June 12, 2011. A butterfly flutters amid the flowers in Arizona’s Apache National Forest. One of the worst wildfires in the state’s history smolders nearby.Kevork Djansezian—Getty Images
This week: A butterfly in the midst of the Arizona wildfire; balloons of peace and protest; the world’s tallest statue of Christ; demonstrations in Greece; a “kissing couple” amongst the rioting hockey fans in Vancouver; a flaming blimp; a capsized catamaran; a spectacular crash at the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race; and a lunar eclipse.
June 12, 2011. A butterfly flutters amid the flowers in Arizona’s Apache National Forest. One of the worst wildfires in the state’s history smolders nearby.Kevork Djansezian—Getty ImagesJune 13, 2011. Canadian soldiers from the 6th Platoon, Bulldog Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Royal Regiment search inside a barn during a patrol in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.Baz Ratner—ReutersJune 12, 2011. A shoreline birthday party gone awry? Not quite. On Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana beach, a group of firefighters staged a demonstration featuring 439 red balloons, each representing a colleague who was arrested following protests demanding pay hikes. The firefighters, like the balloons, were later released.Felipe Dana—APJune 11, 2011. A horse waits to be led onto the track at the 143rd Belmont Stakes, in Elmont, N.Y. Ruler on Ice was the surprise winner of the featured race, the third leg of the Triple Crown; the 24-to-1 longshot outran Animal Kingdom and Shackleford, who had taken the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, respectively.Andrew Burton—ReutersJune 12, 2011. Libyan rebel fighters take a rest near the town of Ryayna after trying to cut off forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. The rebels have made progress in their fight for freedom, but they, along with their Western allies, are still a long way from taking Gaddafi’s stronghold in Tripoli. Colin Summers—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 13, 2011. In San Francisco Bay, a sailor, left, falls onto the wing of an Oracle Racing AC45 catamaran after it capsized during an exhibition race to promote the 34th America’s Cup. No injuries were sustained—except for “egos bruised,” joked one of the men on board.
Beck Diefenbach—ReutersJune 12, 2011. A Pakistani boy, bloodied by one of two bomb explosions that rocked the northwestern city of Peshawar, lies in a hospital bed. The terrorist attacks, for which no group has claimed responsibility, killed more than 30 people and injured nearly 100 others.Mohammad Zubair—APJune 12, 2011. People bath in front a cargo ship which ran aground due to rough weather at Juhu beach in Mumbai, India. According to media reports, the Wisdom, an 175-meter-long ship broke away due to rough weather.Divyakant Solanki—EPAJune 16, 2011. View of the 37-meter (120-foot) high statue "Christ of the Pacific", still under construction on top of a hill in Lima. Peruvian President Alan Garcia's plans to build the world's tallest Christ statue has angered local residents, who fear the soaring monument will mar the city's skyline. Ernesto Benavides—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 17, 2011. Catholic nuns hold dove-shaped balloons during a mass for peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula at Imjingak Peace Park in Paju, near the demilitarized zone separating North Korea from South Korea. About 20,000 South Korean Catholics participated in the mass on Friday. Lee Jae-Won—ReutersJune 15, 2011. A gust of wind lifts Pope Benedict XVI's mantle as he leaves after the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican.
Alessandro Bianchi—ReutersJune 16, 2011. A firefighter extinguishes a car following an explosion in Abuja, Nigeria. A suicide bombing in the parking lot of police headquarters in Nigeria's capital killed two people Thursday, police said.Felix Onigbinde—APJune 10, 2011. Children play at the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition "the transfinite" at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The audio visual installation, features two back-to-back screens displaying a continual loop of sounds, fragments of numbers and strobe-lit patterns that echo the Japanese artist's interest in mathematics, the subconscious and the digital world. Spencer Platt—Getty ImagesJune 14, 2011. Pakistani women and a bird look on as the sun is reflected in the waters of the River Ravi during a heatwave in Lahore. Heatwave conditions in Pakistan have brought a high of 47 degrees Celsius to some parts of the country. Arif Ali—AFP/Getty ImagesJune 13, 2011. A man bathes, with the help of chains suspended from a bridge, in the rapidly flowing waters of the Ganges River in Haridwar, India. Devout Hindus consider Haridwar one of the holiest cities in India, and millions of pilgrims bathe in the Ganges’ waters every year, believing that the ritual washes away their sins.Vivek Prakash—ReutersJune 11, 2011. Scottish driver Allan McNish in his Audi Nr 3 crashes after hitting a barrier during the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race in France. McNish escaped serious injury in this accident that involved Audi R18 and the Ferrari 458 driven by Anthony Beltoise.Denis Lambert — MaxPPP/EPAJune 13, 2011. Translators are seen in their cubicles during a debate at the 20th World Economic Forum on East Asia, held in Jakarta. An emerging market of 600 million consumers has helped fuel robust economic growth in Southeast Asia.
Beawiharta—ReutersJune 10, 2011. A leaflet is placed on a beggar as supporters of the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest in Bangkok's financial district. Protesters urged people not to vote for any political parties in upcoming elections scheduled for July 3.Damir Sagolj—ReutersJune 15, 2011. Protestors clash with riot police during a demonstration near the parliament in the center of Athens. Thousands of demonstrators besieged the Greek parliament in a large anti-austerity protest marred by violence, leaving at least a dozen injured ahead of a critical reform vote in parliament. Aris Messinis—AFPJune 14, 2011. Sheep and cattle are shepherded at Altay grassland during the seasonal livestock migration in Altay, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.Liu Xinhai—ChinaFotoPress/NewscomJune 14, 2011. Soldiers looks down at a dummy after attaching it to a stretcher during the Army Medical Command's Best Warrior competition at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In addition to the simulations, the five-day competition includes a combatives tournament, nighttime navigation, written and oral exams and rifle qualifications. Andrew Craft—Fayetteville Observer/Zuma PressJune 15, 2011. A couple kisses in the street as riot police patrol in Vancouver, Canada. Riots broke out after the city's hockey team, the Canucks, lost in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Rich Lam—Getty ImagesJune 14, 2011. Balloons with bras fly as part of a demonstration on the National Women's Day (Frauenstreiktag) in Bern. Pascal Lauener—ReutersJune 10, 2011. A grad-to-be looks towards the audience for her fans. More than 1,000 graduated at the biological sciences ceremony held at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California. Cindy Yamanaka—The Orange County Register/Zuma PressJune 12, 2011. A Goodyear blimp caught fire and plunged to earth near the Hessentag festival grounds in Oberursel, Germany. The blimp’s Australian pilot, Michael Nerandzic, was killed in the accident but saved the lives of his three passengers. Before the blimp hit the ground, he instructed the passengers when to jump to safety.EPAJune 15, 2011. Syrian refugee children walk over bricks stored for road repairs during a spontaneous protest against Syrian President Bashar Assad, in a camp in Yayladagi,Turkey. Syria's government is calling for the return of thousands of refugees who fled to Turkey to escape violence.Vadim Ghirda—APJune 14, 2011. Dining chairs designed by Jordanian Khaled Sharaan are displayed in Amman, before the collection is sent to an auction house in London. The dining chairs collection, "The Never Ending Dinner," includes images which the artist considers to be controversial leaders who lived throughout modern history. Ali Jarekji—ReutersJune 15, 2011. A shadow falls on the moon during a lunar eclipse at the ancient Colosseum in Rome.Alessandro Bianchi—ReutersJune 13, 2011. A Canadian soldier walks through a poppy field in southern Afghanistan. After nearly 10 years of fighting, Canada will end its combat role in Afghanistan at the end of July.
Baz Ratner—Reuters
