All aboard the Elvis Express — and other news in pictures
, The Times
Jay Cardall, 21, is one of the UK’s youngest blacksmiths. He joined Mather Blacksmiths in Tibshelf, Derbyshire, which uses historical techniques in a smithy dating to the 1600s, when he was 19. As of October last year there were 990 blacksmiths in the UK, and there are believed to be fewer than 500 trainees looking to take up the profession
TOM MADDICK/SWNS
Competitors in the traditional Bavarian horn sledge race, or Hornschlittenrennen, in the ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Tuesday. The wooden sledges can get up to 55mph and riders brake with their feet
ANGELIKA WARMUTH/REUTERS
The Black and White Carnival in Pasto, Colombia, has its origins in indigenous harvest celebrations, although over the centuries it has incorporated elements of Spanish and African festivals
IVAN VALENCIA/AP
Sunrise over the obelisk in the market square of Ripon, North Yorkshire. The obelisk was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, constructed in 1702, and later acquired a weathervane
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES GLOSSOP
Maya Joint of Australia hits a backhand in her match against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the United Cup, a mixed-sex international hard-court tennis tournament, in Sydney. Joint lost the match but her compatriots won theirs, sending Australia to the quarter finals
BRENDON THORNE/GETTY IMAGES
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the most senior Russian Orthodox priest, leads a Christmas Eve service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar
VLASOV SERGEY/PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW PRESS SERVICE/EPA
Ponies on Roydon Common in Norfolk will have to endure more cold weather, down to 0C, and rain in the next few days
JULIE SMART/BAV MEDIA
Verdi’s La traviata, directed by Richard Eyre and conducted by Antonello Manacorda, runs at the Royal Opera House until February 17
ELLIOTT FRANKS
Worshippers gather at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa for Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas Eve
AMANUEL SILESHI/AP
Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ryan Reaves of the San Jose Sharks came to blows in their teams’ match in San Jose, California. The Sharks won the game
DAVID GONZALES-IMAGN/REUTERS
After a spate of tyre slashings, David Henwood, a councillor, and residents of Littlemore in Oxford, have taken to using Hyoshigi, wooden clappers used in Japanese theatre and by firefighters, to warn people that they are patrolling and deter crime
TOM WREN/SWNS
Robert Hazell, 77, of London, skates across the frozen flood plain at Port Meadow in Oxford
TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS
In Venezuela a woman sports a fake moustache in tribute to Nicolás Maduro, the former president who was captured in a US raid, as she joins thousands of others on a march through Caracas in support of the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez
LEONARDO FERNANDEZ VILORIA/REUTERS
Geiko and maiko — traditional geisha entertainers and apprentices — exchange new year greetings before the ceremonial opening of the gates to Gion Kobu, one of the five major geiko areas of Kyoto
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN/GETTY IMAGES
A Syrian soldier helps a woman flee violence in Aleppo after clashes broke out between government forces and Kurdish fighters
OMAR ALBAM/AP
A robot folds laundry at the LG Electronics booth during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a trade show that showcases the latest tech developments and consumer gadgets
ABBIE PARR/AP
The father of Riccardo Minghetti, 16, who died in the New Year’s Eve fire at a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, kisses his coffin during his funeral at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome
REMO CASILLI/REUTERS
Sarah Jessica Parker, her husband, Matthew Broderick, and son, James Wilkie Broderick, celebrate at the Golden Eve event, held before the Golden Globes on Sunday, at which she will receive the Carol Burnett Award for her outstanding contribution to television
MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS
Dry conditions and strong winds helped a wildfire take hold in El Hoyo, in the Patagonian province of Chubut, Argentina. The area is sparsely populated but 3,000 tourists have been taken to safety
MAXI JONAS/REUTERS
A chipmunk in a forest in Tilburg, the Netherlands
DEMIAN SMIT/SOLENT NEWS
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