Behold

Cherry Blossoms, the Colors of Holi and More Stunning Photos From This Week

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Slate’s photo editors present a curated look at some of the defining images from around the world for the week ending March 22, 2013.  

An Afghan refugee girl carries her laundry on her head after washing it in a polluted stream on World Water Day in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on March 22, 2013.
An Afghan refugee girl carries her laundry on her head after washing it in a polluted stream on World Water Day in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on March 22, 2013. The U.N. estimates that more than one in six people worldwide do not have access to 20-50 liters (5-13 gallons) of safe freshwater a day to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning.

Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/AP
U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Rabbi Israel Meir Lau in the Hall of Remembrance during Obama's visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on March 22, 2013.
U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Rabbi Israel Meir Lau in the Hall of Remembrance during Obama’s visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on March 22, 2013.

Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters
Visitors walk under illuminated cherry blossoms in full bloom along the Chidorigafuchi moats in Tokyo on March 22, 2013. Many people enjoy viewing the blossoms all over the country during this season.
Visitors walk under illuminated cherry blossoms in full bloom along the Chidorigafuchi moats in Tokyo on March 22, 2013. Many people enjoy viewing the blossoms all over the country during this season.

Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters
A boy looks on as Hindu devotees play with color during Lathmaar Holi celebrations on March 21, 2013 in the village of Barsana, near Mathura, India.
A boy looks on as Hindu devotees play with color during Lathmaar Holi celebrations on March 21, 2013 in the village of Barsana, near Mathura, India. The tradition of playing with colours on Holi draws its roots from a legend of Radha and the Hindu God Krishna. It is believed that young Krishna was jealous of Radha’s fair complexion since he himself was himself very dark. After questioning his mother Yashoda on the darkness of his complexion, Yashoda, teasingly asked him to colour Radha’s face in which ever colour he wanted. In a mischievous mood, Krishna applied colour on Radha’s face. The tradition of applying color on one’s beloved is being religiously followed till date.

Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
A man walks in Meikhtila, Burma on March 21, 2013. The central Burmese town declared a curfew for a second night on Thursday after clashes killed 10 people, including a Buddhist monk, and injured at least 20, authorities said.
A man walks in Meikhtila, Burma on March 21, 2013. The central Burmese town declared a curfew for a second night on Thursday after clashes killed 10 people, including a Buddhist monk, and injured at least 20, authorities said. Riots erupted in Meikhtila, 540 km (336 miles) north of Yangon, on Wednesday after an argument between a Buddhist couple and the Muslim owners of a gold shop escalated into a riot involving hundreds of people, police said. Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
A body is seen on a street in Meikhtila, Burma on March 21, 2013. The central Burmese town declared a curfew for a second night on Thursday after clashes killed 10 people, including a Buddhist monk, and injured at least 20, authorities said.
A body is seen on a street in Meikhtila, Burma on March 21, 2013. The central Burmese town declared a curfew for a second night on Thursday after clashes killed 10 people, including a Buddhist monk, and injured at least 20, authorities said. Riots erupted in Meikhtila, 540 km (336 miles) north of Yangon, on Wednesday after an argument between a Buddhist couple and the Muslim owners of a gold shop escalated. Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
Animal rights activist from the group 'Animal Equality' are covered with plastic sheets to represent meat packaging as they stage a protest during "Day Without Meat" event in Barcelona, Spain on March 20, 2013.
Animal rights activist from the group ‘Animal Equality’ are covered with plastic sheets to represent meat packaging as they stage a protest during “Day Without Meat” event in Barcelona, Spain on March 20, 2013. Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP
An Indian farmer, armed with a stick, reacts to the camera as he listens to a speaker, unseen, during a protest near the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, India on March 20, 2013.
An Indian farmer, armed with a stick, reacts to the camera as he listens to a speaker, unseen, during a protest near the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, India on March 20, 2013. The farmers were protesting against government procuring land for setting up industry and not providing enough subsidy to farmers among several other grievances. Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP
An Afghan Army soldier secures the hill overlooking the Kart-e Sakhi mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 20, 2013. Thousands of Afghans will celebrated the Persian New Year Nowruz, marking the first day of spring and the beginning of the year on the Persian calendar.
An Afghan Army soldier secures the hill overlooking the Kart-e Sakhi mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 20, 2013. Thousands of Afghans will celebrated the Persian New Year Nowruz, marking the first day of spring and the beginning of the year on the Persian calendar. Photo by Ahmad Jamshid/AP
A woman talks to her children at her house in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on March 20, 2013.
A woman talks to her children at her house in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on March 20, 2013. Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
A bodysurfer punches through a wave at the Ehukai sandbar near the surf break known as 'Pipeline' on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii on March 20, 2013.
A bodysurfer punches through a wave at the Ehukai sandbar near the surf break known as ‘Pipeline’ on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii on March 20, 2013. Photo by Hugh Gentry/Reuters
Campaigners dressed as Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne protest in central London on March 19, 2013.
Campaigners dressed as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne protest in central London on March 19, 2013. They were protesting on behalf of ‘Enough Food for Everyone IF’, a campaign to end global hunger. Osborne is due to deliver his budget to the House of Commons on Wednesday. Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
A Syrian shepherd cares for his flock near the ruins of the ancient Roman city of of Serjilla, in the northwestern province of Idlib, on March 19, 2013. The conflict in Syria has killed at least 70,000 people, and forced more than one million Syrians to seek refuge abroad.
A Syrian shepherd cares for his flock near the ruins of the ancient Roman city of of Serjilla, in the northwestern province of Idlib, on March 19, 2013. The conflict in Syria has killed at least 70,000 people, and forced more than one million Syrians to seek refuge abroad. Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
A Syrian internally displaced woman and child are reflected in a puddle of water in the Bab al-Hawa camp along the Turkish border in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, on March 18, 2013.
A Syrian internally displaced woman and child are reflected in a puddle of water in the Bab al-Hawa camp along the Turkish border in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, on March 18, 2013. The conflict in Syria between rebel forces and pro-government troops has killed at least 70,000 people, and forced more than one million Syrians to seek refuge abroad. Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Protesters raise their open palms showing the world "No" during an anti-bailout rally outside the parliament in Nicosia, Cyprus on March 18, 2013.
Protesters raise their open palms showing the world “No” during an anti-bailout rally outside the parliament in Nicosia, Cyprus on March 18, 2013. Cypriot ministers were trying to revise a plan to seize money from bank deposits before a parliamentary vote on Tuesday that will secure the island’s financial rescue or could lead to its default, with reverberations across the euro zone. Photo by Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters
Palestinian labourers wait to cross into Jerusalem at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on March 18, 2013.
Palestinian labourers wait to cross into Jerusalem at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on March 18, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancour between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement. Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters
Satrohan Kumar Sahani, 12, sells cotton candy as he waits for customers along the street at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal on March 18, 2013.
Satrohan Kumar Sahani, 12, sells cotton candy as he waits for customers along the street at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal on March 18, 2013. The boy does not go to school and earns around $2 per day selling candy. Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
Somali men carry a seriously wounded man after a car bomb blast close to the Somali government's, headquarters in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on Monday, March 18, 2013. An explosives-laden car that apparently was targeting a truck full of Somali government officials instead hit a civilian car and exploded, setting a nearby mini-bus on fire and killing at least seven people Monday, police and witnesses said.
Somali men carry a seriously wounded man after a car bomb blast close to the Somali government’s, headquarters in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia on Monday, March 18, 2013. An explosives-laden car that apparently was targeting a truck full of Somali government officials instead hit a civilian car and exploded, setting a nearby mini-bus on fire and killing at least seven people Monday, police and witnesses said. Photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP
A Bangladeshi boy looks inside a car vandalized by activists of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) during a general strike in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Monday, March 18, 2013.
A Bangladeshi boy looks inside a car vandalized by activists of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) during a general strike in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Monday, March 18, 2013. Opposition activists in Bangladesh’s capital detonated several homemade bombs and torched at least one bus during a general strike on Monday, as the country’s political unrest continued. No injuries were reported in the blasts. The BNP and its 17 partners were enforcing Monday’s shutdown, which is aimed at securing the release of 154 opposition leaders and activists detained this month. Photo by A.M. Ahad/AP
A Palestinian woman walks past Hamas militants as they take part in the funeral of Hamas female lawmaker Mariam Farahat in Gaza City on March 17, 2013.
A Palestinian woman walks past Hamas militants as they take part in the funeral of Hamas female lawmaker Mariam Farahat in Gaza City on March 17, 2013. Farahat, who became an icon to Palestinian women in Gaza for losing three of her sons in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, died on Sunday after a long struggle with disease, according to local media. Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters
A Somali man carries a large sailfish to the fish market in the Xamar Weyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia on March 16, 2013.
A Somali man carries a large sailfish to the fish market in the Xamar Weyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia on March 16, 2013. Every morning Mogadishu’s fisherman bring their catch ashore upon which it is quickly unloaded and transported to Xamar Weyne’s fish market where it is sold for consumption on the local market and, increasingly, for export to other countries. Over the last two decades, instability on land has greatly restricted the development of the country’s fishing industry, but now that Somalia is enjoying the longest period of sustained peace in over 20 years, there is large-scale potential and opportunity to harvest the bountiful waters off the Horn of Africa nation, which boasts the longest coastline in Africa. Photo by Stuart Price/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistani religious students attend their examinations at the Jamia Binoria Islamic seminary in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday, March 16, 2013.
Pakistani religious students attend their examinations at the Jamia Binoria Islamic seminary in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Photo by Fareed Khan/AP
Free Syrian Army fighters carry Joseph, a 19-year-old fighter of the Aoun-bi-allah Brigade which operates under the Free Syrian Army, in a blanket after a sniper shot him in his abdomen in Aleppo on March 16, 2013.

Free Syrian Army fighters carry Joseph, a 19-year-old fighter of the Aoun-bi-allah Brigade which operates under the Free Syrian Army, in a blanket after a sniper shot him in his abdomen in Aleppo on March 16, 2013.

Photo by Giath Taha/Reuters