Sputnik's weekly photo gallery offers a collection of pictures presenting the highlights of the past week, where you can take a look at what has been happening across the globe during this truly exceptional time.
From protests in Belarus and riots in the United States to wildfires in California, as well as the Koktebel Jazz Party - 2020 in Crimea and the Tank Biathlon in Alabino, Russia, much has been going on.
A woman poses for a picture in front of a Russian T-55A tank during the sixth International Military Technical Forum “Army 2020” in the military Patriot Park outside Moscow on 23 August 2020.
The Burlinskoye salt lake in the Slavgorod region in the Altai Territory, Russia. Commercial salt mining is carried out in the lake, for which a rail track has been laid along the bottom of the lake.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a televised interview on international issues with Rossiya 24 broadcaster's anchor Sergei Brylev (right).
Cossacks of the Guard of Honour of the Kuban Cossack Army deploy a tricolour on the main city square in Krasnodar during the celebration of the National Flag Day in Russia.
The vocalist of the band Esh, Anna Klesun, performs at the International Jazz Festival Koktebel Jazz Party - 2020 in Crimea.
Swiss adventurer Raphael Domjan jumps from a SolarStratos solar-powered aircraft prototype with Spanish test pilot Miguel A. Iturmendi on board, at the airbase in Payerne, Switzerland, 25 August 2020.
Tourists walk on Koktebel beach in Crimea.
A woman dressed as an elf poses for a photo with attendees of the Ministry of Fun Santa School outside Southwark Cathedral in London, the UK, 24 August 2020.
New York City FC midfielder Valentin Castellanos (11) falls to the ground after battling Columbus Crew defender Aboubacar Keita (30) for a high ball during the second half at Red Bull Arena.
A T-72 tank on the Uzbek team during a tank crew competition as part of the Tank Biathlon 2020 competition at the Alabino training ground in the Moscow Region on the third day of the sixth International Army Games.
An all-female group of canine rescuers from the Italian School of Rescue Dogs (La Scuola Italiana Cani Salvataggio) attend a training session with their dogs before patrolling a beach to ensure that swimmers can enjoy their time at the seaside in safety, in Riva dei Tarquini, near Rome, Italy, 25 August 2020.
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© AP Photo / Dieu Nalio Chery
A girl wades towards her flooded home the day after the passing of Tropical Storm Laura in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 24 August 2020. Laura battered the Dominican Republic and Haiti on its way to the US gulf coast.
Participant at a rally in Kiev in support of the protesters in Belarus. The activists marched from the Belarusian Embassy in Ukraine to Independence Square.
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© AP Photo / Morry Gash
A protester lights a cigarette on a garbage truck that was set on fire during protests on 24 August 2020 in Kenosha, Wis., sparked by the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha Police officer a day earlier.
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© AP Photo / Rodrigo Abd
A backhoe places the coffin containing the body of Vicenta Panduro, who died at 87 from COVID-19 complications, into her tomb at a cemetery in the Carabayllo district in Lima, Peru, 25 August 2020.
Parasols on a beach in the Adriatic Sea in Durres, as a heat wave swept through Europe on 22 August 2020.
Models demonstrate clothes as part of a fashion show at the Sasyk-Sivash Lake near Yevpatoriya, Crimea.
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© AP Photo / Moises Castillo
A zookeeper feeds a giraffe during a media tour of La Aurora Zoo, Guatemala City, 25 August 2020. The zoo reopened on 25 August to the public after the park had been closed for months as a preventive measure to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Students wearing masks rest amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, 25 August 2020.
A Sri Lankan traditional dancer performs in front of the Bellanwila Temple as she takes part in a procession during the Esala Perahera festival in Colombo on 22 August 2020. The Esala Perahera festival, which usually attracts thousands of spectators every year, took place without spectators in sight due to the restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A woman carries pet birds in a backpack while overlooking the ocean at Coogee Beach as the state of New South Wales continues to report low numbers of new daily cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sydney, Australia, 25 August 2020.
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's alleged corruption and the economic hardship stemming from the lockdown during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, near his residence in Jerusalem on 22 August 2020.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer sprays an anti-racist protestor with pepper spray after trying to remove them from a road during a protest against the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, NC on 24 August 2020. Protests continued as the one-day, in-person convention began Monday afternoon and will end the same day after the party officially re-nominates President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The rest of the convention will be held virtually.
A woman has her eyes flushed during a protest against racial injustice in Portland, Oregon, US, 22 August 2020.
A young girl collects bricks as she works as a labourer at a brick factory on the outskirts of Herat on 26 August 2020.
Whalers during a whale hunt in the Bering Strait, the Pacific Ocean.
A Mariachis wearing a face mask and shield to follow sanitary protocols against COVID-19 offers customers to play a song on a "trajinera" at the Nativitas Canal pier in Xochimilco, a network of canals and floating gardens that is one of Mexico City's top tourist attractions, after its reopening, on 23 August 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
Participants of the "Night Run 2020" in Moscow. The length of the race was 10 km (6 miles); it runs through the "Luzhniki", Luzhnetskaya, and Frunzenskaya embankment areas in Moscow, Russia.
A rooster walks by a burned vehicle during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Vacaville, California on 24 August 2020. Thousands of firefighters made little progress on 24 August as they battled to contain historic wildfires in California, with potentially dangerous lighting storms proving milder than expected and temperatures easing.
Governor Gavin Newsom said some 625 fires were burning throughout the state and had scorched more than 1.2 million acres – nearly the size of the Grand Canyon.
Governor Gavin Newsom said some 625 fires were burning throughout the state and had scorched more than 1.2 million acres – nearly the size of the Grand Canyon.
Motorists drive their vehicles past a residential area being cleared for road expansion in Hanoi on 25 August 2020.
