The world in photos: Feb 6-12

Here, we present some of the most striking images from major stories around the world this past week.

▲ Volunteers attend to some of the hundreds of stranded pilot whales still alive after one of the country's largest recorded mass whale strandings, in Golden Bay, at the top of New Zealand's South Island, Feb 10, 2017.

▲ Yemenis Saleh Alambri, Samar Alwahiri (R) and daughter Laila Alambri, 3, who were among those stranded in Djibouti when President Trump ordered his travel ban, arrive to Los Angeles International Airport on Feb 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Previously the family were banned from entering the US after President Trump signed an executive order banning certain immigrants from entering the country.

▲ A model shows off outfits made of chocolate at the Le Salon du Chocolat - Chocoladesalon chocolate fair in Brussels, Belgium, Feb 9, 2017.

▲ Former US president Barack Obama and British businessman Richard Branson on a boat off Branson's Moskito island, in the British Virgin Islands, in a photo released by Virgin on Feb 7, 2017.

▲ Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) during their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., Feb 10, 2017.

▲ White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump walk along the colonnade ahead of a joint press conference by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and her father, US President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, US, Feb 10, 2017. 

▲ Lady Gaga performs onstage during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl 51 Halftime Show at NRG Stadium on Feb 5, 2017 in Houston, US.

▲ Tom Brady of the New England Patriots celebrates with wife Gisele Bundchen and daughter Vivian Brady after defeating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl at NRG Stadium on Feb 5, 2017 in Houston, US. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28. 

▲ A group of Arab soldiers who have joined Kurdish peshmerga forces take a selfie picture during a graduation ceremony at a training camp in Duhok province, Iraq, Feb 7, 2017.

▲ German president-elect, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, receives congratulations by his predecessor Joachim Gauck after the first round of voting of the German presidential election at the Reichstag in Berlin, Feb 12, 2017.