Pictures of the Week 23rd - 29th Jan

Editors Pick: best photos from around the world

A competitor jumps through flames during the Tough Guy event in Perton, central England January 29, 2012. The annual event to raise cash for charity challenges thousands of international competitors in a cross country run followed by an assault course consisting of obstacles including water, fire and tunnels. 

A man takes a bath outside his shanty in front of the Indian national flag in Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, in Mumbai January 24, 2012. Female workers at Dharavi made a 151ft-long (46m) Indian flag to celebrate India's Republic day, according to organisers

A member of Aquabatix greets visitors as she performs as a mermaid at Turkuazoo in Istanbul January 27, 2012. British underwater group Aquabatix is in Istanbul for a three-day tour to perform their "Mermaid Love Story" show at Turkey's first giant aquarium, Turkuazoo

A supporter of India's ruling Congress party hold a billboard of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after an election campaign rally ahead of state assembly elections at Moga, in the northern Indian state of Punjab January 19, 2012

wiss Riot Police spray tear gas towards Anti-WEF demonstrator during a protest against the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos January 28, 2012.

Germany's Richard Freitag soars through the air during a trial round at the FIS World Cup Ski Jumping competition in Sapporo, northern Japan January

Auctioneer Mike Odenbach (R) calls out the bids as one of the largest cut emerald's in the world is put up for sale at the Western Star Auction House in Kelowna, British Columbia January 28, 2012. The 57,500 carat gem called Teodora was mined in Brazil and cut in India. The emerald received no bids as it opened at $500,000-CAD.

Fireworks light up the sky over the Victoria Harbour to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Hong Kong January 24, 2012. Lunar New Year began on Monday and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac

Members of the Sing Yong troupe perform a dragon dance on the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at the River Hongbao festival in Singapore January 25, 2012. The Lunar New Year began on January 23 and marked the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac

India's Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers and their camels are silhouetted against the setting sun as they rehearse for the "Beating the Retreat" ceremony in New Delhi January 24, 2012. The ceremony symbolises retreat after a day on the battlefield, and marks the official end of the Indian Republic Day celebrations. It is held every year on January 29

A man from the Pakistan customs uses a bamboo stick to destroy bottles of liquor near a burning pile of narcotics in the outskirts of Karachi January 26, 2012. The Government of Pakistan Model Customs Collectorate Preventive, Karachi, held an exercise where liquor and contraband were burned and destroyed to mark International Customs Day, customs official Qamar Thalho said. 

Rose petals crown the face of 62-year-old heart patient Chaudhry Mohammad Gulab as his family members prepare him for burial in Lahore on January 27, 2012. The government in Pakistan's Punjab province is scrambling to recall contaminated drugs that have killed over a 100 people in the last month, local media cited provincial health officials on Friday. Gulab's health started to deteriorate after he was prescribed a new medication by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on January 18, his younger brother Chaudhry Mohammad Bagh said at his funeral. "We returned to PIC on January 25 after Gulab started coughing blood and officials asked us to return his medication and then advised we should admit him to the Mayo hospital. He died two days after being admitted," Bagh said. Officials at the Mayo hospital did not comment on the cause of Gulab's death, although his death certificate states it was due to a heart attack. Government officials have said autopsies would need to be performed before the cause of the recent deaths can be confirmed

Dogs compete during the Quebec Winter Carnival dog sled race in the streets of Old Quebec in Quebec City January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

A woman holds her Selkirk Rex cat during an international cat exhibition held in Fleurus, southern Belgium January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Yves Herman

A horse falls after being gored by a bull during a bullfight festival at Macarena bullring in Medellin January 28, 2012. 

A Sikh policeman holds his turban as a helicopter carrying Rahul Gandhi, a lawmaker and son of Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, prepares to land during a campaign rally ahead of state assembly elections at Sirhind in Punjab January 27, 2012

Instructor Sarah Tiefenthaler (front) demonstrates a pose during her Yogaqua class, which combines yoga and paddleboarding, in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson 

Pink shovels are lined up before members of the Democratic Women's Council of Horry County, S.C., start work to demolish the Republican presidential sand sculpture, outside the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach January 23, 2012. The group contracted with the Myrtle Beach area Chamber of Commerce to demolish the sculpture to raise money for the charitable organization Mothers Against Violence. 

A ball boy rolls a ball to another ball boy as the roof on Rod Laver Arena is being closed due to the rain during the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 29, 2012. Picture taken with a fish-eye lens

A Niger soccer fan cheers as he arrives inside the Stade De L'Amiti Stadium before their African Cup of Nations Group C soccer against Gabon in Libreville, Gabon, January 

Pictures of the week 16th - 22nd Jan

From Berlin Fashion Week to R-Day preparation, here's a look at the best pictures from around the world.

A dog looks out from his cage after a race in a sled dog competition in Galyateto, 106km (66 miles) east of Budapest, January 22, 

In this handhout picture taken on on January 17, 2012 Indonesian schoolchildren cross a river using a badly damaged bridge in Lebak in Indonesia's Banten province. Indonesian authorities said on January 21, 2012 that they will immediately repair a nearly collapsed bridge but downplayed risk to children who make a dangerous crossing to get to school everyday

Police walk past a barrier set on fire by residents of the Pinheirinho slum, who are resisting police arrival to evict them by court order, in Sao Jose dos Campos, 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Sao Paulo, January 22, 2012. Some 1,500 families who have been occupying a private plot of land for the past eight years were evicted after a lengthy legal process by the real owner, police sources said.

A traditional cock fight takes place during the annual Jonbeel festival in Jagiroad about 75 kilometers (46 miles) east of Gauhati, India, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Tribal Tiwa people come down from Meghalaya hills to participate in Jonbeel festival where they exchange goods by barter system

A protesting Tibetan activist hangs from a bus as he is held by others after being detained outside Hyderabad House, as visiting Chinese delegates meet their Indian counterparts to talk on border issues, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. The activists protested against a lack of Tibetan representation in the ongoing border talks between India and China in New Delhi.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker perches on a suet feeder during a winter storm in the village of Nyack, New York, January 21, 2012. The first major winter storm of 2012 to hit the northeast U.S. was expected to drop up to eight inches of snow on the region

United Airlines planes take off and land at San Francisco airport, California January 21, 2012.

The dead body of a gunman is seen inside a car behind a bullet-riddled windshield in Jungapeo in the state of Michoacan January 19, 2012. In a shootout between gunmen and soldiers, two gunmen were killed while other three managed to escape, according to local media. Picture taken January 19, 2012 

People ride on top of a crowded commuter train in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. Indonesia has gone to imaginative extremes to try to stop commuters from illegally riding the roofs of trains, hosing down the scofflaws with red paint, threatening them with dogs and appealing for help from religious leaders. Now the authorities have an intimidating and possibly even deadly new tactic: Suspending rows of grapefruit-sized concrete balls to rake over the top of trains as they pull out of stations, or when they go through rail crossings.

A Japanese macaque mounting Shishiro, a five-year-old Japanese wild boar, plays in their cage at Hamura Zoo in Tokyo Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012

ndian soldiers from the Border Security Forces atop camels stand at attention in front of the Presidential Palace during a ceremony in preparation for the annual Beating Retreat in New Delhi, India, Tuesday,

A military aircraft flies through the smoke of tire fires set by anti-government protester during the Bahrain International Airshow in Sakhir, Bahrain, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Protesters set tire fires on roads nationwide, attempting to darken the skies to make their presence felt during the prestigious air show. 

ndians feed birds from a boat on the River of Yamuna as it is enveloped by winter morning fog in New Delhi, India,

The shadow of Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is cast against the South Carolina state flag as he waits to be introduced at a campaign rally in an airplane hanger, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in North Charleston,

A canopy of lights shines over newly fallen snow in Christopher Columbus Park in Boston, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Boston got about 2.5 inches of snow from the winter storm that passed through the area

In this photo provided by the Association of Surfing Professionals, Ellie-Jean Coffey, of Australia, competes in the Billabong World Junior Championship Gold Coast surfing competition in Burleigh Heads, Australia, on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2012

Long-stemmed roses rest on the reflecting pool wall at the crypts of civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife Coretta Scott King, in Atlanta on Monday Jan. 16, 2012. King would have been 83 years old on his actual birthday

Rafael Nadal of Spain sits under a shade during a break in between games during his men's singles match agianst Feliciano Lopez of Spain at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 22, 2012. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash 

A spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), born in captivity four months ago, is seen with its mother at the zoo in Cali January