Elsewhere there were more sightings of the Northern Lights near Talkeetna, Alaska.

>>>Check out our earlier gallery of aurora pictures

And in Brazil, rescue workers were pictured carrying the body of a victim after a building collapsed in Rio de Janeiro.

A 20-storey building fell down in Rio’s centre and by Thursday afternoon, rescuers had pulled three bodies from the rubble, with 21 people still missing.

Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor Eduardo Paes said a structural problem may have caused the building to collapse. Officials were still investigating the causes, however.

In scenes reminscent of the movie V For Vendetta, lawmakers from the leftist Palikot’s Movement covered their faces with masks as they protested against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, during a parliament session, in Warsaw, Poland, after the Polish government signed the agreement.

Poland’s plans to sign ACTA sparked attacks on Polish government websites and street protests in several Polish cities this week.