Closeup: Best Pictures of the Week, April 15 – April 22
Closeup: Best Pictures of the Week, April 15 – April 22
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April 17, 2011. Over the course of three days, as many as 241 tornadoes touched down in the southern U.S., leaving at least 45 dead and destroying hundreds of homes, including those in this Fayetteville, N.C., subdivision.Andrew Craft—The Fayetteville Observer
This week: An image from photographer Chris Hondros’ final assignment, taken on the day he was killed in Libya; wild fires in Mexico; the Gulf of Mexico, one year after the BP oil spill; Holy Week celebrations; and a cherry blossom tree blooming amid the devastation left by Japan’s tsunami.
April 17, 2011. Over the course of three days, as many as 241 tornadoes touched down in the southern U.S., leaving at least 45 dead and destroying hundreds of homes, including those in this Fayetteville, N.C., subdivision.Andrew Craft—The Fayetteville ObserverApril 20, 2011. Chris Hondros photographed a rebel fighter braving a burning stairwell in pursuit of government troops while ensconced in a building on Tripoli Street in Misratah, Libya, on April 20. Later that day, Hondros and photographer Tim Hetherington were killed covering the battle between the rebels and Gaddafi loyalists.Chris Hondros—Getty Images April 17, 2011. A group of deer walk through one of the affected areas of Coahuila, Mexico, where wild fires have destroyed more than 103 hectares of forest and bushes. EPAApril 17, 2011. A 300-year-old Camphor tree is seen at Lingjiao village in Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province of China. The tree was hit by lighting and central trunk was burned out. Wang Guohong—ChinaFotoPress/Zuma PressApril 18, 2011. A girl looks away from U.S. and Afghan army troops in Jelawar, Afghanistan. Days before in nearby Kandahar, the local police chief, who was optimistic that Afghan forces were succeeding in making the city safer from militant attacks, was killed by a suspected Taliban suicide bomber.
Bob Strong—Reuters18 April 2011. A dead Lesser Heron lies in the surf while public beaches remain closed due to oil matts buried under fresh sand and tar matts slowly coming ashore in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, USA. A year on from an explosion on board the mobile offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico triggered the worst oil spill in US history. Beach cleaning will be impeded by migratory and nesting birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Bevil Knapp—EPAApril 16, 2011. A contestant flexes her muscles in the Amateur Women’s Classic Bodybuilding competition at FIBO 2011 in Essen, Germany. The contest is part of the annual trade show for the health, fitness and wellness industry.
Ina Fassbender—ReutersApril 21, 2011. Children play on wooden crosses as they mimic the crucifixion in the village of Cutud, in San Fernando, Pampanga province, north of Manila, ahead of the traditional Good Friday Easter celebratations where penintents are nailed to the cross. The bloody acts are among the Roman Catholic world's most bizarre events to mark the day when Christians believe Jesus Christ was put to death 2,000 years ago. Ted Aljibe—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 17, 2011. Pope Benedict XVI peers through incense during the liturgical celebration of Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope spoke to young people in his address, imploring, “Let us show the Lord that we desire to be righteous, and let us ask him, ‘Draw us upward! Make us pure!’”
Fabio FrustaciI—Eidon/UPPA/Zuma PressApril 17, 2011. Sky clouded by sand in Beijing, China as sandstorms hit the area the third time in this year. Feng Li—Getty ImagesApril 18, 2011. A doll and gas masks are pictured on a bed within a rooms in the ghost city of Pripyat in the heart of Chernobyl, Ukraine. To check its structure and radiation levels, specialists regularly venture inside the concrete cover sheltering the ruined reactor that exploded on April 26, 1986. Sergei Supinsky—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 17, 2011. During Holy Week in Seville, Spain, penitents walk to church before leading processions to the local cathedral in celebration of Easter. The processions attract devout Catholics and visitors alike, who go to see elaborate floats depicting scenes from the Passion.
Marcelo del Pozo—ReutersApril 16, 2011. A horseman performs with his Spanish thoroughbred in Coin, Spain, during the annual Sacab Andalusian Horse Show. The event features a well-respected show of Spain’s top purebreds.
Jon Nazca—ReutersApril 18, 2011. Set elements for Andrea Chénier, an opera which takes place during the French Revolution, emerge from the water in Bregenz, Austria. The production is part of the annual Bregenz Festival, which takes place in July on Lake Constance.
Miro Kuzmanovic—ReutersApril 19, 2011. Soldiers from the 'Invisible Commandos,' loyal to Ibrahim Coulibaly, practice ambush techniques without weapons in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Commander Hamed Traore says recruits from Abobo have already learned how to use arms, while defending PK-18 against soldiers loyal to strongman Laurent Gbagbo. Now, their training focuses on discipline, respect for hierarchy, and military techniques. Rebecca Blackwell—APApril 18, 2011. A room in the destroyed residence of Ivory Coast former strongman Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan. The west African country's main city slowly returned to normal after 10 days of fighting that finally led to Gbagbo's ouster. The ex-president is under house arrest in the north of the country while former rebel fighters loyal to President Alassane Ouattara patrol Abidjan along with UN peacekeepers and troops from France. Issouf Sanogo—AFP/Getty ImagesApril 21, 2011. A man works on the roof of a campaign hospital built by the "Expedicionarios da Saude" (Brazilian Health Expeditions) on the first day of the medical expedition at the Kayapo tribe in Sao Felix, northern Brazil. The organization is currently on a medical expedition to the area with volunteer doctors who twice a year build a mobile hospital to provide clinical and surgical treatment for indigenous tribes and residents from different parts of the Amazonian rainforest.Ricardo Moraes—ReutersApril, 17, 2011. Cyclists ride during the fifth stage of the Vuelta de Castilla y Leon cycling race over 167 kilometers (104 miles) between Madrigal de la Altas Torres and Medina del Campo, in Valladolid, Spain.Israel Lopez—AP April 18, 2011. Soldiers with red carnations in the barrels of their guns take part in the Army Day military parade in Tehran, Iran.Caren Firouz—ReutersApril 18, 2011. Cherry blossoms cover a tree in an area destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Natori, Japan. Yasuyoshi Chiba—AFP/Getty Images
