Beijing — Hostesses pose as they take souvenir photos at Tiananmen Square, near the Great Hall of the People where the annual National People's Congress is held.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Andy Wong / Associated Press

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Faskusfjordur, Iceland — The Northern Lights are seen 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.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jonina Oskardottir / Associated Press

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Allahabad, India — Young Indian boys with their faces smeared with colored powder and glitter participate in Holi celebrations. Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, also heralds the coming of spring.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rajesh Kumar Singh / Associated Press

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Amsterdam — A mother with her baby attends a movie at the cinema The Movies. From now on, the cinema offers a special program for parents who want to watch the movies with their babies.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ROBIN UTRECHT / EPA

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Bet Dajan, West Bank — A Palestinian protester argues with an Israeli soldier during clashes between locals and Israel security forces at a protest against the closure and for the removal of a gate at the entrance of Bet Dajan village.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ALAA BADARNEH / EPA

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Sana, Yemen — Yemeni protesters cover their eyes with black cloth and wear handcuffs during a rally demanding the release of fellow demonstrators detained over anti-government protests. According to media reports, Yemeni protesters staged a rally demanding the immediate release of the detained revolutionary youth, who were forcibly snatched from the streets during the crackdown by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh's security forces.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YAHYA ARHAB / EPA

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Srinagar, India — Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray as a priest (not pictured) displays a relic at the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Geelani in the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. Indian Muslims celebrate the Urs festival of the saint who lived in Baghdad some 1,000 years ago and is buried there, Kashmiri Muslims hold the saint in high esteem and have set up scores of shrines and mosques in his memory.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FAROOQ KHAN / EPA

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Konstanz, Germany — A woman is silhouetted against the sun as she enjoys a break sitting on a bench on the promenade along Lake Constance.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PATRICK†SEEGER / EPA

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Athens — Evangelos Venizelos, Greece's finance minister, is seen speaking on a video camera screen during a news conference. Greece's private sector debt swap won't be repeated in other countries and is unique to Greece, Venizelos said.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kostas Tsironis / Bloomberg

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Istanbul, Turkey — Turkey's Sevim Sinmez lands on the sand during the women's triple jump qualifications at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships at the Atakoy Athletics Arena.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MUSTAFA OZER / AFP / Getty Images

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Gerri de la Sal, Spain — A helicopter drops water on one of the four wildfires that have so far ravaged 3,000 acres in the northeastern region of Catalonia, Spain, near this village. Emergency services workers evacuated about 200 people from their homes on Thursday because of the risk from the flames but the majority have already been allowed to return to their homes. Spain is struggling through its driest winter since the 1940s, according to the national weather office.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JOSEP LAGO / AFP / Getty Images

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Ishinomaki, Japan — Sea stars are being dried for plant food on the ground in Tashirojima island, known as "Cats island," two days before the anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami-hit isolated island, well known for more than 80 stray cats that local residents said survived the disaster, is on the way to recovery, using the cats as tourism resources.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Itsuo Inouye / Associated Press

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Katmandu, Nepal — A Nepalese balances herself and looks in from the gate of a temple at Godawari.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Niranjan Shrestha / Associated Press

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Jerusalem — An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy wears a white traditional costume during celebrations for the holiday of Purim at the Belz Hasidic dynasty synagogue. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ABIR SULTAN / EPA

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Gauhati, India — Revelers dance amid clouds of colored powder during celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anupam Nath / Associated Press

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Kolkata, India — A Western tourist joins local revelers in celebrating Holi, which also heralds the coming of spring.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP / Getty Images

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Kleinfeltersville, Pa. — A flock of snow geese estimated at 30,000 strong is a blur in this slow-shutter image as it takes flight from the Middle Creek Reservoir. The geese stop at the reservoir to feed on marsh grass before continuing their migration north to their breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JIM LO SCALZO / EPA

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Takotna, Alaska — Musher Bill Pinkham collects hot water during a stop on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race course.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News

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Prekaz, Serbia — Kosovo Albanians bearing torches participate in a "Night of the Fires" bonfire ceremony in memory of a 1998 clash at the village between Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Serb forces that left 46 KLA soldiers dead.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ARMEND NIMANI / AFP / Getty Images

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Bnei Brak, Israel — Sisters Simcha, left, and Miri, dressed as dolls in their doll boxes, wait to join local Purim celebrations commemorating the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ariel Schalit / Associated Press

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Hebron, West Bank — An Israeli border police officer watches as a clown, a local settler in costume, entertains at a Purim parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: OLIVER WEIKEN / EPA

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Athens — A passing man is dwarfed by a giant eye painted on a wall.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP / Getty Images

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London — Francois Heersbrandt, from left, of Belguim, Konrad Czerniak of Poland and Rafael Munoz of Spain race in a men's 100-meter butterfly heat at the British Gas Swimming Championships at the London Aquatics Centre.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Al Bello / Getty Images

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Birmingham, England — A poodle holds a pose waiting for grooming on the opening day of the Crufts Dog Show.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ANDREW YATES / AFP / Getty Images

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Ankara, Turkey — Turkish women chant slogans during a demonstration on International Women's Day in Ankara. Turkey’s Parliament marked the holiday by approving a package of laws aimed at better protecting women and children from abuse.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ADEM ALTAN / AFP / Getty Images

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Qalandia, West Bank — A Palestinian woman raises her hands in front of Israeli soldiers while taking part in a demonstration seeking to remove barriers on Palestinian land as part of International Women's Day.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ABBAS MOMANI / AFP / Getty Images

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Jammu, India — Indian girls participate in Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jaipal Singh / European Pressphoto Agency

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Mombasa, Kenya — Maasai warriors cricket team players take part in a practice session on the beach. The team, made up of warriors from the Laikipia region, promotes healthier lifestyles and spreads awareness about HIV/AIDS among tribal youth.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty Images

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Pathum Thani, Thailand — Thousands of Buddhist monks chant during lantern lighting to celebrate Makha Bucha at Dhammakaya Temple. Makha Bucha commemorates the day Buddha gave an important sermon to scores of monk disciples who spontaneously gathered.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rungroj Yongrit / European Pressphoto Agency

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Nikolai, Alaska — Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser prepares his team to leave a checkpoint during the sled dog race.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News

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Johannesburg — Union members march through downtown on a day of nationwide strikes that brought South Africa's biggest city to standstill. The strikes were against the use of labor brokers and the tolling of public highways.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kim Ludbrook / European Pressphoto Agency

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Rikuzentakata, Japan — Pine trees, uprooted during last year's tsunami, are strewn over the beach. The one-year anniversary approaches of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that left more than 15,800 dead and 3,300 missing. Thousands are still without homes and continue to struggle.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

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London — Queen Elizabeth II attends a service for the Order of the British Empire at St Paul's Cathedral.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Getty Images

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Atlanta — Children and parents are dwarfed by a whale shark as it passes inside its tank at the Georgia Aquarium. The whale shark is the largest living fish species.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Emmert / AFP / Getty Images

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Karlsruhe, Germany — The artwork "Ernie" by Patricia Waller is seen at an art fair.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Uli Deck / AFP / Getty Images

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London — Marco Loughran of Guildford City competes in the men's 200-meter backstroke event in the British championships at the London Aquatics Centre.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Al Bello / Getty Images

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Sao Paulo, Brazil — A cyclist lies on Paulista Avenue as part of the "Bicicletada Nacional" demonstration advocating better traffic safety conditions in Brazil.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Nelson Almeida / AFP / Getty Images

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Peshawar, Pakistan — A boy injured in a blast involving a remote-controlled bomb is treated at a local Pakistani hospital.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mohammad Sajjad / AFP / Getty Images

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Washington — Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the American Israel Policy Affairs Committee's annual policy conference via a satellite link at the Washington Convention Center. Romney took time out of campaigning on Super Tuesday to address AIPAC, one of the most prominent organizations lobbying the United States government on behalf of Israel.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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Cambridge, Mass. — A voter enters a polling station to cast a ballot in the Super Tuesday Republican presidential primary at the Lexington Avenue Fire House. Eleven states hold their primaries with 424 delegates at stake in the contest for the Republican nomination for the presidency.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Win McNamee / Getty Images

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Washington — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum leaves the stage after speaking before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press

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Duluth, Ga. — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich addresses the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce during a campaign stop. Ten states, including Georgia, are holding caucuses and primaries for voters to pick their choices for the Republican presidential nominee.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Alex Wong / Getty Images

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A view of an X1 solar flare in a new active region on the sun that has let loose two M-class flares and one X-class so far. The M-class flares erupted on Friday and Sunday. The third flare, rated an X1, peaked at 10:30 EST on Sunday. A CME accompanied each flare, though due to the fact that this active region is still off to the side of the sun, they will likely have a weak effect on Earth's magnetosphere.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: NASA

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New York City — A woman participates in a "Pink Slip" protest in Union Square in New York City. The protest, which supports those who have lost their jobs due to the recession started in 2007, asks others to recognize that "the next pink slip might be yours," and to support the lobbying of Congress to invest in U.S.-based jobs.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Andrew Burton / Getty Images

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Kingston, Jamaica — Prince Harry leaves Usain Bolt in his wake as he races him at the Usain Bolt Track at the University of the West Indies. Prince Harry is in Jamaica as part of a Diamond Jubilee tour, representing Queen Elizabeth II, taking in Belize, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Brazil.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Chris Jackson / Getty Images

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Paris — Models present creations by Italian fashion designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Picciolo for Valentino during the Fall/Winter 2012-13 ready-to-wear collection show.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ALEXANDER KLEIN / AFP / Getty Images

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New Delhi — Samajwadi Party supporters, faces smeared with colored powder, celebrate by lighting firecrackers at their party office. Election officials across five Indian states Tuesday began counting votes in crucial provincial elections that are being seen as a test of strength for the country's ruling Congress party.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Manish Swarup / Associated Press

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Benghazi, Libya — Libyan men carry coffins of victims, discovered in a mass grave, at a funeral in Benghazi. Thousands of mourners gathered to bury 155 bodies unearthed from a mass grave of people killed during last year's civil war. It was the largest grave yet to be discovered from the conflict that began as a popular uprising and ended with the capture and killing of Libyan leader Moammar Gadafi in October.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Manu Brabo / Associated Press

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New Delhi — Exiled Tibetans shout slogans as they participate in a protest outside the U.N. office. The Tibetans appealed to the U.N. to send a fact-finding delegation to assess the critical situation in Tibet and to release all political prisoners.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Manish Swarup / Associated Press

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New Delhi — An injured exiled Tibetan protester is helped during a protest after he banged his head on the road outside the United Nations headquarters. The Tibetans appealed to the U.N. to send a fact finding delegation to assess the situation in Tibet and to release all political prisoners.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Tsering Topgyal / Associated Press

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Herat, Afghanistan — A group of 12 former Taliban militants surrender their weapons during a reconciliation ceremony.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JALIL REZAYEE / EPA

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Marysville, Ind. — Snow covers a scene of twisted debris clustered around a pair of splintered trees left by a tornado that ripped through town on Friday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press

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Henryville, Ind. — Mark Troub, left, with son Jeff, holds a prized possession -- an autographed photo of Pete Rose -- he salvaged from the rubble of his home after it was destroyed by a tornado.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Scott Olson / Getty Images

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Ahmedabad, India — An Indian girl reacts as others throw colored powder on her while celebrating Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colors.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ajit Solanki / Associated Press

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Naypyidaw, Myanmar — A child holds a flag while waiting for the arrival of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a campaign rally. Suu Kyi is running for parliament and held the gathering in the capital, Naypyidaw, seeking to challenge the military-backed government in its political heartland.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SOE THAN WIN / AFP / Getty Images

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Jakarta, Indonesia — Greenpeace activists wear "radiation suits" and hold umbrellas to symbolically protect themselves from fallout as they stage a protest on the global day of action to commemorate the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Greenpeace urged the Indonesian government to drop its plans to build nuclear power plants and instead concentrate on using the region's abundant clean, safe, renewable energy resources.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ARDILES RANTE / AFP / Getty Images

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Mandalay, Myanmar — A Buddhist monk cleans an image of Buddha at the Mahar Myatmuni temple.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SOE THAN WIN / AFP / Getty Images

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McLeod Ganj, India — Tibetans in exile mourn and express solidarity with two Tibetan women who recently set themselves on fire in separate incidents in protest of Chinese rule in their homeland, 33-year-old Rinchen and 19-year-old Tsering Kyi.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AFP / Getty Images

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Berlin — A demonstrator dressed as the sun joins a protest against planned cuts in a government program promoting solar energy in Germany.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ROBERT SCHLESINGER / EPA

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Pyongyang, North Korea — North Korean soldiers chant denunciations of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak as a morale-building exercise at a military base on their country's southwest coast, opposite South Korea's Baengnyeong Island.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press

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Srinagar, India — Kashmiri Muslim devotees pray as the imam (not pictured) displays a relic of Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, during celebrations of the Sufi saint's birthday anniversary at his shrine.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FAROOQ KHAN / EPA

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Brazzaville, Congo — Patricia Inoponis laments the destruction as she stands among the debris of her neighborhood after huge explosions at a munitions depot left more than 150 people dead and 1,000 injured. Congo issued a plea for international help Monday as soldiers began recovering bodies from the blast area in the Mpila district. President Denis Sassou Nguesso announced a curfew in Brazzaville, the capital, while authorities set up an exclusion zone around the devastated area.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PATRICK FORT / AFP / Getty Images

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=55526

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Saint-Quentin, France — French President Nicolas Sarkozy greets voters during a visit to Saint-Quentin while campaigning for reelection.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP / Getty Images

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