Monday: The day in photos

In Changchun, China, a resident performs the yangge dance, a festive dance popular in rural areas of northern China, at the Xian Culture Plaza during the Lantern Festival celebrations.  (China Photos / Getty Images)

A contestant in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show waits backstage. The 2-year-old Afghan hound was among four-footed competitors at the 133rd annual show at Madison Square Garden in New York.  (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)

Iraqis hawk wares at Iraq’s Al Qurnah market.  (Matt Cardy / Getty Images)

A part of Beijing’s iconic CCTV complex is engulfed in flames in downtown Beijing, China. The 159-meters-high building stands about 200 meters north of the CCTV tower and was supposed to host a luxury hotel as well Chinese state-run-television studios.  (Oliver Weiken / EPA)

Guests arrive for the “Cinema for Peace” charity event at the concert house in Berlin. The Berlinale film festival takes place from Feb. 5-15, with 18 productions vying for the coveted Golden Bear for best picture, to be awarded Feb. 14.  (Jens Kalaene / AFP / Getty Images)

President Barack Obama walks off Air Force One in South Bend, Ind., as part of his attempt to highlight unemployment in the state and renew focus on his stimulus plan, which is facing a key Senate test.  (Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images)

French Bulldogs line up in the judging ring during the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York.  (Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images)

Craig Kidd looks at the melted metal of alloy wheels from burned-out vehicles on his property in Bendigo, Australia, where fire swept through. Eight bushfires were burning out of control in New South Wales as firefighters struggled to tame a total of 46 outbreaks throughout the state.  (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)

An Indonesian ethnic Chinese man thrusts an iron staff into his cheek during the Chap Goh Meh ceremony in Jakarta to mark the final day of the Lunar New Year. The ceremony was held to ask for blessings and protection from God.  (BAY ISMOYO / AFP / Getty Images)

Iraqi soldiers are put through their paces Monday during training excercises in Iskandiriyah. The White House is weighing several options for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, with timetables ranging from President Barack Obama‘s campaign pledge to remove all combat troops within 16 months to a 23-month option, a Defense official said late last week.  (Mohammed Sawaf / AFP / Getty Images)

An Iraqi policeman makes free tea for Shiite pilgrims who walk to the holy city of Kerbala, 75 miles south of Baghdad, to mark the Arbain religious festival. Arbain marks the end of a 40-day mourning period after Ashura, a religious ritual that commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, Prophet Mohammad’s grandson.  (Wathiq Khuzaie / Getty Images)

Alex Davison and her long-haired dachshund, Harley, wait backstage during the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York.  (Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images)

Traditional lanterns light Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai during the Lantern Festival.  (Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press)

A devotee leads a sacrificial animal during a local festival dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in Suryapet, India.  (Mahesh Kumar / Associated Press)

In South Korea, crowds watch burning pampas grass. A celebration, part of the Lunar New Year festivities, at Hwawang mountain in Changnyeon went awry after a fire lighted by the municipal government went out of control. The crowd stampeded. Four were killed and 35 injured.  (Kim Gu-Yeon / AFP / Getty Images)