Streaks of sparks left by handmade rockets criss-cross over buildings in an old village center in Greece.

Mehmet Emin Mengüarslan / Anadolu / Getty

Fiery streaks of handmade rockets light up the night sky over the village of Vrontados on the island of Chios, Greece, as two rival congregations engage in their traditional “rocket war” to celebrate Easter on April 12, 2026. Thousands of fireworks were launched between Saint Markos and Panagia Erithiani churches, turning the solemn resurrection night into a spectacle of light and sound.

Two people react as they are hit in the face by water thrown at them during a water festival.

Wason Wanichakorn / AP

People participate in the Songkran water festival to celebrate the Thai New Year in Prachin Buri province, Thailand, on April 13, 2026.

Pope Leo XIV releases a dove next to a group of archbishops.

Guglielmo Mangiapane / Reuters

Pope Leo XIV releases a dove next to Archbishop of Bamenda Andrew Fuanya Nkea and other officials after a meeting for peace with the community of Bamenda in Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on April 16, 2026.

A gosling rests among flowers.

Matias Basualdo / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters

A gosling rests among flowers along the banks of the Main River on April 15, 2026, in Frankfurt, Germany.

Blue wildflowers cover the floor of a forest, seen on a misty day.

Yves Herman / Reuters

Wild bluebells, which bloom around mid-April, turn the forest floor blue in the Hallerbos, also known as the “Blue Forest,” in Halle, Belgium, on April 14, 2026.

Lightning flashes beneath a dark storm cloud.

Charlie Riedel / AP

Lightning flashes as a thunderstorm passes in the distance on April 13, 2026, in Lenexa, Kansas.

Two performers stand side-by-side on stage, singing, bathed in red light.

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty for Coachella

Mariqueen Maandig and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Noize perform at the Sahara Tent during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 11, 2026.

Two people stand side-by-side, their bodies painted blue and white respectively, during a festival.

Avishek Das / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty

Hindu devotees have their bodies painted as part of traditional practices during the annual Gajan Festival in West Bengal, India, on April 12, 2026.

A giant rooster statue is paraded past people and buildings.

Sazzad Hossain / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty

A giant rooster statue is paraded during celebrations of the Bengali New Year, known as Pohela Boishakh, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 14, 2026.

A bodybuilder, seen from behind, as they pose and flex.

Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty

A bodybuilder performs at the FIBO trade show for health, fitness, and wellness in Cologne, Germany, on April 16, 2026.

A close view of an older gorilla's face

Markus Schreiber / AP

Fatou, the oldest gorilla in Berlin’s zoo—and believed to be the world’s oldest gorilla—celebrates her 69th birthday on April 13, 2026.

A person holds a crystal ball in front of them, with their face seen, inverted, through the ball.

Ramil Sitdikov / Reuters

Natalia Malinovskaya, a self-described witch, holds a crystal ball during an interview with Reuters at her apartment in Moscow on February 17, 2026.

An airplane passes in front of the sun, its exhaust trail visible at the sun's edge.

Martin Bernetti / AFP / Getty

An airplane passes in front of the sun during sunrise in Panama City on April 15, 2026.

A Russian attack drone flies past apartment buildings in Kyiv

Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters

A Russian Geran 2 attack drone flies past apartment buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, on April 16, 2026.

A firefighter unrolls a firehose, as smoke and flames rise up behind them.

Serhii Okunev / AFP / Getty

A firefighter works to extinguish a blaze at a recycling-materials site following a Russian strike in Kyiv on April 16, 2026. Russian strikes killed at least 12 people in Ukraine, local authorities said on April 16, after Moscow pummeled its neighbor in overnight attacks.

A rally car catches air while taking a corner, with only its left rear tire touching the pavement during a race.

McKlein Photography / LAT Images / Getty

Sami Pajari competes in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 during Croatia Rally, Round 4 of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship in Zagreb, Croatia, on April 11, 2026.

A humanoid robot wearing sneakers runs across a crosswalk, near several police officers standing beside barriers.

Sheng Jiapeng / China News Service / VCG / Getty

A humanoid robot takes part in a test for the upcoming 2026 Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon on April 12, 2026, in Beijing.

An astronaut, wearing a blue jumpsuit, leans on and embraces the space capsule she returned to earth in earlier.

Bill Ingalls / NASA

Christina Koch, a NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist, hugs the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha on April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Koch, along with the astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 at 5:07 p.m. PT, after their trip around the moon.

Workers stand on the roof of a large torus-shaped building.

Kevin Frayer / Getty

Workers stand on the roof of the Phoenix Center building as they clean the windows on April 12, 2026, in Beijing.

An alligator rests on a log in a pond.

Gerald Herbert / AP

An alligator rests on a log in a pond along the batture of the Mississippi River in Harahan, Louisiana, on April 15, 2026.

A female eastern bluebird flies by, bringing grass and pine needles to her nest.

Robert F. Bukaty / AP

A female eastern bluebird brings material to her nest on April 14, 2026, in Freeport, Maine.

People walk through a tulip farm, past rows of colorful flowers.

Jenny Kane / AP

People walk through the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon, on April 11, 2026.

A woman teases her husband with a tulip while sitting in a park.

Nick Lachance / Toronto Star / Getty

Shalini Maria teases her husband, Alvin Presley, with a tulip while singing “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal in Christie Pits Park in Toronto, Ontario, on April 13, 2026. Maria had just returned from a trip to New York City, and Presley met her at the airport with flowers, one of their traditions.

Blossoming cherry trees, seen alongside a canal, lit up at night.

Hidenori Nagai / The Yomiuri Shimbun / Reuters

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom at Hirosaki Park in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, on April 16, 2026. Many of the approximately 2,600 trees are lit up at night.

A fox scurries past on a city street in Berlin.

Odd Andersen / AFP / Getty

A fox pays a visit to the chancellery as journalists wait for the arrival of head of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, in Berlin on April 14, 2026.

A boy walks with a flock of sheep along a shoreline.

Joseph Eid / AFP / Getty

A boy walks with a flock of sheep along the shore in the Lebanese village of Kfar Aabida, north of Beirut, on April 11, 2026.

A group of musicians performs beside a glacial cave.

GreenPeace / Reuters

The Swiss musician To Athena, accompanied by a small group of musicians, performs outside a cave in Morteratsch Glacier to draw attention to climate-change issues, in Pontresina, Switzerland, on March 25, 2026. (Handout photo released by Reuters on April 10.)

A group of people in a street cheer and pull on a rope attached to a chariot during a festival in Nepal.

Amit Machamasi / NurPhoto / Getty

Newari women pull Lord Bhairav’s chariot in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on April 16, 2026, during a Hindu festival. Biska Jatra, celebrated to welcome the New Year, spans eight nights and nine days, bringing communities together in a shared spirit of devotion and celebration.