World’s oldest pygmy hippo celebrates birthday — and other news in pictures

, The TimesLorraine Pritchard of Rainemaker Studio in an apron, standing next to a mannequin wearing her colorful feather-like dress and holding a feather-like headpiece.

Lorraine Pritchard, of RaineMaker Studio, alongside one of her dresses, to be displayed on Saturday at ReFashion Edinburgh, which celebrates sustainable style

JANE BARLOW/PA

Collage of the Sun covered in dozens of large dark sunspots, stitched together over two years to show its activity during a solar maximum.

Dozens of dark spots on the sun were photographed over two years by AJ Smadi, then compiled into this composite image. Far more sunspots have been appearing than usual, including AR4274, which caused a huge aurora and radio blackouts this month

AJ SMADI/TWOPOINT O MEDIA

Queen Sofia, Crown Princess Leonor, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Princess Sofia of Spain posing at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

Queen Sofía, Crown Princess Leonor, King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofía at the Royal Palace in Madrid, where Sofía, the king’s mother, was appointed to the Order of the Golden Fleece as the country marks 50 years since the monarchy was restored

CARLOS ALVAREZ/GETTY IMAGES

Thousands of starlings in a murmuration against a pink and blue dusk sky.

Thousands of starlings above the reedbeds at RSPB Ham Wall in Somerset, where a single murmuration can be formed of more than 100,000 birds. The UK’s plummeting population is boosted in winter by migrant birds from northern Europe

BRIAN MATTHEWS/TWOPOINT O MEDIA

Duncan Bridges, a cheesemaker at Montgomery's Cheddar, inspecting cheddar wheels on shelves.

Duncan Bridges is a cheesemaker at Montgomery’s Cheddar, a family business which has made unpasteurised cheddar using the same strains of starter culture in North Cadbury, Somerset, since 1911

ZACHARY CULPIN/BNPS

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife Olena attend a commemoration ceremony for victims of the Revolution of Dignity.

President Zelensky and his wife, Olena, attend a commemoration ceremony in Kyiv at a monument to the “Heavenly Hundred”, the people killed during pro-EU demonstrations in 2013-14

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/REUTERS

Zoi Wilson and Eliana Wilson playing in the snow in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.

Sisters Eliana and Zoi Wilson, aged 10 and 5, go sledging in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Heavy snow covered large parts of northeastern Scotland

MICHAEL TRAILL

Girls in traditional red dresses and bonnets leading the annual Red Maids Founders Commemoration Day procession.

Pupils at Redmaids’ High School for Girls, in Bristol, take part in an annual procession to celebrate the school’s foundation more than 200 years ago

JMF NEWS/ALAMY

An environmental protester sits in a pine tree that is meant to be cut down as a Christmas tree for London in Oslo, Norway.

An environmental protester in Oslo, Norway, tries to save a pine tree from being felled. It was due to be sent to London in the run up to Christmas

JONAS FAESTE LAKSEKJON/REUTERS

Ellie Kam is airborne over Danny O'Shea during their pairs short program.

Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea compete in the pairs short programme during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The Finlandia Trophy 2025, held in Helsinki, is the last of six events before the Grand Prix final in Nagoya, Japan, next month

VESA MOILANEN/LEHTIKUVA/REUTERS

Ballroom dancers Jonathan Noblett and Jennifer Kilheeney in an embrace.

Jennifer Kilheeney and Jonathan Noblett rehearse during the 50th British National Dance Championships, which celebrates the ballroom and Latin genres. The four-day event is being held at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire

OLI SCARFF/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A woman labeling a seedling as "Holly's Hope Tree: A Tree of Hope grown from the felled Sycamore Gap tree."

A sapling from the Sycamore Gap tree, which stood for more than a century in a dip in Hadrian’s Wall, is cared for at the National Trust plant conservation centre. It is one of several offshoots from the illegally felled landmark to be planted as part of National Tree Week

JAMES DOBSON/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/PA

A 32-meter long KAWS Companion sculpture with an X on each hand rests on its side, lifting a large glowing moon, while two people observe it.

Companion, a 32-metre installation, is the headline attraction of Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, a festival of light art in the Emirati capital. The piece was created by Brian Donnelly, the American artist known as KAWS, with his long-time collaborator AllRightsReserved, a design studio in Hong Kong

ALLRIGHTSRESERVED/TWO POINT O MEDIA

Fatima Bosch of Mexico reacts to being crowned Miss Universe 2025 as other contestants embrace her.

Fátima Bosch of Mexico reacts to being crowned Miss Universe 2025 at the 74th Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok, Thailand

CHALINEE THIRASUPA/REUTERS

Flames engulf the Africa Pavilion at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit while people attempt to put out the fire with extinguishers.

Flames engulf pavilions at Cop30 UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil. Delegates were evacuated from the venue as the fire took hold near the China pavilion, then spread. The cause was not yet known

KEVIN MUNYOLI/AP

A cheetah stretches with its mouth open wide in a yawn, while another cheetah lies down in the background.

A cheetah yawns after a midday nap in Zimanga private reserve, South Africa, as its brother continues to snooze. The conservation zone was built for wildlife photography. The photographer, Mark Strom, said: “Having had cats as pets for many years, it’s fun to see how the behaviours are very consistent regardless of cat size”

MARK STROM/SOLENT NEWS

Rebecca Zlotowski kisses Natalie Portman on the cheek at the "Vie Privée" premiere.

Rebecca Zlotowski, the film director, and Natalie Portman attend the premiere of Vie Privée, Zlotowski’s latest film, at the Pathé Palace cinema in Paris

MARC PIASECKI/GETTY IMAGES

Actors in traditional attire parade at Zócalo Square for the 115th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

Actors take part in a parade in Zócalo Square, Mexico City, for the 115th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution

ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A harvest mouse clings to two vertical stems.

One of the UK’s smallest mammals shows off its climbing skills on dandelions. Harvest mice, which are the only British mammals to have prehensile tails, are agile and can scale the thinnest stems in search of food

WARREN PRICE/TWOPOINT O MEDIA

Gabe Davis of the Buffalo Bills attempting to catch a pass against the Houston Texans.

Gabe Davis of the Buffalo Bills attempts to catch a pass during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston

KEVIN SABITUS/GETTY IMAGES

Four opossums peering out of a wooden bird box at dusk.

The wildlife photographer Tomas Thibaud, from Argentina, got a surprise when the owl nest box he built in his garden was taken over by a family of opossums. After spotting a tail poking out, he kept guard for days and was rewarded when these four little faces popped out at dusk

TOMAS THIBAUD/TWOPOINT O MEDIA

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