Snapshots of the Fortnight (February 21 - March 6)

Published: Mar 8, 2013

1/15

A dejected man sits in the midst of rubble at a site hit by what activists said was a Scud missile in Aleppo's Ard al-Hamra neighbourhood on February 23. Rockets struck eastern districts of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city the day before, killing at least 29 people and trapping a family of 10 in the ruins of their home

2/15

This picture taken on February 22 shows an employee wearing a panda suit talking to a woman at a panda-themed hotel at the foot of Emei Mountain in Emeishan in southwest China's Sichuan province. The hotel is reportedly the first panda-themed hotel in the world

3/15

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez react to the announcement of his death on March 5 outside the hospital in Caracas where he was being treated. Chavez died after a two-year battle with cancer, ending the socialist leader's 14-year rule of the South American country, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised speech

4/15

Neil Heslin, father of six-year-old Jesse Lewis (Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim), holds a picture of him with Jesse as he testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 27. The committee held a hearing on The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013

5/15

Models present creations by German designer Karl Lagerfeld for French fashion house Chanel as a part of his Fall-Winter 2013/2014 women's ready-to-wear fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on March 5

6/15

Police wield their batons against teachers during a protest in the Indian city of Patna on March 5. Dozens of teachers, who work on contract, held a protest demanding the regularisation of their jobs and increase in their wages

7/15

Police troopers stand guard outside a holding cell where Al-Qaeda suspects were held during a hearing at the court room of a state security court in Sanaa on March 4

8/15

On February 27, a youngster jumped from Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province into the river following another person who committed suicide minutes before. Police said there was little chance for them to survive

9/15

A man walks between glass facades of the Bonn Post Tower, the headquarters of German postal and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL in Bonn on March 5

10/15

Napoli's Camilo Zuniga (L) and Juventus' Sebastian Giovinco fight for the ball during their Italian Serie A soccer match at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples on March 1

11/15

The University of Miami's Durand Scott looks to make an in-bounds pass as he is taunted by Duke University fans during their NCAA basketball game in Durham, North Carolina on March 2

12/15

Pope Benedict XVI waves from his Popemobile as he rides through a packed Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican during his last general audience on February 27. The weekly event, which is normally held in a vast auditorium in winter, was moved outdoors to St. Peter's Square such that more people
could attend. The Pope took the historic step of becoming the first pontiff in some six centuries to step down on February 28 instead of ruling for life

13/15

A Sumatran tiger plays with a pig before killing it at the Sumatra Tiger Rescue Centre compound, inside the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation (TWNC) near Bandar Lampung, the southern tip of Sumatra Island on February 24. The rescue centre has released five tigers since 2009 on the 45,000 hectares of the TWNC jungle while eight are still under their care. On a monthly basis, the eight tigers eat a total of 80 living pigs, each weighing between 10-12 kgs. The Sumatran tiger is a rare tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra

14/15

A tamed golden eagle attacks a fox during an annual hunting competition in Chengelsy Gorge, some 150 km (93 miles) east of Almaty in Kazakhstan on February 23

15/15

Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke listens with his staff while he testifies before the House Committee on Financial Services while at Capitol Hill in Washington on February 27