Best pictures from February 17
Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors jumps as he competes in the slam dunk contest during the NBA basketball All-Star weekend in Houston, Texas. He won the contest.JEFF HAYNES/Reuters
Pope Benedict XVI leads the Sunday Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican. Pope Benedict, speaking before a larger than usual crowd at his penultimate Sunday address, asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope.TONY GENTILE/Reuters
Um Jaafar, a fighter in the Free Syrian Army, takes aim with her weapon as she receives military training from her husband Abu Jaafar, a Sawt al-Haq (Voice of Rights) battalion commander, in Aleppo. A group of women is undergoing military training to form the Nazek Obeid group as part of the Sawt al-Haq battalion.MUZAFFAR SALMAN/Reuters
A model has her makeup applied before the Vivienne Westwood Red Label Autumn/Winter 2013 collection presentation during London Fashion Week.SUZANNE PLUNKETT/Reuters
A man prepares graves for the burial of victims of Saturday's bomb attack in a Shi'ite Muslim area, in the Pakistani city of Quetta. Eighty-one people were killed.NASEER AHMED/Reuters
Libyans release a lantern in the air at Nasr Square, during the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Benghazi, Libya.Mohammad Hannon/The Associated Press
Villagers create fire during a rice-cooking festival at Cam Thi village, outside Hanoi, Vietnam. The festival commemorates their village's deity Phan Tay Nhac, who fought the Han Chinese more than 2,000 years ago.KHAM/Reuters
Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez waits in line to have her documents checked at passport control at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana before leaving Cuba to travel to Brazil and other countries. Sanchez applied for a passport to go overseas under recently enacted travel reform and her request was granted last month.Franklin Reyes/The Associated Press
Girls perform a traditional dance during the Chinese New Year parade in Vancouver, British Columbia.BEN NELMS/Reuters
Second draw curling action gets underway at the K-Roc Center at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kingston, Ontario.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
In temperatures of -18C and wind chill of -28C, Robyn Anderson of Stowe, Vermont, with tears of ice in her eyes looks on after she finished first in the women's 51 km freestyle cross country race at the Gatineau Loppet in Gatineau, Quebec.FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press
Canadian high school basketball player, Andrew Wiggins, #22, goes up for two points against a defending block in the early part of a game Sunday. Wiggins plays for Huntington Prep school in the US, was in Hamilton to play against United Leadership Academy. The sold-out game at McMaster University was an opportunity for fans to see Canada's top young basketball players.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail