Petros Giannakouris’ Greece Migrant Crisis Instagram Takeover

This week, AP staff photographer based in Greece Petros Giannakouris took over our Instagram feed with photos from Europe’s migrant crisis. 

Syria War Souvenirs

Photos by Hassan Ammar They stare at you from mugs, pins and fridge magnets in souvenir shops in Damascus.

Stars Live Monkishly at Kenyan Running Camp

Photos by Ben Curtis The hand-written roster — misspelled “rosta” — tells the runners when it’s their turn for communal chores. Stephen Kiprotich’s name is on it. So is Eliud Kipchoge’s.

A Traditional Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Wedding

Photos by Oded Balilty The marriage ceremony is perhaps the greatest highlight in the life of an ultra-Orthodox Jew. And when it comes to the community’s most prominent members, it turns into a public spectacle.

Alpaca Fiber From Peru Destined For Luxury Stores

Photos by Martin Mejia The 4 million alpacas that graze on the remote slopes of Peru’s southeastern Andes wear warm coats of a silky fiber highly sought in the United States, Europe and Asia.

US Teen Pursues Ballerina Dream at Russia’s Bolshoi Academy

Photos by Alexander Zemlianichenko Among the dozen 15-year-old girls in lavender leotards in Tatyana Galtseva’s class at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, one is different. And it’s not just because of her long, swan-like neck.

Berbers in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains

Photos by Mosa’ab Elshamy Deep in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, the ancient Berbers live on, defying a harsh environment and loyal to their traditions and way of life in some of the most hard-to-reach parts of the African continent.

Raids on Illegal Mining Camps Target Brothels

Photos by Rodrigo Abd In one of the biggest such raids yet, police and soldiers destroyed scores of illegal gold mining camps in Peru’s Madre de Dios region this week.

Grassroots Activists in Myanmar on March to Destroy Poppies

Photos by Hkun Lat Opium is a scourge to many of Myanmar’s poor communities ravaged by drug addiction, but to the farmers who grow it, it is a living.

Haitian Drought Hammers Countryside

Photos by Dieu Nalio Chery Only shriveled carrots and potatoes grow in Carole Joseph’s small vegetable plot. The family’s chickens are long gone. She sold her only tools to buy food, then the wooden bed she shared with her children. The family now sleeps on the floor of their shack.

AP Photographer Reflects on ‘Bucket Baby’ in Brazil

Peruvian Fighting Ritual

Photos by Martin Mejia Renato Nunez was looking for a fight after drinking seven bottles of beer with his friends.

Hong Kong’s McRefugees

Photos by Vincent Yu As other diners in the McDonald’s enjoyed their Big Macs past midnight early last month, no one noticed the middle-aged woman who appeared to be sleeping at her table.

Peru’s Coca Eradicators

Photos by Rodrigo Abd Destroying coca plants is grueling work.

Venezuela’s Miss Gay

Photos by Ariana Cubillos There’s a beauty contest for almost everyone in pageant-obsessed Venezuela. In the popular Miss Gay Venezuela competition, men don elaborate wigs and layers of makeup to show off their skills in what they call “the art of transformation.”

Peru’s Cocaine Runways

Photos by Rodrigo Abd It happens about four times a day, right under the nose of Peru’s military: A small single-engine plane drops onto a dirt airstrip in the world’s No. 1 coca-growing valley, delivers a bundle of cash, picks up more than 300 kilos of cocaine and flies to Bolivia.

North Korea Celebrates 70th Anniversary

Photos by Wong Maye-E North Koreans mobilized en masse to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the 1945 founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Portraits of Refugees Along Europe Migrant Trail

Photos by Muhammed Muhesien  Shortly after a dinghy overloaded with refugees from Syria and Iraq reached the Greek island of Lesbos, Mahmoud Naoura stood and raised his hands, chanting “Thank you God, we are safe.”

Deadly Nicaragua Land Conflict Displaces Hundreds

Photos by Esteban Felix Nicaragua’s normally sleepy northern Caribbean coast in recent weeks has erupted in deadly clashes between Miskito Indians and settlers from the country’s west.

Rock in Rio

Photos by Felipe Dana and Leo Correa Rock in Rio is one of the largest music festivals in the world and has reoccurred in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the past 30 years.

Two Million Muslims Start Hajj Pilgrimage

Photos by Mosa’ab Elshamy More than 2 million Muslims on Tuesday started the first rites of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest pilgrimages that draws people from different countries to the holy city of Mecca to perform a series of rituals and prayers aimed at erasing past sins.

Arriving to Europe

Photos by Petros Giannakouris It’s a small step in a long and uncertain escape from civil war and the Islamic State in Syria and difficult circumstances in other nations — but perhaps one of the most emotional.

In Rwanda, Dogs and Handlers Train to Track Poachers

Photos by Ben Curtis One dog being trained to track poachers in a Rwandan national park is nicknamed “Machine” because of his reputed stamina on a trail. Another dog is known as “Professor” because of his seemingly analytical approach when following a scent.

Deeply Rooted on a Volcano’s Flank

Photos by Cris Toala Olivares Tears roll over Maria Rosa Mendoza’s cheeks as she turns away from Cotopaxi.

Life on US Aircraft Carrier in Islamic State War

Photos by Marko Drobnjakovic Every day, the steam-powered catapult aboard this massive aircraft carrier flings American fighter jets into the sky, on missions to target the extremist Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Embracing Extreme Sports in Gaza

Photos by Khalil Hamra Self-taught daredevils in the blockaded Gaza Strip are embracing a range of extreme sports, from the outdoor urban gymnastics known as parkour to motocross racing on sand dunes.

Gregorio Borgia’s Migrants at Sea Instagram Takeover

This week, Associated Press staff photographer based in Rome Gregorio Borgia took over our Instagram feed with photos from Europe’s mounting migrant crisis.

Lifting the Veil on Drug Abuse in LA’s Koreatown

Photos by Jae C. Hong In a blue-and-white church on the outskirts of Los Angeles’ Koreatown, pastor Young Ho Han is trying to lift the veil on a problem silently afflicting his community: drug abuse among young Korean-Americans.

A Presidential Trip to Alaska

Photos by Andrew Harnik President Barack Obama crossed the Arctic Circle on Wednesday in a first by a sitting U.S. president, telling residents in a far-flung Alaska village that their plight should be the world’s wake-up call on global warming.

Syrian Refugee Mothers’ Changing Lives

Photos by Muhammed Muheisen Here among the tents of this informal camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan, pregnant mothers have given birth to children they struggle to care for amid sandstorms and crushing poverty.

Close Up: Photographer Jacquelyn Martin

Jacquelyn Martin joined The Associated Press as a staff photographer in 2006 and is based in Washington, DC. When she’s not shooting for the AP, Martin carves out time to work on personal projects – race, identity, immigration and women’s issues are common themes she explores.

Youngest Refugees Bear Brunt of Syrian War Woes

Photos by Muhammed Muheisen  Gathered on the desert floor, the Askar family chants prayers for their 1-year-old daughter Jawahir, who died of malnutrition and is buried beneath the sands of their informal refugee camp far from their Syrian hometown.

Switzerland Alpenhorn Festival

Photos by David Azia Each July, the mountain village of Haute-Nendaz in Switzerland’s canton of Valais hosts the Alpenhorn Festival, drawing hundreds of musicians who gather along the shores of an Alpine lake 2,200 meters (7’220 feet) above sea level.

Dirt Track Racing at the Ponderosa Speedway

Photos by David Stephenson At the Ponderosa Speedway, a race track made of red clay and nestled in the small hills of central Kentucky, spectators can be sure they will take a little piece of the track with them at the end of the night.

Children Caught on Border Struggle to Stay

Photos by Jae C. Hong At 1-year-old, a wide-eyed, restless Joshua Tinoco faces the prospect of deportation to his native Honduras, one of tens of thousands of children who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border last year.

Pope Encountering Rich Indigenous Traditions

Photos by Dolores Ochoa Rich indigenous traditions dating back centuries before European priests arrived in the New World are on display throughout South America.

Surfing Takes Brazilian Kids Out of Rio Slum

Photos by Felipe Dana It’s dawn and barefoot boys are hustling down the inclined alleys of Rio de Janeiro slums, surfboards under their arms.

Myanmar Fisherman Goes Home After 22 Years As a Slave

Photos by Gemunu Amarasinghe All he did was ask to go home. The last time the Burmese slave made the same request, he was beaten almost to death.

In Peruvian Valley, Coca Harvest Means Survival

Photos by Rodrigo Abd Just before sunrise, Raul Rua joins 15 others, including women, teens and children, for a half-hour walk to pick coca in the world’s No. 1 coca-producing valley.

Haiti Emerging City

Photos by Rebecca Blackwell Before the January 2010 earthquake destroyed much of Haiti’s capital, the only occupants of the arid hills near the city’s northern edge were skinny goats foraging amid the cactus and scrub.

Indian Yogis Twist Bodies, Soothe Minds

Photos by Anupam Nath The Hindu holy men have traveled from across India, arriving at a centuries-old temple overlooking the Brahmaputra River, not far from where the plains give way to the Himalayan foothills.

AP Names Muhammed Muheisen Chief Photographer for the Middle East

The Associated Press has named award-winning photographer Muhammed Muheisen, frequently honored for his striking photos of people in their everyday environment, as its chief photographer for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Real Kamikaze

Photos by Eugene Hoshiko The pilots filed into the room and were presented with a form that asked if they wanted to be kamikaze. It was multiple-choice, and there were three answers: “I passionately wish to join,” ”I wish to join,” and “I don’t wish to join.”

AP Names Natacha Pisarenko Chief Photographer for Latin America’s Southern Cone

Natacha Pisarenko, a photojournalist who has covered major news and sports events across Latin America and around the world, has been named chief photographer for The Associated Press for the Southern Cone countries of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile.

Peru Anti-Mining Farmers

Photos by Rodrigo Abd A respite imposed by martial law after nearly two months of violent anti-mining protests has sent farmers in a fertile coastal valley of southern Peru back to their fields.

Feds Project Lake Mead Below Drought Trigger Point by 2017

Photos by John Locher Federal water managers have released a report projecting that Lake Mead’s water levels will fall below a point in January 2017 that would force supply cuts to Arizona and Nevada.

Filipino Boxers Try to Follow Pacquiao’s Path Out of Poverty

Photos by Aaron Favila Manny Pacquiao’s rise from crushing poverty to global fame and fortune has inspired a whole generation of Filipino fighters, who look up to his legend as their dream and boxing as a ticket out of harsh lives and uncertainties.

Photographer Wong Maye-E: Animals

Today is Earth Day, the annual event surrounding issues of environmental protection first founded in 1970.

Spanish Town Marks Holy Week Colorfully

Photos by Daniel Ochoa de Olza Iznajar is a small village of whitewashed buildings and steep cobbled streets in the southern province of Cordoba that takes Holy Week very seriously.

Despondent Gazans Return to Destroyed Homes

Photos by Khalil Hamra Despondent over the slow pace of post-war reconstruction, displaced Gazans have begun to return to their damaged homes, patching up the structures with cinder blocks and plastic sheets and living in the unstable and unsafe buildings while they wait for promised aid to arrive.