January 10, 2012. An Indian worker covers an elephant statue at Ambedkar Park in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. Workmen using truckloads of cloth raced to comply with election officials who ordered the statues of Chief Minister of Utter Pradesh state Mayawati, who is a hero to India's lowest castes, along with nearly 200 statues of elephants, her party's symbol, be covered.Tsering Topgyal
From violence in Syria to the New Hampshire Republican primary and Uttar Pradesh’s giant stone elephant statues, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week.
January 8, 2012. Part of a container ship marooned off New Zealand slips into the sea. The ship, the Rena ran aground on a reef in October, leading to a spill of cargo and fuel oil that is considered the nation's worst eco-disaster. Action Press/ZUMA PressJanuary 6, 2012. A young attendee stands on her toes to get a better view during a campaign rally for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, at the Peanut Warehouse in Conway, S.C. Logan Mock-Bunting–The New York TimesJanuary 10, 2012. A Syrian woman holds up a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as she follows his speech on television at a cafe in Damascus.Joseph Eid–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 10, 2012. Iraqi citizen and British resident Bisher al-Rawi, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was arrested in Gambia, speaks during a press conference in central London to mark the 10-year anniversary of the arrival of the first detainees at the US military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay. Carl Court–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 8, 2012. Six memorial markers with the names of those who died in a shooting spree are displayed in Tucson, Ariz., across the street from the Safeway grocery store where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot one year ago during the shooting spree that left 6 dead and 13 wounded. Matt York–AP Photo January 9, 2012. A resident reads over her ball ballots before the stroke of midnight when she can cast her vote in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, at The Balsams Grand Resort, Monday in Dixville, N.H. Matt Rourke–AP PhotoJanuary 11, 2012. A supporter cries as she listens to US President Barack Obama address a campaign event at the University of Illinois at Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images January 11, 2012. A supporter holds a picture of US President Barack Obama during a campaign event at the University of Illinois at Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images January 12, 2012. Afghan child bride Sahar Gul, 15, lies in a bed as she recovers at the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital in Kabul. Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged January 12 to take action against the "cowardly" perpetrators of violence against women in the wake of a horrific case of the torture of a child bride. SHAH Marai—AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 12, 2012. A Yemeni woman shows her palms reading "We won't accept immunity" as she takes part in an anti-regime rally in Sana'a. Thousands of Yemenis demonstrated in several cities voicing their rejection of a Gulf Arab deal to grant President Saleh immunity from prosecution, witnesses said. Mohammed Huwais—/AFP/Getty Images)January 12, 2012. Indian soldiers prepare to train on stunt motorcycles in preparation for an upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India.Kevin Frayer—APJanuary 13, 2012. An Adelie penguin starts to groom a soft penguin toy as researchers and crew of the Aurora Australis get out onto the fast ice which the ship has settled into at Commonwealth Bay 20 km from Mawson's Hut in Antarctica. Dean Lewins—EPAJanuary 11, 2012. A giant panda sits in a tree at a panda breeding center in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province. The giant panda is among six young giant pandas which were bred in captivity and were released as a group of "pioneers" into an enclosed forest in Sichuan province. The release is the first step of a project aiming to help the endangered species to adapt to the wild environment and eventually survive in the wild, Xinhua News Agency reported. China Daily/ReutersJanuary 10, 2012. Indian school children perform yoga during a rehearsal for the inaugural ceremony of the International Kite Festival in Ahmadabad, India.Ajit Solanki–AP Photo January 9, 2012. A gymnast practices on the beam during a training session before the Olympic gymnastics venue test event in east London. Stefan Wermuth–ReutersJanuary 7, 2012. From left to right, Russia's Ivan Anikin, France's Jonas Devouassoux and Norway's Christian Mithassel ski down the slope during their run at the FIS skicross world cup event in Sankt Johann.Dominic Ebenbichler–REUTERSJanuary 6, 2012. A hand builds a spiral of domino blocks in Keferod, Germany. 15 year old Patrick Sinner and his friends are trying to set a new world record with the longest wall of dominoes and the largest spiral built of dominoes. An additional record attempt with a wall of dominoes failed. Emily Wabitsch–DPA /LANDOVJanuary 9, 2012. Philippine Catholic pilgrims carry the statue of the Black Nazarene, a life-size icon of Jesus Christ carrying a cross, to mark the annual day-long religious procession in Manila. Ted Aljibe–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 8, 2012. A Sri Lankan elephant attends the annual Perahera festival of the historic Kelaniya Buddhist Temple in Kelaniya. Hundreds of devotees and onlookers gathered for the annual elephant pageant, held on the night before the full moon day in January, to commemorate the visit of Lord Buddha to the temple. S. Kodikara–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 10, 2012. Residents of Grantham hold candles as they quietly pay their respects during the dawn memorial service at Grantham, Australia. January marks one year since flash flooding tore through the communities of Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley killing 35 people when more than 70 percent of the state of Queensland was flooded. Patrick Hamilton–EPAJanuary 6, 2012. Lava spews from a crater of the giant Etna Volcano on the southern Italian island of Sicily. A column of hot ash spewed high into the sky from Italy's Mount Etna on the Mediterranean island of Sicily as Europe's highest active volcano rumbled back to life. Marcello Paternostro–AFP January 8, 2012. U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy breaks through the Bering Sea ice, 266 km (165 miles) south of Nome, Alaska, on a return path to break ice up around the Russian-flagged tanker Renda. The Seattle-based Healy is escorting the Renda as it carries more than 1.3 million gallons of fuel to help the residents of Nome make it through the winter. U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally–REUTERSJanuary 6, 2012. Bulgarians dive into icy water as they compete to catch a cross in the middle of a lake in Sofia as part of Epiphany Day celebrations. It is believed that the man who is the first to grab the cross, thrown into the water by an Eastern Orthodox priest, will be healthy throughout the year. Nikolay Doychinova–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 7, 2012. Competitors start the race during the 2012 Pier to Pub in Lorne, Australia. Lucas Dawson–Getty ImagesJanuary 12, 2012. Victoria Azarenka from Belarus returns the ball during her semi-final win over Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland at the Sydney International tennis event.Dean Lewins—EPAJanuary 12, 2012. A picture taken from the Australian icebreaker 'Aurora Australis' as it navigates its way through hundreds of huge icebergs in Antarctic Waters on route towards Commonwealth Bay. January 11, 2012.January 11, 2012. The Mertz Glacier near Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica. The 80 km long tongue of the Mertz Glacier was broken off when an iceberg hit the glacier in February 2010. Dean Lewins—EPAJanuary 11, 2012. Half-naked South Korean Special Warfare Forces members hurl snow during a winter exercise in Pyeongchang, South Korea. More than 200 soldiers participated in the one-month winter exercise.Ahn Young-joon–AP PhotoJanuary 11, 2012. The Milky Way illuminates the sky above the dome of the Danish 1.54-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. HO–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 7, 2012. A man washes a car that takes part in the Rally Dakar after the seventh stage of the competition in Copiapo, Chile.Felipe Trueba–EPAJanuary 7, 2012. A demonstrator with the "Occupy Movement" rallies outside the presidential debates at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Eric Thayer–ReutersJanuary 8, 2012. Signs are seen at the "Occupy" camp in Manchester, New Hampshire.Eric Thayer—ReutersJanuary 7, 2012. A leopard attacks and wounds a Pintu Deyan, an Indian labourer in a residential neighborhood of Silphukhuri area in Guwahati. Three people were seriously injured in the leopard attack before the feline was tranquilized and taken to Assam state zoo. Stringer–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 11, 2012. Buddha statues with a variety of faces shapes and unique characters at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Temple in Bintan Island, Indonesia.Yuli Seperi—Getty ImagesJanuary 10, 2012. An Indian worker covers an elephant statue at Ambedkar Park in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India. Workmen using truckloads of cloth raced to comply with election officials who ordered the statues of Chief Minister of Utter Pradesh state Mayawati, who is a hero to India's lowest castes, along with nearly 200 statues of elephants, her party's symbol, be covered.Tsering Topgyal January 12, 2012. Activists of Pakistan's Islamist Pasban group stage a demonstration in Karachi against the US on the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.Asif Hassan—AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 10, 2012. Amnesty International activists, dressed in orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by prisoners at the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, demonstrate next to the scale model of the statue of Liberty in Paris against the 10th anniversary of the opening of the prison.Joel Saget–AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 11, 2012. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, welcomes Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, second from left, at the chancellery in Berlin. Markus Schreiber–AP PhotoJanuary 12, 2012. Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a town hall meeting in Sun City, S.C. David Goldman—APJanuary 9, 2012. Ron Paul makes a visit to the studio of WMUR in Manchester, N.H for a radio spot on the eve of the primary elections.
Christopher Morris—VII for TIMEJanuary 8, 2012. Young members of Mitt Romney's family on stage at a campaign rally in Exeter, N.H.
Christopher Morris—VII for TIMEJanuary 12, 2012. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is seen through a door before giving press conference with Algerian Foreign Minister at the State Department in Washington, DC. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty ImagesJanuary 8, 2012. Workers weld at a ship-building yard next to Buriganga River in Dhaka. Andrew Biraj–ReutersJanuary 8, 2012. Myanmar people try to catch the money thrown by well wishers during the Pagoda Festival in Yangon, Myanmar. Nyein Chan Naing–EPAJanuary 7, 2012. A development is seen on one of the islands of The World Islands project in Dubai. The World Islands is located approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) off the coast of Jumeirah. The collection of man-made islands are shaped into the continents of the world, and will consist of 300 small private artificial islands divided into four categories: private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands, according to the development company Nakheel Properties Group. Jumana El Heloueh–REUTERSJanuary 7, 2012. Security officers look on from their horses as a crane dismantles the Maltese-registered cargo ship in western France. Stephane Mahe–REUTERS
