Ruins, racers and rockers: Photos of the week

Wildfires ripped across parts of Los Angeles, California, leading to at least 10 deaths, destroying thousands of buildings and prompting mass evacuation orders. In this photograph, a firefighter battles the Eaton fire in Altadena.

The Pacific Palisades fire has become the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles.

The Eaton fire destroyed the Altadena Community Church. While strong winds and a lack of rain are driving the blazes, experts argue that climate change is worsening the underlying conditions, making such fires more common.

A baby was born on a crowded migrant dinghy which travelled from Africa to the Canary Islands this week, the Spanish coastguard says. It has published a picture of the baby boy who was rescued alongside his mother and scores of other migrants.

Venezuela's opposition said its leader, María Corina Machado, was briefly arrested and then freed. It came after she had addressed a protest rally in Caracas on the eve of President Nicolás Maduro's disputed inauguration. The UN expressed its alarm after it had received reports of arbitrary detentions and intimidation in Venezuela ahead of the opposition marches.

Former US President Jimmy Carter lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC. The 39th US president died at the age of 100 on 29 December, 2024, at his home in Plains, Georgia.

Artist Luke Jerram during the unveiling of his latest astronomical sculpture, Helios, at the Bath Assembly Rooms in England.

A devotee dances in the sacred forest in Ouidah, during the first day of the Voodoo Festival. In Benin, voodoo, or vodou, is recognised as an official religion and is followed by some 40% of the population.

Revellers parade through the streets of New Orleans on a streetcar on Twelfth Night, which kicks off Carnival season.

Runners start the 32nd Egyptian Marathon in front of Queen Hatshepsut's temple while hot air balloons rise over the west bank of the Nile river in Egypt's southern city of Luxor.

A driver competes in stage 2B of the 47th Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

A man cleans snow-covered boats on the Dal Lake after a spell of fresh snowfall in Srinagar, India.

Elvis impersonator Alfred Vaz poses prior to boarding a train, departing for the Parkes Elvis Festival, at Sydney's Central Station in Australia.