24 hours in pictures

Gaza City: Men applying to join the Hamas police force wait for physical examinations at a recruitment centre
Photograph: KPA/Zuma/Rex Features

Athens, Greece: Public sector workers strike in protest against government measures to reduce public debt, such as freezing salaries and increasing taxes
Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features

Jerusalem: A man wears a mask at a shop selling items for the Jewish holiday of Purim
Photograph: Yossi Zamir/EPA

Haridwar, India: Hindu devotees receive blessings during a Ganga Aarti Puja (prayers) before sunrise on the banks of the River Ganges
Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Beijing, China: Passengers at a railway station
Photograph: AFP/Getty

Pampanga province, Philippines: Spectators gather on the first day of the 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Clark freeport zone
Photograph: Erik De Castro/Reuters

Leogane, Haiti: A girl plays with a balloon in a refugee camp
Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP

Haridwar, India: A young Naga sadhu, or Hindu holy man
Photograph: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Singapore: An Iranian student gestures during a protest calling on Iran's government to stop violence against demonstrators at Speakers' Corner in Tehran
Photograph: Wong Maye-E/AP

Berlin, Germany: A small ice breaker moves through the broken ice on the River Spree
Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP

New York, US: A woman uses an umbrella to shield herself from blowing snow in Central Park
Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP

Landau, Germany: Flamingos brave the elements as snow falls on Landau Zoo
Photograph: Ronald Wittek/EPA