Photos of the day

Stranded whales and a vegetarian festival: photos of the day – Wednesday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

Mexico City, Mexico

Supporters of President Claudia Sheinbaum gather in Zócalo Square for an event in which she will receive a ceremonial staff from Indigenous people

Photograph: Mario Vázquez/AFP/Getty Images

Asheville, US

Storm damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina

Photograph: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

Paris, France

Kylie Jenner, left, presents a creation by the designers Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant as part of their spring/summer 2025 women’s ready-to-wear collection show for Coperni during Paris fashion week at Disneyland Paris

Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Kolkata, India

A vendor prepares food on his mobile cart on a railway track after train services were suspended temporarily due to a festival rush

Photograph: Bikas Das/AP

Adana, Turkey

Police special operations teams perform with a helicopter during the Teknofest technology and aerospace event

Photograph: Utku Uçrak/Anadolu/Getty Images

Hong Kong, China

Fireworks illuminate the sky over Victoria Harbour to celebrate the 75th anniversary of China’s National Day

Photograph: Lam Yik/Reuters

Mumbai, India

Hindu devotees perform the Tarpan ritual during Mahalaya prayers at the Banganga water tank. Mahalaya is observed seven days before the festival Durga Puja, with devotees offering prayers to their deceased

Photograph: Divyakant Solanki/EPA

Brampton, UK

A person makes their way along a flooded cul-de-sac in Cambridgeshire

Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Rome, Italy

Advocates for women’s ordination show a banner during the Don’t Kick the Can, Women Can Be Priests flash mob, as Pope Francis opened the synod of bishops with a mass at the Vatican

Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Bangkok, Thailand

People perform a lion dance at a shrine to honour Chinese deities on the eve of the annual vegetarian festival. During the nine-day period, people will abstain from consuming meat to cleanse their body and mind

Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

Kamchatka, Russian

Rescuers and volunteers try to save four killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk

Photograph: Head of the Sobolevsky district, Andrei Vorovskiy/Reuters

Kathmandu, Nepal

Students walk past debris, mostly plastic waste dumped into the river, as flood water recedes from the banks of the Bagmati after heavy rains

Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Khan Younis, Gaza

A 14-year-old Palestinian girl, Razan Arafat Barbah, who lost both of her legs in an Israeli attack on their home in Rafah, is treated with limited facilities at Nasser hospital

Photograph: Hani Alshaer/Anadolu/Getty Images

Beirut, Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike

Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Khan Younis, Gaza

Injured Palestinians mourn loved ones killed in Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict

Photograph: Hatem Khaled/Reuters