The week in pictures

March 7 — Filipino families flock to a makeshift beach in the polluted waters of Manila Bay on Sunday in Manila, the Philippines. As public gathering restrictions are still in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the beach is only open for two hours every Sunday.

March 7 —  Supporters of Ousmane Sonko called for nationwide protests after the opposition leader was arrested in Dakar, Senegal.

March 7 — Mille Porsild and her dog team pass Camp Flamingo on the Susitna River on the Iditarod Sled Dog Race course drastically altered by the coronavirus pandemic, in Willow, Alaska, the US.

March 8 — A woman holds a placard as people gather during an International Women’s Day protest organised by Poland’s Women’s Strike in Warsaw.

March 9 — Police officers on a motorcycle watch over an injured colleague during a demonstration against a police crackdown on gatherings in Athens, Greece.

March 9 — Shiite pilgrims flagellate themselves as they gather outside Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine to mark the  anniversary of his death in Baghdad, Iraq.

March 9 — A health worker receives her Covid-19 vaccination at the Klerksdorp Hospital in North West Province.

March 9 — A supporter of Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds a sign reading “Lula free” in front of the supreme court in Brasilia, Brazil. Brazilian markets tumbled  after the court annulled Lula da Silva’s corruption convictions.

March 10 — Students march through Braamfontein, Johannesburg, during a protest against the financial exclusion of students who have historical debt. One onlooker was shot dead when police dispersed the marchers.

March 10  — EFF leader Julius Malema and former EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi at the Randburg magistrate’s court in Johannesburg. The two face charges relating to an alleged assault of a police officer at the funeral of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

March 10 — A child falls in front of riot police officers during an eviction of an unauthorised settlement without potable water, drainage system and electricity, where people have moved in with their families during the Covid-19 pandemic, on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile.

March 11 — Supporters of the People’s Vaccine Campaign of SA protest outside Johnson & Johnson’s offices in Cape Town. They want the company to drop its Covid-19 vaccine patents and other intellectual property protections.

March 11 — Family members attend the funeral of Zaw Myat Linn, a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who died in custody after he was arrested, in Yangon, Myanmar. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners group said this week up to 70 protesters have been killed since the February 1 coup.

March 11 — Police officers gesture next to China’s and Hong Kong’s flags at a flag-raising ceremony, at Golden Bauhinia Square, in Hong Kong. Chinese legislators  approved an extensive overhaul of how Hong Kong chooses its leaders, a momentous step in Beijing’s efforts to curb opposition in the Asian financial hub’s political system.

March 11 — Former Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama pauses before heading into the state capture inquiry in Johannesburg.

March 11 — Paper lanterns are lit for the victims of the March 11 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that killed thousands and triggered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, in Tokyo, Japan, to mark the 10th anniversary of the disaster.

March 11  —  US President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, the US. Biden signed the $1.9-trillion pandemic-relief bill into law a day early.