By Guardian photographers-Human Synthesis-21 February 2026
The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Ramadan in Gaza, Russian airstrikes in Odessa and flooding in France – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photo-journalists. The week around the world in 20 pictures.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaving Aylsham police station on Thursday, the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersJim PowellFri 20 Feb 2026 18.44 GMTGazaYoung Palestinians, carrying Ramadan lanterns, play on the ruins of destroyed buildings at the Bureij refugee camp. The Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza, sprawling more than 350 acres, according to Board of Peace contracting records reviewed by the GuardianPhotograph: Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty ImagesKhan Younis, GazaPalestinians sit at a long table amid the rubble of destroyed buildings as they gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. More than 75,000 people were killed in the first 16 months of the two-year war in Gaza, at least 25,000 more than the death toll announced by local authorities at the time, according to a study published this week in the Lancet Global Health medical journalPhotograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/APHagai, West BankA Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli bulldozers demolish an apartment building belonging to the Salhab family near the Israeli settlement of Hagai. Israeli measures to tighten its control of the West Bank have prompted a global backlash, including a signal from Washington restating the Trump administration’s opposition to annexation of the occupied territoryPhotograph: Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty ImagesOdesa, UkrainePedestrians walk past a residential building heavily damaged after a Russian air attack in Odesa. On Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted an update after he had a chance to get a debrief on this week’s peace talks with Russia and the US in Geneva. He wrote that ‘real opportunities to end the war with dignity still exist,’ and called for another round of talks to be held ‘very soon, as early as this February’Photograph: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty ImagesKyiv, UkrainePeople burn flares during a funeral ceremony of Ukrainian soldier Alexander Krasikov, call sign ‘Sambo’, in a cemetery in Kyiv. More than 1,000 Kenyans have been lured to fight for Russia in its war with Ukraine, according to an intelligence report to the Kenyan parliament that highlights the scale of a Russian operation taking African men to the frontlinePhotograph: Dan Bashakov/APMariupol, UkraineApartments that have been restored behind the rubble of destroyed buildings in downtown Mariupol. The city endured a nearly three-month siege during the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, eventually falling to Russia in May of the same yearPhotograph: EPALa Réolle, FrancePeople look at the Garonne river as severe flooding hits western France due to Storm Nils. The country issued red alerts for flooding in three départements as the aftermath of the storm caused chaos across the countryPhotograph: Yohan Bonnet/APNidderau-Eichen, GermanyA train passes a level crossing between flooded fields in Nidderau-EichenPhotograph: Michael Probst/APToamasina, MadagascarNurses from Bethany Clinic transport a patient in Toamasina after the passage of Cyclone Gezani. Flooding and fierce winds have pushed Madagascar’s death toll from Gezani to 59, with more than a dozen people still unaccounted for, the country’s disaster agency said this weekPhotograph: Rijasolo/AFP/Getty ImagesArgungu, Nigeria Fishers run to participate in the Argungu cultural fishing festival at the Matan Fada river Photograph: Sunday Alamba/APArgungu, NigeriaFishers run to participate in the Argungu cultural fishing festival at the Matan Fada riverPhotograph: Sunday Alamba/AP
