Our World in Pictures: Week 48 of 2021

 

A bird lover feeds pigeons during a snowy day at the Vermane Garden in Riga, Latvia, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/TOMS KALNINS

A bird lover feeds pigeons on a snowy day at the Vermane Garden in Riga, Latvia, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/TOMS KALNINS

Melissa Lotholz and Eriva Voss of Canada compete during the first run of the 2-woman bobsleigh competition of the IBSF Bob and Skeleton World Cup at Olympiabobbahn Igls on November 28, 2021 in Innsbruck, Austria. (Photo by Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images)

Lowenna Prigg competes in the Advanced Novice Girls Free Skate during Day Two of the British Figure Skating Championships at Ice Sheffield on December 01, 2021 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

A South Korean diver wearing a Santa Claus costume performs in a tank at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/JEON HEON-KYUN

Chance attends the DKNY and Human's Best Friend Holiday Experience on December 02, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for DKNY and Human's Best Friend)

Monkeys feast on a banquet provided by local people in Lopburi during the Monkey Festival on November 28, 2021 in Lop Buri, Thailand. Lopburi holds its annual Monkey Festival where local citizens and tourists gather to provide a banquet to the thousands of long-tailed macaques that live in central Lopburi. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

An artist performs during the dress rehearsal for the Madrid Circus Festival 1921 in Madrid, Spain, 03 December 2021. The new show will be open to the public from 03 December 2021 to 09 January 2022. EPA-EFE/LUCA PIERGIOVANNI

Zamir Sheedi (L) and Sajjad (R) wrestle during a traditional Sindhi Malakhra wrestling event in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Maria Sharapova getting ready for an event in London wearing a couture Iris van Herpen dress made from recycled evian bottles on November 29, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Evian)

A visitor is seen at the exhibition 'Untold Stories' by Peter Lindbergh during its presentation in A Coruna, Spain, 03 December 2021. The exhibition will be open to the public from 04 December 2021 to 28 February 2022. EPA-EFE/Cabalar EDITORS NOTE NUDITY

Benjamin Lindbergh, son of photographer Peter Lindbergh, poses at the exhibition 'Untold Stories' of Peter Lindbergh during its presentation in A Coruna, Spain, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/Cabalar EDITORS NOTE NUDITY

Pope Francis leads the Holy Mass in the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MEO

Pope Francis during a meeting with the Holy Synod at the Orthodox Cathedral in Nicosia, Cyprus, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DI MEO

This composite image made from two images in-camera, shows the interior of Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by trails of candles carried by choristers during the annual 'darkness to light' advent procession on November 26, 2021 in Salisbury, England. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

A handout photo made available by Emirates News Agency (WAM) shows the official ceremony in celebration of the 50th UAE National Day in Hatta, United Arab Emirates, 02 December 2021 (issued 03 December 2021). EPA-EFE/EMIRATES NEWS AGENCY

Visitors take photos of a work called "No" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan that is part of his exhibition "The Last Judgement'' at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art on November 28, 2021 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

A Bank customer clashes with a Lebanese army soldier during a protest in front of a Fransabank branch at Hamra street in Beirut, Lebanon, 03 December 2021. EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH

Alan Molani, 18, from Kurdish Iran, sits by a fire next to old railway tracks in the new Jungle in Dunkirk on November 25, 2021 in Dunkirk, France.  (Photo by Kiran Ridley/Getty Images)

A man talks to a robot on an information desk at Haneda Airport on November 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Japan has imposed a ban on new entries by all foreigners for at least one month from today in an attempt to tackle the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

U.S. first lady Jill Biden reads her book Don’t Forget, God Bless our Troops to a second-grade class from Malcolm Elementary School in Waldorf, Maryland, in the State Dining Room of the White House November 29, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A sign in Long Street urges the public to mask up on November 29, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed that the new COVID-19 variant (Omicron) has been detected in South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/ER Lombard)

CTICC proudly hosts THIS IS ART exhibition on November 24, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. THIS IS ART event has been hosted to support our local talent, showcasing their art and handmade pieces (Photo by Gallo Images/ER Lombard)

Handout picture provided by the District Secretary for the Environment of Bogota that shows a tarantula seized at the El Dorado International Airport, in Bogota, Colombia, 02 December 2021. EPA-EFE/Secretary for the Environment HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Smoke and lava rise from the new vent of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in El paso, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, 01 December 2021. EPA-EFE/Miguel Calero

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves as she leaves the military tattoo ceremony hosted for her by the Bundeswehr on December 02, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. Merkel will be stepping down soon to make way for German Social Democrat (SPD) Olaf Scholz, who will lead a coalition government of SPD, Greens and German Free Democrats (FDP).(Photo by Clemens Bilan - Pool/Getty Images)

A warm thank you to Kim McCarthy from Getty Images for her help in creating this gallery of images. DM/ ML