The best photos of the week: From the northern lights to a black hole

Striking pictures from around the world

Picture made available by "All About Lapland" on March 24, 2023 and taken on on late March 23, 2023 shows colourful northern lights (Aurora borealis) appearing around the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, Finland. - The northern lights appeared right after dawn, and they continued all the way through the night. (Photo by Alexander KUZNETSOV / ALL ABOUT LAPLAND / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ALL ABOUT LAPLAND / Alexander Kuznetsov" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Youths hold out their pots and containers to receive soup on the second day of Ramadan in Gaza city. AFP

French police officers during a demonstration against water storage 'basins' in Sainte-Soline. Reuters

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

A young girl in a damaged house set on fire by Israeli settlers in Sinjel, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. EPA

The remains of destroyed house and car after a tornado in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. AFP

Ngwiza Khumbulani Moyo, a collector of vintage items, holds an old radio set outside his home in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. AP

Dubai World Cup ends with the annual fireworks display. Antonie Robertson / The National

Police detain a supporter of India's main opposition Congress party during a protest after its leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from parliament, in New Delhi. Reuters

A reflection of the Washington Monument on the National Mall in the US capital. Reuters

Afghan children attend class at an open-air school in Fayzabad district, Badakhshan province. AFP

Kenyan opposition coalition leader Raila Odinga speaks out against what he described as police brutality at a rally in Nairobi last week. AFP

About 4,000 people end their fast daily at the Kuwait Mosque in Deira. They are served kanji, a special broth that is popular in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Antonie Robertson / The National

Muslim women pray during Ramadan at a mosque in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir. EPA

US senator Elizabeth Warren speaks to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman Martin J Gruenberg before a committee hearing on the recent bank failures, Washington. Reuters

Israeli military veterans wave national flags during a rally against the government's judicial reform bill, near Netanya. AFP

An aerial view of the zone affected by a landslide in Alausi, Ecuador, in which at least seven people were killed. AFP

A nun in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican, after Pope Francis was taken to hospital for treatment for a respiratory infection. Reuters

Visitors celebrate Ramadan at Global Village, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A visitor admires the grandeur of Mahar Myat Muni pagoda in Mandalay, Myanmar. AFP

Floodwater fills the Tulare Lake bed after days of heavy rain in Corcoran, California. Reuters

An Angolan lion at the Planete Sauvage zoo in Port-Saomt-Pere, outside Nantes, western France. AFP

Christ the Redeemer towers over another sunrise in Rio de Janeiro. AFP

Runners at the Dubai World Cup at the Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse. Chris Whiteoak / The National

All the Flowers are For Me by Pakistani-American artist Anila Quayyum Agha at Kew Gardens, London. EPA

Fishing tanks burned during protests by French fishermen in Brest. AFP

Gwyneth Paltrow speaks to Terry Sanderson after he lost his court claim against her in Utah, US. He sued her following a ski slope collision in 2016. EPA

Workers protect themselves from gusty winds at the Al Raha creek area in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

Migrants walk near the wall after crossing the Rio Grande near the US-Mexico border. Reuters

An artist’s impression of a black hole drifting through the Milky Way, after an ultra-massive black hole about 33 billion times the mass of the Sun was discovered by UK astronomers. PA

More from The National:

Friday's best photos: From an Indonesian volcano to Gwyneth Paltrow

Thursday's best photos: From Christ the Redeemer to a Kansas City sunset

Wednesday's best photos: From a black hole to a mammoth meatball

Tuesday's best photos: From a T-rex skeleton in Switzerland to Messi's statue in Paraguay

Monday's best photos: From lightning in Kuwait to a vintage radio collector in Zimbabwe

Sunday's best photos: From a tornado in Mississippi to 10,000 taekwondo participants