Pictures of the week: From the Stand Of Loyalty parade in the UAE to a Sahara camel caravan

Striking images from around the world

A military plane takes part in a display at the Stand of Loyalty parade, marking the 10th anniversary of the UAE's National Service Programme, in Al Samee. Victor Besa / The National

The restored Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is illuminated ahead of its reopening. AFP

A fisherman casts his line in the Shatt al Arab river, formed at the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates, in Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP

A Syrian Kurdish woman, fleeing the fighting north of Aleppo, leans on a bullet-riddled wall after arriving in Tabqa, on the western outskirts of Raqqa, Syria. AFP

US first lady Jill Biden visits Qasr Al Hosn in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The aftermath of a motorcycle bomb attack on a toll point in Pamplonita, Norte de Santander province, Colombia. AFP

Christmas trees are felled at the Stockeld Park plantation in Yorkshire, northern England. PA

Livio Hiltbrand of Switzerland competes in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Downhill Training at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado, US. AFP

Eid Al Etihad fireworks at Dubai Festival City Mall. Pawan Singh / The National

A tower at Abu Dhabi Plaza pokes out of a thick blanket of fog above Astana in Kazakhstan. Reuters

Displaced Palestinians stand amid the damage after Israeli air strikes hit makeshift shelters near the Abu Hmayseh school in Bureij refugee camp, in central Gaza. AFP

Filipino protesters demanding higher wages face police during a rally to mark the 161th anniversary of the birth of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio in Manila. EPA

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris to start the countdown to its re-opening and a weekend of ceremonies, five years after the devastating fire that toppled its spire. AFP

British Mercedes driver George Russell on the track during qualifying ahead of the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix at Lusail International Circuit. Getty Images

Mourners pay their respects to Ukrainian officer Pavlo Vedybida, also known as 'Obolonchik', in Independence Square, Kyiv. AP

Japan's Kokone Kondo competes in the women's Freeski Big Air during the FIS Snowboard & Freeski Big Air World Cup in Beijing. AFP

People gather to commemorate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the site where he was killed, in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of southern Beirut. EPA

A Spider-Man balloon passes through a street during a Christmas festival in Santiago, Chile. AP

Fishermen empty their nets on a beach in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. AFP

Anti-regime fighters pose for a picture with an army helicopter at the Nayrab military airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP

Some of the 2,500 panda sculptures displayed at Hong Kong International Airport for the Panda Go! exhibition. AP

Thai royal guards at the 72nd birthday celebration for King Maha Vajiralongkorn at Dusit Palace in Bangkok. AFP

Winter clouds cast shadows over Al Qudra desert, in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

An Israeli soldier holds a rifle near a hospital in Tubas, in the occupied West Bank. Reuters

Police detain a supporter of farmers' unions during a sit-in protest at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border in Noida, India. AFP

A man walks past a home damaged by floodwater in Tumpat, Malaysia. AFP

A militant on seized Syrian army military equipment that was abandoned on the motorway to Damascus. AFP

Anti-government protesters launch fireworks towards police during a sixth consecutive day of mass demonstrations against the government's postponement of EU accession talks, in central Tbilisi. AFP

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung looks on as people hold placards that read 'Step down President Yoon Suk Yeol' and 'Investigate his act of rebellion immediately'. Reuters

A camel caravan moves across the Erg Chebbi sand dunes in the Sahara desert outside Merzouga, Morocco. Reuters