The Week in Pictures | Dec. 20-24, 2010 - Framework - Photos and Video - Visual Storytelling from the Los Angeles Times

London — A flight information board shows canceled flights in Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport. Snow and freezing temperatures delayed flights across northern Europe on Monday, frustrating travelers trying to get away for Christmas and putting pressure on airline shares.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: LUKE MACGREGOR / REUTERS

London — Snow covers the rooftops of buildings in the British capital as snow and ice cause chaos at European airports.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CARL DE SOUZA / AFP/Getty Images

London — A sign warns of ice as a passenger aircraft takes off at Heathrow Airport.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

London — Stranded passengers wait for Eurostar trains bound for Europe at London's St Pancras International station. Speed restrictions because of heavy snow caused major delays in rail travel in England and northern France.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ANDY RAIN / EPA

Duesseldorf, Germany — Aircraft are de-iced at the city's airport. The pre-Christmas cold snap and heavy snowfalls across Europe continued to disrupt air and rail travel and made for treacherous driving.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JULIANA STRATENSCHULTE / EPA

Weston-Super-Mare, England — A blanket of snow covers the beach at the British seaside resort.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Fechain, France — A car trapped in a ditch is abandoned along a snow-covered road in Northern France.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PASCAL ROSSIGNOL / REUTERS

Mount Hotham, Victoria — Snow and ice cover buildings at the Australian resort of Mount Hotham. Normally hot summer weather was replaced by icy gusts sweeping up from the Southern Ocean, making for an unusual white Christmas in parts of the country.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: GINA WOODWARD / AFP/Getty Images

Paris — A lone cyclist braves the snow-covered gardens of the Louvre.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP/Getty Images

New York — Hedwig, the Bronx Zoo's snowy owl, is in his element in the winter cold. Snowy owls are typically found in the Arctic and are most active at night. (Hedwig was the name of Harry's snowy owl in J.K Rowling's "Harry Potter" books.)

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Julie Larsen Maher / WCS

Riosucio, Colombia — A woman peers out of her house in flooded Choco province. Colombia is facing what the government calls its worst natural disaster with heavy rains and flooding taking the lives of more than 280 people, driving nearly 2 million more from their homes, and damaging roadways, crops and livestock.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JOSE MIGUEL GOMEZ / REUTERS

Bethlehem — A member of the clergy walks between the columns of the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AMMAR AWAD / REUTERS

Wanneperveen, Netherlands — Skaters move along the Belterwiede, a lake in the northern part of the Netherlands, where the Dutch Marathon Championship will be held later in the week.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: VINCENT JANNINK / EPA

Brussels, Belgium — Christmas lights illuminate the town hall at La Grande Place in the Belgian capital.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Renders / Getty Images

Ventura County — Fallen rocks along several miles of Pacific Coast Highway on Monday have prompted officials to close the road from 1.1 miles north of the Los Angeles-Ventura county line to 4.4 miles south of Oxnard.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Bethlehem, West Bank — A Christian pilgrim leans into the niche in the Grotto of the Church of the Nativity and lights a candle from an oil lamp next to the silver star in the floor that marks the spot where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. Behind are a priest and other pilgrims and tourists. The site in the West Bank town of Bethlehem is particularly popular among tourists in the days before Christmas.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JIM HOLLANDER / EPA

Lofer, Austria — Icicles hang on a roof in Lofer. The forecast calls for low temperatures, with rain in Austria's lowlands and snow in the mountains.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kerstin Joensson / Associated Press

Wells, England — A message is written in the snow on the back window of a car in Wells. Large portions of Europe were paralyzed by blizzards over the weekend, with more severe weather in the forecast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Shenyang, China — A group of Chinese residents wearing Santa hats, and not much else, cavort on a frozen river where they've gathered for a winter swim. Winter swimming is popular in China, particularly among the elderly. It's believed to improve circulation and have other health benefits.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AFP / Getty Images

Paris — A father and son slide over snow at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FRED DUFOUR / AFP / Getty Images

Singapore — Foam takes the place of snow at the Orchard Row shopping mall in Singapore.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEPHEN MORRISON / EPA

Newark, N.J. — Passengers wait in line for ticketing inside Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport. Security forces began allowing passengers back into the terminal after it was closed for more than half an hour early Monday because of a suspicious package, a Reuters witness said. Officials determined the suspicious package contained a computer monitor.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JESSICA RINALDI / Reuters

Macau, China — Protesters toting banners hold a pro-democracy demonstration on the 11th anniversary of Macau's handover to China.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YM YIK / EPA

Minsk, Belarus — An opposition supporter, arrested after a protest, flashes a victory sign from a police bus near a detention center in Minsk. At least seven election candidates and hundreds of opposition demonstrators were being held on Monday after police cracked down on a protest against the reelection of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: VASILY FEDOSENKO / Reuters

Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea — South Korean marines patrol Yeonpyeong Island. South Korea held artillery drills on the island, which was shelled last month by North Korea. But North Korea has stated that it will not retaliate to Monday's drills.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Pool / Getty Images

Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea — South Korean residents check their gas masks at a shelter during a military drill on Yeonpyeong Island.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Pool / Getty Images

Seoul — North Korean defectors, wearing masks to obscure their identity, take part in a rally for victims of the recent attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PARK JI-HWAN / AFP / Getty Images

Long Beach, Calif. — Evening rush-hour traffic moves slowly along the rain-soaked 405 Freeway. A large storm system is expected to bring even heavier rains in time for Wednesday's morning commute.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Huntington Beach, Calif. — Erik Snow, 22, tries to to control his umbrella in the wind and rain as he walks along the Huntington Beach Pier with his girlfriend, Whitney Elder, 21.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Manassas, Va. — A composite of three images shows the moon in different stages of a total lunar eclipse on Dec. 21. The eclipse fell on the same day as the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the first such occurrence in 372 years.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KAREN BLEIER / AFP/Getty Images

Vladivostok, Russia — Earth's shadow moves across the face of the Moon toward a full lunar eclipse, seen above a glowing sign with the Russian name of the far eastern city of Vladivostok. The eclipse is the first to coincide with the winter solstice since 1638.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YURI MALTSEV / REUTERS

Chah Ghanbar, Iran — Iranian men gather around three of seven victims who died when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the country's southeast. The epicenter was near the town of Hosseinabad in Kerman province and was followed by numerous aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.0, the Mehr news agency said.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HAMID SADEGHI / AFP/Getty Images

Bangkok, Thailand — Members of a Thai bomb squad patrol a shopping mall in Bangkok. The government said it would lift a state of emergency in the city and three neighboring areas, seven months after a bloody military crackdown on anti-government "Red Shirt" protesters.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL / AFP/Getty Images

Montreal, Quebec — An acrobat, one of a cast of 52 that includes musicians and singers, performs in "Quidam." The production, which premiered in Montreal in 1996, is the ninth stage show produced by Cirque du Soleil.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ROGERIO BARBOSA / AFP/Getty Images

Roebershagen, Germany — Ice sculptures glow with color at the Karls theme park. Thirteen artists from Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Russia created a forest landscape made entirely of snow and ice for the exhibition, which opens Christmas Day.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: BERND WUESTNECK / EPA

Istanbul — Dervishes perform during Mevlana's 737th Reunion Anniversary Commemoration Ceremonies.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: OSMAN ORSAL / REUTERS

Chandigarh, India — A worker packs bags of onions at a wholesale vegetable market in northern India. Onion prices in the country have more than doubled in the last week because of a shortage caused by unusually heavy rains.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AJAY VERMA / REUTERS

Ahmedabad, India — Schoolchildren attend a yoga class during a camp in western India. As many as 6,000 children were estimated to have participated.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AMIT DAVE / REUTERS

Yokohama — A rabbit dressed as Santa Claus helps Japan celebrate Christmas and the Year of the Rabbit at a pet shop. 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese zodiac calendar.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KIM KYUNG-HOON / REUTERS

London — Police watch as hundreds of people line up at St. Pancras Station for the Eurostar train to France and Belgium. Major delays and cancellations persisted Tuesday at European airports, including London's Heathrow, and on the Eurostar train link, leaving thousands stranded across Europe as Christmas approached.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Lewis Whyld / Associated Press

London — Passengers wait to check in for flights outside Terminal 3 of Heathrow Airport as weather-related delays increased. More than half the flights at Europe's busiest international hub were expected to be canceled.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matt Dunham / Associated Press

Reykjavík, Iceland — About 30 people brave the bitter cold to gather around a telescope set up by the Amateur Astronomical Society in a parking lot to observe the moon and stars on December 21, 2010. The lunar eclipse left a red glow in the Reykjavik sky early Tuesday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HALLDOR KOLBEINS / AFP / Getty Images

San Salvador, El Salvador — A double-exposure shows the moon and the monument of "The Savior of the World" during a total lunar eclipse as seen from San Salvador. This eclipse occurred just hours before the solstice.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jose Cabezas / AFP / Getty Images

Arosa, Switzerland — Three snowshoe hikers watch the almost full moon rising behind the Weissfluhjoch Mountains in Arosa.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Alessandro Della Bella / Associated Press

Taiyuan, China — A vendor drinks tea as he waits for customers at his shoe stall in Taiyuan in Shanxi province. China's consumer price index was up 3.3% in 2010, exceeding the 3.0% target set earlier this year, China's state television said Tuesday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Reuters

Bucharest, Romania — Members of an honor guard stand at attention during commemorations for victims of the bloody 1989 anti-Communist Romanian revolution, at the Heroes Cemetery in Bucharest. Romania's dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was arrested after the December 1989 popular uprising and was executed on Christmas Day that year.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bogdan Cristel / Reuters

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip — A Palestinian man checks damage at an abandoned house that was destroyed during an Israeli airstrike overnight in Khan Younis. Violence is escalating along the Israeli-Gaza border.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Eyad Baba / Associated Press

Dinklage, Germany — Sister Monica of the Benedictine abbey of the castle Dinklage walks through the snow. The snow chaos in Europe has upset the plans of thousands of travelers in Germany.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ingo Wagner / AFP / Getty Images

Sentosa Island, Singapore — A mannequin in a red Valentino dress graces a preview of the "Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future" exhibition at Resorts World Sentosa, one of Singapore's main tourist attractions.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Wong Maye-E / Associated Press

Laguna Beach, Calif. — A small crayfish finds itself on a muddy sidewalk along Pacific Coast Highway in downtown Laguna Beach after a night of stormy weather and heavy rain.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

San Diego, Calif. — A vehicle parked at the Sorrento Valley railway station parking lot in San Diego is partly submerged after a heavy overnight storm hit the area.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Laguna Beach, Calif. — Broadway Street in downtown Laguna Beach was turned into a river by the latest storm to roll through Southern California.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Kabul, Afghanistan — Afghan National Army officers perform the traditional Atan folk dance during a graduation ceremony at the Ghazi Military Training Center.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Shah Marai / AFP/Getty Images

Singapore — Two mechanical cranes perform the crane dance at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. The animatronics show, featuring the 98-foot-tall steel cranes, is a new waterfront attraction at the casino opening Christmas Day.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Edgar Su / Reuters

Amman, Jordan — An Iraqi Christian girl attends a Christmas Mass at Chaldean Catholic Church in Amman, Jordan. Thousands of Iraqi Christians fled to neighboring Jordan after bombings that targeted churches in Iraqi cities in recent years.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ali Jarekji / Reuters

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — A Saudi woman applies makeup on a model during a beauty and style competition at the 2010 Cosmetic Expo, a four-day event held for the first time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Amer Hilabi / AFP/Getty Images

Salisbury Plain, England — A druid recites an incantation as part of a ceremony marking the winter solstice at the historic Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, England.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kieran Doherty / Reuters

Kolkata, India — Moviegoers attend an IMAX presentation of "Mystery of the Nile" at Science City Space Theatre in Kolkata, India.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Deshakalyan Chowdhury / AFP/Getty Images

Madrid — A Spanish lottery official opens a trapdoor at the bottom of a giant drum to let balls bearing ticket numbers fall into a lower compartment at the start of the country's traditional Christmas lottery draw known as El Gordo — The Fat One. With a jackpot of 2.3 billion Euros — about $3 billion — divided among thousands of lucky winners, it's certain to be a welcome holiday treat at a time of economic woes and 20% unemployment.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Arturo Rodriguez / Associated Press

Madrid — A festive atmosphere prevails in Spain's Christmas El Gordo lottery drawing, with costumed hopefuls in attendance.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Andrea Comas / Reuters

Palleja, Spain — Winners celebrate after nabbing a portion of the jackpot in Spain's Christmas El Gordo lottery. This year, the top prize went to tickets bearing the number 79250. They were sold in Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid and other cities ranging from the Basque region in the north to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Manu Fernandez / Associated Press

Vatican City — Pope Benedict XVI gives his blessing at the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Alessia Pierdomenico / Reuters

Rome — A student holds a burning flare during a demonstration in Rome, where thousands gathered to protest education cuts.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

New York — A house in the New York City borough of Queens is colorfully decorated for the holidays.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Ghent, Belgium — As night falls, snow blankets the medieval city of Ghent, Belgium.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Yves Logghe / Associated Press

Reno — With an illuminated Christmas tree in the foreground, a full moon rises over Reno.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: David B. Parker / Reno Gazette-Journal

Kabul, Afghanistan — Workers add coal to the furnace of a brick kiln on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Altaf Qadri / Associated Press

London — The zebra crossing on Abbey Road, made famous by the Beatles' 1969 album, was designated a heritage site by the British government Wednesday. The crossing is outside the renowned Abbey Road studios where the Beatles recorded much of their music.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press

Maidstone, England — A Eurostar train travels through the snow-covered Kent countryside en route to St. Pancras International station in London. With weather conditions easing slightly, the race was on at snowbound European airports and railway stations to clear the backlog of stranded passengers in time for Christmas.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ben Stansall / AFP/Getty Images

London — Fuel pump signs are seen at a gas station in London. According to the British Automobile Assn., the peak day for holiday road travel will be Thursday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg

Petkovichi, Belarus — A cat balances precariously on a fence in the aptly named village of Petkovichi, Belarus.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters

New York — A dancer dressed as a toy soldier from the New York City Ballet's production of "George Balanchine's Nutcracker" visits the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The company will perform the traditional holiday ballet through Jan. 2.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JUSTIN LANE / European Pressphoto Agency

Zell an der Mosel, Germany — The tower of the former city wall is decorated as a candle for Christmas in Zell an der Mosel, Germany.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Harald Tittel / Associated Press

Nicosia, Cyprus — A Peruvian musician plays a pan flute on Ledra Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare lined with shops and cafes in the medieval heart of Nicosia, in the days before Christmas.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Petros Karadjias / Associated Press

Pocheon, Republic of Korea — A South Korean Army K-1a tank fires live rounds during military exercises on the Seungjin Fire Training Field in mountainous Pocheon. South Korea's military held the live-fire drill involving tanks, artillery and jet fighters in a major show of strength staged exactly a month after North Korea's deadly attack on a border island.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DONG-A ILBO / AFP/Getty Images

Sanaa, Yemen — Yemenis walk back to their homes through an alley in the old city of Sanaa two days before Christmas.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Hani Mohammed / Associated Press

Lora del Rio, Spain — A lone fireman clears mud from a flooded street after heavy rains hit the town of Lora del Rio in the southern Spanish province of Seville.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JON NAZCA / REUTERS

Belfast, Northern Ireland — A Flybe aircraft takes off from the Belfast City Airport at dusk with the famous Harland and Wolff cranes silhouetted in the background. Britain has been experiencing one of its harshest winters, forcing the closure of airports in London, which has the world's largest city airspace. Dublin airport shut down Thursday after a heavy snowfall but is expected to reopen in the morning.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PETER MUHLY / AFP/Getty Images

Havana, Cuba — Ukrainian children with cancer await medical treatment in Tarara, a residential complex outside Havana. Beginning in 1990, more than 20,800 people from the ex-Soviet republics have came to Tarara to receive medical treatment for the deadly disease.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP/Getty Images

Dubuque, Iowa — Sentrina Klostermann, 5, snuggles up to Santa at a Dubuque, Iowa, shopping mall.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jeremy Portje / Telegraph Herald

Tokyo — Workers in Santa Claus and reindeer costumes clean windows at the Odaiba waterfront shopping mall. The costumes were worn as part of a Christmas promotional event to attract shoppers.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP / Getty Images

Hefei, China — A teacher dressed as Santa Claus distributes candy to children to celebrate Christmas at a kindergarten.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JIANAN YU / Reuters

Chandigarh, India — A student dressed up as Santa Claus dances with other students during a Christmas celebration at a school.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AJAY VERMA / Reuters

Bethlehem, West Bank — A Catholic tourist holds a candle after taking part in a Mass inside the Grotto of the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born. So far this year, 1.4 million tourists have visited the church and 90,000 are expected during the Christmas season, a significant increase over last year, according to Israeli government figures.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Tara Todras-Whitehill / Associated Press

Bethlehem, West Bank — A worshiper places her fingers inside holes in a column that form the shape of a cross at the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DARREN WHITESIDE / Reuters

Kalash Valley, Pakistan — Kalash tribal girls in traditional costumes take part in the annual Chatarmas religious festival of the Kalash community. The local Kalash tribe worships deities similar to ancient Greek gods and goddesses.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HAMMAD KHAN FAROOQI / EPA

Harbin, China — A worker installs lights on a snow sculpture before the 27th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SHENG LI / Reuters

London — Shoppers out in London's Oxford street look for bargains as sales start early Thursday. Britain is battered by economic woes, and the shopping season was shortened by bad weather, so the final hopes of rescuing the retail season rest on last-minute shoppers, predominantly men who are desperate to find a credible gift before it's finally, utterly, too late.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Alastair Grant / Associated Press

Karachi, Pakistan — A Pakistani woman sits next to a patient lying on a bed outside a government hospital.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP / Getty Images

Bucharest, Romania — A public television employee jumps off Parliament hall's balcony to protest the government's austerity drive, including wage cuts and tax hikes in the recession-hit economy, as Prime Minister Emil Boc speaks during a no-confidence vote over wage reforms. State news agency Agerpres said the man, a father of two in his 40s, was seriously injured. He was wearing a shirt with the words, "You killed our children's future, you sold us."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: BOGDAN STAMATIN / Reuters

Rome — Italian police guard the front gate of the Chilean Embassy, where a bomb exploded, injuring one person. This followed another bomb attack on the Swiss Embassy in the Italian capital that also wounded one.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP / Getty Images

Beijing — People take pictures at a shopping mall. Despite China's Catholic population being just over 6 million, Christmas is still celebrated in China, although not so much as a religious festivity. Youngsters take part of the celebrations, believing it is trendier to join in the western festivities, while for many others it is just an excuse to have fun and buy presents for their loved ones.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DIEGO AZUBEL / EPA