The best photos of the week: From Stumpy the tree mascot to the Carabinieri's robotic dog
Stumpy the mascot dances near a cherry tree of the same name as it blossoms for the last time before being removed from the Tidal Basin in Washington DC so seawalls can be repaired in the US capital. AP
A street vendor sells prawns on the seafront promenade at Galle Face in Colombo, Sri Lanka. AFP
Window cleaners known as 'Spidermen' at work on a skyscraper in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters
England's Marcus Smith scores a try during the Six Nations rugby union match against France at Groupama Stadium, Lyon. France won 33-31. AP
Billowing smoke and flowing lava pours out of a new fissure as a volcano erupts on the outskirts of Grindavik, western Iceland. AFP
People wait for sunset to break their fast with iftar at Al Taawun Mosque in Al Quoz, Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, looms behind the illuminated skyscrapers of Shinjuku in Tokyo at sunset. AFP
Irish soldiers stand guard as a participant dressed as St Patrick walks past them during the annual St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin. Reuters
Passers-by photograph a new Banksy mural of a tree in north London, England. Getty Images
Artist Alain Roche plays piano while hanging from a crane in Munich. Audiences wearing headphones listened to the piano mixed with sounds of awakening nature captured by 40 microphones in Bavaria and Switzerland as the sun rose, in a project entitled When The Sun Stands Still. EPA
Drivers pass under Ramadan decorations on Hadarat Bridge during a dust storm in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq. AFP
A Palestinian man stands in the rubble of a building hit by overnight Israeli strikes in Rafah, southern Gaza. AFP
Women hit revellers with sticks during Lathmar Holi, part of the Hindu spring festival of colours, Holi, at the Radha Rani temple in Barsana, Uttar Pradesh, India. Getty Images
People visit the Hai Ramadan event at Expo City, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Hong Kong politicians passing a national security law introducing penalties such as life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection, and up to 20 years in jail for stealing state secrets. AFP
Cardboard coffins laid out in Rome's Piazza del Popolo by the Italian Labour Union during a campaign to draw public attention to work-related deaths. EPA
A South Korean tank takes part in a river-crossing exercise during a joint drill with US forces in Yeoncheon, South Korea. EPA
The casket of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney lies in state in Ottawa, Ontario. Reuters
Sheik Dien, 19, a follower of the Sengalese Muslim sect of Baye Fall, in the city of Touba. The sect is known for its colourful clothing and dreadlocks. AFP
A baby is weighed at a camp for internally displaced people in Jubaland state, Somalia. More than a quarter of the country's population have been displaced amid extremist violence. EPA
Boats sail past Shenjiamen Fishing Port during sunset in Zhoushan, eastern China. AFP
A woman visits a shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian new year. EPA
Rohingya refugees wait to be rescued after the boat they were travelling in capsized off northern Indonesia. AFP
Syrian Kurds mark Nowruz in the city of Qamishli, north-eastern Syria. AFP
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, speaks to German Finance Minister Christian Lindner during a parliament session at the Bundestag in Berlin. AFP
A kestrel catches a giant grasshopper near Kibbutz Nir Am on the Israel-Gaza border. AFP
A man takes shelter in a metro station during an air raid alert in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters
Astronaut Tracy Dyson (left) and Marina Vasilevskaya, who is set to become the first Belarusian woman in space, prepare for blast-off to the International Space Station at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Reuters
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hides inside her jacket after opposition politician Angelo Bonelli told her not to give him a 'disturbing look' during a briefing in the country's Parliament in Rome. AP
The Italian Carabinieri's first robotic dog, Saetta, is deployed alongside sniffer dog Olimpia after a bomb threat at the Ministry of Culture's office in Rome. The robotic dog can identify and defuse explosive devices. EPA
