In Brazil’s Amazon, Worship with Psychedelic Tea

Photos by Eraldo Peres Canoes slide through a narrow river, dodging branches and trees for more than four hours to reach a tiny village deep in the Amazon jungle of western Brazil.

Church At World’s End

Photos by Natacha Pisarenko Sophrony Kirilov pulls hard on the strings of the heavy Russian bells from inside the world’s southernmost Eastern Orthodox church, calling to anybody who wants to pray on this remote Antarctic island.

Boko Haram Refugees

Photos by Jerome Delay Kellou Abakar knew she was in trouble as the contractions started not long after an Islamic extremist group attacked her town in Nigeria.

Bolivia Grandmothers’ Handball

Photos by Juan Karita Dozens of traditional Aymara grandmothers ease many of the aches and pains of aging by practicing a sport that is decidedly untraditional in Bolivia — team handball.

The Cursed River

Photos by Altaf Qadri For centuries, it was a curse that saved the river.

Cuba’s Horse Business

Photos by Ramon Espinosa Already renowned for fine rum and fancy cigars, Cuba is carving out a new luxury niche that is attracting Latin American elites to the communist-run island: elite jumping horses.

Madrid’s Fashion Week

Photos by Daniel Ochoa de Olza Madrid Fashion Week has celebrated its 30th anniversary with presentations from 44 designers and brands by models on catwalks in Spain’s premier fashion showcase.

Mexican Heroin Trade

Photos by Dario Lopez-Mills Red and purple blossoms with fat, opium-filled bulbs blanket the remote creek sides and gorges of the Filo Mayor mountains in the southern state of Guerrero.

The Art of Piñata-Making

Photos by Rebecca Blackwell A Mexican party isn’t complete without a piñata, and Melesio Vicente Flores and Cecilia Albarran Gonzalez have spent the last 25 years making high-end versions of the papier-mache figures to later be stuffed with candies and broken open with a stick or club.

New England Snowstorm 2015

Trudging through knee-high snow, New Englanders began digging out from a blizzard Wednesday with grudging respect for the forecasters, who missed the mark in New York but were right on the money in the Boston area.

Ukraine Unrest 2015

Photos by Manu Brabo Shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk killed at least six civilians Tuesday, as fighting intensified between government and rebel forces.

India’s Disappearing Brass Bands

Photos by Manish Swarup The wedding season is in full swing in India, marking what should be the busiest time of year for the traditional brass bands that lead raucous processions announcing the arrival of the bridegroom to the neighborhood.

Ebola: Life at Ground Zero

Photos by Jerome Delay When 2-year-old Emile Ouamouno caught a fever, started vomiting, passed blood in his stool and died two days later, nobody knew why.

Wings For Autism

Photos by Patrick Semansky With boarding passes in hand, children with autism spectrum disorders and their families took part in an air travel rehearsal at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Climate Change

With 2014 on track to become the warmest year on record and time running short, more than 190 nations began talks on a new worldwide deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming from causing irreversible damage.

Thankful For Turkey

Photos by John Minchillo On a cold and rainy November morning, farmers Mary Carpenter and Paul Dench-Layton waded arm-in-arm into the large soggy paddock that’s home to their Broad Breasted Whites, nearly 250 gobbling, barking, and bumbling Thanksgiving turkeys.

Berlin Wall: When the Wall Stood and Today

Berlin’s appearance has changed enormously since the fall on Nov. 9, 1989 of the Berlin Wall, which for nearly three decades divided the communist east from the city’s west — a capitalist enclave deep inside East Germany.

Burkina Faso Political Crisis

Photos by Theo Renaut Opposition leaders and members of civil society met Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 in Burkina Faso, West Africa, to establish ground rules for a transitional government and what they expect from its leader after the country’s president of 27 years resigned last week amid mounting opposition to his bid to seek yet another

Superstorm Sandy: Before and After

Hurricane Sandy, also known as Superstorm Sandy, began as a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on October 22, 2012.

Brazilian Catadores

Photos by Eraldo Peres Against a distant skyline of high-rise buildings, huge vultures dive over the nearly 9 tons of rubbish that arrive daily at the enormous dump in Brazil’s capital as nearly 3,000 trash pickers set aside recyclable plastic, metal and paper to sell.

Gay Pride in a Favela

Photos by Silvia Izquierdo On Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014, hundreds of people took part in Complexo de Alemao favela’s Gay Pride Parade, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The parade was a stand against discrimination and a demand for equal rights for the gay community.

The First Presidential TV Debate

Today In History: On Sept. 26, 1960, the first U.S. televised debate was broadcasted between major party presidential candidates.

A Roma Celebration of the Virgin Mary

Photos by Vadim Ghirda On September 8, 2014, the Romanian Roma community gathered to honor the birth of the Virgin Mary, in Costesti, Romania.

Fairy-Tale Night In A Favela

Photos by Silvia Izquierdo Dressed in long evening gowns, girls from Rio de Janeiro’s Santa Marta “favela” slum have celebrated a fairy-tale evening in a debutante ball sponsored by local police.

Cleaning The Runway

Photos by David Goldman Nearly 100 workers at the world’s busiest airport are volunteering their time to pick up trash that could be dangerous when planes land and take off.

Islamabad’s Red Zone Rallies

Photos by Muhammed Muheisen Associated Press chief photographer of Pakistan Muhammed Muheisen is currently in Islamabad covering the Red Zone rallies. 

Outdoor Cinemas Fade To Black In Greece

Photos by Petros Giannakouris For decades Greeks have enjoyed watching the latest Hollywood blockbusters and old classics under the stars.

Paddle Off The War

Photos by Gerald Herbert Two tours in Afghanistan took a toll on Joshua Ploetz. The former Marine was injured in a roadside bomb. He lost friends in combat, and later, to suicide.

Young Syrian Refugees

Photos by Muhammed Muheisen At Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp near the border with Syria, the horror of the neighboring country’s civil war can be seen in the faces of its youngest refugees.

Vantage Point: Michael Groll

Michael Groll has been a staff photographer for The Associated Press since 2007 and has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Time and Smithsonian Magazine.

Twitch and Shout Summer Camp

Eleven-year-old Blake Desadier thought his mom was lying when she told him there were other kids like him with Tourette’s syndrome. Then he went to “Camp Twitch and Shout,” a weeklong summer camp for children with Tourette’s, a neurological disorder that makes people have different types of involuntary muscle movements or speech. The camp helps

The First World War Centennial

A hundred years ago, on July 28th, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, this event marked the the start of the First World War. It was the beginning of an era that paved the way for the economic, social, and political changes to come, and mobilized more than 70 million military personnel in one of

Close Up: Photographer Matt Rourke

Matt Rourke joined The Associated Press as a photojournalist in 2006.  Based in Philadelphia, Rourke’s work encompasses general news, politics and sports. Coverage of note includes the Penn State University child abuse scandal, political seasons of 2008 and 2012 as well as the London Olympics.

Game Day: Netherlands Vs. Argentina

Argentina reached the World Cup final on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, after beating the Netherlands 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved penalties by Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to give Argentina the win after the game finished 0-0 following extra time.

Running of the Bulls

Thousands of revelers crammed into the main square and adjacent narrow streets of northern Pamplona on Sunday, July 6, 2014 for the start of Spain’s famed San Fermin running of the bulls festival. The nine-day fiesta, an uproarious blend of hair-raising daily bull runs and all-night partying, was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The

Game Day: Brazil Vs. Germany

With Neymar out injured, just about everyone in Brazil knew it would be tough against Germany. Nobody ever expected this. The Germans tore apart Brazil’s porous defense time and time again Tuesday, routing the hosts 7-1 in the World Cup semifinals, the largest margin of defeat at this stage in the history of the tournament. 

Game Day: USA vs. Belgium

As U.S. World Cup fans grapple with their 2-1 loss to Belgium, we’ve decided to spread some visual cheer with an extraordinary set of photos by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Rodrigo Abd, who roamed the streets of Brazil and captured everything from frenzied fans as they made their way to the stadium before the match, to the spectator nuances of

Worldview: Nepal Daily Life

AP’s Daily Life series is a visual exploration of imagery from around the globe. From bustling Chinese cities, to ice caves in Minnesota, to the rural farms of northern India, these stunning images depict the world beyond the familiar and remind us of the global community to which we belong.

Spain’s National Housing Crisis

Spanish unemployment rates soared to the highest in the EU at 26 percent, causing evictions to surge. The residential real estate bubble in Spain has reached €651 billion in mortgage debt.

Close Up: Photographer Andy Wong

Andy Wong joined the Associated Press as a photojournalist in 1998. Based in Beijing, China, Wong’s work includes coverage of headlining news stories, such as the Malaysian plane crash and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. His main focus is in China’s politics and its people’s daily life.

Electric Daisy Carnival

More than 130,000 people poured through the gates of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway each night of the weekend-long Electric Daisy Carnival, a dazzling, multi-sensory ode to electronic dance music.

The Return of a New Sun

This winter solstice marked the year 5,522 for the Bolivian Aymara Indians. Since 2010 the Bolivian government declared Willka Kuti, the Andean new year, a national holiday. More than a thousand Aymaras participate in the new year celebration, marking their new agricultural cycle and the return of a new sun. On June 21, 2014, as the

Palestinians Dream Of Return

Photo Essay By Muhammed Muheisen  A lifetime has passed since hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out their homes in the Mideast war over Israel’s 1948 creation. Today, those who were uprooted and their descendants number more than 5 million people, scattered across the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Worldview: Myanmar Daily Life

“World View: Daily Life Around the World,” a visual exploration of daily life imagery from around the globe. From bustling Chinese cities, to ice caves in Minnesota, to the rural farms of northern India, these stunning images depict the world beyond the familiar and remind us of the global community to which we belong. Whether

Spain’s New Era

Spain’s King Juan Carlos, who led the country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy but faced damaging scandals amid the nation’s financial meltdown, announced Monday, June 2, 2014, he will abdicate in favor of his son so that fresh royal blood can rally the nation in its time of trouble. The king told Spaniards in a nationwide

Israel Desert Ablaze With ‘Burning Man’

Photos by Oded Balilty For the Bedouin Arab shepherds tending their flocks in Israel’s Negev desert last week, it was almost as if aliens had landed from outer space.

Vantage Point: Ariel Schalit’s Exclusive Of Pope Francis

Photo Essay By Ariel Schalit Any time the pope makes a trip, but especially to a place like the Holy Land, journalists swarm to cover each moment and reflect every papal move in a stream of words and images. In such an intensely competitive setting, it’s hard to imagine how anyone can produce significant coverage that truly

Peru Mining Ghost Town

Photos by Rodrigo Abd In April of 2014, Peru’s government dialed up a crackdown on illegal gold mining that has badly scarred the ecologically rich southeastern jungle region of Madre de Dios.

Egypt Election 2014

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who for the past 10 months has been the most powerful figure in Egypt, is the country’s newly elected president following the military ouster last year of the country’s first democratically elected leader, Islamist Mohamed Morsi, a retired military commander. The election was extended after reports of low voter turnout that threatened to

Depth of Focus Video Exclusive: Morry Gash Recounts Pussy Riot Attack

Our latest installment of the Depth of Focus series is a conversation with AP staff photographer Morry Gash, who was covering daily life during the Winter Games in Sochi when he captured the shocking images of members of the Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot as they were being attacked with horsewhips by Cossack militia