John Kolesidis / Reuters

A woman is rescued from floodwaters by a man standing on top of her car during heavy rain in the Chalandri suburb, north of Athens, Greece, on Feb. 22, 2013.

John Kolesidis / Reuters

The woman had become stuck as water engulfed her car.

John Kolesidis / Reuters

The woman is carried to safety after being rescued.

Pantelis Saitas / EPA

An employee of the Greek Parliament hangs precariously after falling through the glass roof of the Greek Parliament Hall while trying to prevent rain water leaking into the building, in Athens on Feb. 22, 2013.

Simela Pantzartzi / EPA

People stand on a bench at a bus station during a heavy storm in Athens on Feb. 22, 2013.

A heavy rainstorm in the Athens region on Friday morning flooded streets in the Greek capital and interrupted transport on land and sea. In the suburb of Chalandri, a woman had to be rescued from her car as raging torrents of water engulfed the vehicle.

A worker at the Greek parliament had to be rescued after she crashed through the glass roof of the building while trying to stop a leak. The woman found herself hanging through a broken panel in the roof and was slightly injured, according to local reports cited by Xinhua.

-- The European Pressphoto Agency and Reuters contributed to this report

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

Catholics pray near windows covered partially with cement blocks inside St. Teresa of Avila church in Monterrey, Mexico, on Feb. 17, 2013.

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

A green light indicates there is no danger as a priest distributes Holy Communion to the congregation inside the church.

A church in the Mexican city of Monterrey has set up extreme security measures to protect worshippers, bricking up its windows and introducing a traffic light system to warn churchgoers if a crime is taking place nearby.

During mass, a green light is activated above a side door of the St. Teresa of Avila church to indicate that there is no sign of danger outside.

When the amber light is lit, it indicates caution, while the red light represents danger from criminal activity, such as a shooting, taking place near the church.

A concrete wall has also been constructed in front of the main facade of the church. 

Daniel Becerril / Reuters

A concrete wall has been built in front of St. Teresa of Avila church.

Last week, Mexico's new administration offered the first details of a long-touted shift in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2 billion this year on social programs meant to keep young people from joining criminal organizations in the 251 most violent towns and neighborhoods across the country. 

"It's clear that we must put special emphasis on prevention, because we can't only keep employing more sophisticated weapons, better equipment, more police, a higher presence of the armed forces in the country as the only form of combating organized crime," President Enrique Pena Nieto said.

-- Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Slideshow: Mexico's drug war, drug culture

The 56th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected a picture by Paul Hansen of the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter as the World Press Photo of the Year 2012.

The picture shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City on Nov. 20, 2012. They are being taken to a mosque for a burial ceremony while their father's body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. 

Paul Hansen / Dagens Nyheter via World Press Photo

The photo was selected from a total of 103,481 images submitted by 5,666 photographers from 124 countries.

"The strength of the picture lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children," jury member Mayu Mohanna said. "It's a picture I will not forget."

Slideshow: World Press Photo 2013 award winners gallery

Chen Wei Seng via World Press Photo

View the award winning images selected by World Press Photo.

Launch slideshow

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

A facial reconstruction based on the skull of King Richard III is unveiled by the Richard III Society, in London on Feb. 5, 2013.

The face of England's King Richard III was revealed for the first time in more than 500 years on Tuesday following a reconstruction based on a skull unearthed from a parking lot in the city of Leicester.

After carrying out a series of scientific investigations on bones exhumed from the site last year, the University of Leicester announced on Monday that the remains belonged to Richard III, who died in battle in 1485.

Justin Tallis / AFP - Getty Images

Michael Ibsen, a descendant of England's King Richard III, poses for pictures with a plastic model made from the recently discovered skull of the king, during a press conference in London on Feb. 5, 2013.

As detailed by NBC News Science Editor Alan Boyle, DNA was extracted from bone samples and compared with modern-day mitochondrial DNA from two direct descendants of Richard III's family, including Michael Ibsen, a Canadian-born cabinetmaker who is a 17th-generation descendant of Richard III's eldest sister, Anne of York.

The skeleton's relatively delicate structure was consistent with descriptions of Richard III's physical appearance, University of Leicester historian Lin Foxhall said. 

WESCOM via AFP - Getty Images

A photo released on Jan. 18, 2013 by the Philippine Western Command (WESCOM) shows the US Navy minesweeper USS Guardian after it ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef in the western Philippine island of Palawan on Jan. 17.

The crew of a U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground in a protected marine sanctuary off the Philippines was evacuated on Friday as the ship remained stuck on a reef. 

The USS Guardian, an Avenger-class minesweeper, hit the Tubbataha Reef in the Sula Sea at 2:25 a.m. local time Thursday (1:25 p.m. Wednesday ET).

Attempts to free the ship at high tide were not successful, the Navy said in a statement, and all 79 crew members were subsequently transferred to two nearby support vessels.

"Seventh Fleet ships remain on scene and essential Guardian Sailors will continue conducting survey operations onboard the ship as needed until she is recovered," said Vice Adm. Scott Swift, U.S. Seventh Fleet commander. "Several support vessels have arrived and all steps are being taken to minimize environmental effects while ensuring the crew’s continued safety."

The reason for the grounding remains under investigation, the Navy said.

WESCOM via AFP - Getty Images

The minesweeper pictured on Jan. 17, 2013 after it ran aground.

Antonio Dasiparu / EPA

East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, center, directs motorists as he tries to clear a traffic jam outside the presidential office in Dili on Jan. 7, 2013.

The prime minister of East Timor turned traffic cop on Monday after his car got stuck in a traffic jam outside the presidential office in the capital Dili.

Xanana Gusmao, who led the armed resistance that resulted in East Timor's independence from Indonesian rule in 2002, immediately got out of his car and began directing drivers after finding that there was no police officer on the street, the European PressPhoto Agency reports.

Antonio Dasiparu / EPA

Antonio Dasiparu / EPA

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