A devotee dressed as a Roman soldier whips a penitent playing the role of one of two thieves sentenced to be crucified alongside Jesus Christ, during the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross reenactment in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, April 15, 2022. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)

An England fan during a screening of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 semi-final between Australia and England at BOXPARK Wembley, London on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)

Beautiful, strange and occasionally alarming pictures from the shortlist for this year’s Wellcome image awards – which celebrate the very best in science photography and imaging – from an x-ray of a bat to a micrograph of a kidney stone. The exhibition opens on 12 March at three science centres and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photo: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x. (Photo by Stefan Eberhard/Wellcome Images)

Participants take part in the 44th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney, Australia, 05 Ma​rch 2022. (Photo by Bianca de Marchi/EPA/EFE)

Locals dress up as Mazcaras to celebrate Entroido on February 21, 2023 in A Xironda, Spain. Entroido is an ancient rural carnival celebrated in Galicia during the previous days of Ash Wednesday. Each town has its traditional characters and costumes. In the small village of A Xironda, locals dress up as Mazcaras with their characteristic masks, cowbells at the waist and whips, and then run through the streets. (Photo by Brais Seara Fernandez/Getty Images)

Visitors run in as the gates open for the 188th edition of the traditional Oktoberfest beer and amusement festival in the German Bavaria state's capital of Munich, Germany, 16 September 2023. Oktoberfest runs from 16 September to 03 October. (Photo by Anna Szilagyi/EPA)

Tea garden workers carry sacks of tea leaves at Fatikchera tea garden estate on the outskirts of Agartala, India, May 10, 2016. (Photo by Jayanta Dey/Reuters)

French National Front party deputy Marion Marechal-Le Pen attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris April 14, 2015. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)