December 17, 2011. Egyptian army soldiers arrest a female protester during clashes at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Soldiers beat demonstrators with batons in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday in a second day of clashes that have killed nine people and wounded more than 300, marring the first free election most Egyptians can remember.Reuters
From the North Korean’s reaction to the death of Kim Jong II and a devastating typhoon in the Philippines to a violent assault by Egyptian soldiers on a woman protester TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week.
December 17, 2011. Egyptian army soldiers arrest a female protester during clashes at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Soldiers beat demonstrators with batons in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday in a second day of clashes that have killed nine people and wounded more than 300, marring the first free election most Egyptians can remember.ReutersDecember. 20, 2011. Egyptian women angered by the recent violence used against them in clashes between army soldiers and protesters, one carrying a poster with a picture of a woman assaulted by soldiers, chant anti military slogans during rally that ended in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt. The country's ruling generals are coming under mounting criticism at home and abroad for the military's use of excessive force against unarmed protesters, including women, as they try to crush the pro-democracy movement calling for their ouster. Nasser Nasser—AP PhotoDecember 21, 2011. North Koreans react as they make a call of condolence for deceased leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency.KCNADecember 20, 2011. The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang. North Korea was in seclusion a day after it announced the death of its leader Kim Jong-il, as concern mounted over what would happen next in the deeply secretive nation that is trying to build a nuclear arsenal. Kyodo/ReutersDecember 16, 2011. Shadows of Syrians are reflected on a giant poster showing President Bashar Assad, during a supporting rally in Damascus, Syria. Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters after Friday prayers at several locations around the country, while the army sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops. Muzaffar Salman—APDecember 19, 2011. An Egyptian book restorer lays-out burnt and damaged books to dry in the garden of the Institute of Egypt in central Cairo on after the world-famous centre caught fire during deadly clashes between security forces and protesters. The heavily damaged historic centre for the advancement of scientific research, housing priceless national archives, was founded in 1798 during Napoleon Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt, and contained more than 20,000 precious documents and manuscripts. Mohmmed Abed—AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 19, 2011. Salvaged documents are gathered inside the two story building of the Egyptian Scientific Complex, that is now in danger of collapsing after it was almost gutted by fire which broke out during clashes with army soldiers last Saturday, near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. Protesters blame troops for the fire that broke out in the historical complex that was set up during the three year occupation of Egypt by France in the late 18th century. Nasser Nasser—APDecember 18, 2011. Activists of Pakistan political parties gather during a protest rally called by the Council of Pakistan Defence (CPD) in Lahore. Tens of thousands of people gathered in one of the biggest ever protests in Lahore, to condemn NATO and United States over the last month's killing of 24 soldiers along the Afghan border. Arif Ali—AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 22, 2011. A Typhoon Washi survivor rests at an evacuation center in the southern Philippines city of Cagayan de Oro. Residents of two southern Philippine cities battered by a storm that left over 1,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands started the hard work of reclaiming their lives as authorities buried dozens of bodies in concrete vaults.Erik De Castro—ReutersDecember 22, 2011. A resident affected by Friday's flash flooding dries his clothes on toppled trees along a river bank in Cagayan de Oro, southern Philippines. Tens of thousands of residents continue to be housed in evacuation centers in the two cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan after Friday's flash floods that killed more than a thousand people and washed away their homes. Bullit Marquez—APDecember 20, 2011. Indian men bathe on a water pipe above a sewage drain on a cold and foggy morning in New Delhi, India. Though India is famous for its brutally hot summers, temperatures fall sharply for a few weeks in December and January. Poor people, particularly those living on the streets, are the worst hit. Kevin Frayer—APDecember 17, 2011. Referees watch the ski jumpers during the Nordic Combined World Cup competition in Seefeld, Austria. Matthias Schrader—APDecember. 20, 2011. Austria's Marlies Schild speeds down the slopes to win her first place of an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Flachau, Austria.Armando Trovati—APDecember 21, 2011. People stand near the statue of Czechoslovakia's first president Tomas Garrigue Masarykas as they wait for the carriage carrying the coffin of late Czech president Vaclav Havel. Thousands of people turned out in the Czech capital Prague to watch the funeral procession of Vaclav Havel, the country's former president and best-known opponent of Communism. Havel died 18 December at the age of 75. Filip Singer—EPADecember 21, 2011. Mourners follow the car carrying a casket with remains of late Czech president Vaclav Havel on their way through central Prague to Prague Castle on Prague, Czech Republic. The body of the former playwright was moved from a church, where it had been laid out for public viewing for the last two days, to Prague Castle—where Havel will lie in state—before the burial on 23 December. Filip Singer—EPADecember 16, 2011. Turkish soldiers stand at attention as U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta (not seen) attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara. Umit Bektas—ReutersDecember 16, 2011. A helicopter surveys the Maltese-registered cargo ship which ran aground on Kerminihy beach at Erdeven, spilling oil from its engines on the coast of Brittany in western France. Stephane Mahe—ReutersDecember 21, 2011. Laser beams creating the image of a large lit Hanukkah menorah are projected on the Hiriya landfill, a former waste disposal site, now called the Ariel Sharon Park, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on the second eve of Hanukkah. The Jewish festival of light, an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem started on December 20.Ariel Schalit—APDecember 20, 2011. Israeli troops escort one of the two young Palestinians arrested at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus. Israeli sources said the two were caught allegedly carrying explosive devices. Alaa Badarneh—EPADecember 18, 2011. People warm themselves as they wait for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails at Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel plans to release 550 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday in the second stage of a deal with Hamas that brought home soldier Gilad Shalit after five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip. Mohammed Salem—ReutersDecember 17, 2011. People walk amid candles lit at Praca do Comercio at Lison Fifty thousand candles were lit in Praca do Comercio, Lisbon's downtown square, as part of an attempt by non-governmental organization Terra dos Sonhos (Land of Dreams) to achieve a Guinness World Record. The candles were sold at 1 euro each ($1.30) to raise funds for realizing the dreams of children suffering from long and terminal illnesses. Hugo Correia—ReutersDecember 19, 2011. New York City Police Department officers gather for the funeral of NYPD Officer Peter Figoski near the Church of St. Joseph in Babylon, N.Y.. Figoski, a 22-year veteran of the force in Brooklyn who was shot and killed in the line of duty last week, will be interred after the last bagpipe and muffled drum have sounded, a farewell guided by decades of tradition. Damon Winter—The New York Times/ReduxDecember 19, 2011. A Chinese factory worker operates a loom at a textile manufacturing factory in Beijing, China. China's manufacturing activity fell in December as crises in the US and Europe drag on the economy according to data released on 15 December. Chinese economists have forecast economic growth of about 8.5 per cent next year, down from a projected 9.2 per cent this year. How Hwee Young—EPADecember 22, 2011. A woman carries a wooden sculpture of Jesus as a baby during an annual Christmas peace rally for children at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Ammar Awad—ReutersDecember 16, 2011. US soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division sleep outside their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle after a night time mission at Camp Adder near Nasiriyah. The last US forces left Iraq and entered Kuwait on December 18, 2011, nearly nine years after launching a divisive war to oust Saddam Hussein, and just as the oil-rich country grapples with renewed political deadlock.Lucas Jackson—AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 17, 2011. A US soldier reads a book as US troops prepare to leave Camp Adder on the outskirts of the southern city of Nasiriyah, marking the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. From the tens of thousands killed and wounded to the hundreds of billions of dollars spent in eight years of conflict, the cost of the Iraq war is astronomic and still growing. Martin Bureau—AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 20, 2011. A christmas tree is transported with a lorry by a resident of the North Frisian Hallig island Nordstrandischmoor, northern Germany. The Hallig is connected to the mainland by a 3.8 kilometer railway. Nordstrandischmoor has 18 residents. Kay Nietfeld—AFP/Getty ImagesDecember 20, 2011. A parhelion, or sun dog, over a pasture in the Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A Parhelion is halo often formed due to sunlight deflection from icy crystals in the air. Ren Junchuan—Xinhua/Zuma Press
