A return to Earth, 9/11, and the Paralympics are in the week in pictures
Top photos from around the world for the week of Sept. 3-9
ISS crewmates returned to Earth after 6 months in space.
After some 2,750 sunrises aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka returned home aboard a Soyuz TMA-20M space capsule on Wednesday.
Pipeline construction protested by the Standing Rock Sioux on 'pause.'
First Nations leaders, including Canada's National Chief Dwight Dorey (not pictured,) have pledged support for the Standing Rock Sioux who had sought an injunction against the Dakota Access Pipeline project. Their legal action was struck down on Friday in U.S. federal court but, in a separate action, the U.S. government issued a "voluntary pause" order for construction on army land the Sioux tribe says holds sacred artifacts.
A protest at an encampment near Cannonball, N.D., is ongoing with supporters rallying online under the hashtag #NoDAPL.
Refugee children are suffering in Greek detention centres.
Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based NGO, on Friday reported tough living conditions for children being held on Greek islands due to a lack of adequate infrastructure to house the thousands of refugees who have arrived so far this year.
The hajj pilgrimage is on.
A year after a deadly stampede marred the annual event, Iranian pilgrims — who have been barred from taking part — protested against Saudi Arabia. Tensions between the countries are especially high after the Saudi kingdom executed a prominent cleric in January. The hajj is a requirement for all able-bodied Muslims to complete at least once in their lives.
The Paralympic Games are on in Rio.
Two weeks after the Olympics wrapped up, the Paralympic Games got underway in Rio de Janeiro. Here's Canada's Brent Lakatos sprinting in a round one T53 100-metre race on Friday.
Dilma Rousseff was stripped of her presidential powers.
In the Brazilian capital of Basilia, former president Dilma Rousseff, pictured leaving the Alvorada Palace on Tuesday, was formally stripped of her presidency following an impeachment trial that led to her ouster.
Sunday is the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
New York City Police held a moment of silence in Lower Manhattan on Friday in honour of the police officers who were killed during and after the Sept. 11 attacks. Below, One World Trade Center is pictured at dusk ahead of the anniversary, which falls on Sunday.
