Photos: A look at the second week of August around the world

Maasai wait in line to cast their votes
Maasai waiting in line to cast their votes look through an open window at electoral officials inside a polling station at Niserian Primary School, in Kajiado County, Kenya Tuesday, Aug. 9. Polls opened Tuesday in Kenya's unusual presidential election, where a longtime opposition leader who is backed by the outgoing president faces the deputy president who styles himself as the outsider.
Ben Curtis | AP

From the general election in Kenya to the moon rising above the statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon in Athens. Migrants’ tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea. One year on since the Taliban takeover. Photojournalists around the world documented these events and more through the lens of their cameras.

Here are the most striking images of the week.

Taliban members paddle in a boat
Taliban members paddle in a boat as they and Afghan families enjoy a visit to one of the lakes in Band-e Amir national park, a popular weekend destination, on Friday, Aug. 12, in Band-e Amir, Bamyan province of Afghanistan. The collapse of the economy and the freezing of Afghan and donor funds after the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021 created a humanitarian crisis. Most art, culture and pastimes have been banned. Women have also had to quit jobs and young girls after the age of 12 can no longer go to school or complete further education.
Nava Jamshidi | Getty Images
Visitors pose for a selfie in a sunflower field
Visitors pose for a selfie in a sunflower field in Hokuto city of Yamanashi prefecture, Japan, Tuesday. The city, known for its longest hours of sunshine per year in Japan, draws many tourists during its sunflower summer festival.
Shuji Kajiyama | AP
The moon rises above the statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon
The moon rises above the statue of the ancient Greek god Poseidon in Ancient Corinth near in Athens on Thursday, Aug. 11.
Valerie Gache | AFP via Getty Images
An artist Trek Thunder Kelly paints sunflowers
American artist Trek Thunder Kelly paints sunflowers on cars that were destroyed by Russian attacks in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday. Kelly came to Ukraine as a volunteer to paint cars, the destroyed Palace of Culture and school basements for the project "Flowers For Hope" which aims to provide a distraction in environments devastated by war and raise money for humanitarian aid.
Evgeniy Maloletka | AP
Migrants swim next to their overturned wooden boat
Migrants swim next to their overturned wooden boat during a rescue operation by Spanish NGO Open Arms south of the Italian Lampedusa island in the Mediterranean Sea, Thursday. Forty migrants from Eritrea and Sudan, two children and one woman, were rescued by NGO Open Arms crew members and the Italian coast guard after their boat overturned and started to sink.
Francisco Seco | AP
A shepherd with his flock shelters
A shepherd with his flock shelters from the rain under a huge boulder in Dharmsala, India, Monday, Aug. 8.
Ashwini Bhatia | AP
Sophie Cook fails an attemp
Sophie Cook of Great Britain fails an attempt in the Women's pole vault qualification during the athletics competition in the Olympic Stadium at the European Championships in Munich, Germany, Monday, Aug. 15.
Matthias Schrader | AP
Athletes start in the men's Triathlon
Athletes start in the men's Triathlon during the European Championships in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 13.
Martin Meissner | AP
Members of the fishing community make their way
Members of the fishing community make their way through plastic waste on the beach to offer coconut to the sea on the occasion of Narli Pournima, or coconut festival in Mumbai, India, Thursday.
Rajanish Kakade | AP
A priest prays for unidentified civilians
A priest prays for unidentified civilians killed by Russian troops during the Russian occupation in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday. Eleven unidentified bodies exhumed from a mass grave were buried in Bucha Thursday.
Efrem Lukatsky | AP

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