This past weekend at the Marriott in Chesapeake, hundreds of people from across the region came to attend the 24th Virginia State Convention of the Virginia Square and Round Dance Association with the Virginia State Callers Association. Scores of partners dressed in matching outfits and swung to the direction of “callers” dictating the moves. The annual event gives people a chance to come together to renew friendships and to keep the tradition of square and round dancing alive. For more about Virginia squaredancing, visit: please go to their website: www.vasquaredance.com. (All photos by Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot) View all photos in this post >>

Numerous quirky and endearing animal photos flow from the Associated Press every day, from photographers across the world. However, one would be challenged to find anyone more prolific than their German-based photographers when it comes to producing compelling animal pictures. According to New York-based AP photo editor Jim Collins, the talented German AP staffers are especially adept at finding compelling feature photos that depict some aspect of common daily life – or, as these are called among journalists: “enterprise pictures” or “wild art.” Today we thought we’d share some of the great photos that have come out of German Zoos from the last month, where photographers truly put the “wild” in “wild art.” (All photos by The Associated Press) View all photos in this post >>

The Norfolk Tides had their first full opening week of baseball this past week. As fans and players line up for another season of a nation’s pastime, Pilot photographer Ross Taylor examined the patterns of lines of the first week of baseball. From the lines of a favorite player’s autograph to the paint rims the edge of the ballfield, the lines signify the details and patterns of another season of baseball. (All photos by Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot) View all photos in this post >>

“Activating Our power” was the theme and was the theme this year for Norfolk State’s Pride Week. The second annual celebration was sponsored by the LEGASI club, whose members consist of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender students, as well as straight allies. The week’s activities aimed to foster relationships, increase awareness and simply offer students a time to express themselves. “I walk around like a straight boy most of the time,” said Ernest Frazier aka “Little E” Ebony, “but sometimes inside, I just wanna vogue.” (All photos by Preston Gannaway | The Virginian-Pilot) View all photos in this post >>

Several times a week newspapers that are Associated Press members receive images simply titled “Afghanistan Daily life,” which are often poetic moments of humanity that Ap photographers capture. Images, such as these from the last month, provide us with insight into the hardscrabble civilian life in Afghanistan. View all photos in this post >>

Years of sutures, study and surgery for students at Eastern Virginia Medical School culminated in a raucous "Match Day" celebration Friday as seniors found out where they will head for residency programs. The third Friday of March is an annual rite of passage for graduating medical students across the country when a national matching program releases the information at precisely 1 p.m. Eastern time. (All photos by Preston Gannaway | The Virginian-Pilot) Please read the full length story here on PilotOnline. View all photos in this post >>

An onslaught of tornadoes rolled across the Midwest and Southern states last week, leaving cities, towns and rural communities reeling with loss and grief. Search and recovery efforts continue after the storms, which left sprawling destruction, flattened stores, schools and neighborhoods, and littered streets with tossed cars and downed power lines. Dozens have been confirmed dead in multiple states, including Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The path of the storms made it hard to assess the full extent of the damage. At one point, they were coming so fast that as many as 4 million people were within 25 miles of a tornado, The New York Times reported. (All photos by The Associated Press) View all photos in this post >>

As lingering winter bluster still harasses us in Virginia this week, we are reminded that just a short airplane flight or a long-drive away, a glimpse of summer pastimes can be found. Spring training has finally begun, where a pre-season regimen of exhibition games and practices draws crowds and attention to a handful of Southern states, and excitement builds for the coming baseball season. Just the thought of a fastball splitting the air to the arrest of a catcher’s glove, or the sound of a bat’s clap as it starts the ball on a soaring journey, seems to take the teeth out of winter’s bite. Can summer be that far away? (All photos by The Associated Press) View all photos in this post >>

The death toll from street fighting continued to rise over the weekend as protestors clashed with police in Suez and Cairo. The protests began Thursday in anger at the police for failing to prevent a post-match fight between rival groups of soccer fans in Port Said Wednesday night. More than 70 fans died in that altercation and by Saturday, 12 were dead from the protests. View all photos in this post >>

The U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps and forces from eight other countries are participating in an amphibious assault exercise off the coast of Virginia next week. In preparation, sailors with Assault Craft Unit 4, based in Virginia Beach, spent Tuesday and Wednesday working with the French command ship Mistral, pictured. The navies made sure the Mistral’s well deck and crew would be ready to receive American hover crafts known as LCACs. Besides France, forces from Australia, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom will participate in the exercise, dubbed Bold Alligator. (All photos by Hyunsoo Leo Kim / The Virginian-Pilot) View all photos in this post >>

As Italian divers combed the wreckage of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia in a risky recovery mission, the toll of confirmed dead to a reached a dozen this weekend, with still at least twenty souls still missing. Revelations last week about the captain abandoning his ship and details emerging about the missing and perished brought together elements of absurdity and dread in the continuing story of this maritime disaster. The Concordia is profoundly hazardous to the divers who search tirelessly search for the victims, as the shifting wreck is perched precariously on a rocky ledge of sea bed, near the island of Giglio. (All photos from the Ufficio Stampa Gruppo Carabinieri Subaquei - or the Italian Paramilitary Police - via the Associated Press) View all photos in this post >>

The feast of the Epiphany, which traditionally falls on the 6th of January, was observed and celebrated around the world in a wide variety of joyous customs and far flung festivals last week and weekend. With the origins in the Eastern Church, Epiphany celebrates Jesus Christ as the manifestation of God in human form and the visitation of the Magi. The word epiphany comes from the Greek word epiphaneia meaning to “appear.” These festivals and celebrations across the globe provide images flavored with a mix of reverence and whimsy. (All photos by The Associated Press) View all photos in this post >>

North Korea's "Dear Leader," Kim Jong Il enjoyed god-like power over the isolated nation for 17 years. In the wake of his death, the Korean Central News Agency rolled out photo after photo of his subjects overcome by emotion. Despite the deluge, the thick veil of secrecy that has obscured the inner workings of the nuclear state seemed as impenetrable as ever. By week's end Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong Un, had been named North Korea's "supreme leader" but the announcement did little to ease the tension and uncertainty that hangs over the Korean peninsula. View all photos in this post >>

The men study the surface of the water, watching for patterns and the occasional leap. “Come on, mullet, come on, mullet.” A jump sends the men running downstream, ahead of the school. Eulogio “Junior” Cabusao tells his doctor that it’s this exercise that keeps his blood pressure down. From September to December, in the evenings after work and on weekends, the group that casts fishing nets here in Ocean View is mostly Filipino. Sometimes the families tag along, but most often it’s a solitary endeavor. The fishermen eat what they catch, Cabusao said. The most fish he’s ever caught with one throw was 33. The weight broke his cooler. (Text and Photos by Preston Gannaway) View all photos in this post >>

The aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, along with guided-missile destroyers Truxtun and Mitscher and the cruiser Anzio, came home on Saturday morning to a massive crowd on the pier at Norfolk Naval Station. Nearly 6,000 sailors returned home to cheers and hugs after a seven-month deployment to the Middle East. (All photos by Vicki Cronis-Nohe | The Virginian-Pilot) View all photos in this post >>