Saturday 20 February 2016

AP PHOTOS: A selection of pictures from the past week

People stand near North Korean flags during a mass dance party as part of celebrations of the "Day of the Shining Star" or birthday anniversary of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The celebrations for Kim's birthday, a revered national holiday, came as South Korea’s president warned that North Korea faces collapse if it doesn’t abandon its nuclear weapons program, amid an international outcry over Pyongyang’s January nuclear test and the Feb. 7 rocket launch.
People stand near North Korean flags during a mass dance party as part of celebrations of the "Day of the Shining Star" or birthday anniversary of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The celebrations for Kim's birthday, a revered national holiday, came as South Korea’s president warned that North Korea faces collapse if it doesn’t abandon its nuclear weapons program, amid an international outcry over Pyongyang’s January nuclear test and the Feb. 7 rocket launch.   
          
Fernando Ravera uses a lighter to navigate the stairs of his apartment building that has been without electricity for four days in a row, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. The city's energy system has been unable to cope with a summer heat wave, prompting some residents to block streets in protest. The government began rationing electricity on Thursday, affecting thousands of homes and businesses in the capital and surrounding towns.
Fernando Ravera uses a lighter to navigate the stairs of his apartment building that has been without electricity for four days in a row, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. The city's energy system has been unable to cope with a summer heat wave, prompting some residents to block streets in protest. The government began rationing electricity on Thursday, affecting thousands of homes and businesses in the capital and surrounding towns.  
Mourners take seats ahead of the funeral of former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in Al-Boutrossiya Church, in the main Coptic Cathedral complex in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. Boutros-Ghali, a veteran Egyptian diplomat who helped negotiate his country's landmark peace deal with Israel but then clashed with the United States when he served a single term as U.N. secretary-general, died Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, aged 93.
Mourners take seats ahead of the funeral of former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in Al-Boutrossiya Church, in the main Coptic Cathedral complex in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. Boutros-Ghali, a veteran Egyptian diplomat who helped negotiate his country's landmark peace deal with Israel but then clashed with the United States when he served a single term as U.N. secretary-general, died Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, aged 93.  
A police officer struggles to keep hold of a box containing voting materials, as excited voters surround him after waiting over 7 hours without being able to vote, at a polling station in Ggaba, on the outskirts of Kampala, in Uganda Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. As election returns showed a strong, early lead Friday for incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.
A police officer struggles to keep hold of a box containing voting materials, as excited voters surround him after waiting over 7 hours without being able to vote, at a polling station in Ggaba, on the outskirts of Kampala, in Uganda Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. As election returns showed a strong, early lead Friday for incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.  
A protester launches firecrackers towards a Turkish police water cannon during clashes in Istanbul, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, between police forces and people protesting against security operations against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey. Turkey imposed curfews in mainly Kurdish towns and districts in December while its security forces battled militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who set up barricades, dug trenches and primed explosives in the areas they have declared to be under Kurdish self-rule.
A protester launches firecrackers towards a Turkish police water cannon during clashes in Istanbul, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, between police forces and people protesting against security operations against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey. Turkey imposed curfews in mainly Kurdish towns and districts in December while its security forces battled militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who set up barricades, dug trenches and primed explosives in the areas they have declared to be under Kurdish self-rule.  
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal crash near Fredericksburg, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. The pileup left tractor-trailers, box trucks and cars tangled together across several lanes of traffic and into the snow-covered median.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal crash near Fredericksburg, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. The pileup left tractor-trailers, box trucks and cars tangled together across several lanes of traffic and into the snow-covered median.  
Mist rises from Lake Ontario in front of the Toronto skyline during extreme cold weather on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. Environment Canada had issued extreme cold warnings for provinces from Manitoba to New Brunswick.
Mist rises from Lake Ontario in front of the Toronto skyline during extreme cold weather on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. Environment Canada had issued extreme cold warnings for provinces from Manitoba to New Brunswick.  
Volunteers guide an overcrowded dingy with refugees and migrants as it is approaches the beach after crossing a part of the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. More than 1 million refugees and migrants entered the EU in 2015 fleeing conflict or poverty, and some 84,000 have entered so far this year.
Volunteers guide an overcrowded dingy with refugees and migrants as it is approaches the beach after crossing a part of the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. More than 1 million refugees and migrants entered the EU in 2015 fleeing conflict or poverty, and some 84,000 have entered so far this year.  
A commercial jet takes off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. City officials say more than 45 million people came through the airport in 2015.
A commercial jet takes off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. City officials say more than 45 million people came through the airport in 2015.  
Migratory birds fly above wetlands in Hokersar, 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Srinagar in Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Waterbirds cover tens of thousands of kilometers every year during their annual migratory cycle. Every year International Waterbird Census (IWC) is conducted to monitor the population of theses birds around the world.
Migratory birds fly above wetlands in Hokersar, 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Srinagar in Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Waterbirds cover tens of thousands of kilometers every year during their annual migratory cycle. Every year International Waterbird Census (IWC) is conducted to monitor the population of theses birds around the world.