The week in photos: September 12-18, 2026

MANILA, Philippines — On September 14, the Bangsamoro people troop to polling precincts to elect their parliament after decades of armed struggle and historical injustices, years of painstaking negotiations with the Philippine government, and repeated electoral delays.

Election watchdogs report significant irregularities during the polls including reports of pre-shaded ballots, vote-buying, and armed individuals in voting centers. Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia says election-related deaths rose to at least five before voting ended.

On September 16, four retired Supreme Court justices advised the impeachment court on the conviction threshold debate. Three of them took the position that the number of votes needed to remove the impeached official is not fixed at 16. Retired justice Adolfo Azcuna maintains that all 24 senators should be counted, arguing that a fixed supermajority is necessary to prevent impeachment from being misused for political purposes.

Meanwhile, former president Rodrigo Duterte appeared in person at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the third status conference regarding his charges of crimes against humanity related to his drug war, on September 16. Duterte has been detained in The Hague since 2025, and his trial is set to begin on November 30, following the confirmation of three charges against him.

The ICC Trial Chamber III ordered the continued detention of Duterte: “The Chamber therefore finds no notable change in circumstances that warrant the release of the Accused, with or without conditions. For these reasons, the chamber hereby decides that the accused shall continue to be detained,” said the chamber’s decision.

Catch more stories in these photos from the week that was:

Attendees spectate as models present a creation from the Spring/Summer 2027 Prabal Gurung collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, on September 12, 2026. PHOTO BY DAVID DEE DELGADO/REUTERS

Entertainer Vice Ganda rides atop a giant light-up tamaraw float, paying homage to host school and alma mater Far Eastern University, during a performance in the UAAP Season 89 opening ceremony at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on September 12, 2026. UAAP MEDIA HANDOUT

Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka smashes her racquet after losing her women’s singles final match against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina at the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York, on September 12, 2026. PHOTO BY EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS

French artist JR performs one of his characteristic jumps as he poses in front of his installation ‘Diluvium’ ahead of a visit by Pope Leo to inaugurate the exhibition ‘AQVA – Catastrophe and Wonder’ at the Vatican Apostolic Library, on September 14, 2026. PHOTO BY VINCENZO LIVIERI/REUTERS

Mariska Hargitay performs during the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, on September 14, 2026. PHOTO BY MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS

A man holds a sign as he leaves a protest on the day of the opening night gala dinner of the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 14, 2026. PHOTO BY ARLYN MCADOREY/REUTERS

Supporters of a political group cheer after destroying a vehicle believed to contain firearms during the first parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao outside Sero Central Elementary School in Cotabato City on September 14, 2026. PHOTO BY MANMAN DEJETO/REUTERS

Iran-aligned Houthi fighters move next to a destroyed vehicle following what the source described as an attack on Saudi-backed forces in the location given by the source as al Jawf governorate, Yemen, on September 15, 2026. HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno, appearing as amici curiae, gives his opinion on the conviction threshold debate in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on September 16, 2026. SENATE SOCIAL MEDIA UNIT

Supporters of former president Hashim Thaci protest in Pristina, Kosovo after he was found guilty of war crimes by the Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, on September 16, 2026. PHOTO BY VALDRIN XHEMAJ/REUTERS

Former president Rodrigo Duterte appears before the International Criminal Court, as the court hears arguments regarding Duterte’s health and ability to stand trial, while he faces murder charges related to his war on drugs, in The Hague, Netherlands, on September 16 2026. PHOTO BY PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/POOL VIA REUTERS

A poster reading ‘Justice for Claudia’ is displayed on a monument marked with red handprints during a march to demand justice for Spanish exchange student Claudia Tacoronte, who was killed in Cuautla on September 12 while studying in Mexico as part of an academic exchange program with the University of Granada, in Cuautla, Mexico, on September 16, 2026. PHOTO BY MARGARITO PEREZ RETANA/REUTERS

A boy with a leg in a plaster cast sits on a bench near photographs of missing people on a wall outside Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 16, 2026. PHOTO BY NAVESH CHITRAKAR/REUTERS

Cultural activists stage a performance revisiting the history and experiences during Martial Law under Marcos Sr.’s dictatorial rule, at the opening of the 9th annual 1081 Exhibit at the University of the Philippines Cebu on September 16, 2026. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ/RAPPLER

A visitor looks at the painting ‘Terra Incognita’ (1992) during a press visit of the exhibition ‘The Histories*’ by artist Kerry James Marshall at the Musee d’Art Moderne de Paris in Paris, France, on September 17, 2026. PHOTO BY SARAH MEYSSONNIER/REUTERS

Worker remove a sign bearing the German federal eagle from the German Consulate-General after Moscow ordered its closure in retaliation for Berlin’s decision to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural centre in Berlin, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on September 17, 2026. PHOTO BY ANDREI BOK/REUTERS

Rawya Hassan, a mother of seven, sits with her children outside their hut at the al-Bireen camp for displaced people who fled fighting between the Houthis and forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in Taiz province, Yemen, on September 17, 2026. STRINGER PHOTO VIA REUTERS

Members of Iranian militia forces (Basij) attend a military march in Tehran, Iran, on September 18, 2026. PHOTO BY MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA VIA REUTERS

A China Coast Guard ship (bow seen) cuts the stern and ‘intentionally rams’ the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel BRP Datu Magat Salamat near Abad Santos (Bombay) Shoal, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, in the West Philippine Sea on September 18, 2026. SCREENGRAB FROM STATE MEDIA CHINA MILITARY BUGLE

A Sotheby’s employee adjusts Princess Diana’s ‘Revenge Dress’ by Greek designer Christina Stambolian during a media preview, as it is displayed publicly for the first time in nearly 30 years ahead of its sale during Sotheby’s Luxury Week, in London, Britain, on September 18, 2026. The dress was worn by the Princess to a fundraising dinner at London’s Serpentine Gallery in 1994 on the night Charles, then Prince of Wales, admitted on television to adultery during their marriage. PHOTO BY TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS