Leech therapy in India; Russian President Vladimir Putin meets China’s President Xi Jinping in Moscow; and other photos from around the world in Today in Pictures.
Leeches are placed on a woman's face during a leech therapy session on a roadside in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on March 21, 2023. The therapy has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and helps to heal pain and other skin ailments, as well as help skin grafts and restore blood circulation. During the therapy, the leeches are placed on the patient's skin, where they suck blood and release saliva, which contains anticoagulants and other therapeutic compounds.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a welcome ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Also in attendance were members of various delegations.
PHOTO: AFP
Security forces stand guard while worshippers pray at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on March 21, 2023. Saudi Arabia, home of the holiest shrines in Islam, has announced that the fasting month of Ramadan will start from March 23, 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
A drone shot shows two water-filled sinkholes at the Coyote Village condo complex in California on March 21, 2023. The first one formed in 2019 but was never dealt with, while the second hole next to it appeared during last week's storm as heavy rain caused the storm drain to collapse.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Balinese carrying a giant effigy, known locally as "Ogoh-ogoh", depicting an aspect of evil beings, during a parade before Nyepi Day that marks the Balinese Hindu New Year, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on March 21, 2023. Balinese will celebrate Nyepi Day, or the Day of Silence, on March 22, 2023, during which Hindus on the island are not allowed to travel, work, light lamps, cook or do any other activities.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Palestinians celebrating on a street in Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip on March 21, 2023, two days before Ramadan starts. The starting date of Ramadan, the holiest Muslim month, is set by both lunar calculations and physical sightings of the moon to determine the beginning of a new month.
PHOTO: AFP
Thousands of bottles of alcoholic beverages are being destroyed in Pekanbaru, Indonesia on March 21, 2023, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
PHOTO: AFP
Police officers taking cover from fireworks during a demonstration a few days after the French government pushed a pensions reform through Parliament without a vote in Nantes, western France on March 21, 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
A Ukrainian serviceman visiting the Alley of Heroes at a cemetery in Kharkiv, on March 21, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The area is a sea of blue and yellow, and each grave has its own flag.
PHOTO: AFP
A Hindu devotee offering prayers on the banks of the river Yamuna that is coated with polluted foam in New Delhi, India, on March 21, 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
