Week in pictures: 6-12 February

New Orleans Saints fans react after the NFL Super Bowl XLIV football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Miami. The Saints won 31-17.

The New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts has become the most-watched programme in US TV history. A record 106.5 million people watched the game, according to Nielsen media.

Space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral

The US space shuttle has made its final night launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The US space agency (Nasa) plans just four further shuttle missions after this one - and all of them are planned to launch in daylight hours.

Buddhist monks pray at Wat Phra Dhammakaya on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, in what organisers called the world's largest mass ordination ceremony, involving 100,000 males from across Thailand.

A family walks through the snow at Veterans Park in Arlington, Texas

Snow storms continued in the US, with the east coast suffering the most extreme conditions.

Supporters of Ukrainian opposition leader and presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych dance holding flags of the Party of Regions during a rally

Viktor Yanukovych gained a slender victory over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the Ukrainian presidential elections. Tymoshenko's camp says it will challenge the result and wants a recount of votes in certain areas.

A Hindu priest performs the morning Ganga Arti Puja or Ganges morning prayer

Hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered in the northern Indian town of Haridwar to take part in the three-month Hindu religious festival, the Kumbh Mela.

GeoEye satellite image showing masses of people gathered along Azadi Road; a major boulevard that runs east-west through central Tehran

Hundreds of thousands of pro-government Iranians took part in a rally to mark the 31st anniversary of Iran's revolution. Ahead of the rally, Tehran residents said they had been unable to use e-mail and opposition websites had been more restricted.

A pedestrian passes a handprint mural of Nelson Mandela in Cape Town February 11, 2010.

Celebrations were held to mark 20 years since the release from prison of Nelson Mandela. In Cape Town, prominent figures took part in a commemorative walk at the jail where he spent the final months of his 27-year imprisonment.

British deigner Alexander McQueen at the end of his ready-to-wear Autumn/Winter 2007/2008 fashion show in Paris

One the UK's most influential fashion designers, Alexander McQueen, 40, was found dead at his London home.

Denis Dolgodvorov of Russia jumps during the training session of the men"s moguls at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver will welcome some 2,500 athletes to the 2010 Winter Olympics at Friday's opening ceremony. Financial worries and a lack of snow have hampered preparations, but the focus now switches to the competitors.