It’s never been easier to keep up with what’s going on in the world. The news is everywhere – in our Facebook feeds, on the morning commute, during that lazy half hour before you switch off the TV and go to bed. But the tide of global affairs is often more upsetting than uplifting and it can be tempting to bury our heads in the sand. As the saying goes: a picture is worth a thousand words, so to offer a different perspective we've rounded up some of the most memorable images of the week's events, captured by the best photojournalists on the planet.
Syrian women and children gather on the western front after fleeing the centre of Raqqa on 12th October 2017. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Syrian fighters backed by US special forces, are battling to clear the last remaining jihadists holed up in their crumbling stronghold of Raqqa.
Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
A woman holds a white flag with a red heart during a demonstration called by the 'Let's talk' (Parlem, Hablemos) association for dialogue in Catalonia on 7th October 2017 at Cibeles square in Madrid. Spain braced for more protests despite tentative signs that the sides may be seeking to defuse the crisis after Madrid offered a first apology to Catalans injured by police during their outlawed independence vote.
Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
A firefighter monitors flames as a house burns in the Napa wine region in California on 9th October 2017, as multiple wind-driven fires continue to whip through the region.
Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Fifty-eight white doves are released in honour of the victims of last Sunday's mass shooting, at the culmination of a faith unity walk at Las Vegas City Hall on 7th October 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. On 1st October, Stephen Paddock killed at least 58 people and injured more than 450 after he opened fire on a large crowd at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. The massacre is one of the deadliest mass shooting events in US history.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A group of Rohingya children who fled from oppression in Myanmar are seen inside a madrasa (a place of education) holding blackboards with the word 'Peace', at Leda camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on 11th October 2017.
Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A Russian emergency service helicopter carries water past billows of smoke as firefighters battle a blaze in Sindika, a shopping mall selling construction materials, at MKAD Moscow ring road on the western outskirts of Moscow.
Photo: Maxim Grigoryev/TASS/Getty Images
In this picture taken on 9th October 2017, Japanese women bodybuilders pose during the Japan bodybuilding championships in Tokyo. The number of bodybuilders registered with Japan's national federation has almost doubled over the past six years to around 3,000, with women making up 10%, as part of a nationwide fitness boom, officials said. In ageing Japan, female bodybuilding is dominated by women in their 40s and 50s, as many usually only start after their children have grown up.
Photo: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images
A couple is reflected in a puddle as they walk past the Kremlin's Spasskaya (Saviour) Tower in downtown Moscow on 12th October 2017.
Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
Charmaine Coleman, 84, takes part in the World Conker Championship, Southwick, Northamptonshire on 8th October 2017.
Photo: Mark Bullimore/REX/Shutterstock
A person walks through morning mist across the Parc de la Tête d'Or in downtown Lyon early on 12th October 2017.
Photo: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images
Chloe Hoskins, 7, tags along with her father, who was checking on a neighbour's burned-out property in the Coffey Park neighbourhood on 10th October 2017 in Santa Rosa, California.
Photo: Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Hundreds of Rohingya people crossing Bangladesh's border as they flee from Buchidong at Myanmar after crossing the Naf River in Bangladesh on 9th October 2017.
Photo: KM Asad/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock
The aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force performs at a shooting event in Axalp, Switzerland, 12th October 2017. Every year in late autumn, the Swiss Air Force pilots show their skills in the Swiss Alps above Axalp Ebenfluh. At an altitude of 2,200m above sea level, spectators can marvel at a unique aviation display performed at the highest air force firing range in Europe.
Photo: Christian Merz/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Faithfuls light candles and pray during their visit to the sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de Aparecida, the largest and most visited of the country, in the city of Aparecida, 170 kilometres from Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 12th October 2017, the day on which Brazilians celebrate 300 years since the discovery of the image of 'Our Lady of Aparecida'.
Photo: Sebastiao Moreira/EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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