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The Week in Pictures: August 15, 2015

From China’s shocking chemical blast to the sparkling Persid meteor shower, the most compelling images from the past seven days.

Reuters

By William BootAug 15, 2015

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-01_wn9ytq — Tianjin, China
August 13, 2015

A man walks past the charred remains of new cars at a parking lot near the site of an explosion at a warehouse. Rescuers have pulled a survivor from an industrial zone about 32 hours after it was devastated by huge blasts in the northeastern Chinese city’s port. Meanwhile, authorities are moving gingerly forward in dealing with a fire still smoldering amid potentially dangerous chemicals.
Ng Han Guan/AP

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-wip-13_lb6a7n — Havana, Cuba

August 14, 2015

U.S. marines raise the U.S. flag while watched over by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C, at lectern, back to camera) at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, August 14, 2015. U.S. Marines raised the American flag at the embassy in Cuba for the first time in 54 years on Friday, symbolically ushering in an era of renewed diplomatic relations between the two Cold War-era foes.
Stringer Shanghai / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-02_ballcf — In the Mediterranean Sea
August 11, 2015

A migrant is rescued by an Italian navy helicopter in the area where his boat sank. As many as 50 migrants went missing after a large rubber dinghy sank, Italian rescuers said, while more than 1,500 were picked up from other vessels in one 24-hour period.
Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-03_amqmrj — Singapore
August 9, 2015

Children wearing LED-lit costumes perform during the city-state's golden jubilee celebration parade near the central business district. An island of 5.5 million people that sits just north of the equator, what was a post-colonial backwater at independence from Malaysia in 1965 is now a global business hub whose economic and social model is the envy of nations around the world.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-04_ufkb2f — Ferguson, Missouri
August 9, 2015

Protesters yell at a police line shortly before shots were fired in a police-involved shooting. Two people were shot in the midst of a late-night confrontation between riot police and protesters, after a day of peaceful events commemorating the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a white officer one year ago.
Rick Wilking / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-05_ut7d4x — Berlin
August 10, 2015

An Asian elephant beats the heat by sprinkling water on himself with his trunk, at the Zoologischer Garten Zoo as temperatures topped 90 degrees.
John MacDougall/Getty

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-06_tozdvk — Pilsum, Germany
August 13, 2015

A falling star crosses the night sky behind the lighthouse during the peak in activity of the annual Perseids meteor shower. The astronomical event occurs every year when Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
Matthias Balk/AFP/Getty

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-07_k6qzip — Kabul, Afghanistan
August 10, 2015

Afghan men walk past the damaged window of a roadside stall near the site of a bomb attack near the entrance to the international airport. A huge blast struck during the peak lunchtime period, officials said.
Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-08_kc3o4v — Lake County, California
August 12, 2015

Firefighters look on during the Jerusalem Fire along Morgan Valley Road. A wildfire burning in Northern California grew rapidly Tuesday near another massive blaze that has destroyed dozens of buildings, forcing some residents to evacuate their homes for the second time in as many weeks.The so-called Jerusalem Fire, sparked on Sunday, has spread across 14,000 acres and was burning aggressively through drought-parched vegetation north of Napa Valley wine country, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Robert Galbraith / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-09_wwzqwo — Pyongyang, North Korea
August 10, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greets North Korea’s female soccer team as they arrive at Pyongyang International Airport on Monday after winning the 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-10_uucqim — Godewaersvelde, France
August 13, 2015

Lightning streaks across the sky in the northern French city.

Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-11_q5vngf — Padgampora, India
August 12, 2015

Relatives gather around the body of a civilian, Bilal Ahmad Bhat, in Pulwama district. Bhat was killed after Indian security forces allegedly opened fire on protesters who were demonstrating against the killings of two suspected militants in an encounter with Indian security forces, local media reported.
Danish Ismail / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-12_welfrr — Bengaluru, India
August 13, 2015

An Indian army soldier performs with fire while performing Mallakhamb, an ancient Indian sport, during the full-dress rehearsal for India's Independence Day celebrations on August 15.

Abhishek Chinnappa / Reuters

galleries/2015/08/15/the-week-in-pictures-august-15-2015/150814-WIP-13_bqasgz — Kos, Greece
August 12, 2015

Amoun, 70, a blind Palestinian refugee who lived in Aleppo, Syria, rests on a beach moments after arriving along with another 40 on a dinghy on the Greek island, crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey. The United Nations refugee agency called on Greece to take control of the “total chaos” on Mediterranean islands where thousands of migrants have landed. About 124,000 have arrived this year by sea, many via Turkey, according to Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR director for Europe. The Turkish coast is seen in the background.
Yannis Behrakis / Reuters

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