Each week the picture editors at The Independent sort through hundreds of thousands images sent into us by photography agencies from all around the world.
These are some of the most eye-catching and the most striking images from culture, news, politics, sport and lifestyle.
You can also keep up with the latest photography making headlines via our Instagram.
Skopje’s valley surrounded by fog. Citizens of the North Macedonian capital, especially those living in houses, use wood to heat up during the winter, as the country has no reliable supply of natural gas. According to IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, over the last ten days, it was three times ranked among most polluted cities in the world.
Robert Lewandowski plays with a ball during Barcelona’s open training session at Camp Nou.
Faithful queue to enter St.Peter’s Basilica to pay homage to former Pope Benedict at the Vatican.
A rescuer tries to put out a fire of a private building after a Russian shelling in the Ivanivka village near Bakhmut of the Donetsk area, Ukraine.
A goat wearing a jacket on a farm, on a cold winter morning, in New Delhi.
Andreas Wellinger soars through the air during the third stage of the 71th Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Innsbruck, Austria.
Squirrel monkeys climb on an abacus during a photocall to illustrate the annual stocktake at London Zoo.
Frances Tiafoe serves during a warm up session of the men’s singles match against Oscar Otte on day six of the United Cup tennis tournament at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney.
The coffin of football legend Pele, draped in a Brazilian and Santos FC flags, is transported from Vila Belmiro stadium, where he laid in state, to the cemetery during his funeral procession in Santos, Brazil.
A woman walks past a decoration made of reflective balls outside a shopping mall in Bangkok.
A delivery worker adjusts his face mask as he rides on his bike loaded with customers’ online order groceries on a street in Beijing.
A ski track with only a few patches of snow on Bjelasnica mountain near Sarajevo, Bosnia.
A cornfield featuring an image of soccer player Lionel Messi in Cordoba, Argentina.
Republican Representative from California Kevin McCarthy, right, speaks with a colleague as the US House of Representatives continues voting for new speaker at the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Cardinals and Bishops attend the funeral mass of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St Peter’s square in the Vatican.
An Elvis Presley impersonator leans against the Elvis Express train at Sydney Central Railway Station before departing for the Parkes Elvis Festival.
Participants show their work during the annual New Year calligraphy contest at Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo.
People slide down in an ice slide at the Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, China.
A Kashmiri boatman makes his way through partially frozen surface on the waters of Dal Lake as sun rises on a cold morning in Srinagar.
A Siberian tiger roars at the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, China.
Rui Goncalves drives during stage 6 of the Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia.
A drag queen poses during RuPaul’s DragCon Drag Queen convention at the ExCeL centre in east London.
Hindu devotees warm themselves around bonfires after bathing in the Shali river during the Swasthani Brata Katha festival.
A man rides a horse during Epiphany celebrations in the village of Pietrosani, Romania.
