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The week in pictures

From Egypt’s landmark election to the Eurovision Song Contest, Al Jazeera showcases the week in pictures.

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On May 23-24, Egypt voted in the first free presidential elections in the country(***)s history. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi is set to face off against former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq in a runoff, disappointing many pro-revolution Egyptians.
Published On 27 May 2012
A massive forest fire ravaging the US state of New Mexico has spread over about 85,000 acres. Hot, windy weather has made containing the blaze difficult. Meanwhile, on Friday, another fire broke out on the Utah-Colorado border.
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On May 24, a suicide bomber killed 101 Yemeni soldiers at a military parade rehearsal in Sanaa, Yemen(***)s capital, and injured hundreds more. Ansar al-Sharia, a group linked to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, took responsibility for the attack.
Millions turned their eyes to the sky on May 20-21 on both sides of the Pacific as a solar eclipse created a "ring of fire" from Asia to the western United States. Here, the annular solar eclipse is seen from the coast of Xiamen in southeastern China.
African Union forces took control this week of the strategic town of Afgoye, about 30km northwest of Somalia(***)s capital, Mogadishu. The town had been a stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab.
In Ukraine, a parliamentary debate over a controversial bill that would allow wider use of the Russian language in Russian-speaking regions of the country descended into fisticuffs.
Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden, was sentenced to 33 years in jail by a tribal court for treason. The sentencing of Afridi, who is currently in Peshawar(***)s Central Jail (above), drew strong condemnation from US officials.
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Bankia, Spain(***)s fourth-biggest bank, announced on Friday that it would seek $23.8bn in loans from the Spanish government. Fears are rising that Spain, like Greece and Ireland before it, may have to seek a financial bailout.
Azerbaijan hosted the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time last week. Swedish chanteuse Loreen won the contest with her song "Euphoria". Above, Russia(***)s entrant in the competition, the sextet Buranovskiye Babushki, added a grandmotherly touch to the affair.