Best images from around the world in the past 24 hours - February 4

A villager works a field near Berastepu village in North Sumatra on February 4, 2014, as Mount Sinabung continues to spew hot gas and lava. Volcano eruptions began four months ago and the death toll on Indonesia’s Sumatra island stands at 15, officials said. Dedi Sahputra / EPA

Members of Malaysia’s indigenous Mah Meri tribe perform the Main Jo-oh dance on February 4, 2014, in a village near Kuala Lumpur. The descendants of seafarers perform the thanksgiving ritual to appease the spirits of the seas. They were celebrating their new year Tuesday, according to the lunar calendar. Samsul Said / Reuters

A procession makes its way toward the statue of Kinh Quang Trung in Hanoi on February 4, 2014, during a ceremony marking the 225th anniversary of the Vietnamese Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da victory over the Chinese Qing army. Nguyen Hue – later proclaimed Emperor Quang Trung – in the spring of 1789 led guerrillas in a surprise attack on Hanoi, then occupied by the army. It resulted in the Qing’s defeat on the fifth day of the lunar new year. Hoang Dinh Nam / AFP photo

A burqa-clad Afghan woman walks along a snowy road in Herat, Afghanistan, on February 4, 2014. As winter sets in across Central Asia, many Afghans struggle to provide adequate food and shelter for their families. Aref Karimi / AFP photo

Children sit on a swing at a warehouse for second-hand items in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on February 4, 2014. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

Snow falls as pedestrians make their way just after sunset in Tokyo on February 4, 2014. Tokyo stocks plunged 4.18 per cent Tuesday, after weak US manufacturing data sent Wall Street and the dollar tumbling. Toru Yamanaka / AFP photo

Sri Lankan traditional dancers take part in a parade in Kegalle, about 80 kilometres north-east of Colombo, on February 4, 2014. The country was celebrating its 66th Independence Day, marking the end of British colonial rule in 1948. Eranga Jayawardena / AP photo

An African migrant walks in a Tel Aviv park on February 4, 2014, during a protest demanding asylum and work rights from the Israeli government. In recent weeks, the mostly Eritrean and Sudanese migrants have staged demonstrations demanding recognition as refugees, a status that would give them residency rights. Israel sees many of them as economic migrants and has tried a number of tactics to stop their influx or restrict their numbers. It has built a fence along the border with Egypt, passed a law that allows for the migrants’ detention, and offered financial incentives to urge them to leave. Oded Balilty / AP photo