The best photos of the week: from a giant Lebanese jellyfish to a mass Valentine's wedding - in pictures

  • A free diver swims with a jellyfish off the coast of the Lebanese city of Batroun. Photo: AFP
    A free diver swims with a jellyfish off the coast of the Lebanese city of Batroun. Photo: AFP
  • Outside the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, a lorry driver listens to the engine of his vehicle during a protest over coronavirus pandemic health rules and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to use emergency powers to end the driver-led campaign. Photo: AFP
    Outside the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, a lorry driver listens to the engine of his vehicle during a protest over coronavirus pandemic health rules and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to use emergency powers to end the driver-led campaign. Photo: AFP
  • Syrian firefighters at work after artillery shells from government positions fell on a fuel depot affiliated to the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group in the northwestern rebel-held town of Dana. Photo: AFP
    Syrian firefighters at work after artillery shells from government positions fell on a fuel depot affiliated to the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group in the northwestern rebel-held town of Dana. Photo: AFP
  • A cleaner checks behind curtains before the women's play-offs semifinal match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey competition between USA and Finland at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing. Photo: AFP
    A cleaner checks behind curtains before the women's play-offs semifinal match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey competition between USA and Finland at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing. Photo: AFP
  • Participants brave the desert to run the marathon at Al Marmoom Ultramarathon at Expo 2020 Dubai Lake. Ruel Pableo for The National
    Participants brave the desert to run the marathon at Al Marmoom Ultramarathon at Expo 2020 Dubai Lake. Ruel Pableo for The National
  • Sky lanterns are released during the celebration of Lantern Festival, in Pingxi, New Taipei City, Taiwan, carrying wishes for peace and happiness. Photo: EPA
    Sky lanterns are released during the celebration of Lantern Festival, in Pingxi, New Taipei City, Taiwan, carrying wishes for peace and happiness. Photo: EPA
  • Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta celebrates winning the game between Chelsea and Palmeiras in the Fifa Club World Cup final at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta celebrates winning the game between Chelsea and Palmeiras in the Fifa Club World Cup final at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Archaeologists from the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi unearthed evidence of the earliest known buildings in the UAE and the wider region dating back more than 8,500 years. Photo: DCT Abu Dhabi
    Archaeologists from the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi unearthed evidence of the earliest known buildings in the UAE and the wider region dating back more than 8,500 years. Photo: DCT Abu Dhabi
  • A mudslide swamps Petropolis, Brazil. At least 34 people were killed in the area. Photo: AFP
    A mudslide swamps Petropolis, Brazil. At least 34 people were killed in the area. Photo: AFP
  • Participants in the Winter Snow Sports Festival in Kalam in the northern upper reaches of Pakistan's Swat valley. Photo: AFP
    Participants in the Winter Snow Sports Festival in Kalam in the northern upper reaches of Pakistan's Swat valley. Photo: AFP
  • A contestant in an extreme horse skijoring contest at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, US, gathers speed. Photo: Reuters
    A contestant in an extreme horse skijoring contest at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, US, gathers speed. Photo: Reuters
  • Lindoso reservoir in northwestern Spain. Much of Spain is experiencing extreme or prolonged drought, with rainfall this winter at one-third of the average in recent years. The situation is similar in neighbouring Portugal, where 45 per cent of the country is enduring 'severe' or 'extreme' drought. Photo: AP
    Lindoso reservoir in northwestern Spain. Much of Spain is experiencing extreme or prolonged drought, with rainfall this winter at one-third of the average in recent years. The situation is similar in neighbouring Portugal, where 45 per cent of the country is enduring 'severe' or 'extreme' drought. Photo: AP
  • A costumed protester joins the Netherlands In The Resistance group on Malieveld field in The Hague to demonstrate against the government's coronavirus policy. Photo: EPA
    A costumed protester joins the Netherlands In The Resistance group on Malieveld field in The Hague to demonstrate against the government's coronavirus policy. Photo: EPA
  • The peloton rides during the third stage of the 2022 cycling Tour of Oman between Sultan Qaboos University and Qurayyat. Photo: AFP
    The peloton rides during the third stage of the 2022 cycling Tour of Oman between Sultan Qaboos University and Qurayyat. Photo: AFP
  • Anastasiya Andryianava of Belarus trains for freestyle skiing - women's aerials at Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, China, for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Photo: Reuters
    Anastasiya Andryianava of Belarus trains for freestyle skiing - women's aerials at Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, China, for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Photo: Reuters
  • Ukraine's the Motherland Monument in Kiev. Photo: AP
    Ukraine's the Motherland Monument in Kiev. Photo: AP
  • Patients lie in hospital beds outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong as the city faces its worst coronavirus wave since the pandemic began two years ago. Photo: AFP
    Patients lie in hospital beds outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong as the city faces its worst coronavirus wave since the pandemic began two years ago. Photo: AFP
  • Traffic signs on a road closed by heavy winter weather in Hofteigur, northern Iceland. Photo: Reuters
    Traffic signs on a road closed by heavy winter weather in Hofteigur, northern Iceland. Photo: Reuters
  • Water drops on a flower petal at a garden in New Delhi, India. Photo: EPA
    Water drops on a flower petal at a garden in New Delhi, India. Photo: EPA
  • A Russian naval vessel is obscured by a flock of birds in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea. Photo: Reuters
    A Russian naval vessel is obscured by a flock of birds in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea. Photo: Reuters
  • An aerial view of Lake Dulce in Campillos. Spain's water reserves are at less than 45 per cent of their capacity, officials say, with the southern Andalusia region and Catalonia in the northeast worst hit. Photo: AFP
    An aerial view of Lake Dulce in Campillos. Spain's water reserves are at less than 45 per cent of their capacity, officials say, with the southern Andalusia region and Catalonia in the northeast worst hit. Photo: AFP
  • The official opening of Sharjah Safari Park, the largest attraction of its kind outside Africa, was on Thursday. Antonie Robertson / The National
    The official opening of Sharjah Safari Park, the largest attraction of its kind outside Africa, was on Thursday. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Cattle cross polluted waters of the river Sabarmati on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Photo: Reuters
    Cattle cross polluted waters of the river Sabarmati on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Photo: Reuters
  • Buddhist monks attend the Makha Bucha celebrations at Wat Dhammakaya temple in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok. Photo: AFP
    Buddhist monks attend the Makha Bucha celebrations at Wat Dhammakaya temple in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok. Photo: AFP
  • A child walks under a Ukraine flag on a day of unity in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine. Photo: AP
    A child walks under a Ukraine flag on a day of unity in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine. Photo: AP
  • An Indian farmer at work in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India. Photo: AP
    An Indian farmer at work in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India. Photo: AP
  • Afghan boys look over a barrier as food supplies are given to families during distribution of humanitarian aid in Kabul. Photo: AP
    Afghan boys look over a barrier as food supplies are given to families during distribution of humanitarian aid in Kabul. Photo: AP
  • A young customer inspects ornamental fish on display at a pet shop in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Photo: AFP
    A young customer inspects ornamental fish on display at a pet shop in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Photo: AFP
  • Waves created by high winds and spring tides hit the sea wall at New Brighton promenade in Liverpool, northern England, as Storm Eunice and Storm Dudley arrive over the UK. Photo: Getty
    Waves created by high winds and spring tides hit the sea wall at New Brighton promenade in Liverpool, northern England, as Storm Eunice and Storm Dudley arrive over the UK. Photo: Getty
  • A child from a camp for internally displaced people plays with a tyre at a school in the village of Afdera in Ethiopia. Photo: AFP
    A child from a camp for internally displaced people plays with a tyre at a school in the village of Afdera in Ethiopia. Photo: AFP
  • A visitor inside 'Dodecalis Luminarium' by Architects of Air at Festival Garden, Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: Suneesh Sudhakaran / Expo 2020 Dubai
    A visitor inside 'Dodecalis Luminarium' by Architects of Air at Festival Garden, Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: Suneesh Sudhakaran / Expo 2020 Dubai
  • Brides and grooms in a mass wedding ceremony in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines. Photo: Getty
    Brides and grooms in a mass wedding ceremony in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines. Photo: Getty