Photo highlights of the day

Swimming trunk: a 63-year-old elephant enjoys a dip in the Indian Ocean. Photograph: Mike Korostelev/Solent News & Photo Agency/Solent News

Lerwick's Guizer Jarl, Ivor Cluness, and his squad march through the streets of the Shetland capital during the traditional festival of fire known as Up Helly Aa. See more in the gallery. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Skol? Locals dressed as vikings visit the British Legion pub as they march through the streets of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Around the horn: a band member waits at the roadside ahead of the bridal procession in Delhi, India. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

French artist JR's eye popping installation at the Lincoln Centre in New York. The artist, known for his large-scale projects, featured over 80 dancers in the photograph on linoleum flooring. See more in the gallery. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP

Ballet dancers join Amnesty International activists outside the Russian embassy in London. The dancers performed parts of Swan Lake before handing in a petition asking that President Vladimir Putin 'end his assault on freedom of expression and gay rights in Russia'. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Masked men lead a donkey through the streets of Zubieta, Spain, as part of a carnival ritual to ward off evil spirits and awaken the coming spring. Photograph: Vincent West/Reuters

A woman walks past art installations of horses ahead of the upcoming Chinese lunar New Year in a square in Shanghai. See more for the year of the horse in the gallery. Photograph: Aly Song/Reuters

Anti-government protestors gather in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine. The country's parliament is holding a special session called over continuing unrest. Photograph: Rob Stothard/Getty Images

Steam rises above the Bloomfield district of Pittsburgh as early morning temperatures fall below -18C (0F). Photograph: Gene J. Puskar/AP

Horse power: a boy clings to suitcase as it is dragged through a railway station ahead of the Chinese lunar New Year in Qingdao, China. Photograph: Reuters

Frazer Capie, co-ordinator for the Govan Stones Project, takes a closer look at carved stones that date from the 9th to 11th century. The British Museum is to feature one of the mysterious hogback Govan Stones in an exhibition - Vikings Life and Legend – which begins in March. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian

An anti-government protester gestures out of a bus window during a rally in Nonthaburi province, Thailand. Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

Indonesian soldiers search for victims of a landslide at the Ngrimbi village, East Java. At least six villagers are believed to have died and more were are missing after heavy rains triggered a landslide.. Photograph: EPA

Barack Obama waves as he leaves the House chamber after giving his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

Superpope: Pope Francis is represented as a superhero by Italian artist Mauro Pallotta, aka MAUPAL, on a wall near St. Peter's Basilica. Photograph: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis

Romanian immigrants living under concrete slabs on an abandoned industrial site in Frankfurt, Germany. Photograph: Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images

Lion in wait: masks are prepared for dance performances ahead of Chinese New Year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photograph: Nicolas Axelrod/Getty Images

Undeterred by the fog, a surfer sets off down Venice Beach, California, for a surf session. Photograph: Jonathan Alcorn/Corbis

Winter wonderland: two hikers walk past snow covered trees on the Rennsteig way near Masserberg, Germany. Photograph: Martin Schutt/Corbis

Camping out in a supermarket: residents of Atlanta, Georgia were stranded in a Publix grocery store due to a snow storm. The rare winter storm gripped the US South, killing five people, stranding children overnight at their schools, and causing traffic chaos across many states. Photograph: Tami Chappell/Reuters