The Guardian’s picture editors have selected photographs from around the world for Friday, 17 July 2026. Key images include the Downing Street changeover ahead of Andy Burnham becoming the next British prime minister on 20 July, replacing Keir Starmer. In Bolivia, women wearing traditional cholita attire prepared to officiate a skateboarding competition in La Paz.
Political Transition in the UK
Media preparations were underway in Downing Street ahead of the political handover. Andy Burnham will become the next British prime minister on 20 July, replacing Keir Starmer. A removal company worker was seen at Downing Street ahead of Burnham’s confirmation as leader of the Labour party. Photographs by Amer Ghazzal/Shutterstock and Aaron Chown/PA captured the scene.
US Naval Blockade and Global Tensions
In the Gulf of Oman, US marines from the 11th Expeditionary Unit conducted a verification boarding on the M/T Wen Yao. US forces have redirected three commercial vessels, disabled one and boarded another to ensure full compliance with its ongoing naval blockade against Iran, according to @Centcom. In Tehran, an anti-US banner with the Persian inscription ‘Blood for blood’ was displayed at Palestine Square (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images).
Environmental and Wildfire Impacts
Haze from Canadian wildfires blanketed the Statue of Liberty as seen from a Staten Island ferry. Much of the east coast of the US and Canada is under an air quality health advisory as smoke from Canadian and Great Lakes wildfires gradually moves through the area, creating a thick haze in the heat (David Ramos/Getty Images). In the UK, a field of potatoes was artificially irrigated on a farm near Royston, Hertfordshire. The scorching heat sweeping Europe has parched soils and distressed livestock, superseding the Iran war as the greatest challenge to food supplies (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images). Parched land was also seen at Greys Court country house and gardens in the Chiltern Hills, south Oxfordshire, after weeks of hot weather (Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock).
SpaceX Launch Abort
Spectators gathered on South Padre Island, US, to watch the planned launch of SpaceX’s Starship V3 rocket for its 13th flight test. The SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, said some engines failed to start, triggering an automatic launch abort, and the company hoped to make another attempt within a few days (Michael Gonzalez/EPA).
Cultural and Agricultural Events
In Bolivia, women wearing traditional cholita attire prepared to officiate a skateboarding competition in La Paz (Claudia Morales/Reuters). In the Netherlands, the Dutch band Within Temptation played on the first day of the Zwarte Cross (Black Cross) festival. The four-day music, theatre and motocross event is taking place in Achterhoek for the 28th time (ANP/Shutterstock). In the UK, cattle judging took place on the final day of the 167th Great Yorkshire Show, which celebrates British agriculture with 8,500 animals across livestock classes (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images).
Other Notable Images
In Washington, a reporter from Buro, a Russian-language YouTube channel, filmed in front of the White House as President Donald Trump spoke in the East Room (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP). In Sinjil, West Bank, a Palestinian used a flashlight after volunteers at a night watch spotted Israeli settlers on a nearby hill and set brush ablaze to prevent them approaching (Léo Corrêa/AP). In Tiszafüred, Hungary, birds swarmed over flooded marshland at Hortobágy national park (Márton Mónus/Reuters). In Beijing, China, the former site of the Xidan restaurant, with a history of more than 300 years, reopened as a digital art and museum space (Song Jiaru/Getty Images).
