Pictures of the week: Pride, a wooden maze and World Cup firsts

Each week the picture editors at The Independent sort through hundreds of thousands images sent into us by photography agencies from all around the world. These are some of the most eye-catching and the most striking images from culture, news, politics, sport and lifestyle. You can also keep up with the latest photography making headlines via our Instagram . Young people jump into the water to cool down on a sweltering hot day at the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Lebanon. An aerial view of people enjoying the Wooden Maze at Kildare Maze, near Prosperous, Co. Kildare, Ireland. A tractor passes sunflowers near Derenburg in Germany. People taking part in the Belfast Pride Parade 2023. Mount Merapi billows smoke into the air and lava onto its slopes during its eruption as seen from Hargobinangun village, in Sleman. Children walk along a sea wall at Navotas in Metro Manila. A car passes grain fields at the ‘Harz’ mountains near Wernigerode, Germany. A fireman gestures and holds a cat and two rabbits after rescuing them from a fire between the villages of Kiotari and Gennadi, on the Greek island of Rhodes. A women weeps during the Ashoura mourning ritual in Tehran, Iran. A pod of long-finned pilot whales gather closely near Cheynes Beach east of Albany, Australia, before stranding. Nearly 100 pilot whales stranded themselves on the beach in western Australia and about half had died by the morning after, despite the efforts of wildlife experts and volunteers to save them. German artist Isa Genzken’s sculpture Pink Rose is displayed in front of the New National Gallery in Berlin. France’s Kevin Mayer competes in the men’s pole vault event during the 2023 French Athletics Championships at the municipal stadium in Albi. A floating bridge made from plastic bottles at the Ada Ciganlija Lake in Belgrade, Serbia. Switzerland’s Pauline Brunner (left) and South Korea’s Kang Young-mi compete in the women’s team epee semi-final at the Fencing World Championships in Milan. Thai cabinet and government officials take the oath of allegiance to become lawful civil servants, outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland competes in the women’s high diving 20m round 3 and 4 during the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka. A photo taken with a drone shows a charcoal worker preparing a pile of oak wood to burn as part of the production of the handcrafted charcoal in Sile district of Istanbul. A pedestrian walks across a street during rainfall in Mumbai. A ‘voodoo’ wrestler utters incantations above the alter of his shrine in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Nouhaila Benzina in action during the Women’s World Cup match between South Korea and Morocco in Adelaide, Australia. The Morocan defender became the first player to wear a hijab at a World Cup.