The Week in Pictures: Iranians ring in their New Year despite fresh strikes, and a 'fight' breaks out at the Oscars
Queues for antibiotics and vaccines as far as the eye can see, one Greek dogs gets a lot of attention, and what was Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy giggling about? - here are a selection of some the best photos from the UK and around the world this week.
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A young boy carrying Iran's historic Lion and Sun flag leaps over fire during the Nowruz Fire Festival, in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
Nowruz, meaning “new day,” is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Europe.
Many Iranians around the world have marked the occasion with traditional activities, including jumping over fire on Chaharshanbe Suri (held on the last Wednesday of the year) to burn away negativity and start the new year positively.
The celebrations did not deter Israel from striking Iran's capital, Tehran overnight, with Iran also launching rounds retaliatory missiles at Jerusalem.
Declaring the Middle East has now changed "beyond recognition", Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today insisted Israel still has "more to do" in the wake of ongoing attacks.
A man rides his bike in front of the rubble of the National School of Design in Havana, Cuba.
On Saturday, a group of residents in the city of Moron took to the streets and partially destroyed the local headquarters of the ruling communist party, as frustration grows over nationwide blackouts.
The blackouts have been due to a lack of power after critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted when the US arrested its president, Nicolás Maduro.
It follows suggestions from President Trump last week that Cuba may be the target of a "friendly takeover" before adding it "may not be a friendly takeover".
A passenger and her dog answer press questions after being repatriated on a flight from Abu Dhabi at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens, Greece.
The Aegean Airlines flight, organised by the Greek government and named 'Operation Ark', brought home 100 Greeks and their 47 pets from the United Arab Emirates, where regular air travel has been disrupted by the Iran war.
"Our pets are not luggage, they are part of our families," said the Greek Interior Ministry's special secretary for the protection of companion animals, Nikos Chrysakis.
LBC previously reported cats and dogs belonging to expats were being dumped on the streets of Dubai and left to fend for themselves as residents attempted to flee the war in the Middle East
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte share a joke as they meet at Number 10 Downing Street, Westminster, London.
The jovial meeting comes as the UK and Ukraine have agreed to a new world-leading partnership to boost global defensive capability against the proliferation of low-cost, high-tech military hardware, including drones.
As part of the agreement, the UK will put £500,000 towards a new “AI centre of excellence” in Kyiv, which would be made up of experts working to see how the technology can best be used for a “battlefield advantage”, No 10 said.
During his visit, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told MPs and peers the Iranian regime and Putin’s Russia are “brothers in hatred”, but thanked the UK for "standing with us all through this difficult winter.”
The Milky Way over Warkworth Castle in Northumberland on the north east coast of England.
Many Brits have enjoyed cloudless skies and bright sunshine for much of the week, with Wednesday being recorded as the hottest day of the year so far. The Met Office confirmed temperatures rose to 20.9C in Gogerddan and 20.2C in Northholt at 3.35pm.
Long spells of sunshine, light winds and very little rainfall will continue into Saturday and Sunday.
Aerial views of students queuing for antibiotics outside a building at the University of Kent in Canterbury.
So far, more than 8,500 courses of antibiotics and 1,600 vaccines have been given to eligible people as the number of cases of meningitis linked to an outbreak in Kent has risen to 29, health chiefs have confirmed today (Friday).
Two students have died during the outbreak, including 18-year-old Juliette Kenny, who died on Saturday, one day after first developing symptoms.
The portrait of Lily Allen by Nieves Gonzalez that was used for her West End Girl album cover art is unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The painting – which shows Allen sitting on a stool wearing a baby blue puffer jacket, white polka dots and white and black polka dot boots – went on display at the Gallery on Thursday and will be available for the public to view for the next year.
Gonzalez said having her painting displayed at the National Portrait Gallery was “overwhelming” and that the “balance between the classical and the contemporary was essential" in creating the piece.
Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz throws away a paper aeroplane during the UEFA Europa League round of sixteen, second leg match at Villa Park, Birmingham.
Aston Villa booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the third sucessive time with a 2-0 win over Lille last night.
They were joined by Nottingham Forest, who overcame a first-leg deficit to beat Midtjylland on penalties in Denmark.
King Charles III inaugurates the King Charles III England Coast Path at Seven Sisters National Nature Reserve in Seaford, England.
Natural England officially launched the path on Thursday, which stretches for 2,689 miles and, for the first time, allows walkers to follow a continuous route around England’s shoreline.
The King walked 2 kilometres of the route wearing his lounge suit and brown brogues, armed with a walking staff, and, upon seeing the white cliffs landmark, remarked that they were the ones "I avoided hitting when I was in the Royal Navy".
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting with 11-year-old Tony Hudgell in Downing Street, London, as he sets out the establishment of a child-cruelty register to keep children and young people safe from abuse.
In 2018, Tony's birth parents Anthony Smith and Jody Simpson were sentenced to 10 years in prison after abusing Tony so badly, he had to have both legs amputated.
The UK government has this week introduced a Child Cruelty Register through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill inspired by the advocacy of Tony and his adopted mother, Paula Hudgell.
Those convicted of neglect, abandonment, or FGM will be monitored in a similar way to sex offenders. They will be required to notify police if they change their name, move house, travel abroad, or live with children again.
After a tie in the category, US filmmakers Jack Piatt and Sam Davis hold the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for "The Singers" alongside US filmmaker Alexandre Singh and US curator Natalie Musteata with their Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for "Two People Exchanging Saliva" in the press room during the 98th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California.
No need to squabble, guys - you both won! For just the seventh time in history, a tie was announced at the Oscars on Sunday, with "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" both winning the gong for Best Live Action Short Film.
"You just ruined 22 million Oscars pools," host Conan O'Brien joked.
The biggest awards of the evening had much less surprising outcomes, with bookies favourites Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley winning Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. Revolutionary action thriller "One Battle After Another" scooped the most Oscars with a total of 6, including Best Picture.