GREECE — The setting, the costumes and the live flame for an ancient, revered ceremony: Performers take part in the final dress rehearsal of the flame lighting ceremony for the Paris Olympics at the Ancient Olympia site, Greece, Monday, April 15, 2024. The flame for the Paris Olympics will be officially lit Tuesday at the birthplace of the ancient games and will then be carried through Greece for 11 days before being handed over to Paris organizers on April 26.

Although both nations are part of Europe, Greece in the Balkan region is about 1,833 miles (2,950 kilometers) from Paris, in driving distance. The Opening Games of the XXXIII (23rd) Olympiad are scheduled for July 26.

AUGUSTA — It’s a silver, highly detailed replica of the original clubhouse for the Augusta National Club: Scottie Scheffler holds the trophy after winning the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Augusta, GA. The 27-year-old New Jersey native, now making Dallas his home, won Sundays’ closer in a final-nine runaway, thus winning his second green jacket.

The pro golfer this year has also won the 2024 THE PLAYERS Championship and the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

SYDNEY — Vivid and moving tribute, mourning losses most probably attributed to social and other media, affecting deranged minds: The Sydney Opera House is illuminated with a black ribbon Monday, April 15, 2024, as part of the national day of mourning following the stabbing deaths of several people at a shopping mall on April 13. Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed several people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men.

Sydney had another stabbing incident break out on Sunday, April 14, this time at a church. A bishop at Christ the Good Shepherd Assyrian Orthodox Church was injured during the stabbing, as angry parishioners tackled the assailant, according to news reports. The church’s website lists a regularly scheduled “Assyrian Bible Teach” on Mondays at 7 p.m. local time.

LIVERPOOL — Close-up view of the four-legged gladiator action on the race course: I Am Maximus, ridden by jockey P. Townend, competes to win the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase race on the third day of the Grand National Horse Racing meeting at Aintree racecourse, near Liverpool, England, Saturday, April 13, 2024. This race runs for three days, attracting more than nine million TV viewers.

This year’s race was much calmer than the 2023 event, when animal rights activists disrupted and attempted to stop it entirely, managing to breach the fence and enter the track.

TEHRAN — Ancient, unresolvable conflicts continue with modern weapons, slogans and social media: Demonstrators wave a huge Iranian flag in their anti-Israeli gathering in front of an anti-Israeli banner on the wall of a building at the Felestin (Palestine) Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 15, 2024. World leaders are urging Israel not to retaliate after Iran launched an attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The sign on the banner reads in Hebrew: “Your next mistake will be the end of your fake country.” And the sign in Farsi reads: “The next slap will be harder.”

Although Israel was reportedly weighing an “appropriate” response to the drone attacks as of Monday, April 15, most world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, were urging the Israeli government to not escalate the situation into a wider regional conflict.

SAO PAULO — Don’t mess with that right arm: Laura Siegemund of Germany celebrates after defeating Carolina Alves of Brazil during their Billie Jean King Cup tennis match in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, April 13, 2024. The 36-year-old Siegemund, a pro tennis player from Bremen in West Germany, whose first introduction to tennis was at age 3, has won fourteen doubles titles on the WTA Tour.

Siegemund lived in Saudi Arabia and Jakarta, Indonesia, during much of her childhood and is fluent in English, French and German. She holds a degree in psychology from the University of Hagen.

RUSSIA — Nature’s revenge — floods burst a dam on the Ural: A resident swims in the flooded street between houses in Orenburg, Russia, on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Over 11,700 houses remain flooded in the Orenburg region, and some 10,700 people have already been evacuated from flooded areas. The deluge hit the region after a dam on the Ural River burst last week under surging waters. The Ural River forms a natural geographic boundary between Europe and Asia and flows into the Caspian Sea to its south.

The Orsk Dam, built in 2010, was built for a water level of 5.5 meters (roughly 18 feet).

MILAN — Getting their heads together on something? No way! Inter Milan’s Alexis Sanchez, right, heads the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Cagliari at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 14, 2024.

The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

GERMANY — All over the world, it’s a serious debate — which is worse, Gatorade or beer? Leverkusen’s head coach Xabi Alonso, center, is sprayed with beer after Bayer Leverkusen won the German Bundesliga title beating Werder Bremen in Leverkusen, Germany, on Sunday, April 14, 2024, in a 5-0 home victory over Werder Bremen. Leverkusen now has an unassailable 16-point lead over Bayern Munich with just five rounds of fixtures remaining.

Leverkusen, which had never previously won the Bundesliga, this season has won 38 and drawn five of their first 43 games across all competitions.

AUGUSTA — Proof of toughness — one of the world’s toughest courses lures but wears down the world’s toughest competitor. Tiger Woods made the cut at the Masters for his 21st fourth year in a row but finished 60th in the final field. Crowds cheered him vigorously at every hole. Here, he waves after his final round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Augusta, GA.

Golf legend Woods is planning to compete at next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

MONACO — ‘I make more money on this court than at the casinos, so I’ll keep wearing THIS outfit’: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates after winning the 2nd set against Casper Ruud of Norway to win the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters final match 6-1, 6-4 in Monaco, Sunday, April 14, 2024.

The 25-year-old Tsitsipas is the highest-ranked Greek player in history alongside Maria Sakkari.

MANHATTAN — ‘Hey, I’m making history here …’: Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. The hush money trial of former President Donald Trump begins Monday with jury selection. It’s a singular moment in American history as the first criminal trial of a former U.S. commander-in-chief.

While most defendants shield their faces from reporters’ cameras, Trump’s waving here seems to acknowledge that all his time in the court system is boosting his popularity among supporters.