A man scoops leaked oil from the vessel MV Wakashio near Blue Bay Marine Park off the coast of Mauritius on Aug. 8. The ship hit a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island and ran aground two weeks prior, spilling about 1,000 tons of oil.

Demonstrators form a heart as they take part in protests against the results of the Belarusian presidential election in Prague on Aug. 16. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters in Eastern Europe have marched for weeks, calling for an end to strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko’s rule.

A Lebanese couple inspect the damage to their house on Aug. 5, in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut. The blast, which was caused by a fire igniting 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate left unsecured in a warehouse, killed more than 150 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

A Syrian girl looks out from a house in the countryside of Qamishli in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakah province on Aug. 17.

A protester embraces a member of the Belarusian Interior Ministry force who was standing guard during a demonstration rejecting the presidential election results and protesting against police violence in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 14.

Wounded men are evacuated following an explosion at the Beirut port on Aug. 4.

A Lebanese soldier walks amid debris from the massive blast at the Beirut port on Aug. 7.

A man keeps cool with a bottle of ice on his head as the thermometer reads 130 degrees Fahrenheit at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley, California, on Aug. 17.

Rescue workers carry a 4-year-old boy who was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed five-story apartment building in Mahad, India, on Aug. 25.

Young elephant bulls tussle on World Elephant Day at Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya on Aug. 12.

A firefighter attempts to put out a wildfire in San Mateo, California, on Aug. 19. Dozens of fast-moving fires, many triggered by lightning strikes during an extreme heat wave, spread across the north and center of the state in August, threatening homes and causing the evacuation of thousands of people.

Children sit under the shade of a partially submerged hut as the water level of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers rises in Allahabad, India, on Aug. 25.

A teacher wearing a biosecurity suit as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus works with a girl at a home in Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 4 as part of a local kindergarten’s “teacher at home” initiative. The program was implemented to help children keep in touch with teachers and reduce the emotional impact of isolation.

An inmate watches from behind a gate after a raid at the prison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Aug. 3. The attack at the prison by gunmen, which left 29 people dead and officials looking for hundreds of escaped prisoners, was claimed by the Islamic State.

A man looks at blown-out windows caused by Hurricane Laura inside the Capitol One Bank Tower in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Aug. 27.

Pelicans hang out on a light pole on Botany Bay in Sydney on Aug. 4.

Burned-out vehicles sit under a tree at a residence in Vacaville, California, during the LNU Lightning Complex fires on Aug. 19.

A health worker collects a swab sample from a woman at a free COVID-19 testing site in Hyderabad, India, on Aug. 26. India’s confirmed coronavirus cases crossed the 3 million mark days before.

Police hold back a man who minutes earlier witnessed a fatal shooting during protests in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 29. Far-left protesters and far-right counterprotesters clashed as a parade of cars carrying Trump supporters made its way from nearby Clackamas to Portland.

A Palestinian demonstrator argues with Israeli security forces in the West Bank village of Haris, southwest of Nablus, on Aug. 21 during a rally to protest Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

A mourner reacts during a burial ceremony for victims who died in a flash flood in Charikar, Afghanistan, on Aug. 27. Flash floods fueled by torrential rains killed at least 160 people.

Migrants wait onboard the Sea-Watch 4 civil sea rescue ship sailing in the Mediterranean between Malta and Italy on Aug. 30 after it picked up more than 150 people from the German-flagged MV Louise Michel rescue vessel funded by British street artist Banksy. Sea-Watch 4, which had already rescued 201 migrants and is in search of a host port, decided to help the Louise Michel “in the face of the lack of reaction” from authorities, said a spokesman for the German nongovernmental organization Sea-Watch, which charters the boat with Doctors Without Borders.

People mourn at the funeral for five teenagers who were found dead in a sugar cane field in Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 14.

A woman reacts next to the body of a person who was shot during a police operation after heavy confrontations between drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 27.

A demonstrator throws back a can of tear gas in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Aug. 25 during protests two days after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot multiple times in the back by police.

A worker disinfects the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, an underground church built into a salt mine in Zipaquirá, Colombia, on Aug. 30. The Salt Cathedral, one of Colombia’s main tourist attractions, is waiting for an authorization from the Health Ministry to reopen in the midst of the pandemic.

Officials inspect the wreckage of an Air India Express jet at Calicut International Airport in Karipur, India, on Aug. 8. Fierce rain and winds lashed the plane carrying 190 people before it crash-landed and tore in two, killing 18 people.

A farmer works in a field as Mount Sinabung spews thick ash into the air in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Aug. 18.

A sign warning people about COVID-19 is surrounded by flames during a fire near Lake Berryessa in Napa, California, on Aug. 18.

Jacob Blake Sr., whose son was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, earlier in the week, speaks at the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28.

A resident holds up a “Child Killer” sign near members of the South African Police Service in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, on Aug. 27 after a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by police.

A woman weeps as members of South Korean conservative groups wave flags and shout slogans during an anti-government rally in the central Gwanghwamun area of Seoul on Aug. 15.

A woman sunbathes at Hampstead Heath ponds in London as the temperature soars Aug. 7.

U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One as lightning splits the sky during a storm at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Aug. 28.

Muslim devotees offer Friday prayers outside a mosque whose yard was damaged by river erosion in Munshiganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Aug. 7.

Kindergarteners wear face masks as they play by themselves in screened-in areas at the Wat Khlong Toey School in Bangkok on Aug. 10. In early July, the school reopened its doors after being closed since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

People wait to board a bus as they are evacuated by government officials in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Aug. 26 before the arrival of Hurricane Laura. Residents were warned that the hurricane, which made landfall as a Category 4, could bring an “unsurvivable” storm surge.

Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai gestures after being released on bail from the Mong Kok police station in Hong Kong on Aug. 12. The Apple Daily founder was arrested under the new national security law.

Students flash the three-fingered Hunger Games salute at an anti-government/pro-democracy rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, on Aug. 18. The country has seen near-daily protests by university students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and a discussion of the role of the unassailable monarchy.

A woman holding a placard reading “Stop Censorship—Yes to the Freedom of Expression” shouts into a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks on the Place de la Nation in Paris on Aug. 29. Masks were made mandatory outdoors citywide the day before to fight rising coronavirus infections.

Opposition supporters gather around a group of Malian soldiers at Independence Square in Bamako, Mali, on Aug. 21, three days after the military overthrow of the president.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, wave to vice presidential running mate Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, after their first press conference together in Wilmington, Delaware, on Aug. 12.

Santas at the Ministry of Fun’s Summer School in Southwark Cathedral, London, have their temperature taken Aug. 24. The school aims to create COVID-safe Christmas grottos by teaching Father Christmases how to appear safely in person while maintaining the Christmas magic.

Russian service members roll out a huge flag during the celebration ceremony of National Flag Day at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow on Aug. 22.

Golfers and their caddies play on as a wildfire nears the 10th hole during the Rose Ladies Series event at Wentworth Golf Club in Virginia Water, England, on Aug. 7. The next day, the final round was canceled because of the encroaching wildfire.

During a heat wave across Europe, a couple jump from a diving platform in Lake Geneva near the village of Lutry, Switzerland, at sunset on Aug. 9.