Week in pictures: 6 - 12 March 2021

13 March 2021

A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week.

Image source, Eyepix/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Image caption, Police and activists clashed in Mexico City during a march to mark International Women's Day. The protesters were calling for the government to take action against the country's poor record on the murders of women and gender-based violence.

Image source, HANNAH MCKAY / Reuters

Image caption, Nicky Clough visits her mother Pam Harrison in her bedroom at Alexander House Care ��˿�� in London. Care home residents were allowed one regular visitor from 8 March, subject to certain conditions, as part of the easing of England's lockdown.

Image source, Stefan Rousseau / PA Media

Image caption, Staff wait for patients at a new Covid-19 vaccination site in Westminster Abbey, London. Since 8 December about 23 million people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine in England.

Image source, Jane Barlow / PA Media

Image caption, Police say arrests were made and fines issued after crowds of fans gathered in Glasgow to celebrate Rangers winning the Scottish Premiership for the first time in 10 years. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said "gathering in crowds just now risks lives, and could delay exit from lockdown for everyone else."

Image source, LOREN ELLIOTT / Reuters

Image caption, A participant celebrates the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, under Covid-19 safety guidelines, at Australia's Sydney Cricket Ground.

Image source, MAXIM SHEMETOV / Reuters

Image caption, Some of Russia's top ice hockey players took part in a match on Lake Baikal, the world's oldest and deepest lake, to highlight ecological issues. According to scientists, the lake is being polluted by rivers flowing into it because of a lack of water treatment plants in the area. This drone image shows people skating on the hockey rink just after the match.

Image source, NARENDRA SHRESTHA / EPA

Image caption, A Sadhu - a holy man - takes part in preparations for the annual Hindu festival of Maha Shivratri at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. The festival dedicated to Shiva is celebrated during the night and day just before the new moon.

Image source, ISSEI KATO / Reuters

Image caption, Paper lanterns are lit in Tokyo to mark the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. Japan's most powerful earthquake on record triggered a tsunami, which then caused a meltdown at a nuclear power plant. The disaster left 18,000 people dead, wiped entire towns off the map and forced more than 150,000 people from their homes as radiation leaked from the plant.

Image source, MICHELE SPATARI / AFP

Image caption, South African Police Service officers force a student member of the Economic Freedom Fighters into a police van during a protest in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Police used rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas against the protesters who had been blocking roads and demonstrating outside the University of the Witwatersrand.

Image source, Doug Mills / EPA

Image caption, US President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan as Vice-President Kamala Harris observes. The $1.9 trillion (£1.36 trillion) economic relief bill, marks an early legislative victory for his administration. It includes a $1,400 direct payment to most Americans, along with other measures to help people out of poverty.