Beijing, China, February 19, 2007—Folk artists perform on stilts during the Changdian Temple Fair, celebrating the Lunar New Year in Beijing. This year, February 18 marked the beginning of the year 4705 on the traditional Chinese calendar.
Chinese worldwide wear, and decorate with, the color red. It symbolizes fire, which is thought to drive away bad luck, according to legend.
Jakarta, Indonesia, February 2, 2007—Shortly after leaving a port in Jakarta, a ferry carrying about 300 passengers caught fire, killing 16 people.
An Indonesian fire-fighting ship aided in quelling the blaze aboard the Levina I, after soldiers on navy warships and aircraft had rescued more than 270 people. Several passengers jumped overboard to escape the fire—17 are still missing.
Saqqara, Egypt, February 20, 2007—Two 4,000-year-old wood statues depicting a scribe of divine records and his wife were the prime finds from a recently excavated mud-brick tomb near the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara, archaeologists announced on February 19.
The discovery was among several recent finds made in the cemetery south of Cairo, including the tomb of a royal cupbearer to the pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled before the famous boy king Tutankhamen. That tomb revealed colorful reliefs showing distinctive artistic features from Akhenaten's reign.
Also, a team of Japanese archaeologists announced the discovery of a pair of sarcophagi belonging to a priest and his female companion.
"It seems that Saqqara revealed this week lots of secrets, and there are many more under the sands," Zahi Hawass, of Egypt's Supreme Antiquities Council, told the Reuters news service.
Mount Vernon, Virginia, February 22, 2007—In a meeting of Georges past and present, U.S. President George W. Bush stands with General George Washington (as played by actor Dean Malissa) at the first President's Virginia estate.
The 43rd President was on hand to commemorate Washington's 275th birthday, which actually fell on February 22. The U.S. federal holiday of President's Day got its start in 1880 as Washington's Birthday and was originally celebrated on the 22nd.
In 1971 the holiday was moved to the third Monday in February, and the name was changed in the late 1980s. Today the occasion honors both Washington and President Abraham Lincoln, born on February 12, 1809.
New Orleans, Louisiana, February 20, 2007—A dancer participates in the Mondo Kayo parade during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. Festivities for Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, drew thousands of residents and tourists to the streets for the second time since Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city 18 months ago.