Today's best photos: from The Rolling Stones to schoolgirls in Afghanistan

'The National' selects the most stunning pictures from around the world

Afghan girls step out of their classes in a school in Kandahar. AFP

The Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones start their US tour in St Louis, Missouri, a month after the death of drummer Charlie Watts.

Grand Magal of Mourides

Pilgrims line up to enter the Great Mosque of Touba during the Grand Magal of Mourides, the largest annual Muslim pilgrimage in Senegal. Hundreds of thousands make the pilgrimage each year.

Disinfection in North Korea

A worker sprays disinfectant as part of measures against Covid-19 in the Daesong Department Store, Pyongyang.

Shearing of wild vicuna in Bolivia

Aymara men catch a wild vicuna for shearing the Andean village of Puyo Puyo, Bolivia. Once over-hunted and on the brink of extinction, vicunas are now protected in Bolivia, where the Aymara shear and release the animals to use the wool to make clothing.

Worshippers during Arbaeen

Shiite Muslims crowd around the tomb of Imam Hussain in Karbala, southern Iraq. Iraqi Shiites gathered to perform the religious ceremony of Arbaeen on the 40th day after the holy day of Ashura. This commemorates the death of Imam Hussein at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. The Iraqi security forces imposed tight restrictions to protect the worshippers.

Earthquake in Crete

Firefighters look for people in the rubble of a collapsed church after an earthquake in Arkalochori on the island of Crete, Greece.