In Pictures

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The week in pictures

From the ousting of Ukraine’s president to Pussy Riot taking a stand at Sochi.

Park Yang-Kon (R) of South Korea bids farewell to his brother Park Yang-Soo of North Korea, as he prepares to depart the North Korean Mount Kumgang resort area on the third and final day of the first group of family reunions between North and South Korea, on Saturday February 22.
By Al Jazeera
Published On 23 Feb 2014
Tens of thousands of opponents and supporters of Venezuela(***)s socialist government have hit the streets this week in rival mass rallies. Opponents say President Nicholas Maduro should resign over rising inflation and insecurity; supporters say wealthy right-wing opponents lack the ability to make democratic change at the ballot box.
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Members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot were beaten and arrested in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, after performing a protest song. They were later released.
On the final day of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Canada(***)s men(***)s ice hockey team beat Sweden 3-0 to retain the olympic title.
Rebel fighters hold a position as smoke billows during battles against pro-government forces in the outskirts of Aleppo, in northern Syria, on Sunday February 23.
Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, has been left devastated after rival militia have spent months targeting each other, and civilian groups. On February 20, 2014, Interim President Samba Panza vowed to "go to war" on the anti-balaka, who claim to seek vengeance for atrocities committed by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance, the Seleka, which temporarily seized power in March last year.
An Iraqi girl stands near rubble in the aftermath of an explosion in the Ur district of eastern Baghdad, on Tuesday February 18. Attacks in Iraq, including a series of car bombs in Baghdad, killed at least 22 people that day.
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On Thursday, German officials arrested three suspected former guards of the Auschwitz death camp run by Nazis in World War II. The three accused, aged 88, 92 and 94 years old are believed to have been involved in the killing of prisoners at the notorious camp in occupied Poland, according to prosecutors.
Facebook(***)s purchase of fast-growing mobile-messaging start-up WhatsApp for $19 billion stunned the markets on Thursday, before many users took to rival social media networks to complain about the international outage suffered by WhatsApp servers on Saturday evening.
Thai riot police stand guard as anti-government protesters rally inside the Thai Royal Police Club in Bangkok on Friday, February 21.
Model Cybil, wearing a creation by designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, prepares to take the catwalk on the final day of Fashion Pakistan Week in Karachi on Friday, February 21. Elsewhere in Pakistan, talks between the government and the Taliban were suspended after Pakistani fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban hideouts, killing at least 15 people. A bomb in Peshawar also killed at least nine people on Sunday.
Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, reported to be one of the world(***)s top drug gangsters, was arrested on Friday February 21. Guzman has been running Mexico(***)s infamous Sinaloa Cartel and over the past decade emerged as one of the world(***)s most powerful organized crime bosses.
Egypt(***)s ousted president Mohamed Morsi was accused to leaking state secrets to iran during the second hearing of his trial on Sunday. His supporters have been rallying in cities across the Middle East, including in Yemen(***)s capital, Sanaa, where this image was taken on February 11.
Traders at the Qatar stock exchange, in Doha, welcomed the recent decision to upgrade the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to "emerging market status". A report this week revealed that more than 450 Indian migrant labourers have died in the Gulf state in the past two years - though the country(***)s Human Rights Committee said this was a "normal" figure, given the size of the Indian community in Qatar.
Kiev residents gather on Sunday round a makeshift memorial to commemorate the victims of the recent clashes in Ukraine(***)s capital, in which at least 75 people died. Pro-Europe protests in the country(***)s western cities forced Moscow-leaning President Viktor Yanukovich from office on Saturday.
Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko addresses anti-government protesters gathered at Independence Square in Kiev on Saturday, February 22. She was freed from jail moments after President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted by the country(***)s parliament.
Fireworks explode over the Fisht Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics on Sunday February 23.