Pictures of the Week 2 to 8 August: Best Photos of Past Seven Days
A selection of photographs, covering a range of topics from a beluga whale spraying children in Yokohama, Japan to an earthquake in Longtoushan, China.
A team of acrobats form the shape of a racehorse crossing the winning post, ridden by Stefanie Hofer, to celebrate the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, which takes place on 9 August at Ascot RacecourseGettyA beluga whale sprays water onto children at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, JapanAFPA fisherman transports a dead whale shark that was caught in fishermen's net, in Yangzhi county, Fujian province, ChinaReutersA 5.5 metre long crocodile attacks a bull shark in the Adelaide River in Kakadu, Australia. The crocodile forced the bull shark into the mangroves and devoured itAndrew Paice/Getty ImagesJesus Christ and his reindeer: The designers of this float at the Tomohon International Flower Festival in Indonesia seem to have got their Christian imagery confusedGettyMonks dust the 15-metre-high Great Buddha at the Todaiji Temple in Nara, JapanGettyNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles during a visit to the Chonji Lubricant FactoryReutersAn Afghan woman buys silk yarn for weaving from a shop in Herat, once a stop along the Silk Road trade routeAFPA reveller dances during the Gay Pride Parade in StockholmAFPJennifer Abel of Canada dives during the women's 3m springboard final at the Commonwealth GamesReutersMatthew Mitcham of Australia plunges into the pool during the men's 10m platform final at the Commonwealth GamesGettyWales' Nathan Thorley loses his mouthguard as he is punched by Kennedy St Pierre of Mauritius during their men's light heavyweight boxing match at the Commonwealth Games in GlasgowReutersAustralian steeplechase runner Genevieve Lacaze invades the stage during the Commonwealth Games closing ceremonyGettyYoung wrestlers gather during a traditional fair in Xilingol League, in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous RegionReutersLederhosen-clad men compete in the 55th German Finger Wrestling Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern GermanyPhilipp Guelland/GettyAn art installation called Spectra, by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda, lights up the London night sky to commemorate the centenary of Britain's involvement in the First World WarGettyKate Middleton and Prince William pay their respects at the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, Belgium, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War OneReutersKate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry visit the Tower of London's "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" ceramic poppy installation, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War OneGettyComet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is seen in a photo taken by the Rosetta spacecraft . The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft became the first to rendezvous with a comet and will follow it on the journey around the sunESAReid Wiseman, an astronaut on the International Space Station, photographed Typhoon Halong blanketing the Earth as it moves towards JapanNasaAn F-15C fighter jet flies past a developing pyrocumulus cloud above the Oregon Gulch fire, part of the Beaver Complex fire. Pyrocumulus clouds – sometimes called "fire clouds" – are similar to cumulus clouds, but the heat that forces the air to rise comes from fire instead of sun-warmed ground. Under certain circumstances, pyrocumulus clouds can produce full-fledged thunderstorms, making them pyrocumulonimbus cloudsNasa Earth Obersvatory / James Haseltine and the Oregon Air National Guard 173rd Fighter WingThe annual Bristol balloon fiestaGettyA rainbow spans over a valley between the Hohes Goell and Schneibstein mountains near the Carl-von-Stahl-Haus Alpine Club hut in the Berchtesgaden, BavariaReutersDark storm clouds gather over the Suleymaniye Mosque in IstanbulAFPAn overturned bus lies on a road in Jerusalem. A construction vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian and overturned the bus in an attack that ended when policemen shot dead the Palestinian driver of the diggerReutersA Palestinian boy writes on a shrapnel-riddled backboard at the heavily damaged Sobhi Abu Karsh school in Gaza City's al-Shejaia neighbourhoodAFPPalestinian men ride a donkey cart past destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, as a 72-hour humanitarian truce went into effectAFPProtesters light a petrol bomb during clashes with pro-government forces at Independence Square in KievReutersSmoke billows from the flaming debris of a Ukrainian fighter jet that was blasted out of the air while flying low over rebel-held territory near the village of Zhdanivka, 40 kilometres northeast of Donetsk, eastern UkraineAFPXiong Zhengfen, 88, is rescued after being buried underneath earthquake debris for more than 50 hours in the Village of Babao, southern Yunnan province, ChinaGettyMao Changxue changes his son's clothes after the boy's body was dug out from the debris of their home after an earthquake in Longtoushan town, Ludian county, Yunnan province, ChinaReuters
This article was first published
on August 8, 2014
