This week in photos: The Pope’s Iraq visit, hockey on Lake Baikal and an ambulance wedding

Female protesters trying to cross the shields of the police as they march to Taksim Square during a rally marking the International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey, March 8. International Women's Day was celebrated globally on March 8 to promote women's rights and equality. According to the 'We'll Stop Femicide' social platform, 335 women were killed through gender violence and hundreds assaulted by men in 2020, in Turkey

Pope Francis attending a prayer for the victims of the war at Church Square, Mosul, Iraq, March 7. On March 5th Pope Francis began a three-day official visit in Iraq, the first papal visit to this country affected throughout the years by war, insecurity and lately COVID-19 pandemic. The Pope is holding inter religious prayers at the Ur of the Chaldees ancient site, mass at important churches that were affected by conflict in Baghdad, Erbil and Qaraqosh near Mosul

The shell of a burned car sits in a field ravaged by a forest fire in Las Golondrinas, in the Chubut southern province of Argentina, March 10

A giraffe chewing in its enclosure at Berlin Zoo, Berlin, March 10

Pupils gathering in the playground for a break on their first day back from lockdown at Chertsey High School in Chertsey, UK, March 9. England's schools reopened to pupils from March 8th, 2021 after closing for a third lockdown on January 5

Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and his aide Daniil Martynov visiting an exhibition of equipment designed for use in the Arctic environments ahead of a send-off ceremony for instructors assigned by the Russian Special Forces University to take part in the Arctic exercises of the Russian National Guard, Grozny, Russia, March 9

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang arriving for the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 10

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mohammed bin Adbulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, are seen during a meeting in Doha, Qatar, March 11

Little lambs sniffing each other on the Ecofarm Vazec in Vazec, Slovakia, March 9. With the added complications in transporting cattle during the coronavirus pandemic, breeders are now targeting local markets. Approximately 150, 000 lambs are born in Slovakia each spring, with 50% destined for European markets before pandemic times

Police officers conducting a fingertip search of Poynders Road outside Poynders Court on the junction with Rodenhurst Road as they continue the search for Sarah Everard in London, UK, March 9. Sarah Everard, 33, has been missing since leaving a friend's home in Clapham on March 3

Bruno de Nicola, cuisine chef at the Italian Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, and Eunice Cides de Oliveira waiting for their wedding ceremony inside an ambulance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 11. Bruno and Eunice met five years ago at the consulate and already had a date to get married. During the coronavirus pandemic, Bruno was diagnosed with skin cancer and underwent treatment and at the end of last year it was discovered that the cancer had returned. Due to the prognosis and the pandemic, the couple decided to cancel the marriage. Bruno's doctor was moved by their story and insisted that the couple should get married

Buddhist monks praying for the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami at a beach in Iwaki, Japan, March 11. Japan observed the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and triple nuclear meltdown in which almost 16,000 were killed and hundreds of thousands made homeless. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake was one of the most powerful ever recorded. It triggered tsunami waves up to 40.5 meters high that travelled at 700km/h and surged up to 10km inland destroying entire towns

A hockey rink after a match on the ice of Lake Baikal, organized to draw attention to the environmental problems of the lake, in the village of Bolshoye Goloustnoye in Irkutsk region, Russia, March 8