Week in Photos: Northern Lights, Presidential Celebrations, Nature's Wrath

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - From the awe-inspiring beauty of the Aurora Borealis dancing over Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, to the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Milton in Florida, the visual narratives reflect a day filled with both celebration and devastation.

In Mexico City, the bicentennial of the Republic took center stage, while Santiago, Chile, buzzed with excitement during the South American FIFA qualifiers.

These stories, each framed through the lens of powerful photography, offer a vivid glimpse into the shared experiences that unite us across different corners of the world.

Rileyville, United States - Aurora borealis, or northern lights, produced by a solar geomagnetic storm are seen from Shenandoah National Park in Rileyville, Virginia. A coronal mass ejection from the Sun struck Earth this morning at 11:17 am (1517 GMT), disrupting the Earth's magnetic field and quickly achieving G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm conditions at 12:57 pm, the US Space Weather Prediction Center said. The event is expected to produce auroras potentially as far south as northern California or Alabama. 

Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican army soldiers perform a representation of the beginning of the Republic with the appointment of the first President, Guadalupe Victoria, and different passages from the history of Mexico during the Bicentennial of the Republic ceremony at the Zocalo Square in Mexico City on October 10, 2024. This October 10 marks the 200th anniversary of Mexico's first president, Guadalupe Victoria. 

Santiago, Chile - Brazil's forward Igor Jesus celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Chile and Brazil, at the National stadium in Santiago. 

Clearwater, United States - First responders in the water outside an apartment complex that was flooded from and overflowing creek due to Hurricane Milton, 2024 in Clearwater, Florida. At least four people were confirmed killed as a result of two tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton on the east coast of the US state of Florida, local authorities said Thursday. 

Siesta Key, United States - A flooded street with debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, in Siesta Key, Florida. At least 10 people were dead after Hurricane Milton smashed into Florida, US authorities said, after the monster weather system sent tornados spinning across the state and flooded swaths of the Tampa Bay area. 

Cali, Colombia - Street artists perform next to a sign announcing the COP 16 event in Cali, Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia, on October 8, 2024. The 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) will be held in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1, 2024. 

Lima, Peru - Riot police stand in front of the demonstrators during a protest against the wave of extortions organized by the union of transporters and merchants in Lima. Dozens of transport workers and small traders held a protest march in Lima on Thursday, the second in less than two weeks against extortion and murder by organized crime. 

Karachi, Pakistan - A dust storm envelopes buildings in Karachi on October 10, 2024. 

Fish Creek, Australia - The Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, glows on the horizon across Australian skies near Fish Creek, south of Melbourne, 11 October 2024 

Tel Aviv, Israel - People walk on a tightrope along the Mediterranean sea waterfront in Tel Aviv at sunset on October 10, 2024. 

Stockholm, Sweden - The Book of South Korean author Han Kang is on display after she was announced as the laureate of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to South Korean author Han Kang, whose work confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.
She was honoured "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life," the Swedish Academy said. 

Avignon, France - This court sketch, at the Avignon courthouse, shows multiple portraits of Gisele Pelicot during the trial of her former partner Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France. A court in the French southern town of Avignon is trying Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old retiree, for repeatedly raping and enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife in her own bed over a decade. Fifty other men, aged between 26 and 74, are also on trial for alleged involvement, in a case that has horrified France. The court proceedings, which runs until December, are open to the public at the request of Dominique Pelicot's ex-wife and victim. 

Melbourne, Australia - People inspect a work of art titled 'Three Little Pigs' at a preview of 'REKOSPECTIVE: The Art of Reko Rennie', the largest presentation of Australian artist Rennie’s work featuring over 100 pieces in his first retrospective exhibition, at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne. 

Druzhkivka, Ukraine - Local residents ride on a tram in Druzhkivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Maputo, Mozambique - Voters gather in the courtyard of a polling station in the Escola Primaria Compleda Unidade 25 in the Polana Caniso district of Maputo on October 9, 2024 during Mozambique's national election. 

Havana, Cuba - An old American car drives past waves crashing against the Malecon promenade in Havana due to the passage of Hurricane Milton on October 9, 2024. A "catastrophic" Hurricane Milton was closing in on the storm-battered state of Florida on Wednesday as US officials pleaded with residents to flee or risk dying. 

Dortmund, Germany - Visitors look at the new digital exhibition 'Wonderland Ocean' at the former gas plant Phoenix West in Dortmund, western Germany. In 2023, Culturespaces created an immersive art centre in the Phoenix Halle, a former gas treating plant, part of the famous Phoenix West blast furnace. Phoenix des Lumières presents monumental immersive digital exhibitions, dedicated to major artists in the history of art and to contemporary art. 

Kyiv, Ukraine - Local residents sit on benches in the park on a sunny autumn day in central Kyiv, on October 9, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. 

Dadat, Syria - A boy carries a suitcase as Syrians who were refugees in Lebanon return to their home country after a journey to the opposition held northern Idlib province through the crossing Aoun al-Dadat north of Manbij. Lebanon became home to hundreds of thousands of Syrians after the repression of anti-government protests in Syria in 2011 sparked a war that has since killed more than half a million people. But intensifying Israeli strikes on Lebanon since September 23 have prompted 310,000 people to flee to Syria, most of them Syrian refugees, according to the Lebanese authorities. 

Baharak, Afghanistan - Afghan youths play volleyball at a field in Baharak district of Badakhshan province.

Vientiane, Laos - A security official looks on during the 44th and 45th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Vientiane. 

Shanghai, China - An aerial photo shows a general view of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, in Shanghai. 

Ahmedabad, India - An aerial view shows revellers wearing traditional clothes as they dance at a ‘Garba’ during the Hindu festival of Navaratri, in the outskirts of Ahmedabad on October 9, 2024. 

Carver, United States - Farmworkers harvest cranberries at the Weston Cranberry Corporation Farm in Carver, Massachusetts on October 8, 2024. 

Pushkar, India - Tourists enjoy a camel safari at a desert in Pushkar on October 8, 2024. 

Hong Kong, China - People tend to graves at a cemetery in Hong Kong on October 11, 2024, during the Chung Yeung Festival, also known as the Double Ninth Festival, where people honour their ancestors.