March 7, 2012. Thousands of Thai Buddhist monks chant during lantern lighting to celebrate Makha Bucha day at Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok.Rungroj Yongrit—EPA
From the Presidential election in Russia to Super Tuesday in the U.S. to fires in Congo and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week.
March 5, 2012. Snow covers a demolished house in Marysville, Ind., after a tornado ripped through the town.Nam Y. Huh—APMarch 5, 2012. Libyan men carry coffins of victims, discovered in a mass grave, at a funeral in Benghazi, Libya.Manu Brabo—APMarch 7, 2012. Twelve-year-old Nazem Najar rests in a hospital bed after being wounded in Idlib, north Syria.Rodrigo Abd—APMarch 6, 2012. A Saudi Arabian embassy official who was shot and killed by unknown gunmen near his house in Gulshan in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Safin Ahmed—Demotix / CorbisMarch 4, 2012. A boy gets his head shaved by a Buddhist monk as he is sent by his family to live the life of a monk for seven days as part of a ritual in Yangon, Myanmar.ReutersMarch 6, 2012. Thousands of spiders build new spider webs after flood waters forced them to move to higher grounds in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.Lukas Coch—EPAMarch 5, 2012. South Korea's Kim Seoyeong competes in the women's 200m individual medley during the British Gas Swimming Championships, the British swimming team trials for the London 2012 Olympic Games, at the Aquatics Center in London.Francois Xavier Marit—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 5, 2012. Russian riot police charge after protesters as they break up an opposition rally in Pushkin square in Moscow.Thomas Peter—ReutersMarch 4, 2012. Russian soldiers hold their identification at a polling station in Moscow.Natalia Kolesnikova—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 5, 2012. An opposition protester shouts slogans from a police vehicle during a protest near the Central Election Committee in Moscow.Ivan Sekretarev—APMarch 8, 2012. Women take cover from a water jet released from a police truck during a march to mark International Women's Day in Santiago, Chile.Carlos Vera—ReutersMarch 3, 2012. People throw colored powder as they celebrate "Lathmar Holi" in Nandgaon village in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.Adnan Abidi—ReutersMarch 8, 2012. An Indian man reacts as colored powder is thrown on him during Holi festivities in Mumbai.Rajanish Kakade—APMarch 2, 2012. Indian Hindu transvestites dance together in the Radha Rani Temple during Lathmar Holi in Barsana, India.Kevin Frayer—APMarch 7, 2012. Pakistani Hindus pose for a photograph during the celebration of the Holi festival in Karachi.Asif Hassan—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 8, 2012. Soldiers of the German armed forces Bundeswehr carry torches during a farewell ceremony for the former German President at Bellevue Palace in Berlin.Odd Andersen—AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 2, 2012. Workers clean the floor with soapy water in the railway station at Kamlapur, Dhaka, Bangladesh.Abir Abdullah—EPAMarch 7, 2012. Three-year-old homeless boy Sarwar sleeps in a hammock along a sidewalk in Mumbai. Danish Siddiqui—ReutersMarch 7, 2012. Women carry wood for cooking in Amarah, 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.Karim Kadim—APMarch 7, 2012. Thousands of Thai Buddhist monks chant during lantern lighting to celebrate Makha Bucha day at Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok.Rungroj Yongrit—EPAMarch 5, 2012. A general view of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium in London, England. Clive Rose/Getty ImagesMarch 5, 2012. A car waits to be unveiled at the Japanese car maker Nissan's booth ahead of the 82nd Geneva Car Show in Geneva.Fabrice Coffrini—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 5, 2012. Mourners pray over the coffins of security forces killed in an attack in Haditha, Iraq, at their funeral in Fallujah.Hadi Mizban—APMarch 3, 2012. Lisa Hill from Germany performs the floor exercises at the 2012 AT&T American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Timothy A. Clary—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 6, 2012. A woman wearing zombie make-up and a wedding dress speaks on the phone while waiting for a friend to join the 2012 Zombie Walk during the Purim festival in Tel Aviv.Ariel Schalit—APMarch 3, 2012. A woman dries her sari, a traditional cloth used for women's clothing, after washing it on the banks of river Tawi in Jammu, India. Mukesh Gupta—ReutersMarch 4, 2012. Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla performs during a bullfight in the southwestern Spanish town of Olivenza.Daniel Ochoa de Olza—APMarch 5, 2012. A Chinese security officer at work during the opening of the fifth session of the 11th National People's Conference in Beijing.How Hwee Young—EPAMarch 5, 2012. The conductor of a military band performs during the rehearsal prior to the opening ceremony of National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.Jason Lee—ReutersMarch 3, 2012. Hostesses working for hotels serving the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) delegates pose for photos outside the Great Hall of the People where the opening session of the CPPCC is underway in Beijing.Alexander F. Yuan—APMarch 2, 2012. A Ukrainian border guard is seen reflected in a mirror as she and her colleagues take part in a master class in the Borispol airport near Kiev, Ukraine. Gleb Garanich—ReutersMarch 5, 2012. Quilts and clothes shine in the sun at Zhanjiang Normal University in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China.ChinaFotoPress / ZUMA PRESSMarch 3, 2012. Jordyn Wieber of the U.S. performs on the uneven bars during the 2012 AT&T American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York City.Timothy A. Clary—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 4, 2012. Catholics take pictures of a statue of Jesus Nazareno during a procession to mark the second Sunday of Lent, in the streets of Guatemala City.Jorge Dan Lopez—ReutersMarch 6, 2012. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.Evan Vucci—APMarch 4, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI celebrates mass during his visit at the parish of San Giovanni Battista de La Salle, in the Rome suburb of Torrino as part of Lenten traditions.Vincenzo Pinto—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 6, 2012. A model showcases a creation during a show called 'Memories of Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse' by Indian designers Little Shilpa and Nitin Bal Chauhan on the second day of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) summer resort 2012 in Mumbai.Punit Paranjpe—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 3, 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron addresses the Conservative Party Spring Forum in London.Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. Visitors react to the rotor wash of the Marine One helicopter as President Barack Obama takes off from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington as he travels to North Carolina. Charles Dharapak—APMarch 5, 2012. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.Martinez Monsivais—APMarch 5, 2012. Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stand with a puppet of President Barack Obama outside a Romney campaign rally at Taylor-Winfield Technologies in Youngstown, Ohio.Mario Tama—Getty ImagesMarch 4, 2012. A young protester holds posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reading "May God protect you" during a demonstration in support of the Syrian regime in Beirut.Gianluigi Guercia—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 2, 2012. Photographs lie in a school gymnasium set up as a collection site for lost possessions from last year's tsunami in the Yuriage area of Natori, Japan.Daniel Berehulak—Getty ImagesMarch 6, 2012. A fishing boat, dragged inland during last year's tsunami, sits on the ground in Kesennuma, Japan.Daniel Berehulak—Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. Pine trees, uprooted during last year's tsunami, lay strewn over the beach in Rikuzentakata, Japan.Daniel Berehulak—Getty ImagesMarch 6, 2012. Children and parents are dwarfed by a whale shark as it passes by inside a tank at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.Don Emmert—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. Indonesian men try to catch offerings thrown into the sea by Hindu worshippers during the ritual of Melasti on a beach in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.Gembong Nusantara—APMarch 5, 2012. Linda Workman holds a recovered doll as Bryan Workman walks from their grandmother's house, which was damaged by a chain of tornadoes in West Liberty, Ind.Eric Thayer—ReutersMarch 5, 2012. Two teams competing in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race drive between the Skwentna and Finger Lake checkpoints in Alaska heading toward the Alaska Mountain Range.Marc Lester—Anchorage Daily News / MCT / ZUMA PRESSMarch 4, 2012. Casey Mears wrecks during the Subway Fresh Fit 500 race at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz.Stephan A. Arce—ASP / Cal Sport Media / ZUMA PRESSMarch 2, 2012. Israeli soldiers stand guard near Israel's separation barrier as snow falls near Hebron, West Bank.Uriel Sinai—Getty ImagesMarch 2, 2012. Palestinians play with snow near the West Bank town of Bethlehem.Bernat Armangue—APMarch 5, 2012. Soldiers stand guard on a pedestrian bridge in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Esteban Felix—APMarch 7, 2012. A flock of snow geese, around 30,000 strong, is pictured taking off from the Middle Creek Reservoir near Kleinfeltersville, Pa.Jim Lo Scalzo—EPAMarch 3, 2012. The casket of slain Chardon High School student Daniel Parmertor is carried to his gravesite in Chardon, Ohio.Shannon Stapleton—ReutersMarch 6, 2012. Graves of British soldiers of the Royal Horse Artillery are seen at the Commonwealth Benghazi War Cemetery, which holds the remains of British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought during World War II in the north African desert battles, after the cemetery was desecrated by angry Libyans days earlier.Manu Brabo—APMarch 4, 2012. Dancer and choreographer Nhlanhla Mahlangu in his piece 'Chant,' a work dedicated to the women in his life, during the Dance Umbrella 2012, in Johannesburg.John Hogg—Dance Umbrella / EPAMarch 5, 2012. Smoke rises from the debris as a fire continues to burn in a military barracks, near an underground munitions depot, in Brazzaville, Congo.Elie Mbena—APMarch 5, 2012. A policeman rests in the shade amongst destroyed buildings in the Mpila district of Brazzaville, Congo, following an explosion.Junior D. Kannah—AFP / Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. Children and adults scavenge for recyclables and other usable items around a garbage truck at the Trutier dump on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.Spencer Platt—Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. A lone man scavenges for recyclable and other usable items at the Trutier dump on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Spencer Platt—Getty ImagesMarch 7, 2012. People enjoy a ride on a swing carousel at Prague's traditional amusement park at Holesovice fairground.David W. Cerny—ReutersMarch 8, 2012. The largest solar storm in five years sent a huge wave of radiation into earth's atmosphere creating a brilliant show of the aurora borealis near Yellowknife, North West Territories. Yellowknife, which is situated directly under the auroral "oval", has some of the best northern lights viewing in the world. Truckers returning from the diamond mines 330 kilometers northeast enjoy the nighttime spectacle as they cruised down the ice road on Prosperous Lake.
Bill Braden—The Canadian Press/APMarch 8, 2012. The Northern Lights are seen in the skies near Faskusfjordur on the east coast of Iceland. A solar storm shook the Earth's magnetic field early Friday, but scientists said they had no reports of any problems with electrical systems. After reports Thursday of the storm fizzling out, a surge of activity prompted space weather forecasters to issue alerts about changes in the magnetic field. Jonina Oskardottir—AP
