The best photos of the week: from Holi festival to International Women’s Day

Striking pictures from around the world

People sing, dance and throw colors at each other to celebrate Holi festival in Hyderabad, India, Monday, March 6, 2023. The festival will be observed on March 8, but the festivities starts almost a week in advance. It is celebrated across India to welcome good harvests, warm weather, and the defeat of evil. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A. )

A deadly fuel depot fire ripped through residential buildings in North Jakarta, Indonesia. AFP

Bus staff gather outside the Great Hall of the People before the opening session of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress in Beijing. AP

Rohingya refugees search for their belongings after a fire broke out in Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia. AFP

The H3 rocket lifts off from Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan. Controllers were forced to blow up the rocket moments later after ignition failed. AP

Buddhist monks at a ceremony commemorating Makha Bucha Day in Pathum Thani province outside Bangkok. Reuters

A group of Orthodox Jewish boys in London gather round a car to collect tokens during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Getty Images

A man welding a cylinder on a construction site in Chittagong, Bangladesh. AFP

A security officer after the second plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. AFP

Ruth Kavere, 65, and her granddaughter Faith, 3, who completed doses through the world’s first malaria vaccine pilot programme, at home in Mukuli, Kenya. AFP

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a US Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington. Reuters

Palestinians inspect damages after a raid by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin. EPA

A boy during baseball training in Havana. The 2023 World Baseball Classic began on March 7 and runs until March 21. AFP

A man plays the trumpet in front of a barricade during a demonstration in Lyon, France, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. AP Photo

Turkish riot police block a street during a rally marking International Women's Day in Istanbul. EPA

A municipal gardener walks through a snowy maze in a park in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany. AP Photo

Sultan Al Neyadi shares his first photos of Earth from space. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

Female voluntary recruits at a military base in Bogota, Colombia. It is the first time they have been allowed to join the military in 25 years. AP

Snow-covered streets in Brussels. AFP

Riot police spray tear gas at protesters during clashes near the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi. AFP

Grazing sheep are introduced to protect ancient ruins from growing green in unexcavated areas of the archaeological site in Pompeii, Italy. Reuters

Civilians take shelter at a metro station during a missile attack in Kyiv. AFP

Cars after part of the ceiling collapsed in a shopping centre in Osasco, Brazil. Reuters

Basaksehir's Algerian defender Ahmed Touba fights for the ball with Gent's Nigerian forward Gift Emmanuel Orban in their Europa Conference League match. AFP

Part of Cap Fagnet cliff crashed into the sea due to coastal erosion, in Fecamp, France. Reuters

A big wave hitting the coast in Plobannalec-Lesconil, western France. AFP

Missiles fired by the Hwasong artillery unit, responsible for operational missions of the Korean People's Army Western Front, at an undisclosed site in North Korea. AFP

A picture of Pope John Paul II on the facade of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland. Reuters

Police patrol the Los Pumitas neighbourhood, where Maximo Jerez, 11, was killed this week when a gunmen attacked a birthday party in Rosario, Argentina. AP

A woman during a march against gender-based violence on International Women's Day in Mexico City. AP Photo

More from The National

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Thursday's best photos: from sheep protecting Pompeii to the Princess of Wales helping troops

Wednesday's best photos: from riots in Tbilisi to female soldiers in Colombia

Tuesday's best photos: from Chanel's Paris show to the H3 rocket lift-off

Monday's best photos: from a freestyle ski competition to Liverpool's pitch invader

Sunday's best photos: from Jamie Lee Curtis's hot dog fingers to men's 400m sprint finish