They say wild things happen when a full moon rises — but how about when a super-rare Super Blue Blood Moon rises?
The beautiful celestial phenomenon captivated skywatchers this week and loomed over a world stirred into action on issues related to women’s rights, education, and justice for migrants.
During the president’s annual State of the Union address, US congresswomen dressed in black to demonstrate their support for the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. Women in the US and around the world are making their voices heard and demanding safety, respect, and equal opportunities.
Camps for displaced people in Ethiopia swelled this week as families escaped conflict and joined others who were forced to flee their homes because of drought. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya refugees driven out of Myanmar continue to languish in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Myanmar’s government said the country would accept the refugees back, but recently discovered mass graves show that the Rohingya still face murder, violence, and oppression in their home country.
In Dakar, Senegal, the Global Partnership for Education met to make sure children from developing countries get to and stay in school. This week, Global Citizen participated in the event to further our mission of ensuring that all kids around the world get a quality education.
And though the freaky moon was not the cause, several natural phenomena — like the volcano that erupted in the Philippines — did disrupt life for people around the world this week. Heavy rains flooded streets in Paris, while exceptionally low tides in Venice dried up the city’s iconic, and crucial, canals.
A super blue blood moon rises behind the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, on Jan. 31, 2018.
1) Super Blue Blood Moon: A super blue blood moon rises behind the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, on January 31. On Wednesday, much of the world will get to see not only a blue moon which is a supermoon, but also a lunar eclipse, all rolled into one celestial phenomenon.
2) Mount Mayon: The Mayon volcano spews ash as seen from Legazpi City in Albay province, south of Manila, on January 26. Authorities have imposed a no-go zone around the 8,070-foot mountain as they warned of a hazardous eruption within days, leaving more than 77,000 people stuck in crowded shelters, likely for months.
A swan swims in a flooded street of the island of Vaux, west of Paris, Jan. 30, 2018. Rivers swollen by France's heaviest rains in 50 years have engulfed romantic quays in Paris, swallowed up gardens and roads, halted riverboat cruises — and raised concerns about climate change.
3) Flooding in France: A swan swims in a flooded street on the island of Vaux, west of Paris, January 30. Rivers swollen by France's heaviest rains in 50 years have engulfed romantic streets in Paris, swallowed up gardens and roads, halted riverboat cruises — and raised concerns about climate change.
4) Low Tide in Venice: Boats are stuck in low tide in a canal on January 30 in Venice, Italy. An exceptionally low tide affected Venice this afternoon creating problems in transport and navigation.
5) Unrest in Ethiopia: Women wait for a supply distribution of the World Food Programme at the internally displaced person camp (IDP) of Farburo in Gode, near Kebri Dahar, southeastern Ethiopia, on January 27. The camp recently hosted Somali families fleeing conflict between Somali and Oromo communities in Ethiopia. In Ethiopias Somali region there are 264 sites largely populated by drought-displaced families.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center seated, with other House members wearing black in support the metoo and timesup movement, ahead of tonight's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 30, 2018.
6) State of the Union, Me Too: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center seated, with other House members wearing black in support of the MeToo and Time's Up movement, ahead of tonight's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 30.
Indian women work in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. More than 70 percent of India's 1.25 billion citizens engage in agriculture.
7) Agriculture in India: Indian women work in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Tuesday, January 30. More than 70 percent of India's 1.25 billion citizens engage in agriculture.
8) Syria: A family walks through a street covered with rubble from a heavily damaged building following air strikes by regime forces on Arbin, in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, on February 1. Arbin is in the Eastern Ghouta region which has been under government siege since 2013.
9) President Trump, State of the Union: US President Donald J. Trump waves as he arrives during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second joint-session address to Congress.
10) Women Archers: Bayartsetseg Yambiidonchiir (center), a woman archer from Mongolia taking part in an International traditional archery festival at Seri Menanti in Negeri Sembilan, about 90kms of Kuala Lumpur on January 27.
11) Women's Rights: Palestinian women watch the football match between Al-Nuseirat and Al-Jalaa standing outside the fence of the stadium at Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, on January 28. Police blocked dozens of women from attending the football match, in what activists said they hoped would have been the first such permission under Hamas rule.
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie talks to the media and Syrian refugees at Za'atari camp in Jordan. Almost seven years since the start of the conflict, more than 6 million people remain displaced inside Syria and a further 5.48 million have fled to other countries in the region, creating the biggest refugee crisis since the end of the second world war. On her fifth visit to Jordan since the beginning of the crisis, Angelina Jolie visited families living in Za’atari camp, the largest refugee settlement in the Middle East, home to more than 80,000 Syrians. At a news conference in the camp, Jolie urged the international community to find a “principled end” to the war that respects the human rights of all Syrians and urged donors to help UNHCR support refugees by donating desperately needed funds.
12) Angelina Jolie, Syria: UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie talks to the media and Syrian refugees at Za'atari camp in Jordan. Almost seven years since the start of the conflict, more than 6 million people remain displaced inside Syria and a further 5.48 million have fled to other countries in the region, creating the biggest refugee crisis since the end of the second world war. On her fifth visit to Jordan since the beginning of the crisis, Angelina Jolie visited families living in Za’atari camp, the largest refugee settlement in the Middle East, home to more than 80,000 Syrians. At a news conference in the camp, Jolie urged the international community to find a “principled end” to the war that respects the human rights of all Syrians and urged donors to help UNHCR support refugees by donating desperately needed funds.
Rohingya refugees wait in a queue to receive relief material at Balukhali refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Jan. 27, 2018. Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar say some of them had returned home several times over past decades, and they're in no mood to repatriate again. Although, Myanmar says it's ready for a gradual repatriation of Muslim Rohingya refugees chased out by the Buddhist-majority country's military. More than 680,000 Rohingya Muslims are now living in sprawling and squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh.
13) Rohingya Refugees: Rohingya refugees wait in a queue to receive relief material at Balukhali refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Jan. 27, 2018. Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar say some of them had returned home several times over past decades, and they're in no mood to repatriate again. Although, Myanmar says it's ready for a gradual repatriation of Muslim Rohingya refugees chased out by the Buddhist-majority country's military. More than 680,000 Rohingya Muslims are now living in sprawling and squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh.
14) Super Blue Blood Moon: A super blue blood moon behind a mountain is seen from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, on January 31.
15) Education in Senegal: A pupil stands in front of her class at a pilot school of the Global Partnership for Education, in Tivaouane, near Dakar, on January 31. Education is a challenge in Senegal, and this year Dakar is hosting the third conference of reconstitution of funds of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).