The best photos of the week: from Afghan sportswomen to Cirque du Soleil performers

Striking pictures from around the world

An Afghan women's football team. AP

In the traditional Central Asian sport of Kok-Boru, horsemen score points by dropping a goat carcass in the opposing team's goal. EPA

Picture perfect in a field of flowers in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Reuters

Hindu pilgrims on Sagar Island during a religious festival in Kolkata, India. EPA

A member of the female-only security team Dragon Squad at a funeral in Etinan, Nigeria. Reuters

Altharis Threatt carries items from her daughter-in-law's tornado damaged mobile home in Mount Vernon, Alabama. EPA

Paraglider Majed Darwish at Sky Adventures in Sharjah. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A man runs for cover during protests near Juliaca airport in Peru. EPA

Members of the Shembe Church during the annual Nazareth Baptist Church pilgrimage near Durban, South Africa. EPA

Supporters of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate outside Congress in Brasilia. Reuters

A Ukrainian helicopter fires at Russian positions in Kherson. AP

Roman Catholic devotees during the Feast of the Black Nazarene at Quirino Grandstand, Manila. Getty Images

A floating cafe in Nakhon Pathom, west of the Thai capital Bangkok. AFP

Lightning strikes over Rutenberg power station in Ashkelon, Israel. Reuters

Prince Harry's autobiography Spare on display in a bookshop window in London. Reuters

A girl collects bricks from the debris of her house in a flood-hit area of Balochistan province, Pakistan. AFP

Syrian rebels fighting government forces on the front line in Tadif, Aleppo province. AFP

Afghan children play on a street in Jalalabad. AFP

A flooded property in Gilroy, California. AFP

A dragon dance troupe in Bogor, Indonesia, practise for the Lunar New Year celebrations. AFP

Deer in early morning mist in Jutland, Denmark. Reuters

Police respond to protests at a lignite mine near the village of Luetzerath in Germany. EPA

Chinese Lunar New Year festivities in Beijing. Reuters

An ostrich egg next to 4,000-year-old ostrich egg fragments found in Nitzana sands in the Negev desert, Israel. EPA

Wild boar feed on rubbish in the Peak, a luxury residential district in Hong Kong. EPA

Bolivian biker Daniel Jager Nosiglia during Stage 10 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, between Haradh and Shaybah in Saudi Arabia. AFP

The southern marshes of Chibayish in Dhi Qar province, Iraq. AFP

A man prepares kite string in Jalandhar, India. AFP

Protesters clash with riot police in the city of Cusco, Peru. AFP

Cirque du Soleil opening night at the Coca Cola arena, Dubai. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Jan 13, 2023

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Updated: January 13, 2023, 6:01 PM