Ukrainian special battalion, rockets in Israel, Mangetsu-man | August 26
The day in photos around the world.
- (L-R) Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko react while posing for a family photo during their meeting in Minsk, August 26, 2014. Putin said on Tuesday the crisis in Ukraine could not be solved by a further military escalation or without dialogue with representatives of the country’s Russian-speaking eastern regions. (Grigory Dukor/Reuters)
- A new volunteer of the Ukrainian interior ministry’s special battalion “Sich” holds flowers during a ceremony, where he and his comrades will take an oath of allegiance to his country, in Kiev August 26, 2014. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
- A new volunteer of the Ukrainian interior ministry’s special battalion “Sich” embraces his daughter during a ceremony, where he and his comrades will take an oath of allegiance to the country, in Kiev August 26, 2014. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
- A woman reacts as she embraces her son, who joined as a new volunteer of the Ukrainian interior ministry’s special battalion “Sich”, before a ceremony, where he and his comrades will take an oath of allegiance to the country, in Kiev August 26, 2014. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
- A man chews khat in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. Grown on plantations in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia, tonnes of khat, or qat, dubbed “the flower of paradise” by its users, are flown daily into Mogadishu airport, to be distributed from there in convoys of lorries to markets across Somalia. Britain, whose large ethnic Somali community sustained a lucrative demand for the leaves, banned khat from July as an illegal drug. This prohibition jolted the khat market, creating a supply glut in Somalia and pushing down prices, to the delight of the many connoisseurs of its amphetamine-like high. Picture taken August 10, 2014. (Feisal Omar/Reuters)
- An Israeli surveys the damage to his apartment after a rocket, fired from Gaza, struck a nearby house in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon August 26, 2014. Israeli air strikes launched before dawn on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and destroyed much of one of Gaza’s tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said. Israel had no immediate comment on the attacks that took place as Egyptian mediators stepped up efforts to achieve an elusive ceasefire to end seven weeks of fighting. Militants resumed rocket fire at Israel after daybreak and a rocket struck a house in Ashekelon, lightly wounding 10 people, police said. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
- A Palestinian boy cries as he stands in a debris-strewn street near his family’s house, which witnesses said was damaged by an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 26, 2014. Israeli air strikes launched before dawn on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and destroyed much of one of Gaza’s tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said. Israel had no immediate comment on the attacks that took place as Egyptian mediators stepped up efforts to achieve an elusive ceasefire to end seven weeks of fighting. Israel launched an offensive on July 8, with the declared aim of ending rocket fire into its territory. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
- A Palestinian man inspects his house, which witnesses said was hit by an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 26, 2014. Israeli air strikes launched before dawn on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and destroyed much of one of Gaza’s tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said. Israel had no immediate comment on the attacks that took place as Egyptian mediators stepped up efforts to achieve an elusive ceasefire to end seven weeks of fighting. Israel launched an offensive on July 8, with the declared aim of ending rocket fire into its territory. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)
- Smoke rises during an Israeli offensive in Gaza August 26, 2014. Israeli air strikes launched before dawn on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and destroyed much of one of Gaza’s tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said. Israel had no immediate comment on the attacks that took place as Egyptian mediators stepped up efforts to achieve an elusive ceasefire to end seven weeks of fighting. Israel launched an offensive on July 8, with the declared aim of ending rocket fire into its territory. (Ahmed Zakot/Reuters)
- Israeli policemen survey the damage to a playground at a kindergarten that was hit by a rocket in the southern city of Ashdod August 26, 2014. Palestinian officials said on Tuesday a Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel has been reached under Egyptian mediation and a formal announcement of an agreement was imminent. (Amir Cohen /Reuters)
- Israelis stand on apartment balconies that were damaged when a rocket, fired from Gaza, struck a nearby house in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon August 26, 2014. Israeli air strikes launched before dawn on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and destroyed much of one of Gaza’s tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said. Israel had no immediate comment on the attacks that took place as Egyptian mediators stepped up efforts to achieve an elusive ceasefire to end seven weeks of fighting. Militants resumed rocket fire at Israel after daybreak and a rocket struck a house in Ashekelon, lightly wounding 10 people, police said. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
- A Palestinian carries a mock rocket as he celebrates with others what they said was a victory over Israel, following a ceasefire in Gaza City August 26, 2014. Israel has accepted an Egyptian proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday. Egyptian and Palestinian officials said the truce was to take effect at 7 pm (1600 GMT). (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
- Palestinian children hold guns as they celebrate with others what they said was a victory over Israel, following a ceasefire in Gaza City August 26, 2014. Israel has accepted an Egyptian proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday. Egyptian and Palestinian officials said the truce was to take effect at 7 pm (1600 GMT). (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)
- An unidentified man, who calls himself Mangetsu-man (Mr. Full Moon), pauses as he cleans Nihonbashi bridge using a broom with a volunteer, while clad in a costume featuring a full moon for a head, in Tokyo August 25, 2014. While most superheroes fight crime, for one such Japanese hero the enemy is garbage and his “super” weapons are a broom, a dust pan and an army of volunteers who have joined his mission. Calling himself Mangetsu-man, he first appeared on the streets of Tokyo last year without any publicity or fanfare and mainly cleans around the city’s Nihonbashi bridge. Historically, Nihonbashi bridge is Tokyo’s most famous bridge until an expressway was constructed over it shortly before the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and ruined what was for many its iconic status. Mangetsu-man is one among many who are petitioning for the government to get rid of the overhead highway and clean it up ahead of the next Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020. Picture taken August 25, 2014. (Issei Kato/Reuters)
- Coffins containing bodies of migrants who died are carried off a navy ship at the Sicilian harbour of Augusta August 26, 2014. At least 24 migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa died after their boat sank in the Mediterranean, the Italian navy said on Tuesday after completing a two day search for bodies. A further 364 migrants were rescued by navy and coastguard vessels after the fishing boat capsized on Sunday evening, the latest in a series of similar shipwrecks. (Antonio Parrinello/Retuers)
- Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano erupts near Banos August 24, 2014. Tungurahua, which means “Throat of Fire” in the local Quechua language, has been classified as active since 1999. Picture taken August 24, 2014. (Carlos Campania/Reuters)