• THE GULF REGION
  A French Navy Rafale fighter jet prepares to take off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf on February 23 as part of the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS in Iraq (XINHUA/AFP)
• NORTH KOREA
  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides a military drill simulating an attack and seizure of islands on February 21 (XINHUA/KCNA)
• AUSTRIA
  A patient uses a bionic hand to write his name in Vienna on February 24. Three Austrian men became the first in the world to undergo surgery for mind-controlled bionic hands (XINHUA/AFP)
• UKRAINE
  The Ukrainian Government exchanges prisoners of war with the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic on February 21, as part of a ceasefire deal signed in Minsk that began on February 15 (XINHUA/AFP)
• THE MALDIVES
  Police forcibly carry former president Mohammed Nasheed to court on charges of alleged abuse of power on February 23 (XINHUA/AFP)
• THE UNITED STATES
  Best supporting actor and actress winners J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette and best actor and actress winners Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne (left to right) pose with their Oscars during the 87th Academy Awards on February 22 (XINHUA/AFP)