The past seven days delivered scenes of defiance, disaster, and spectacle from corners of the globe. While world leaders marked military traditions, activists disrupted art institutions, and everyday people faced the aftermath of conflict and catastrophe. Photojournalists captured moments that tell the story of a fractured world.
In Moscow, Russian soldiers rehearsed for Victory Day ceremonies as Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what he called the Kremlin's "utter cynicism" in pursuing a truce to stage its parade while Ukraine absorbed fresh strikes that killed 23 people. The timing was not lost on anyone watching. Meanwhile, Ukraine pressed its own offensive deeper into Russian territory, with drone strikes hitting military targets across the Urals, more than a thousand miles from the front lines.
Venice's art world erupted when the Venice Biennale jury resigned en masse, refusing to consider entries from countries whose leaders face international arrest warrants. That move effectively barred Russia and Israel from competition. Against that backdrop, Femen and Pussy Riot activists staged a direct protest against Russian participation in the prestigious show, their message unmistakable.
The casualties mounted elsewhere. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes since early March have killed at least 2,727 people according to health ministry counts. In Gaza, Israeli military operations have claimed more than 800 lives since the October truce began, with strikes continuing almost daily. Families mourned their dead while others worked to feed displaced children from rooftops in the northern strip.
The United States faced its own political turbulence. Tennessee's Republican-dominated legislature pushed through redistricting maps that eliminated the state's sole Democratic, Black-majority congressional district, a move that came days after the Supreme Court gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act. Democratic state representative Justin J Pearson and his brother were removed from the house gallery after staging a silent sit-in against the maps.
In the Trump administration, Project Freedom, a plan to provide military escorts for oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, was shelved just days after launch. Saudi Arabia's refusal to allow the US to use its bases and airspace for the operation killed the initiative before it could gain momentum.
Natural disasters struck with little warning. Powerful storms spawned at least three confirmed tornadoes across Mississippi, damaging nearly 500 homes and snapping trees across the landscape. In China, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang killed at least 26 people and injured 61, prompting authorities to halt all firework manufacturing in the vicinity.
A hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius created an international scramble. Authorities worldwide began racing to trace dozens of passengers who had disembarked at Praia, Cape Verde, before isolation measures took effect, turning a holiday into a public health emergency.
In Africa, Mali's government declared it would refuse talks with "terrorist" armed groups after jihadists and allied separatists launched unprecedented attacks against the junta. In Louisville, history was made when Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train the winner of the Kentucky Derby, as Golden Tempo charged down the stretch to victory at Churchill Downs.
The Met Gala's star power dimmed slightly this year. Emma Chamberlain posed for cameras at the New York City event, but the choice of Jeff Bezos as honorary chair and primary funding source sparked criticism that the once-exclusive event had lost its allure.
Author James Rodriguez: "From war zones to art galleries, the week showed a world struggling with its contradictions: grand ceremonies alongside daily strikes, protests against tyranny, and natural disasters that remind us how fragile everything is."
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