The first part of this year has been quite a turbulent time for many countries not only because of the coronavirus outbreak, but also due to mass protests, with people taking to the streets to express their anger about a wide range of things: from measures introduced to curb the infection to what they see as failure of their governments to support nations economically through these tough times.
Check out Sputnik's photo gallery to have a virtual trip around the globe at this unstable time when borders are mostly closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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A woman holds a banner with "Flowers are better than bullets" written on it during a rally in Minsk, Belarus on 15 August, 2020.
© Sputnik / Viktor Tolochko
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People enjoy a music party inside a swimming pool at the Wuhan Maya Beach Park, in Wuhan, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hubei Province, China 15 August 2020.
© REUTERS / Stringer
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Clean up of an oil spill from the Saida vessel that capsized after a fire off Murmansk, Russia, 17 August.
© Sputnik / Pavel Lvov
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Harvesting watermelons and melons in the Krasnodar region of Russia, 16 August 2020.
© Sputnik / Vitaly Timkiv
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A woman wearing a face mask walks past the closed "Le Cafe Senequier" situated along the Quai Jean Jaures, on the Saint-Tropez harbour on 16 August 2020, as the city made wearing a protective mask mandatory in the town centre due to a resurgence of the coronavirus.
© AFP 2023 / Valery Hache
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A male Siberian lynx called Buran lies in a hammock at the Royev Ruchei park in Krasnoyarsk.
© Sputnik / Ilya Naymushin
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Russian actor Mikhail Yefremov walks outside the Presnensky court in Moscow after a hearing into a deadly accident involving his car.
© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov
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Villagers do their laundry as Mount Sinabung spews volcanic materials during an eruption, in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia Friday, 14 August 2020.
© AP Photo
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A-level students hold placards as they protest outside the Department for Education, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain, 16 August 2020.
© REUTERS / Henry Nicholls
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People sunbathe and swim on El Arenal beach, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 15 August 2020.
© REUTERS / Enrique Calvo
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Protesters partake in an anti-government protest demanding free elections and against corruption outside the provincial council building in Basra, Iraq, Monday, 17 August 2020.
© AP Photo / Nabil al-Jurani
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Steve Krofchik of Las Vegas keeps cool with a bottle of ice on his head as the thermometer reads 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius) at the Furnace Creek Visitors Centre in Death Valley, California, 17 August 2020.
© REUTERS / David Becker
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Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires jump Interstate 80 in Vacaville, California, Wednesday, 19 August 2020.
© AP Photo / Noah Berger
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Contestants participate in the Miss Buffalo Chip Beauty Pageant on the Wolfman Jack Stage at Buffalo Chip during the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Saturday, 15 August 2020, in Sturgis, S.D.
© AP Photo / Amy Harris
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A Palestinian fisherman cleans up his fishing net after the Israeli decision to close Gaza's fishing zone, on the beach in Gaza City, Tuesday, 18 August 2020.
© AP Photo / Khalil Hamra
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Soldiers from Russia's Southern Military District during exercises in the Krasnodar region, 19 August 2020.
© Sputnik / Vitaly Timkiv
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A volunteer wearing a costume of Pokemon character Pikachu hugs a child during Children's Day, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Fuerte Apache, in Buenos Aires, Argentina 16 August 2020.
© REUTERS / Agustin Marcarian
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A coffin and a dummy dressed in a personal protective suit to look like a health worker are seen in a public area to warn people about the dangers of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia, 18 August 2020.
© REUTERS / Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
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Fans of Russian rock singer Viktor Tsoi remember the musician on the 30th anniversary of his tragic death, Arbat Street, Moscow, 15 August 2020.
© Sputnik / Alexey Maishev
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An aerial view shows a traditional wooden boat market in Manikganj, Bangladesh on 19 August, 2020.
© AFP 2023 / Munir Uz Zaman
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A health worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a woman at a free COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in Hyderabad on 19 August 2020.
© AFP 2023 / Noah Seelam
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A farmer tries to pour water on an area close to an illegally lit fire in an Amazon rainforest reserve, south of Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil, on 15 August 2020.
© AFP 2023 / Carl de Souza
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A couple stands with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background during reopening after a months-long closure due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15 August 2020.
© REUTERS / Pilar Olivares
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Members of a Star Wars fan club deliver food and sodas to relatives of patients hospitalised within the area of respiratory diseases at the Hospital Ignacio Garcia of the Mexican Social Security Institute in Merida, state of Yucatan, on 15 August 2020 amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
© AFP 2023 / Hugo Borger
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Lightning bolts over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland, California, Sunday, 16 August 2020.
© AP Photo / Noah Berger
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A male zebra called Khvostik stands in an enclosure at the Royev Ruchei park in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, on 16 August 2020.
© Sputnik / Ilya Naimushin
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Children take part in the Cinema Fashion project at the Mosfilm studio in Moscow on 14 August 2020.
© Sputnik / Ekaterina Chesnokova
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Two women lay on a float on a beach in southwest Grand Canary island, Spain, Wednesday 19 August 2020.
© AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
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The aftermath of the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon, on 14 August 2020.
© Sputnik / Mikhail Alaeddin
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Fishermen clean their nets after fishing at sunset in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, on 19 August, 2020.
© AFP 2023 / Chaideer Mahyuddin