Aug. 7-13, 2026
This photo gallery, curated by photo editor Leslie Mazoch, highlights some of the most compelling images worldwide published by The Associated Press in the past week.
Click to Gallery
A general view of the ancient stone circle Stonehenge amid dried grass in Wiltshire, England, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
An Indigenous youth holds a candle during a protest calling for the protection of Indigenous land rights and demarcations outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Displaced Palestinian beekeepers harvest honey from beehives at al-Dabba family bee farm, in Gaza city, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Netherlands' Demi Vollering, centre, celebrates with the team after winning the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) in Nice, France, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
A burned-out car sits along a forest road during a wildfire in Siviri, on the Chalkidiki peninsula in northern Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Colombia's President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella arrives with his family for his inauguration in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Former Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith wrestles an inflatable crocodile during a homerun derby after a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Machine Gun Kelly performs at MGK Day on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, at North Coast Yard in Cleveland. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Workers carry bamboo beside a sea of garbage that was washed ashore due to intense monsoon rains, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Francesco Pernici of Italy gestures as he gets ready to compete in a men's 800 meters semifinal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)
A meteor streaks above a destroyed aircraft used for training purposes in the Negev Desert, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A man carries schoolgirls outside the site of a school shooting in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A dog walker walks through dried vegetation in a park, amid drought conditions in London, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Nigerian brides attend a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)
Sonam Mukhiya, left, lies next to her 3-year-old brother, Yubraj Mukhiya, and their grandmother in their home in Gaur, Nepal, on May 19, 2026. Their mother, Kabita Mukhiya, died in December while 28-weeks pregnant amid disruptions to nutrition programs and reproductive outreach services following last year's foreign aid cuts by the United States. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
President Donald Trump attends the Patriot Games at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A woman with an umbrella to shade her from the sun is seen through an installation made with honeycombed steel sheets, symbolizing the Berlin Wall on the 65th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall, in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
From left to right, Mohamed Mohamed, Tito Odenigbo and Maddie Lutterman embrace during an election night event for Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Landmines collected for destruction are arranged in rows as members of a Syrian army engineering team conduct an operation to clear minefields left behind during the war in Qara, in the Damascus countryside, Syria, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People dressed in protective gear lower into a grave the coffin containing the remains of Jeannine Katusabe, who died of Ebola, during a burial service in Bunia, Ituri province, eastern Congo, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)
A beachgoer wearing special eclipse glasses looks up during the beginning phase of a solar eclipse at Puerto de Sagunto beach near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
A general view of the ancient stone circle Stonehenge amid dried grass in Wiltshire, England, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
An Indigenous youth holds a candle during a protest calling for the protection of Indigenous land rights and demarcations outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Displaced Palestinian beekeepers harvest honey from beehives at al-Dabba family bee farm, in Gaza city, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Netherlands' Demi Vollering, centre, celebrates with the team after winning the Women's Tour de France cycling race (Tour de France Femmes) in Nice, France, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)
A burned-out car sits along a forest road during a wildfire in Siviri, on the Chalkidiki peninsula in northern Greece, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Colombia's President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella arrives with his family for his inauguration in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Former Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith wrestles an inflatable crocodile during a homerun derby after a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Machine Gun Kelly performs at MGK Day on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, at North Coast Yard in Cleveland. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Workers carry bamboo beside a sea of garbage that was washed ashore due to intense monsoon rains, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Francesco Pernici of Italy gestures as he gets ready to compete in a men's 800 meters semifinal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)
A meteor streaks above a destroyed aircraft used for training purposes in the Negev Desert, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A man carries schoolgirls outside the site of a school shooting in Thailand's Nonthaburi province, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A dog walker walks through dried vegetation in a park, amid drought conditions in London, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Nigerian brides attend a mass wedding ceremony in Kano, Nigeria, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sani Maikatanga)
Sonam Mukhiya, left, lies next to her 3-year-old brother, Yubraj Mukhiya, and their grandmother in their home in Gaur, Nepal, on May 19, 2026. Their mother, Kabita Mukhiya, died in December while 28-weeks pregnant amid disruptions to nutrition programs and reproductive outreach services following last year's foreign aid cuts by the United States. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
President Donald Trump attends the Patriot Games at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A woman with an umbrella to shade her from the sun is seen through an installation made with honeycombed steel sheets, symbolizing the Berlin Wall on the 65th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall, in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
From left to right, Mohamed Mohamed, Tito Odenigbo and Maddie Lutterman embrace during an election night event for Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Landmines collected for destruction are arranged in rows as members of a Syrian army engineering team conduct an operation to clear minefields left behind during the war in Qara, in the Damascus countryside, Syria, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People dressed in protective gear lower into a grave the coffin containing the remains of Jeannine Katusabe, who died of Ebola, during a burial service in Bunia, Ituri province, eastern Congo, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)
A beachgoer wearing special eclipse glasses looks up during the beginning phase of a solar eclipse at Puerto de Sagunto beach near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
MILAN (AP) — Ash spewing from Sicily's Mount Etna has forced the closure of the Italian island’s largest airport for the fifth consecutive day, stranding hundreds of summer holiday travelers during the busiest travel week of the year.
Catania’s airport will remain closed until Saturday afternoon, which falls on the Ferragosto holiday that marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season when millions flock to the sea and mountains, deserting Italian cities.
While Etna’s activity often interrupts flights at the airport, located 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of the volcano, this is the longest emergency since 2002.
“Volcanic ash can be a great risk for aircraft,” said Boris Behncke, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology’s Etna Observatory. “It can be sucked into the motors, and force them to stall. This is why everyone is so very cautious with aircraft when there is a volcanic ash emission."
Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. The latest activity has been unusual for its persistence and sustained ash emissions. Northerly winds have spread light amounts of ash to Malta and northern Africa.
“There have been many shorter interruptions — and stronger eruptions — over the past few decades, but this event is different because the ash emission from Etna’s summit has been much more persistent,” Behncke said.
The closure has forced planes to be rerouted to other airports on the island, which has pushed up taxi fares and car rental prices, according to the Corriere della Sera daily. The Codacons consumer association has announced it will file a complaint with Italy’s competition authority following complaints about price gouging.
The SAC airport operator said 36% of nearly 2,000 flights scheduled to arrive in Catania from Aug. 6-12 had been canceled, while more than 600 were diverted to Palermo, Trapani and Comiso in Sicily and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Flights were able to depart Catania over the weekend, but the airport was officially closed to both incoming and outgoing flights Monday. Comiso also was briefly closed.
The Italian train company Trenitalia has added six trains along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route to help ease the travel pressure.
Italy's federation of travel agencies and tour operators has called for a task force to coordinate responses to disruptions caused by Mount Etna and said it would ask for a review of how airlines handled the cancellations and passenger assistance.
“Operators are working around the clock to provide assistance, cancellations and alternative travel arrangements, but they cannot bear the burden of structural shortcomings and the management responsibilities of others," FIAVET President Gian Mario Pilieri said in a statement.
Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Mareneve near Catania, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)
Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Serracozzo near Catania, Italy, early Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Simone Genovese)
Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Serracozzo near Catania, Italy, early Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Simone Genovese)