The week in pictures

August 15  — Demonstrators hold up signs in front of the White House in Washington, the US, as Taliban insurgents enter Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.

August 14  —  A view shows houses destroyed after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti. The official death toll had risen to 2,189 by Thursday.

August 14 — A rescue worker lifts up a resident to a helicopter from a submerged house caused by heavy rain during a rescue operation in Takeo, Saga prefecture, southwestern Japan.

August 14— Locals console each other near partially collapsed buildings in the town of Bozkurt, in Kastamonu province, which were hit by flash floods that swept through the Black Sea region in Turkey.

August 15 — A rider competes in the open bull ride event at the Mount Isa mines rodeo in Mount Isa, Australia. Established in 1959, the competition  is the richest in the southern hemisphere and attracts contestants from all around the world.

August 15 — A demonstrator releases a firework during a protest over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, in Bangkok, Thailand.

August  16 — President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives in Lilongwe, Malawi, for the 41st Southern African Development Community summit. Malawi assumed the Sadc chair from Mozambique. This year’s theme is “Bolstering productive capacities in the face of Covid-19 pandemic for inclusive, sustainable, economic and industrial transformation”.

August 16 — Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union attend a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the lives lost in the Marikana massacre, which took place nine years ago.

 August 16 — Extinction Rebellion activists walk past the Brandenburg Gate as they take part in a protest to demand action against climate change, in Berlin, Germany.

August 16 — A woman walks along a flooded street after heavy rainfall in Kerch, Crimea.

August 17 — Employees eat their meal between plastic sheets as a safety measure to reduce the spread of Covid-19, at The Civil Engineering garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

August 17 — A firefighter works near at the site of a forest fire that broke out in the Var region of southern France.

August 17 — Shiite Muslims wearing face masks participate in a mourning procession to mark Ashura, in Manama, Bahrain.

August 18 — Lambton Quay is devoid of people during a nationwide lockdown that began on Tuesday to curb the spread of Covid-19, in Wellington, New Zealand. On Friday, the island state extended the lockdown by four days after 30 more cases were uncovered. 

August 18 —  French police officers patrol outside a restaurant to check health pass compliance in Paris on Wednesday. Checks on the use of the health pass, which shows that the carrier is vaccinated against Covid-19, are expected to be intensified.

August 18 — Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford, 19, waves as she departs for a round-the-world trip in a light aircraft, aiming to become the youngest female pilot to circle the planet alone, in Wevelgem, Belgium.

August 18 — A demonstrator burns a picture of Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada during an anti-Taliban protest, in Brussels, Belgium.

August 19 — Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was elected as the new National Assembly speaker, with 199 votes of the 298 cast including 17 spoiled ballots, in Cape Town. Opposition parties have condemned her election to lead the legislature, saying she did not acquit herself in her previous positions in the cabinet.

August 19 — A veteran British Gurkha, 60-year-old Dhan Gurung, celebrates after ending his hunger strike outside Downing Street on Thursday in London. A group of Gurkhas refused food for 13 days as they protested over unequal pensions compared with other British Army veterans, but their action ended after the government agreed to further talks.