The Best Pictures of the Week: Jan. 16 – Jan. 23

1 minute read

From escalating violence in eastern Ukraine and a thousands strong march in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Ala. to priests photographing Pope Francis in the Philippines and a surprising, glowing seascape in Hong Kong, TIME presents the best pictures of the week.

Thousands march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Jan. 18, 2015. Thousands march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge along with members of the cast of the movie Selma in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Selma, Ala. Sean Gardner-Getty Images
Ultra Orthodox Capoeira
Jan. 18, 2015. Ultra Orthodox Jewish Micky Hayat practices Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music, with his students near the port of Tel Aviv. Nati Shohat-Flash90/Redux
APTOPIX Obama State of Union
Jan. 16, 2015. A barn, part of the Energy Barn Project built by anti-pipeline activists on the route of the Keystone XL pipeline, stands in a snowy corn field near Bradshaw, Neb. The White House has threatened to veto Republicans' bill to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Nati Harnik-AP
TOPSHOTS-PHILIPPINES-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE
Jan. 16, 2015. Priests take pictures of Pope Francis as he arrives to lead a mass in Manila during his five-day visit to the Philippines. GIUSEPPE CACACE-AFP/Getty Images
APTOPIX Ukraine
Jan. 19, 2015. A Ukrainian woman takes a bath in the lake of Sherbakova Park during the celebration of the Orthodox Epiphany in Donetsk, Ukraine. The holiday marks the day God manifested himself in the human form of Jesus. Manu Brabo-AP
APTOPIX Ukraine
Jan. 20, 2015. Mourners gather around a coffin bearing Artiam, 4, who was killed in a Ukrainian army artillery strike, during his funeral in Kuivisevsky district on the outskirts of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. At least three civilians were killed in shelling as fighting continued between government and rebel forces in the separatist-held city of Donetsk. Manu Brabo-AP
A new volunteer for the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Azov battalion embraces his girlfriend before departing to the frontlines in eastern Ukraine, in central Kiev
Jan. 17, 2015. A new volunteer for the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Azov battalion embraces his girlfriend in central Kiev before he and other volunteers depart to the frontlines in eastern Ukraine. Fighting raged at the main airport of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, as separatists resumed attempts to break the tenuous grip of government forces on the complex. GLEB GARANICH-REUTERS
A man rides his horse through flames during the "Luminarias" annual religious celebration, on the night before Saint Anthony's, patron of animals, in the village of San Bartolome de los Pinares
Jan. 16, 2015. A man rides his horse through flames during the Luminarias annual religious celebration in the village of San Bartolome de los Pinares, Spain, the night before Saint Anthony’s Day. According to tradition that dates back 500 years, people ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village to purify their animals with the smoke of the bonfires.JUAN MEDINA-REUTERS
Villagers take part in Kolyada holiday celebrations in the village of Martsiyanauka
Jan. 21, 2015. Villagers take part in Kolyada holiday celebrations in the village of Martsiyanauka, east of the capital Minsk, Belarus. VASILY FEDOSENKO-Reuters
A paramilitary policeman releases a wild goose in Linghai
Jan. 20, 2015. A paramilitary policeman releases a wild goose in Linghai, Liaoning Province, China. About eight wild geese, which were found injured, were set free after having their wounds treated by a team of paramilitary policemen. CHINA DAILY/REUTERS
TOPSHOTS-RUSSIA-POLITICS-HISTORY-COMMUNISTS-LENIN
Jan. 21, 2015. Russian Communist Party supporters carry a portrait of late Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin as they take part in a memorial ceremony to mark the 91st anniversary of his death at Red Square in central Moscow. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV-AFP/Getty Images
Spain Jarramplas Festival
Jan. 19, 2015. People throw turnips at the Jarramplas as he makes his way through the streets beating his drum during the Jarramplas Festival in Spain. Jarramplas is a character that wears a costume made from colorful strips of fabric, and a devil-like mask and beats a drum through the streets of Piornal while residents throw turnips as a punishment for stealing cattle.Daniel Ochoa de Olza-AP
Tennis Australian Open 2015
Jan. 21, 2015. The back of Maria Sharapova of Russia, is pictured as she plays against Alexandra Panova, also of Russia, during their second round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne.Filip Singer-EPA
Police in Kenya fire teargas canisters at school children
Jan. 19, 2015. School children push the fence to enter the school playground during a protest against alleged land grabbing at Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya. At least 5 pupils have been rushed to the hospital after police fired teargas canisters at them and activists. DAI KUROKAWA-EPA
TOPSHOTS-BRAZIL-DAYLY LIFE-SUMMER-RAMOS-POOL
Jan. 19, 2015. A boy plays with a kite at the Ramos Pool as temperatures reached 113 Fahrenheit in Rio de Janeiro. The Ramos Pool, inaugurated in 2001, is an artificial beach associated to a public salt pool which filters the polluted seawater from the Guanabara bay located next to it. YASUYOSHI CHIBA-AFP/Getty Images
APTOPIX Sea Sparkle
Jan. 22, 2015. A photo made with a long exposure shows the glow from a Noctiluca scintillans algal bloom along the seashore in Hong Kong. The luminescence, also called Sea Sparkle, is triggered by farm pollution that can be devastating to marine life and local fisheries. Kin Cheung—AP
Pakistan Daily Life
Jan. 21, 2015. A Pakistani police officer, left, stands guard while a polio worker vaccinates an Afghan refugee child in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. Militants have spread a rumor among ultraconservative parents in Pakistan's deeply religious northwest, claiming that the vaccine is a ploy by the West to limit the world’s Muslim population and will make their children impotent. Muhammed Muheisen-AP
TOPSHOTS-FRANCE-US-DIPLOMACY-GOVERNMENT
Jan. 16, 2015. French President Francois Hollande (L) embraces U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry prior to a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Kerry's visit came after criticism of the U.S. for not sending a top-level representative to a march in Paris that drew 1.5 million people and dozens of world leaders in the wake of the attacks. PATRICK KOVARIK-AFP/Getty Images
TOPSHOTS-CHINA-SCHOOL-EDUCATION-POPULATION
Jan. 21, 2015. Children dressed in uniform sing after raising the national flag at the Beichuan Red army elementary school in Beichuan, southwest China's Sichuan province. FRED DUFOUR—AFP/Getty Images
SKI-FREESTYLE-WORLD-MEN-SLOPESTYLE
Jan. 20, 2015. An unidentified competitor jumps during the Men's Ski Slopestyle Qualification of FIS Freestyle and Snowboarding World Ski Championships 2015 in Kreischberg, Austria. MICHAL CIZEK-AFP/Getty Images
ZAMBIA-VOTE
Jan. 20, 2015. A Zambian woman casts her ballot for the presidential elections at a voting station in Lusaka, Zambia. One of the frontrunners in Zambia's presidential election cried fraud just hours after polling stations opened in a tight race to replace Michael Sata, who died in office last year. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA-AFP/Getty Images
Crisis in Ukraine
Jan. 22, 2015. A general view of the kindergarten No9 which was shelled in Debaltseve, Donetsk area, ANASTASIA VLASOVA—EPA
SAUDI-ROYALS-POLITICS-KING-FUNERAL
Jan. 23, 2015. Mourners gather around the grave of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah at the Al-Oud cemetery in Riyadh following his death in the early hours of the morning. MOHAMMED MASHHUR—AFP/Getty Images
Glasses are displayed former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim
Jan. 19, 2015. Glasses that belonged to people brought to Auschwitz for extermination are displayed at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland.Pawel Ulatowski—REUTERS
a dog's life in galicia
Jan. 16, 2015. A dog walks on a road in Montederramo, Galicia, northwestern Spain. Authorities have activated the orange alert in Galicia due to the cold weather and winds which lashed the region. Brais Lorenzo-EPA

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com