The Week in Pictures: Dec. 8 - 15 2017, NBC News

源济

Peeking through
Buildings pierce through clouds as morning fog and air pollution shroud Skopje, Macedonia, on Dec. 15.

The city was almost brought to a standstill after a second day of heavy pollution.

— Robert Atanasovski / AFP - Getty Images




Harrowing accounts
A 17-year-old woman who says she was raped by members of Myanmar's armed forces is photographed in her tent in Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh.

The use of rape by Myanmar's armed forces has been sweeping and methodical, the AP found in interviews with 29 Rohingya Muslim women and girls now in Bangladesh. They were interviewed separately, come from a variety of villages in Myanmar and now live spread across several refugee camps in Bangladesh. The military has denied its soldiers raped any Rohingya women. Image released on Dec. 10.

Related: 21 Rohingya women detail systemic, brutal rapes by Myanmar armed forces

— Wong Maye-E / AP




At the fence
A little girl holds a white balloon at the border wall between Mexico and the United States during the "Keep Our Dream alive" event in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Dec. 10.

At the event, families separated by the border were reunited for three minutes through the fence that separates Ciudad Juarez Park in Mexico and Sunland in New Mexico.

— Herika Martinez / AFP - Getty Images




Snow day
Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle lies in the snow in the end zone during the second half of game against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 10 in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills won 13-7.

— Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP




Smoky skies
Surfers walk under in smoke-filled skies as the so-called Thomas Fire threatened seaside communities near Carpinteria, California on Dec. 12.

The Thomas Fire, the fourth-largest in California history, was 35 percent contained on Friday after sweeping across more than 394 square miles of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since it erupted Dec. 4.

Photos: California surfers brave wildfire smoke to catch waves

— David McNew / Getty Images




Fires advance
Christmas lights illuminate a house as the growing Thomas Fire advances toward Santa Barbara County seaside communities on Dec. 10 in Carpinteria, California.

— David McNew / Getty Images




Many Claus
Santas get some holiday exercise through the streets of Glasgow, Scotland on Dec. 10.

The annual Santa dash welcomed over 8,000 racers dressed as Old Saint Nick. Since it started in 2006, the event has helped raise over $250,000 for charity.

— Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images




Roy rides again
Republican Senatorial candidate Roy Moore rides his horse, Sassy, to cast his vote at the polling location on Dec. 12, 2017 in Gallant, Alabama.

In a stunning conclusion to a contest that received international attention, Democrat Doug Jones won over Moore in the deeply conservative state.

— Joe Raedle / Getty Images




Friday clashes
Palestinian protesters carry the body of Yasser Sokar, 23, after he was shot during clashes near the border with Israel east of Gaza City on Dec. 15.

Violent protests over President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital have entered a second week.

Photos: Dramatic sequence shows Israeli troops shooting knife-wielding Palestinian

— Mohammed Saber / EPA




Young romance
Military school students wait to dance during their annual ball in Moscow on Dec. 12. The ball attracts youth from all over Russia.

— Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP




Ice festival
Workers carve the sculpture "Snow Song Winter Olympics" for the Harbin Ice Festival on Dec. 12 in Harbin, China.

The annual festival runs from Dec. 20 until Feb. 28.

— Tao Zhang / Getty Images




Return to the moon
President Donald Trump holds an astronaut toy at a signing ceremony for the Space Policy Directive at the White House on Dec. 11.

The order formally directs NASA to focus on returning humans to the moon.

— Carlos Barria / Reuters




Eating snow
A dog jumps to catch a snowball in Godewaersvelde, France, on Dec. 11.

— Philippe Huguen / AFP - Getty Images




Glittering lights
Chase McCann, 7, and his brother Blake, 5, admire a musical Christmas tree in Central Park in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 8.

— John Rucosky / Tribune-Democrat via AP