Today in Pictures, October 17, 2017

Storm Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland, neutron stars collision and other pictures from around the world in Today in Pictures.

Updated

Published

October 17, 2017 at 3:55 PM

Huge waves strike the harbour wall and lighthouse at Porthcawl, south Wales, on October 16, 2017 as Storm Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland. Ireland was hit by an "unprecedented storm" on Monday that left two people dead, 120,000 homes and businesses without power and closed every school in the country. PHOTO: AFP

an undated handout photo made available by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on 16 October 2017 shows an artist's impression of two tiny but very dense neutron stars at the point at which they merge and explode as a kilonova. Such a very rare event is expected to produce both gravitational waves and a short gamma-ray burst, both of which were observed on 17 August 2017 by LIGO–Virgo and Fermi/INTEGRAL respectively. PHOTO: EPA

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, (C) dances with a person in a Paddington Bear outfit by her husband Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge as they attend a charities forum event at Paddington train station in London on October 16, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

Smoke billows from buildings following a reported air strike on Ain Tarma in the Eastern Ghouta area, a rebel stronghold east of the Syrian capital, on October 16, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

Burmese star tortoise hatchlings feed at a sanctuary in Myanmar in an undated handout image. The Burmese star tortoise was declared functionally extinct in the early 2000s, but conservation efforts have helped the species make a comeback. PHOTO: NYT

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in Cabanoes near Louzan as wildfires continue to rage in Portugal on October 16, 2017. At least 27 people have died in fires which have ravaged forests in the north and centre of the country over the past 24 hours. PHOTO: AFP

People inspect the damage in Vila Nova near Vouzela as wildfires continue to rage in Portugal on October 16, 2017. At least 27 people have died in fires which have ravaged forests in the north and centre of the country over the past 24 hours. PHOTO: AFP

Pedestrians cross the Millennium Footbridge with the sky darkened over London on October 16, 2017 caused by warm air and dust swept up by storm Ophelia. The sun shone red and the sky darkened to a foreboding orange and brown across parts of Britain on Monday, as a storm swept air and dust in from southern Europe. PHOTO: AFP

Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials crush smuggled liquor and burn piles of hashish, during a ceremony in Peshawar, Pakistan, October 16, 2017. Pakistani officials burned tons of hashish, heroin, smuggled liquor, and cigrettes which had been confiscated. PHOTO: EPA

A Bangladesh border guard tries to control Rohingya refugees after denying them to move further, in Palang Khali, Bangladesh October 16, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

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