May 24, 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama reviews the honor guard at Buckingham Palace. Obama and the First Lady traveled to the U.K. at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II for a two-day state visit, during which they attended a state banquet and Obama addressed both houses of Parliament.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images
This week: Obama tours Europe, the Grimsvoetn volcano erupts; tornadoes and floods hit the US; fighting continues on Misratah’s frontline; a Slovakian hospital provides music therapy for newborn babies; and shuttle astronaut Andrew Fuestel walks in space.
May 24, 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama reviews the honor guard at Buckingham Palace. Obama and the First Lady traveled to the U.K. at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II for a two-day state visit, during which they attended a state banquet and Obama addressed both houses of Parliament.
Christopher Furlong—Getty ImagesMay 23, 2011. A suspect is handcuffed and blindfolded in the Marjah district of Helmand province in Afghanistan after being captured by U.S. Marines. He was detained along with 11 others in a raid that day.
Massoud Hossaini—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 25, 2011. Cadets from the 2011 graduating class of the U.S. Air Force Academy arrive at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 1,021 graduates were to receive their diplomas in front of their families, dignitaries and the public at the annual event. John Moore—Getty ImagesMay 23, 2011. Freshmen at the U.S. Naval Academy make a human wall to ease their classmates’ climb to the top of the Herndon Monument at the Academy in Annapolis, Md. The climb is a yearly tradition, during which plebes attempt to replace a sailor’s hat placed atop the greased monument with an officer’s hat.Mark Wilson—Getty ImagesMay 21, 2011. A cloud of smoke and ash is seen over the Grimsvoetn volcano in Iceland. The cloud rising up from Grimsvoetn's eruption was seen first time around 1900 GMT. In less than an hour it had reached an altitude of 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) according to the Icelandic Meteorological Institute. AFP/Getty ImagesMay 26, 2011. Surfers paddle past icebergs covered in ash from the Grimsvotn volcanic eruption, in the glacier lagoon at the base of Vatnajokull, Iceland.Ingolfur Juliusson—ReutersMay 23, 2011. Young Israelis collect rocks to build a stone wall in the E1 area of the West Bank. About two dozen right-wing Israelis have begun to settle in E1, claiming what they say is Israel’s right to build and live on the land.
Kobi Gideon—EPAMay 21, 2011. Lightning from a severe thunderstorm flashes in the distance beyond a crucifix in a cemetery near Easton, Kansas. Charlie Riedel—APMay 21, 2011. A boy runs next to bonfires lit in Bnei Brak, Israel to celebrate the ultra-Orthodox Jewish holiday of Lag Ba’Omer. The festival marks the passing of the rabbi believed to have been the first to publicly teach the mystical elements of the Torah known as the Kabbalah.
Ariel Schalit—APMay 24, 2011. A destroyed tank belonging to forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi is seen near Misrata's western front line, some 16 miles from the city center. Zohra Bensemra—ReutersMay 26, 2011. Rebel fighters take part in training in Giminis. The government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has contacted foreign states offering an immediate ceasefire, but there was skepticism that the proposal could end the three-month-old conflict. Mohammed Salem—ReutersMay 21, 2011. In this photo taken on a tour organized by the Libyan government, soot is wiped from a Moammar Gadhafi poster in a building that was bombed and burnt earlier this week, in Tripoli, Libya. Officials said the offices in the building were used to follow up on corruption cases against individuals and ministries. Darko Bandic—APMay 22, 2011. Destroyed mannequins litter Tripoli Street in Misratah, Libya. The port city has sustained some of the heaviest fighting between rebel forces and troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. Many shops remain closed amid the violence. Zohra Bensemra—ReutersMay 25, 2011. A newborn baby rests in a box while listening to music played through earphones in Saca Hospital in Kosice, east Slovakia. The hospital uses music as therapy for newborn babies when they are separated from their mothers. Petr Josek—ReutersMay 25, 2011. A firefighters battles a blaze at a recycling plant Wednesday, in the Bridesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia. No injuries were reported. Matt Rourke—APMay 25, 2011. Pakistani girls react as they get caught in a sand storm in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.Muhammed Muheisen—APMay 22, 2011. A Filipino boy blows powder out of a plastic cup using a straw during a game as part of celebrations of the feast day of Saint Rita de Cascia in suburban Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines. The fiestas, a festive time for family and friendly reunions, were held in towns throughout the Philippines. Aaron Favila—APMay 21, 2011. An aerial picture shows locals navigating a boat down a flooded farm in the municipality of Cajica, on the northern outskirts of Bogota, Colombia. Heavy rains over the past three days in Colombia have killed 128 people and affected more than 480,000.Guillermo Legaria—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 21, 2011. A demonstrator hits the pavement after being sprayed with a water cannon by police in Valparaíso, Chile. Protesters staged their campaign during President Sebastián Piñera’s annual state-of-the-nation address in order to gain attention for their complaints about Piñera’s labor, education and environmental policies. Ariel Marinkovic—AFP/Getty ImagesMay 23, 2011. Mohammad Alishan, a performer from India's eastern state of Jharkhand, performs a stunt as he drives a car on the walls of a "Well of Death" at a fair in Srinagar. The performers earn their livelihood by performing daredevil stunts by driving their bikes and cars on the walls of the "Well of Death" and attract a large number of spectators from all walks of life. Fayaz Kabli—ReutersMay 22, 2011. NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel performs an extravehicular activity (EVA in space talk) during the latest mission to the International Space Station. NASA is planning one last shuttle launch, in July, to the ISS, after which U.S. astronauts will hitch rides on other nations’ spacecraft until the next U.S. manned-vehicle program is launched. NASA TV/HANDOUT/epaMay 20, 2011. A school bus is nearly drowned by floodwaters from the rising Mississippi River in St. Francisville, La., on May 20. Officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of the town as heavy rains continued to push water levels to dangerous heights all along the Mississippi.
Gerald Herbert—AP
