The past seven days have been marked by devastating wildfires across Europe and the United States, deadly earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela, and a solar eclipse that drew crowds in London. These events, along with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Taliban's restrictions on women in Afghanistan, are captured in this week's selection of 20 photographs from around the world.
Wildfires Rage Across Three Continents
In the United States, the Bug fire continues to burn in Lassen County, California, as firefighters battle blazes across the western states, with authorities reporting that nearly half remain out of control. In Spokane, Washington, rows of houses have been destroyed by the Old Trails fire, though firefighters have strengthened containment lines around three destructive blazes, allowing some evacuees to return home.
In Canada, a water bomber flies over Penticton, British Columbia, as crews battle the nearby Bald Range wildfire. Nearly 22,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and another 9,700 were warned to be ready to leave, after the fast-moving blaze prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency.
In France, thick smoke blankets an area during a wildfire in the Landes forest. Nearly 500 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting wildfires in France since the beginning of the summer, as firefighters across half a dozen European countries battle fierce blazes amid a record-breaking heatwave.
Earthquakes Devastate Colombia and Venezuela
In Colombia, an earthquake struck at 7.34am on Monday, collapsing buildings in the western coffee-growing region. Rescuers in Cali raise their hands to call for silence as they search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building. The quake was the country's deadliest since a 6.2-magnitude earthquake devastated parts of the same region in January 1999, killing more than 1,000 people.
In Pereira, firefighters and rescue teams carry the quake survivor Daniela Andrea Largo Sanchez from the rubble of a collapsed building. The city's mayor, Mauricio Salazar, said 65 buildings had collapsed, with people believed to be trapped in at least 15 of them.
In La Guaira, Venezuela, rescue volunteers search for bodies amid the rubble 46 days after earthquakes struck. Official figures show that more than 6,000 people died in the disaster, but authorities have not disclosed how many remain missing.
War and Occupation: Ukraine and the West Bank
In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, rescue efforts are under way after a Russian strike on the city, with Russian forces using ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea, according to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A firefighter works at a residential building damaged by the airstrike. Nearly five years into the war, Russia is struggling to replenish its ranks as voluntary recruitment slows and its forces suffer heavy battlefield losses.
In the West Bank, armed Israeli soldiers patrol a market in the Old City of Nablus. In Qusra, Refqa Hassan watches as Israeli settlers besiege her family home. Israeli militants have targeted two Palestinian families in the village this week in an attempt to seize their properties through what residents describe as a campaign of terror.
Eclipse, Festival, and Other Highlights
In London, people on Primrose Hill watch the solar eclipse, while in Lodoso, Spain, the sun's corona glows around the moon during the total phase of the eclipse. In Berlin, a woman shelters from the sun beneath an umbrella, seen through an installation made with honeycombed steel sheets, symbolising the Berlin Wall on the 65th anniversary of its construction.
In Kabul, Afghanistan, girls attend a lesson given by their father at their home. In the five years since the Taliban returned to power, restrictions on women and girls have intensified, with the regime barring girls from education beyond the age of 12, excluding many women from the workplace, and creating legal frameworks enabling child marriage and husbands to beat their wives.
In Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia, falling water levels in the Sava River reveal the wreck of the Slovenac, a tugboat that sank after hitting a mine in 1945. In Berck, France, people on a dinghy attempt to cross the Channel, with crossings down by more than 40% compared with the same period last year, though the increasing use of larger vessels shows how quickly people smugglers have adapted to stronger enforcement by French police.
In Osogbo, Nigeria, a devotee falls in a trance during the Osun-Osogbo festival, an annual celebration of Yoruba spirituality and tradition. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, children living beside railway tracks play. In Paris, France's Léon Marchand competes in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final at the European Aquatics Championships. These images, captured by the world's leading photojournalists, offer a glimpse into the events shaping our world this week.
