Hobbits, Helgoland and a tutu – the week in pics

Hurricane Xaver hit northern Germany at the end of last week, leaving areas like the North Sea island of Helgoland with damaged buildings and scattered flooding – our gallery shows some of the scenes there in the hurricane's aftermath.

The news took a happier turn on Monday morning as Giovanna the polar bear gave birth to twins at Munich zoo, believed to be the first polar bear birth ever caught on colour video.

Our photos of the week also include a talk show broadcast on Wednesday night being hijacked by two topless activists.

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On Thursday morning, thousands of school children and young people skipped class to attend a protest on the streets of Hamburg.

And the pictures of the week also cover the stories of Bob Carey's "Tutu project", GQ magazine's eye-catching anti-homophobia campaign and Hobbit fans' smaug-tastic Berlin premiere turnout.