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Israel has plunged into a two-day celebration of its 70th Independence Day, which was preceded by an annual solemn mourning ceremony in honor of soldiers fallen in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which began the day after the state’s establishment.

Iran’s city of Yazd has been engulfed by a sandstorm which transformed day into night and left many without electricity.

April 18 marks the International Day of Monuments and Historic Sites. Each year this day is celebrated with different activities including visits to monuments, heritage sites, and conferences. Sputnik takes a look at some of the lesser known world heritage sites.

The Day of the Sun is one of the main public holidays in North Korea, which marks the birth anniversary of the country's founder Kim Il Sung, grandfather of current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A mountain descent in bathing suits is one of the most spectacular events of GrelkaFest 2018, which was held in the Russian ski resort of Sheregesh on April 6-15. Thousands of people also took part in numerous activities including the Holi festival of colors, ski jumping and snowboarding, a beauty contest and a number of concerts.

Early in the morning, the skies above Syria burned with over 100 missiles that targeted the country's civilian and military facilities, the US-led punitive strike, which came as a response to unverified reports blaming Damascus for chemical weapons usage in the city of Douma.

Aerobatic teams performing high-speed maneuvers, bikers celebrating the coming of spring, parkour enthusiast prowling the ruins of Syria’s Aleppo, religious observances and sports events, tanker collisions and protest rallies, military drills and US Senate hearings - browse Sputnik’s weekly gallery and see what’s going on around the world.

On April 12, Russia is celebrating Cosmonautics Day, which was established in 1962 to commemorate the first manned space flight, when in 1961, a booster rocket took into orbit the Vostok spacecraft with the first cosmonaut on board — Soviet citizen Yuri Gagarin.

The most transparent ice in the world is known to be Lake Baikal's. The thickness of the ice in winter reaches up to 1,5-2 meters, it can sustain a vehicle of about 15 tons. Enjoy a selection of lofty images snapped by Sputnik’s photographer at the legendary Siberian Lake.

Red carpet selfies will be banned at this year’s star-studded event that begins on May, 8. Violators will not be let in to see films, said senior festival official Thierry Fremaux.

Parkour was created in France in the 1980s as "Art du Deplacement" and has gained enormous popularity among the many activities and hobbies that continue to exist despite the war in Syria.

Thousands of Christians are celebrating the great holiday of Easter, lighting candles from the flame of the "miracle light" that represents the resurrection of Christ and is passed to every Orthodox church around the world.

Tribal members live in all four parts of greater Kurdistan, particularly Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, strengthening relationships among tribal members during annual festivals.

World leaders meeting to discuss important political matters, Christians celebrating Easter, protesters making a stand against security forces, fitness contests and a bikini slalom, sakura blooming and a US consulate closing - browse Sputnik’s weekly gallery and see what’s going on around the world.

Ahead of the anniversary of the first manned space flight, celebrated on April 12, Sputnik has picked the crème de la crème of our Milky Way and other galaxies for March's news update.

French railway workers have staged a massive protest rally in Paris, making a stand against government reforms that threaten to strip them of a number of social benefits.

Palestinian officials have announced that 17 people have been killed by Israeli forces and hundreds more injured during protests on the Gaza-Israeli border.

A South Korean artistic group, with some pop legends and the famous girl band Red Velvet, arrived in Pyongyang over the weekend for two performances in the North Korean capital.

Easter this year begins on April 1, the date changes annually and always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Russia and Orthodox Christians will celebrate the holiday in a week, on April 8.

The most entertaining of all sporting events in the world take place in Sochi, Russia with about a dozen unusual sports in the program.