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Week in pictures: 21 - 27 August 2021

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

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US Air Force/Senior Airman Taylor Crul/Reuters Evacuees board a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraftUS Air Force/Senior Airman Taylor Crul/Reuters
People board a US Air Force aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, where more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan, which fell to the Taliban on 15 August.
Getty Images Family members visit wounded patients who have been admitted into Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital. in Kabul, AfghanistanGetty Images
On 26 August a terrorist attack at the airport killed more than 90 people, including 13 US service members. Here, family members visit survivors in Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul.
Henry Nicholls / Reuters A police officer asks a demonstrator to leave during a protest of Extinction Rebellion activistsHenry Nicholls / Reuters
A police officer asks a demonstrator to leave during a protest by Extinction Rebellion, in London. The demonstrations are scheduled to continue next week, with protests against the links between "big finance, fossil fuels and the fossil of politics that is Westminster".
Orlando Barria / EPA People play dominoesOrlando Barria / EPA
Young people play dominoes in a camp for those displaced by the earthquake earlier this month in Gorjette, Haiti. More than 2,200 people were killed by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake, which also injured another 12,000.
Narinder Nanu / AFP An artist adds the finishing touches to an idol of Hindu deity Lord KrishnaNarinder Nanu / AFP
An artist adds the finishing touches to an idol of Hindu deity Lord Krishna at a workshop in Amritsar in India, ahead of the Janmashtami festival, which is celebrated to mark the birth of Krishna.
Mohammed Huwais / AFP Women playing chessMohammed Huwais / AFP
Women take part in a local chess championship in Yemen's capital Sanaa.
Tolga Akmen / AFP A Galapagos tortoise being measuredTolga Akmen / AFP
A Galapagos tortoise is measured during the annual weigh-in photocall at London Zoo.
Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP Egypt's Ibrahim Elhusseiny Hamadtou playing table tennisYasuyoshi Chiba / AFP
Egypt's Ibrahim Elhusseiny Hamadtou returns a ball during the men's table tennis singles (Class 6) Group match against China's Chao Chen at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Jane Barlow / PA Media Sophie Douglas in a kaleidoscopeJane Barlow / PA Media
Sophie Douglas, who plays an alien from the planet Hanyana in the Edinburgh Fringe show WeCameToDance, explores the giant kaleidoscope at Camera Obscura and World of Illusions, in Edinburgh.
Andrew Matthews / PA Media A conservator abseils down the East face of Salisbury Cathedral's TowerAndrew Matthews / PA Media
A conservator abseils down the east face of Salisbury Cathedral's tower to carry out vital repairs during the annual survey.

All pictures are subject to copyright.