The sun sets before the winter solstice — and other news in pictures
, The Times
A squirrel pauses in Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
JACOB KING/PA
The Karen communities in Yangon, Myanmar, celebrated their new year on Friday with music and dancing
SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Nasa’s SPHEREx space observatory has mapped the entire sky in 102 infrared colours, which are invisible to the human eye but can reveal different features of the cosmos. The findings will help scientists to answer questions about what happened in the first second after the Big Bang
NASA
Royal Navy cadets stand to attention during the Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon. The King presided over the ceremony, overseeing the blessing of his new colours and inspecting the cadets, who had undergone 29 weeks of training to become junior naval officers
CHRIS JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES
A rainbow lorikeet parrot feeds on the nectar of a tree in Adelaide, South Australia. The species is common along the eastern coastline of Australia
AMER GHAZZAL/SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL
Nearly 5,000 police officers sing the national anthem at their graduation ceremony in the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion, Paraguay
DANIEL DUARTE /AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A preparatory drawing for Grant Wood’s masterpiece American Gothic, which was sketched out on the back of an envelope in 1930, is among the treasures going on sale at Christie’s in New York next month to mark the 250th anniversary of the American declaration of independence. The artists Red Grooms and Lysiane Luong have owned the sketch since 1989. It has a pre-sale estimate of between $70,000 and $100,000
CHRISTIES
Sahar Taroush with her brother and her children in her partially collapsed home in Jabaliya, Gaza City
JEHAD ALSHRAFI/AP
Sarah Richardson, the founder of the Leafy Couture florist in Bramhope, near Leeds, poses with a Christmas wreath during a workshop
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES GLOSSOP
Two-year-old Martha Jane feeding hay to sheep on her grandparents’ farm at Arley, Worcestershire. A shortage of hay caused by the dry spring has led to high prices and livestock being fed early
PETER LOPEMAN/ALAMY
Princess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, celebrated her first solo flight at the General Air and Space Academy in San Javier, Murcia, on Friday. The princess of Asturias, 20, is in her fourth month of training in the air force
GENERAL AIR ACADEMY/ROYAL HOUSEHOLD
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting new factories in South Hwanghae province
KCNA/KNS/AFPGETTY IMAGES
The Indonesian boxer Vicky Tahumil Junior taking a blow from Thitisan Panmot of Thailand during the men’s flyweight gold medal match at the Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok. Tahumil Junior won the fight
PATIPAT JANTHONG/REUTERS
Runners pass Bondi Beach on Friday morning, five days after gunmen opened fire on a Chanukkah celebration, killing 15 people and injuring more than 40
AUDREY RICHARDSON/GETTY IMAGES
Hungarian equestrian culture was on display on the second day of the London International Horse Show at the ExCel centre in east London
BEN WHITLEY/PA
An HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter from the US Air Force approaches the Roosevelt Roads naval base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The base was reopened last month as the US builds up its forces in the Caribbean
RICARDO ARDUENGO/REUTERS
Day Day Thomas of the Cincinnati Bearcats has his shot blocked by Tyler Byrd of the Alabama State Hornets during a college basketball match at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnatti won the match 88-51
MICHAEL HICKEY/GETTY IMAGES
President Lula da Silva of Brazil tries a virtual reality headset during an exhibition at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia
SERGIO LIMA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Erika Kirk, the widow of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, addresses a festival in Phoenix, Arizona, held by the organisation her husband helped to found, Turning Point USA. She is now its chief executive
OLIVIER TOURON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A worker covers his face amid heavy smog at the Kartavya Path in Delhi
ARUN SANKAR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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