Today's best photos: from a pilgrimage in South Africa to China's travel rush

The National picks the most striking images from around the world

Members of the Shembe Church gather on top of Nhlangakazi Holy Mountain during the annual Nazareth Baptist Church, (Shembe Church) pilgrimage near Durban, South Africa, 07 January 2023. Once a year, 20,000 followers of the Shembe Church gather to walk 50km to their holly mountain to pray and enjoy the community of fellow Shembe worshipers. The founder of the church, Isaya Shembe, claimed to have had been approached by the Holy Spirit on top of Nhlangagazi more than 100 years ago and thus started the Shembe church. Seen as a mixture of Zulu tradition and Christianity, the church reveres the late Isaya Shembe as an African Messiah and emphasizes the Ten Commandments. EPA / KIM LUDBROOK

A man carries his dog as people shop for Chinese ornaments and food in Jakarta, Indonesia, before the Chinese Lunar New Year on January 22. AFP

Jambia handles on display in a market in the old city of Sanaa. The famous Yemeni knife, dating back more than 2,000 years, is a curved and double-edged dagger worn proudly by most men. EPA

A woman prays at the Tam Chuc Pagoda in Vietnam's Ha Nam province. AFP

Koltin Hevalow is thrown during the PBR Unleash The Beast rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York City. AFP

Carnival dancers perform during The Awakening at Headingley Stadium in Leeds, which celebrates the English city's cultural past, present and future.

A man shields a child as he runs for cover during protests near Juliaca airport in Peru. Demonstrations against the government of Dina Boluarte left at least 12 injured on Friday. EPA

A view of the Sun and some sunspots taken from Kuwait City. AFP

Shinto followers of the Teppozu Inari Shrine take a bath in cold water to purify their souls and bodies during a New Year ritual in Tokyo. AFP

People wearing masks rush to catch their trains at a railway station in Suzhou, a city in eastern China's Jiangsu province. China faces a surge of Covid-19 cases with the start of the Lunar New Year travel rush. AP

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Wednesday's best photos: from a viewing deck in Dubai to beams of light in Russia

Tuesday's best photos: from snow-free meadows in Austria to sunset at Al Hudayriat Island

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