Pictures of the week: England’s Six Nations win, the London Marathon and thrill-seeking base jumpers

A base jumper in action during the BASE Jump Extreme World Championship at Gran Hotel Bali in Benidorm, Spain (EPA)
A base jumper in action during the BASE Jump Extreme World Championship at Gran Hotel Bali in Benidorm, Spain (EPA)

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.

 (EPA)
(EPA)

An aerial view taken by a drone shows morning mist lingering above the landscape near the munincipality of Cered, northern Hungary.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

A photographer takes pictures of the Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch.

 (Reuters)
(Reuters)

One of two peacocks that remain from a population of eighteen in Holland Park displays its plumage as part of an annual courtship ritual, despite there being no females left, in London.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

A Kyrgiz hunter spins a lure for a falcon during the Salburun hunting festival in the village of Bokonbayevo, near Lake Issyk-Kul.

 (AP)
(AP)

Two Canada goose chicks are mirrored a puddle on the banks of the river Main in Frankfurt, Germany.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

A female carpenter bee is seen nectaring at the Wisterias in a park of Tokyo.

 (PA)
(PA)

Members of the Sentinel Squad UK dressed as Darth Vader and Stormtroopers with their mobile phones during a test of a new emergency public alert system during the Sci Fi Scarborough at The Spa Complex in Scarborough.

 (AP)
(AP)

Shelly Vandenberg, of Omaha, Nebraska, gets her bulldog Thor ready for judging at the 44th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest.

 (AP)
(AP)

Beekeepers lift honeycombs from a beehive after using smoke to calm the bees, during the honey harvest along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Orange, yellow and purple wildflowers paint the hills of the Tremblor Range at Carrizo Plain National Monument near Santa Margarita, California.

 (Reuters)
(Reuters)

Singer Ed Sheeran arrives at Manhattan Federal Court for his copyright trial in New York City.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

England's flanker Marlie Packer celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the Women's Six Nations Grand Slam at the end of the Six Nations international women's rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham in south-west London.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Cadets perform Kalaripayattu martial arts during a multi-activity display ahead of a graduation ceremony at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Canadian actor Ryan Gosling and Australian actress Margot Robbie arrive for the Warner Brothers Pictures red carpet photocall of "Barbie" during CinemaCon 2023 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum breaks the tape to win the Men's race at the finish of the 2023 London Marathon in central London.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

Rescuers carry a bag containing a body next to damaged residential buildings in Uman, southern Kyiv.

 (EPA)
(EPA)

A student of the Veterinary faculty shows a royal python during the opening of reptiles exhibition at Veterinary faculty in Zagreb, Croatia.

 (EPA)
(EPA)

A branded dog stands with members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) as they picket outside government buildings in London, Britain.

 (AP)
(AP)

An orange-clad boy waits for people to pay to throw pies during King's Day celebrations in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

 (POOL/AFP/Getty)
(POOL/AFP/Getty)

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales abseils down a quarry during a visit the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team in Merthyr Tydfil, as part of a tour in Wales.

 (AFP/Getty)
(AFP/Getty)

USA's surfer Kalani Rivera rides a wave as a big swell hits Teahupoo, Tahiti.

 (EPA)
(EPA)

Visitors ride an ice slider at indoor pop-up snow park Ice Magic: Fantasy On Ice in Bangkok, Thailand.