Week in pictures: 2 - 8 Oct

1 of 11 The Mount St Helens volcano in the US state of Washington erupted its largest steam and ash cloud since its resurgence in activity last month.

2 of 11 A British sergeant takes part in a 24-hour endurance session in Basra to raise money for a friend with multiple sclerosis.

3 of 11 The Spanish city of Tarragona held its annual human tower contest.

4 of 11 Afghans head to the polls on Saturday for the country's first free vote. Hundreds of people attended rallies to support their candidate.

5 of 11 Security fears meant much campaigning, including that of Afghanistan's Interim President, Hamid Karzai, is took place under tight guard.

6 of 11 A stunt parachutist floats over the skyline of Shanghai after leaping off China's tallest building, the Jinmao Tower.

7 of 11 The father of Bashir al-Dabbash, a senior Islamic Jihad militant, grieves after his son died in an Israeli air strike.

8 of 11 Japan's Naoki Takizawa brought a veritable bouquet of creations to this week's ready-to-wear Paris fashion show.

9 of 11 An Iraqi man peers through a broken window after US air strikes on the Sadr City area of Baghdad.

10 of 11 Pakistan suffered the latest in a series of attacks on Thursday when a car bomb exploded near a rally called by a banned Sunni Muslim group in Multan, leaving many casualties.

11 of 11 An Israeli rescue worker emerges from ruins of the Hilton hotel in the Egyptian resort of Taba.