Day in pictures

1 of 9 A diver at Tokyo's Sunshine International Aquarium, wearing a traditional kimono, embraces a giant moray during a feeding performance.

2 of 9 Palestinians pray in front of the Israeli separation barrier at Kalandia checkpoint near the entrance to Ramallah.

3 of 9 An Iraqi boy comforts his friend after a US mortar shell destroys his family home near the scene of a car bomb at the entrance of an Iraqi police station in al-Maden, south of Baghdad.

4 of 9 Residents of Carlisle, England, return to their homes after flooding from heavy rain engulfed parts of the city.

5 of 9 Rescue workers sift through debris of a seven-storey building that collapsed following a fire in Bangkok.

6 of 9 Keeper David Jeschke measures iguana 'Horst" during an inventory at the zoo in Hanover, Germany.

7 of 9 A Turkish protester burns an EU flag during a demonstration in front of the European Union office in Istanbul to show opposition to the EU and the US.

8 of 9 Armed police stand near three suspected robbers arrested in Shenzhen, southern China, as a warning to other would-be criminals ahead during the Spring Festival, which traditionally sees crime surge.

9 of 9 A northern Sudanese celebrates in Khartoum following the country's landmark peace deal, ending more than two decades of civil war in southern Sudan.