Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's broadcast region and beyond. (48 PHOTOS)
Photos Of The Week #49
1
An Indian Hindu devotee prays near the polluted Yamuna River in New Delhi. India's Supreme Court said that all measurements of water quality indicate that it is highly polluted and urged authorities to tackle the problem. More than 2,400 million liters of untreated sewage flows into the Yamuna every day. (AFP/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)
2
A train of the Brocken Railway steams through a winter landscape on Brocken Mountain in eastern Germany. (AFP/Stefan Rampfel)
3
Surrounded with 12 towering giant structures from 25 to 50 meters in height, visitors to Singapore's Supertrees grove were mesmerized by an array of lights and music. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)
4
Ukrainian virtuoso Oleksandr Bozhyk plays four violins at the same time as he performs ''Requiem For A Dream" by Clint Mansell during a solo concert in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. (AFP/Yuriy Dyachyshyn)
5
A woman feeds tomtits in a snow-blanketed park in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. (AFP/Viktor Drachev)
6
People are pictured among toppled trees and crops in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha in the southern Philippines. Residents buried their dead even as rescue workers continued scouring remote areas for survivors of Typhoon Bopha, the nation's strongest storm this year, which killed 418 people and left nearly as many missing. (Reuters/Jay Morales)
7
Work is done on newly installed overhead power cables ahead of the Kumbh Mela (Pitcher Festival) as the sun sets in the northern Indian city of Allahabad. (Reuters/Jitendra Prakash)
8
An undated handout photo shows Ginny, one of three dogs trained to drive -- steering, pedals, and all -- as part of a campaign in New Zealand to boost pet adoptions from animal shelters. (Photo AFP/DraftFCB)
9
Afghan spectators watch a quail fight in Mazar-e Sharif. A popular sport in Afghanistan, two birds are placed inside a circle and made to fight each other until one of the birds flees. (AFP/Qais Usyan)
10
German Bundeswehr Army soldiers walk in front of an armored personnel carrier at a combat outpost near Baghlan in northern Afghanistan. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)
11
A wounded rebel fighter lies in the back of a pickup truck making its way to a hospital through traffic in the northern Syrian city Aleppo. (AFP/Odd Anderson)
12
Former Ukrainian adult film actress Anastasia Hrishay, also known as Wiska, attends a protest in front of the parliament building in Prague. Grishay, a mother of three, who was investigated by Ukrainian officials for the production and distribution of pornography in her home country, is under the threat of jail and deprivation of her maternity rights, according to local media. Grishay, who is supported by the women's rights group Femen, took part in the protest after Czech authorities rejected her asylum request. (Reuters/David W. Cerny)
13
Seagulls in Stockholm (AFP/Jonathan Nackstrand)
14
Two girls play in the snow on the bank of an island in the middle of the Yenisei River, where the air temperature reached minus 22 degrees Celsius, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
15
The bandaged hand of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is pictured during a group photo at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference in Dublin. Lavrov sustained undisclosed injuries to his hand and face while in Turkey on December 3. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
16
Prince William leaves the King Edward VII hospital in London with his wife, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Catherine, who is pregnant, spent four days being treated for acute morning sickness. (Reuters/Andrew Winning)
17
A man walks near the National Congress building, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, in the Ministries Esplanade in Brasilia. Niemeyer, who died on December 5, was a towering patriarch of modern architecture who shaped the look of modern Brazil and whose inventive, curved designs left their mark on cities worldwide. He was 104. (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)
18
A man inspects a destroyed car trapped under the rubble of a house in the eastern Iranian village of Shaj after an earthquake struck the region. The quake, which registered 5.5 in magnitude, killed at least eight people. (AFP/Mojtaba Ghorgi)
19
Members of the Muslim Brothood and supporters of Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi carry an injured comrade during clashes with anti-Morsi protesters on the road leading to the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo. (AFP/Mahmoud Khaled)
20
A man makes sweets at a traditional factory in Jalabadad, Afghanistan. (Reuters/Parwiz)
21
Migratory birds fly above men rowing a boat on the Yamuna River in the old quarters of Delhi, India. (Reuters/Ahmad Masood)
22
A man gives food to cats in the al-Khalidiya neighborhood of embattled Homs, Syria. (Reuters/Yazan Homsy)
23
A farm employee checks the maturity of chicory in Pretschen, Germany. Unlike most plants, chicory is grown in the dark. (AFP/Patrick Pleul)
24
As Xiao Liwu gains strength in his legs, the curious 18-week-old giant panda cub at the San Diego Zoo is exploring more, even getting near the camera for an up-close view of his black-and-white markings. Only 1,600 giant pandas are believed to exist in the wild. The species is primarily threatened by habitat loss. (AFP/San Diego Zoo/Ken Bohn)
25
The freshly painted Hollywood sign is seen atop the Hollywood Hills following a press conference to announce the completion of the famous landmark's major makeover. Almost 1,400 liters of paint and primer were used to provide the iconic sign with its most extensive refurbishment in almost 35 years in advance of its 90th birthday next year. (AFP/Robyn Beck)