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Ski Atlas (February 29, 2024)

On skis, on sledges or on foot – day trippers enjoy the snow on the Mischliffen mountain in the Middle Atlas Mountains.

The 2036 meter high extinct volcanic crater is located near the Moroccan city of Ifrane.

Photo: Fadel Senna / AFP

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Blueprint (2/28/2024)

A woman walks along the rows of groynes to protect against strong waves in Graal-Müritz on the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa

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Big breakthrough (February 27, 2024)

Workers in Great Britain watch the breakthrough of the tunnel boring machine “Florence” at the Chiltern Tunnel near the town of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire.

The 16 kilometer long structure is part of a high-speed railway line that will connect London and northern England.

Photo: Neil Hall / EPA

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Standing in front of the wave (February 26, 2023)

The Eisbach, a particularly powerful arm of the Isar, flows through the heart of Munich.

At the southern tip of the English Garden, its force meets human skill.

Through various construction measures, it was possible to create a standing wave there that has been attracting surfers from all over the world for decades - even in the middle of winter.

Photo: Matthias Schrader / AP

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Firecracker in Taiwan (February 25, 2024)

At the “The Bombing of Master Han Dan” festival in Taitung on the east coast of Taiwan, revelers throw fireworks at a man who is being carried half-naked through the city on a sedan chair.

The ritual is said to bring prosperity and ward off evil spirits.

Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo / EPA

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Noise in Pyongyang (February 24, 2024)

The construction of 10,000 new apartments begins in the North Korean capital, apparently with explosions.

Numerous workers wearing safety helmets take part in the ceremony.

For dictator Kim Jong Un, the project is part of a prestige project.

Photo:

AFP

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A state is in mourning (February 23, 2024)

Kelvin Kiptum was only 24 years old before a car accident took his life.

The long-distance runner could have shaped an era over the marathon distance.

What remains is a world record – and a grieving Kenya.

During Kiptum's funeral ceremony, Kenyan officials leaf through a brochure honoring the exceptional runner's achievements.

Photo: Luis Tato / AFP

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Education march (February 22, 2024)

Private universities are not permitted in Greece; according to the constitution, education at universities must be free.

Now the parliament in Athens wants to allow private universities - but young people are loudly taking to the streets.

Photo:

Louisa Gouliamaki / REUTERS

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Cultivation against poverty (February 21, 2024)

Workers clear snow from greenhouses in Huai'an.

The eastern Chinese district is one of the most important commercial grain production bases.

The modernization of agriculture contributes to increasing the well-being of local farmers and improving living standards.

Photo: AFP

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Sea birth (02/20/2024)

Tourists walk through Badwater Basin in California's Death Valley National Park.

The depression lies around 85 meters below sea level and is considered the driest place in the United States.

In summer there is a desert climate here with maximum temperatures of up to 50 °C.

Nevertheless, after heavy rain, water sometimes collects here - a lake is created.

Photo: David Swanson / AFP

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Personal care (February 19, 2024)

Europe's most famous naked man is being spruced up: restaurateur Eleonora Pucci works on Michelangelo's David with a vacuum cleaner and a brush.

Every two months, the marble statue in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, completed in 1504, is subjected to a careful and thorough cleaning procedure.

Photo: Tiziana Fabi / AFP

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Woof against the right (February 18, 2024)

Dachshund lady “Katie” is also doing her part to combat right-wing extremism.

At a demonstration on the town hall square in downtown Wolfsburg, the cute dog carries a box with the inscription "Dachshunds think Nazis are stupid!"

The “Wolfsburg Democrats” called for a demonstration against right-wing extremist activities.

Photo: Michael Matthey/dpa

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Castle in the air (February 17, 2024)

A Dutch hot air balloon floats over an athletics stadium in the Philippine province of Tarlac.

Of course, he doesn't do that without reason: There are various flight demonstrations at the three-day Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.

The event is also intended to appeal to people interested in careers in aviation.

After all, not all ideas for the future have to be castles in the air.

Photo:

Rolex Dela Pena / EPA

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Naked protest (February 16, 2024)

Members of a student association at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City strip naked.

The naked run is intended to draw attention to current and important issues in Philippine society.

This year, the naked runners carried signs against attempts to change the Philippine constitution.

Photo: Rolex Dela Pena / EPA

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Artificial corals (February 15, 2024)

The Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol is known for his monumental “data sculptures,” created using artificial intelligence.

“I let machines dream,” says Anadol about his art.

For his latest exhibition at London's Serpentine North Gallery, he fed his computers five billion images of coral reefs and rainforests - Anadol projects the results hugely onto the museum walls.

“Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive” is the name of the exhibition, which can be seen in Hyde Park from Friday until April 7th.

Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

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Sea of ​​fog (February 14, 2024)

The beauty of this natural spectacle is best seen from a bird's eye view: This drone image shows a valley near Salgótarján in northern Hungary.

Photo: Peter Komka / EPA

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Masked and awarded (February 13, 2024)

They wear masks made of wax and wooden clogs: the so-called Gilles are at the center of the Binche carnival.

The dancers only take to the streets on Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras.

The Binche Carnival is considered one of the oldest and most representative traditions of Wallonia.

In 2008 it was included in the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

Photo: Eric Lalmand / Belga / dpa

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Onset of winter (February 12, 2024)

Up to seven degrees and sunshine during the day.

Spring fever already arises in February, but few people in Nové Město na Moravě are happy about this weather.

The Biathlon World Championships are taking place in the Czech city until February 18th - and for that you need one thing above all: snow.

But because winter has set in, the snow reserves now have to be transported into the countryside and onto the World Cup routes by truck.

Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa

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Heavy burden (February 11, 2024)



Workers in Bangladesh carry bricks on their heads.

They earn less than five dollars a day from this unhealthy work.

The emissions attack the respiratory tract and lead to skin problems.

Photo: Suvra Kanti Das / ABACAPRESS / IMAGO

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Dance group (February 10, 2024)

The cold season is bid farewell, the approaching spring is ushered in, and shortly before the start of Lent, things are going wild again: young men in traditional carnival costumes meet in the Czech village of Vortova.

Together with a band, they move from house to house.

This folk custom in Hlinsko and the surrounding area was included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Photo:

Martin Divisek / EPA

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Cycling race in the desert wind (February 9, 2024)

The big cycling tours like the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France only start in a few months, and it would still be a bit too cold in Europe at the moment anyway.

In Asia, on the other hand, the cycling season is already in full swing, as New Zealand's Finn Fisher-Black won the Muscat Classic on Friday.

The Tour of Oman begins on Saturday, a top-class race with five stages in which the riders have to survive the desert wind.

Photo:

Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP

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Dragon in the dive (8.2.2024)

Using compressed air tanks, costumes and a trident, divers perform a dragon and lion dance in an aquarium in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The occasion is the upcoming Chinese New Year.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon.

Editor's note: An earlier version mentioned oxygen cylinders.

In fact, diving usually involves compressed air bottles.

We have corrected the spot.

Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP

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Conversations in the state yurt (February 7, 2024)

Diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Mongolia have existed for 50 years.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier therefore met the Mongolian President, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, in Ulan Bator.

“We particularly want to convince the younger generations to invest in German-Mongolian relations,” said the Federal President during his visit.

Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa

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A firm grip on the steering wheel (February 6, 2024)

Carnival is always political.

This is what this car shows, which is supposed to roll through Mainz on Rose Monday.

You can see caricatures of Russian leader Vladimir Putin with bloody hands behind the wheel behind AfD politician Alice Weidel and BSW boss Sahra Wagenknecht.

Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach / REUTERS

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Return to the kitchen (February 5, 2024)

After a rainstorm, customers return to the street food carts under a bridge in Jakarta.

It currently rains there every day.

So there's no reason not to buy your food there.

Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP

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Therapeutic mud fight (February 4, 2024)



On the banks of the Las Salinas Lagoon in Chilca, Peru, Manuel Hernandez and his wife Josefina are covered from head to toe in black mud.

The lagoon is rich in salt and other minerals - and is therefore said to have a therapeutic effect.

Photo: Martin Mejia / AP

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Coffee klatch for carnival (February 3, 2024)

At the Caffè Florian in Venice, guests meet in magnificent baroque attire while the carnival parade parades outside in Piazza San Marco.

Photo: Marco Bertorello / AFP

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Dance in the water (February 2, 2024)

The World Swimming Championships in Qatar are not just about speed, but also about aesthetics: for example for Brazil's Jullia Catharino.

She competes in a discipline that in German has the somewhat absurd name “solo synchronized swimming” – and ultimately simply means an artistic solo performance in the water.

Photo: Manan Vatsyayana / AFP

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Sea of ​​flowers (February 1, 2024)

In Chennai, India, sellers at a market drape piles of flowers in different colors.

May the floral festival begin!

Photo: R. Satish Babu / AFP