Week in pictures: 15 - 21 July 2023

A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week.

Jul 23, 2023 - 12:55 Updated: Jul 23, 2023 - 13:09
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A tree burns during a wildfire in Mandra, Greece, July 18, 2023.LOUIZA VRADI/REUTERS
A tree burns following a wildfire in Mandra, Greece. Large swathes of southern Europe continued to swelter in record heat as wildfires raged across the continent. Temperatures hit a high of 46.3C (115.3F) in Sicily on Tuesday and crews battled fires in Greece and the Swiss Alps.
A woman cools off at Fontana della Barcaccia at the Spanish Steps in Rome during a heat wave in Italy, July 17, 2023.GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE/REUTERS
A woman cools off at Fontana della Barcaccia at the Spanish Steps in Rome. Most of Italy's major cities were put on red alert, meaning the extreme heat carries a health risk to everybody, not just vulnerable groups.
Tourists dressed as astronauts visit the Wulanhada Volcano Geopark on July 17, 2023 in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.ZHAO JUN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE/GETTY IMAGES
Tourists dressed as astronauts visit the Wulanhada Volcano Geopark in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.
David Barber (C), the King's swan marker, holds a captured swan to be measured and checked during the annual Swan Upping on the River Thames in Staines, west of London, on July 17, 2023.HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP
David Barber, the King's swan marker, holds a captured swan to be measured and checked during the annual Swan Upping in Staines, Surrey. Swan Upping is the annual census of the swan population on stretches of the River Thames and dates back to the 12th Century.
Dancers compete during the Inveraray Highland Games on July 18, 2023 in Inveraray, Scotland.JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES
Young dancers compete during the Inveraray Highland Games in Scotland. The games are held annually in the grounds of Inveraray Castle and celebrate Scottish culture and heritage with field and track events, piping and highland dancing competitions.
Muslim devotees gather during the flag-changing ceremony at the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Iraq's central shrine city of Karbala on July 18, 2023MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP
Muslim devotees gather during the flag-changing ceremony at the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Iraq's central shrine city of Karbala on the first night of the Muslim month of Muharram and the first day of the Islamic New Year.
People cross a damaged street following an underground gas explosion in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, 21 July 2023.KIM LUDBROOK/EPA
People cross a street that was damaged by an underground gas explosion in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa.
Members of the Indian Youth Congress protest over sexual violence against women and for peace in the ongoing ethnic violence in India's north-eastern state of Manipur, at Raisina Road on July 20, 2023 in New Delhi, India.RAJ K RAJ/HINDUSTAN TIMES/GETTY IMAGES
Members of the Indian Youth Congress shout slogans during a protest in New Delhi over sexual violence against women and for peace amid ethnic violence in India's north-eastern state of Manipur, India.