Week in Pictures
The Week in Pictures: April 14 - 21
"Weed nuns" prep for holiday, violinist returns to Mosul, icebergs arrive in Newfoundland and more.
A demonstrator holds a Molotov cocktail during clashes with police during protests in Caracas, Venezuela on April 19.PHOTOS: Venezuelans Mount Pressure on Government as Protests Intensify
A woman is aided by fellow demonstrators after falling, overcome by tear gas, during anti-government protests in Caracas on April 20. Tens of thousands of protesters asking for the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets again Thursday, one day after three people were killed and hundreds arrested in the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years.
Residents view the first iceberg of the season as it passes the South Shore, also known as "Iceberg Alley", near Ferryland Newfoundland, Canada on April 16.PHOTOS: Ice to Meet You: Newfoundland Sees First ‘Berg of Season
Sister Kate lights a joint at Sisters of the Valley on April 18 near Merced, Calif.
The self-ordained "weed nuns" are on a mission to heal and empower women with their cannabis products. The sisterhood stresses that its seven members, despite the moniker, do not belong to any order of the Catholic Church. They consider their Holy Trinity to be the marijuana plant, specifically hemp. Sister Kate, whose real name is Christine Meeusen, adopted the nun persona after she took part in an Occupy Wall Street protest in 2011 dressed as a Catholic nun, a look that led her to be known by protesters as "Sister Occupy." "We've gotten a few hate calls but, by and far, the Catholics understand what we're doing," she said.PHOTOS: ‘Weed Nuns’ Are Holy Rollers on Mission to Empower Women With Marijuana Products
The second round of the Bottle Kicking gets underway over the Hare Pie Hill on April 17 in Hallaton, England. The Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking events form an ancient custom that dates back to the early eighteenth century, and one of the oldest in British History. The first part consists of a blessing of a Hare Pie by a local vicar, before it is cut up and thrown to the crowd, who 'scramble' to get a piece, believing it will bring good luck. The second part, the Bottle Kicking sees two rival villages, Hallaton, and neighboring Medbourne attempt to carry a 'bottle' which is actually a keg of beer, from the Hare Pie Bank, and get it across a boundary stream for their own village. The best of three contest can last several hours.
The Soyuz space capsule carrying a new crew to the International Space Station lifts off from the Russia-leased launch facility in Kazakhstan on April 20. The rocket carried American astronaut Jack Fischer, making his first space flight, and veteran Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. They reached orbit in about nine minutes, and six hours later, they docked at the orbiting ISS outpost.
North Korean soldiers watch a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15. A North Korean medium-range missile exploded seconds after it was launched on Sunday, U.S. officials said. The White House believes it did not involve an intercontinental ballistic missile. The North regularly launches short-range missiles, but is also developing mid-range and long-range missiles meant to target U.S. troops in Asia and, eventually, the U.S. mainland. The failed launch came a day after one of the biggest North Korean propaganda events of the year-- celebrations of the 105th birthday of late North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather.PHOTOS: Pyongyang Postcards: North Korea Prepares for Holiday as Tensions Escalate
Protesters demonstrate against the recent Turkey referendum that granted greater powers to President Recep Tayip Erdogan on April 18 in the neighborhood of Besiktas on the European side of Istanbul. Opposition parties have called for the referendum to be annulled, complaining of a series of irregularities in the vote. An electoral board decision to allow as valid more than a million ballots cast without the official stamp has caused particular outrage.PHOTOS: Protests and Parties: Turkish President Claims Referendum Victory
A resident walks through damaged homes at the site of a collapsed garbage dump in Colombo,Sri Lankan on April 16. Hopes of finding anyone alive under a collapsed mountain of garbage in Sri Lanka's capital faded as the death toll reached 23 with another six reported missing, police said. Hundreds of soldiers, backed by heavy earth moving equipment were digging through the rubbish and the wreckage of some 145 homes that were destroyed when a side of the 300-foot high dump crashed on April 14.
Grandmother Maria Jose holds her twin granddaughters Heloisa and Heloa Barbosa, both born with microcephaly, outside of their house as they celebrate the twins' one-year birthday on April 16 in Areia, Paraiba state, Brazil.
Their mother, Raquel, said she contracted the Zika virus during her pregnancy. As many of the babies in the region born with microcephaly -- believed to be linked to the Zika virus -- approach or have already turned one, doctors and mothers are learning treatments to assist the children.
Many suffer a plethora of difficulties including vision and hearing problems with doctors now labeling the overall condition as congenital Zika syndrome.
Amid the bombed-out ruins of an ancient site revered by both Muslims and Christians in Mosul, Iraqi violinist Ameen Mukdad holds a small concert on April 19 in the city he was forced to flee by ISIS militants. As Mukdad played scores he had composed in secret while living under the militants' austere rule, explosions and gunfire could be heard from Mosul's western districts where U.S.-backed forces are still battling ISIS for control.
PHOTOS: Iraqi Violinist Plays in Mosul as Troops Battle ISIS
