Today's best photos: From blessed pets to frozen flowers

The National picks the most striking images from around the world

A woman holds her dog to be blessed by a priest at the Cathedral San Bernardino de Siena during the ceremony commemorating the Feast of San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of domestic animals, in Xochimilco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico January 17, 2024. REUTERS / Raquel Cunha TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A craftsman at work in the souq of the old city in Tunis, Tunisia. EPA

An employee clears snow at the Louvre in Paris, with the Louvre Pyramid, designed by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, in the background. AFP

A man feeds pigeons on a foggy winter morning in Amritsar, India. AFP

Bahrain Raid Xtreme's French driver Sebastien Loeb and his Belgian co-driver Fabian Lurquin during stage 10 of the Dakar Rally 2024. AFP

Ground staff drying out the court for the Australian Open second round match between Poland's Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins of the US, which was interrupted by rain. Reuters

Duni, a western lowland gorilla, holds her 16-day-old infant at a zoo in Prague, Czech Republic. AFP

A man removes stray white hairs for his friend on a street in Hanoi, Vietnam. AFP

A Palestinian woman with an injured boy in the rubble of a building after an Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

In Urkiola, Spain, Perico the donkey, with Flay the dog and Fifi the cat on its back, climbs the steps of the Sanctuary of Saint Anthony the Abbot and Saint Anthony of Padua to receive a blessing on the day of Saint Anthony, Spain's patron saint of animals. Reuters

From left, US actors Sam Rockwell and Bryce Dallas Howard with British actor Henry Cavill during a press conference to promote their film 'Argylle' in Seoul. AFP

A couple in traditional dress on a visit to Sensoji temple, a popular tourist location in Tokyo. AFP

A group, mostly women, who call themselves The Endorphins, take a sunrise swim in the chilly waters of Lake Ontario despite freezing temperatures in Toronto, Canada. Reuters

This pair of bald eagles seem to disagree about something while perched in a tree in Union Bay, Seattle. AP

Ice covers flowers in Lake Oswego, Oregon after a storm that on Wednesday threatened to topple trees on to power lines and turned mountain highways treacherous in the Pacific North-West, where residents were urged to avoid travel. AP

More from The National:

Wednesday's best photos: From catching a rhino to riding a horse through a bonfire

Tuesday's best photos: From research in the Antarctic to a catwalk in Milan

Monday's best photos: From a rally in Sanaa to an abdication in Copenhagen

Sunday's best photos: from an Icelandic volcano eruption to the Danish coronation

Saturday's best photos: From Swiss New Year to a new supersonic jet