Today's best photos: From Icelandic volcano to the Garland King

The National picks the most striking images from around the world

This handout picture released by the Icelandic Coast Guard on May 29, 2024 shows billowing smoke and flowing lava pouring out of a new fissure, during a surveilance flight above a new volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the evacuated town of Grindavik, western Iceland. A new volcanic eruption has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland, the country's meteorological office said Wednesday, shortly after authorities evacuated the nearby town of Grindavik. (Photo by HANDOUT / Icelandic Coast Guard / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / ICELANDIC COAST GUARD " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, speaks to the media after voting in Seshego, Limpopo province, in South Africa's general election. Bloomberg

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and MPs applaud after a bill granting amnesty to those involved in Catalonia's failed independence bid in 2017 was approved, at the Parliament in Madrid. Reuters

People take jet skis on to the water in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, which will host the surfing events of the Paris 2024 Olympics. AFP

A mahout rides his elephant along a street on a hot summer day in Jaipur, as India swelters in a heatwave. AFP

Dani Afiouni, owner of well-being company Longevity Hub, and John Bowerman, a long-time client, are running the straightest line possible from Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah to Al Qudra, a stretch of about 160km, over five days. Antonie Robertson / The National

Lebanese designer Nabil Farhat poses next to an installation titled Magma Plastique and made with more than a tonne of recycled plastic, at an exhibition hall in Beirut. AFP

Indigenous Gunas arrive at their new homes in Nuevo Carti, mainland Panama. About 300 families from Gardi Sugdub, a small Caribbean island endangered by rising sea levels, have become Panama's first climate-displaced people. AFP

A voter fills out a ballot paper during the general election in Nkandla, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. AP

Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's presidential candidate for the ruling Morena party, poses with supporters at her closing campaign rally, at Zocalo Square in Mexico City. AFP

Before and after views of part of Rafah, southern Gaza, showing the aftermath of a recent air strike near a camp for the displaced. Maxar Technologies / AP

British actress Naomi Watts attends an FYC red carpet event for Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. EPA

The Garland King is paraded through the town, a long-running annual tradition in Castleton, central England. Reuters

More from The National:

Wednesday's best photos: From beetle counting to an ex-Wren in a Spitfire

Tuesday's best photos: From Ed Davey's paddle boarding fall to cheese rolling

Monday's best photos: From a new Iranian parliament to farmers protesting in Brussels

Sunday's best photos: From skin-shedding cicada to Cannes Palme d'Or winner

Saturday's best photos: From a Naval Academy graduation to Cannes fashion

Friday's best photos: From a White House state dinner to the Pope's new biography