Some of the most compelling photographs from RFE/RL's coverage area and beyond for the 49th week of 2018. For more photo galleries, see our photo gallery archive.
Photos Of The Week #49
1
A trashcan burns on Place de la Republique as students demonstrate against the increase of the subscription fees for foreign students in Paris on December 7. (EPA-EFE/Ian Langsdon)
2
A winter swimmer swims in a frozen river at a park in Shenyang in China's Liaoning Province. (Reuters)
3
Pigeons fly near Yenisei River covered with frost evaporation, with the air temperature at about -26 degrees Celsius, outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
4
Urban-management officers transport a bicycle next to piled-up bicycles of bike-sharing services in Hefei in China's Anhui Province. (Reuters)
5
A woman who has been traveling in a caravan of Central American migrants hoping to get to the United States climbs the metal barrier separating Mexico and the United States to cross from Playas de Tijuana on December 3. (AFP/Guillermo Arias)
6
Hundreds of red shoes are displayed as a protest against violence toward women in Israel at Habima Square in Tel Aviv on December 4. (AP/Oded Balilty)
7
A member of the Skipper yacht club dressed as Snegurochka (Snowmaiden) slops over hot water during an event dedicated to the end of the sailboat season, with the air temperature at about minus 33 degrees Celsius outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on December 5. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
8
A man helps Pope Francis put on a neckerchief he gifted to the pope during a general audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. (Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi)
9
A tank fires during military exercises at the Ukrainian ground forces training center near Honcharivske in the Chernihiv region. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)
10
The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft carrying David Saint-Jacques of Canada, Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Anne McClain of the United States blasts off to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 3. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)
11
A woman and her child walk at the harbor at Mariupol on the Sea of Azov in eastern Ukraine. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
12
Pedestrians walk past portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il across Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. (AFP/Ed Jones)
13
Former U.S. President George Bush lies in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., on December 4. Bush, 94, died at his home in Houston on November 30. (Reuters/Morry Gash)
14
Former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, a World War II veteran who is 95, asked an aide to help him stand up from his wheelchair to salute the flag-draped coffin of former U.S. President George Bush at the U.S. Capitol rotunda on December 4 in Washington. Bush, the 41st U.S. president, died on November 30 at the age of 94. (AFP/Alex Edelman / AFP)
15
Wild ducks frolic on the Yenisei River at temperatures of around -30 degrees Celsius near Krasnoyarsk, Russia. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
16
Smog envelopes the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina on December 3. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)
17
A Soyuz MS-11 rocket carrying Russian, American and Canadian crew members takes off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 3. (AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev)
18
A Ukrainian serviceman stands on board a ship in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
19
A participant rides a horse during a traditional hunting contest involving tamed golden eagles and hawks in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev)
20
A Russian Orthodox priest blesses the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 2. One Russian cosmonaut and two astronauts from the United States and Canada are set to board the first manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS) since an aborted launch in October. (AFP/Kirill Kudryavtsev)
21
Young Nepalese girls participate in a physical training session organized by the Salute Gurkha private institute in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hundreds of female youth from across the country between the ages of 18 to 21 started an eight-month-long private training program in various training institutes in Nepal. (EPA-EFE/Narendra Shrestha)
22
Ships are seen near the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, Ukraine. A November 25 clash in the Black Sea between Russian and Ukrainian forces saw the Russian Coast Guard firing upon and seizing three Ukrainian naval boats and their 24 crew members. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)