World in focus — best photos for January 29, 2016

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  Personnel from the Japanese embassy wave to the plane carrying Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko as they depart from the Villamor Airbase in Manila. The emperor and empress are on a five-day visit to the Philippines. Noel Celis / AFP

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  Indian Kashmiri Muslims offer prayers as an unseen clergyman displays a relic at the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Geelani in Srinagar. Devotees are marking the last Friday of Urs (Festival) of the saint who lived in Baghdad some 1,000 years ago and is buried there. Kashmiri Muslims hold the saint in high esteem and have set up scores of shrines and mosques in his memory. Tauseef Mustafa / AFP

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  Indian soldiers stand during an all faith prayer ceremony to offer tributes at Rajghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, on his death anniversary in New Delhi, India. The day when Gandhi was shot and killed in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist, is marked as Martyr’s Day in the country. Manish Swarup / AP

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  Los Angeles Clippers forward Wesley Johnson, right, shoots as Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Brown defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, in Los Angeles. Mark J Terrill / AP

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  A masked reveller poses during the Venice Carnival, in Piazza San Marco. Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters

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  Palestinian youths fight with swords as they demonstrate their ninja-style skills for the photographer at the ruins of a house, that was destroyed in 2014 war, in the northern Gaza Strip. The youths, who have been receiving martial arts training at local clubs in Gaza for the past two years, decided to form a team to hold regular shows in the hope that the publicity generated will eventually lead to them being invited to participate in international contests. Mohammed Salem / Reuters

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  US President Barack Obama hugs Lilly Ledbetter prior to delivering remarks on the 7th Anniversary of the Signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act at the White House in Washington, DC. To advance fair pay for women President Obama is proposing a new rule that will require companies to report pay data by gender, race and ethnicity. Shawn Thew / EPA

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  Filipino commuters ride a public train in Manila, Philippines. The Philippine economy grew at a ‘respectable’ 5.8 per cent in 2015, a slower rate than the previous year and missing the government’s annual target. Although still expected to be among the fastest in the region, gross domestic product (GDP) growth was slower than the administration’s target of 7 per cent to 8 per cent, and down from 2014’s expansion of 6.1 per cent. Mark R Cristino / EPA

A look at the best photos from around the world today.