Today's best photos: From a solar halo to China's National Day preparations

'The National' selects the most stunning pictures from around the world over the past 24 hours

A solar halo surrounds the sun over Bangkok. AFP

A helping hand

US Border Patrol agents on a raft help a migrant woman as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico.

An explosive display

The Cumbre Vieja volcano in one of its most explosives phases in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.

A sea of red lanterns

A worker places red lanterns in formation for China's National Day celebrations in Danzhai, south-western Guizhou province.

An optical phenomena

A solar halo surrounds the sun over Bangkok.

Phone home

Children play with a mobile phone on the roof of a home in Caracas, Venezuela.

Mother of Nation

Workers remove an advertisement in Hamburg showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the slogan "Mother of Nation – thanks for 16 years of hard work" before Sunday's general election, after which her successor will take over.

Birds at dusk

Cormorants sit on a dead tree at dusk at Ince Salt Marshes in Runcorn, United Kingdom.