Last 7 Days

1 - NORWAY: Kvaenes – A dog walks around tons of dead herring on a beach at Kvaenes in Nordreisa, northern Norway on Monday.
PHOTO: Jan Petter Jürgensen

2 - GERMANY: Osnabrueck  – Carol singer stand in Osnabrueck on Tuesday. Every year German carol singers collect money to fund charitable projects around the world.
PHOTO: Friso Gentsch

3 - NEPAL: Lumbini – Nepalese Buddhists monks pray outside the Mayadevi (Buddha’s mother) temple, birth place of Lord Buddha, Lumbini 400 kms (250 miles) south west of Kathmandu on Wednesday. Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini.
PHOTO: Prakash Mathema

4 - CHINA: Harbin – Ice sculptures are displayed at the annual Ice and Snow festival in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province on Thursday. Fairy tale palaces, towering pagodas, and even an Egyptian Sphynx – all carved from ice – are among the sights at this year’s Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
The annual event, now in its 26th year, pulls crowds from across China and even a few visitors from overseas, drawn to the unique visions of an international roster of sculptors who illuminate their creations with multicolored electric lights encased in the translucent ice.
PHOTO: Gou Yige

5 - BULGARIA: Kalofer – Bulgarian men perform the traditional Bulgarian “Horo” dance in the icy winter waters of the Tundzha river in the town of Kalofer, as part of the Epiphany Day celebrations on Friday. As a tradition, an Eastern Orthodox priest throws a cross in the river and it is believed that the one who retrieves it will be healthy through the year as well as all those who dance in the icy waters. 
PHOTO: Dimitar Dilkoff

6 - SOUTH AFRICA: Bloemfontein – A traditional healer performs a Cleansing and Thanksgiving ceremony at the historic Waaihoek Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein on Saturday. South Africa’s mighty African National Congress (ANC) on Friday began celebrations for its centenary, still firmly at the helm of Nelson Mandela’s all-race democracy despite losing some of its shine.
PHOTO: Alexander Joe

7 - JAPAN: Tokyo – Shinto believers pray in an ice-pool to purify their bodies and souls as they display their endurance skills during the New Year’s purification ceremony at the Teppozu Irani Shrine in Tokyo on Sunday. Some 75 believers attended the annual New Year ceremony.
PHOTO: Kazuhiro Nogi