Photos of the Week: Robot Training, Straw Chickens, Blessed Dogs

Omar Ashtawy / Getty Children swim at a pool in Khan Younis, Gaza, on August 19, 2026.

Palestinian children, including amputees, some of whom have lost limbs during the war, and orphans participate in swimming training as part of the “Waves of Hope” project carried out by HEAL Palestine.

Luisa Gonzalez / Reuters A drone image of a church damaged by a recent earthquake in Quimbaya, Colombia, seen on August 18, 2026 Jeff J Mitchell / Getty A young boy herds a flock into the ring at the Lairg auction on August 18, 2026, in Scotland.

Petras Malukas / AFP / Getty Corgis take part in a 50-meter race in Vingis Park in Vilnius on August 15, 2026.

This is the fifth time Vilnius has hosted a corgi race and costume contest, inviting corgis from across Europe.

CFoto / Future Publishing / Getty Tourists visit a giant Dachshund installation that is 13 meters long, inside the Haus Nowhare store on Huaihai Middle Road in Shanghai, China, on August 17, 2026.

Chanakarn Laosarakham / AFP / Getty A man jogs past a dinosaur statue at Bueng Kaen Nakhon Public Park in Khon Kaen, Thailand, on August 20, 2026.

Tom Dubravec / AP A wildfire approaches a beach on the Adriatic coast near Omis, southern Croatia, on August 14, 2026.

Lindsey Wasson / AP A woman is silhouetted against the setting sun while holding up her phone at Pocket Beach in Myrtle Edwards Park, overlooking Elliott Bay in Seattle on August 18, 2026.

Fabrizio Villa / Getty Luigi Renna, the metropolitan archbishop of Catania, places the skull of Saint Agatha inside the head of the saint’s reliquary bust before it is sealed on August 17, 2026, in Catania, Italy.

Xiao Benxiang / VCG / Getty A data collector conducts robot skill training in a real-life-simulation scenario to collect high-quality real-machine data in Wuhu, Anhui Province, China, on August 17, 2026.

Luis Acosta / AFP / Getty A kitten sleeps at a provisional shelter at the Coliseo Menor, after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Pereira, Colombia, on August 16, 2026.

Firdia Lisnawati / AP A man walks past a collapsed mosque after an earthquake in Lamba Leda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, on August 18, 2026.

Stephen Lam / San Francisco Chronicle / Getty A woman and child walk past a debris-strewn street after Hurricane Lala struck Naalehu, Hawaii, on August 17, 2026.