a pumpjack on his way to deliver remarks on energy independence at the Maljamar Cooperative Association Unit in New Mexico on March 21. (Reuters/Jason Reed)
8
A U.S. Army soldier rests among the luggage of other soldiers on March 23 while waiting for a flight home to the United States after finishing a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. (Reuters/Erik De Castro)
9
A pigeon in mid-flight close to the Hazrat-e Ali shrine in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, on March 23. (AFP/Johannes Eisele)
10
Ukrainian opposition activists attend an antigovernment protest rally on Independence Square in central Kyiv on March 22. (Reuters/Anatolii Stepanov)
11
Somali police arrest a suspected member of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab group on Lido Beach on March 23. (Reuters/Feisal Omar)
12
A Pakistani child sells beverages on a beach in Karachi on the eve of UN World Water Day on March 21. (AFP/Rizwan Tabassum)
13
A farmer carries cucumbers from his field to sell at markets in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on March 22. (Reuters/Jitendra Prakash)
14
Musicians from Ukraine's Border Guards band take part in a show to present a new soccer anthem in the arrival area of Borispol airport on March 21 ahead of the Euro 2012 tournament. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
15
An Egyptian Coptic Christian boy looks down from the roof of Bishoy Monastery in Beheira Province on March 20. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)
16
A visitor passes by paintings of Vladimir Putin that are being exhibited at an art gallery in St. Petersburg on March 22. (Reuters/Alexander Demianchuk)
17
Tuvan inmates pray in a Buddhist prayer room at a male prison camp outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on March 22. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)