The week in pictures

A picture taken on a mobile phone shows members of the al-Ahmar armed group in northern Yemen(***)s Omran province on February 2. Shia Houthi rebels have overrun strongholds of powerful tribes in northern Yemen, witnesses said, in a major advance following a month of combat that has left scores dead.

Chinese worshippers burn incense sticks at the Dongyue Temple in Beijing on January 31, while praying for good fortune in the Year of the Horse. China welcomed in the Lunar New Year, in an annual pilgrimage season which sees about 3.62 billion trips made by Chinese travellers during the 40-day Spring Festival travel period.

Groundhog handler Ron Ploucha calms Punxsutawney Phil at the 128th annual weather prediction - known as "Groundhog Day" - on Gobbler(***)s Knob, Pennsylvania, on February 2. Punxsutawney Phil "predicted" six more weeks of winter, much to the chagrin of those hoping for an early spring.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem gives a press briefing on peace talks at the United Nations headquarters on January 31, in Geneva.

Egyptian state television shows ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in a makeshift courtroom on the outskirts of Cairo on January 28, during his trial on charges of breaking out of prison during the 2011 uprising.

Villagers of Kawori meet in front of their burnt-out houses on January 28. More than 70 villagers were killed in two separate attacks in north-east Nigeria, with suspicions falling on the banned armed group known as Boko Haram.

Scarlett Johansson courted controversy this week as she stepped down from her role as an ambassador for Oxfam. The charity had distanced itself from Johannson(***)s corporate endorsement of SodaStream - a company which came under fire for its use of a factory inside an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. The move has helped the campaign to boycott Israeli goods to move further into mainstream international debate.

US President Barack Obama delivered the annual State Of The Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington on January 28. He promised to raise the minimum wage for federal contracted emplyees to $10.10 an hour, and again said that the prison at Guantanamo Bay should be shut down this year - more than five years after he initially pledged to shut down the infamous jail.

Fans of the Welsh rugby team get into the spirit of things at Cardiff(***)s Milennium Stadium, as the annual Six Nations rugby tournament kicked off with Wales scoring a less-than-convincing victory over Italy.

Across the pond, Seattle Seahawks fans hold up placards of (right to left) head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Marshawn Lynch, and cornerback Richard Sherman at a New York fan gathering on February 1, ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII, which will kick off on Sunday.

Kiev protesters urge riot police officers not to use force against peaceful demonstrators in Ukraine(***)s capital. The city has seen months of unrest, with deep divisions emerging over whether the country should move closer to either the European Union or Russia.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki shows off a copy of the country(***)s new constitution after its adoption on January 27 in a landmark event in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.

Libya(***)s national football team celebrate after winning the African Nations soccer championship. The team beat Ghana(***)s "Black Stars" 4-3 on penalties to clinch the victory on February 1.