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.
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire at Kandawgyi Palace hotel in Yangon early on 19th October 2017. One person died in a pre-dawn blaze on 19th October that tore through a teakwood hotel in Yangon popular with foreign visitors to Myanmar's main city.
Photo: YE AUNG THU/AFP/Getty Images
The installation 'Under One Sky' by Stephan Marr is pictured before dawn at Sculptures By The Sea at Bondi Beach on 19th October 2017 in Sydney, Australia.
Photo: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
A teacher gives a maths class at a school which assists with integrating former child soldiers, who were affiliated with the local anti-government militia, Kamwino Nsapo, back into society, on 19th October 2017 in Kananga, DR Congo.
Photo: JOHN WESSELS/AFP/Getty Images
A refugee child stands in the departure hall of Athens International airport with his family as they await their flight to France as part of an EU relocation programme, on 18th October 2017. The Greek Minister for Migration expressed his wish that the programme of relocation of refugees in the EU should be extended to other nationalities than at present, and especially to unaccompanied minors.
Photo: ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images
Chinese security guards look at military delegates during the speech of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Communist Party's 19th Congress in Beijing on 18th October 2017. China's Communist Party opened its 19th National Congress on 18th October, a week-long, twice-a-decade political meeting to reshuffle leadership positions.
Photo: FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images
An Indonesian villager takes a picture of Mount Sinabung volcano as it spews thick smoke as seen from Tiga Pancur village in Karo, North Sumatra on 17th October 2017. Sinabung roared back to life in 2010 for the first time in 400 years. After another period of inactivity it erupted once more in 2013, and has remained highly active since.
Photo: IVAN DAMANIK/AFP/Getty Images
Police investigators are seen inside the burned-out shell of Grenfell Tower in London on 17th October 2017 as investigations continue into the tragedy. An inquiry opened last month as survivors demanded answers over the west London apartment block blaze that killed at least 80 people on 14th June. Scaffolding started to be erected around the burnt shell of the building as investigations continue into the deadly fire.
Photo: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images
A man fights a forest fire in Vieira de Leiria, Marinha Grande, Portugal on 16th October 2017. 6,000 firemen supported by 1,800 land vehicles are fighting several wildfires all over the country.
Photo: RICARDO GRACA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock.
The sun goes a golden yellow colour over Putney due to dust from the Sahara being blown in with Storm Ophelia on 16th October 2017 in Putney, London, UK.
Photo: Rob Ball/Getty Images
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by US special forces, looks out from a building at the frontline in Raqqa on 16th October 2017 in the Islamic State (IS) group's crumbling stronghold. US-backed fighters battled hundreds of IS jihadists holed up in the last pockets of Raqqa, as the former extremist stronghold stood on the verge of capture.
Photo: BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
A picture taken on 15th October 2017 from a hill shows a general view of Saint Helena's capital Jamestown, on the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. The first regular commercial flight landed at Saint Helena on 14th October 2017, opening the small British island in the south Atlantic to the world after centuries of isolation.
Photo: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian far-right activists hold flares during a march in central Kiev on 14th October 2017. From ten to twenty thousand far-right activists gathered in the Ukrainian capital on 14th October 2017 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).
Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images
A picture taken on 13th October 2017 shows pelicans at a water reservoir in Mishmar HaSharon, north of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Thousands of migrant pelicans pass though Israel on their way to Africa, then again when they return to Europe in the summer. Local farmers feed the birds in order to avoid damage to the commercial fish pools.
Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images
In this aerial view, a burned neighbourhood is seen in Santa Rosa, California on 12th October 2017. Hundreds of people are still missing in massive wildfires which have swept through California, killing at least 26 people and damaging thousands of homes, businesses and other buildings.
Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty ImagesLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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