Photos from around the world: The week of Aug. 5

From displaced Congolese to a Egyptian security forces operation, a look at some of the best photography from around the world.

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Aug. 11, 2012

Dancers in traditional outfits perform during the fourth "Jalisco is Culture" festival at Liberacion Square in Guadalajara, Mexico. The cultural festival featured 700 dancing couples and 180 mariachis, according to local media.

/ REUTERS

Aug. 11, 2012

Visitors watch diving on a big screen in Olympic Park at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Charlie Riedel / AP

Aug. 11, 2012

An injured woman lies ion a stretcher in a street after an earthquake in Varzaqan, Iran. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran on Saturday, state TV said. Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although the vast majority are so small they go unnoticed.

Hamed Nazari / AP

Aug. 10, 2012

Devotees form a human pyramid to break the "Dahi handi," an earthen pot filled with curd, an integral part of celebrations to mark Janmashtami in Mumbai. Janmashtami is the Indian festival that marks the birth of Hindu God Krishna.

PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 10, 2012

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak looks through a helicopter window at the remote islands disputed with Japan, known as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan on the Sea of Japan. Lee made a surprise visit Friday to islets at the center of a long-running territorial dispute with Japan, ignoring warnings from Tokyo that it would worsen the neighbors' already strained relations.

DONG-A ILBO / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 10, 2012

Hot-air balloons take to the skies at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. The early morning flight of nearly 100 balloons over the city in southwest England was the first mass ascent of the four-day event, which started Thursday.

Matt Cardy / GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 10, 2012

People watch Su-27, Su-25 and Mig-29 jet fighters perform during rehearsal for the flight show in Zhukovsky, Russia, two days before the 100th anniversary of the air force.

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 9, 2012

Runners taking part in NVA's mass participation public art piece “Speed of Light” cross a path before a performance on Arthur’s Seat during Scotland’s Edinburgh International Festival. Hundreds of people wear light-emitting suits during a traversing of the hill.

DAVID MOIR / REUTERS

Aug. 9, 2012

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear, second from right, and Vietnam's Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh, second from left, attend a ceremony marking the start of the project to clean up dioxin leftover from the Vietnam War.

Maika Elan / AP

Aug. 9, 2012

Health officials fumigate Accra ahead of tomorrow's burial of late Ghanaian president John Atta Mills. Thousands of Ghanaians in traditional black garb and red tops filed past the body of Mills, lying in state at the parliament in Accra, to pay their respects before the burial, which is slated for Friday.

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 8, 2012

Displaced Congolese children shelter themselves from the rain under plastic sheets as they wait for aid to be distributed in Kibati, Congo. The plight of the 280,000 refugees from Congo's eastern rebellion was highlighted by a visit from the U.N. humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos.

Jerome Delay / AP

Aug. 8, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks about U.S.-South Africa partnership at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Aug. 8, 2012

Egyptian security forces take position on a sand dune during an operation in the northern Sinai peninsula. Egypt, which launched air raids against Islamist militants in Sinai for the first time in decades, faces a tough enemy that has used the peninsula's rugged terrain to evade capture in the past. The military said it deployed Apache helicopter gunships in the strikes that killed 20 "terrorists" in the Sinai village of Tumah, in retaliation for a weekend ambush that cost the lives of 16 soldiers.

/ AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 8, 2012

Schoolchildren dressed as Hindu Lord Krishna take part in a function held before Janamashtmi celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Janamashtmi is the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, which will be celebrated Friday.

Babu / Reuters

Aug. 7, 2012

Members of Coexistence for Animal Rights confine themselves in a cage in Seoul as a protest against eating dog meat. Dog meat is a traditional dish in South Korea, dating to the Samkuk period, 57 B.C. to A.D. 668. Each year on July 15, some South Koreans eat dog meat in the belief it will help them endure the heat of the summer months.

Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images

Aug. 7, 2012

Rescuers evacuate residents from their flooded homes in Marikina, Philippines. Deadly torrential rains submerged much of the Philippine capital and surrounding areas Tuesday, forcing nearly 270,000 people to flee their homes. More flooding was expected in the north of the country due to a tropical storm, officials said.

Erik De Castro / Reuters

Aug. 7, 2012

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during clashes with the Syrian army in Aleppo.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Aug. 7, 2012

A worker stands on a giant statue of Buddha during renovation at Bangchak temple in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters

Aug. 6, 2012

Alex Morgan, center, celebrates with her U.S. teammates after scoring the winning goal in extra time during a women's soccer semifinal match with Canada in Manchester, England, on Day 10 of the Olympics.

Stanley Chou / Getty Images

Aug. 6, 2012

Rungwe, the first elephant born from artificial insemination in France, takes its first steps at the Beauval Zoo in St. Aignan. The African elephant, named after a volcano in Tanzania, was born July 20 after a gestation of about 23 months. This is the first small for her mother, N'Dala, 23.

Jean-Francois Monier / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 6, 2012

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and children play on a section of beach reserved for them in Netanya, north of Tel Aviv. The beach is segregated so that on alternating days it is only men or only women.

Oded Balilty / AP

Aug. 6, 2012

Indian Sikhs holding swords shout slogans during a protest in New Delhi against Sunday's killing of six people at a Sikh temple in the United States. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that he was shocked and saddened by the shooting attack in Wisconsin.

Manish Swarup / AP

Aug. 6, 2012

A Sikh devotee offers prayers at the Golden Temple, a prominent shrine in Amritsar, India, after the shooting that killed six people Sunday at a Sikh temple in the United States.

Sanjeev Syal / AP

Aug. 6, 2012

A Palestinian refugee named Mohammed, 21, receives treatment in a field hospital after he was found with three gunshot wounds in town of Anadan, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria.

/ AP

Aug. 5, 2012

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, in blue and wearing a red beret, greets supporters at an election rally in Valencia, about 93 miles west of Caracas. Opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles has been accused by the National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Chavez supporters, of "contempt for the electoral authority" for ignoring council warnings about wearing a baseball cap with the colors of Venezuela's flag.

/ Venezuelan government via Reuters

Aug. 4, 2012

A house is surrounded by a wildfire in La Palma, Spain. Fires fanned by fierce winds and high temperatures raged across Spain's Canary Islands of La Palma and La Gomera last weekend. Flames were threatening to cut off La Gomera's phone communications and have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from the area.

Juan Arturo / AP

Aug. 5, 2012

Jamaica's Usain Bolt, center, cruises to victory in the men’s 100-meter final, earning his second straight Olympic gold medal in the event. Bolt, 25, set an Olympic record in the men's 100 meters. He is the second sprinter to win the 100 meters in consecutive Olympics.

David J. Phillip / AP

Aug. 5, 2012

Mary Killman and Mariya Koroleva of the United States compete in the women's duets synchronized swimming technical routine at the Olympics in London.

Clive Rose / Getty Images

Aug. 5, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gets help from Triza Lapani in putting on a chitenje cloth, a type of traditional skirt, at Camp Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) run by the Peace Corps, in Lilongwe, Malawi. It was the first visit to Malawi by a U.S. secretary of state.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Aug. 5, 2012

Girls listen as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a visit to Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) run by the Peace Corps, in Lilongwe, Malawi. Clinton, making the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state, praised Malawi's leaders for implementing economic reforms to attract foreign investment.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: Many seminary graduates are choosing not to become pastors. Rebecca J. Cole received her Master of Divinity and is becoming a community organizer on Capitol Hill. She hugs another graduate after the ceremony. The 2013 Commencement ceremony for Wesley Theological Seminary was held on May 13 at the Washington National Cathedral. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Eager to minister, but not from the pulpit

An increasing number of divinity students who don’t plan to become pastors envision using their degrees to “minister” in a...

ARLINGTON, VA- MAY 17: Thousands of bike enthusiasts took to the streets Friday, May 17, 2013 in celebration of Bike to Work day. Bikers leave the Rosslyn Gateway Park pit stop on Friday morning. Commuter Connections and The Washington Area Bicyclist Association hosted cyclists at 70 pit stops across the metropolitan region. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Thousands participate in Bike to Work Day

More than 14,000 people registered for the area's annual celebration of commuting on two wheels.

epa03704474 A Muslim woman at the ThetKalPyin temporary relief camp near Sittwe in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 17 May 2013. A total of 13 people were confirmed dead in neighboring Bangladesh as people began to return home from shelters, a day after Cyclone Mahasen hit the coast, officials said 17 May. EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING

Photos of the day

Cyclone Mahasen, Texas tornadoes, puffin census, melting Swiss glacier and more.

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 16: American Idol Season 12 Winner Candice Glover (C) is seen onstage during Fox's 'American Idol 2013' Finale Results Show at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Candice Glover wins 12th season of ‘American Idol’

The 23-year-old vocal powerhouse from St. Helena Island, S.C., tops competition in her third try.

US actress Claire Julien smiles on May 16, 2013 while posing during a photocall for the film 'The Bling Ring' at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo credit should read ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Claire Julien, David Hasselhoff, Freida Pinto, Candice Glover, Martin Short and more.

**LOC IMAGE** Geo. Hamilton, Assistant Superintendent, Cambria Iron Mills house, Johnstown Flood, May 31st, 1889. (Photo by Ernest Walter Histed / Library of Congress)

The Johnstown Flood of 1889

On May 31, 1889, the South Fork dam that held Lake Conemaugh failed, and 20 million tons of water descended upon Johnstown, Pa. The flood claimed the lives of 2,209 people and spurred...

HACIPASA, TURKEY - MAY 5: Syrian refugee Hala ponders her life on the run on Sunday, May 5, 2013, in Hacipasa, Turkey. Three times this morning, the sounds of aircrafts were followed by explosions that shook the ground. Hacipasa, which sits just across the river border from Syria, is home of several hundred Syrian refugees who have been displaced by their home country's conflict. For a year, Hala and her family have been displaced from their home village in Syria because of violent conflict. After bouncing from village to village, fleeing bombings that seemed to follow them, the family crossed into Turkey six weeks ago. Initially, the family was deported back into Syria, where they lived in camps for internally displaced Syrians. But when the camps were bombed, the family was allowed to cross into Turkey. Hala said, 'The blood of the people who died in Syria, the martyrs, is our sad song, but nobody is listening.' (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Turkey faces a refugee crisis

More than 400,000 Syrians have crossed into Turkey seeking refuge from the conflict at home. Finding its resources stretched, Turkey is urgently appealing for international aid and...

(FILES) In this file picture taken on January 31, 2013 British football player David Beckham poses presenting his new jersey after a press conference at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. David Beckham is to retire from professional football at the end of the season, his representative announced on May 16, 2013. The 38-year-old midfielder has played for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan, as well as winning 115 caps for England, and recently won the French Ligue 1 championship with Paris Saint-Germain. AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFEFRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

David Beckham announces his retirement

The 38-year-old British soccer superstar says he will retire when his French team’s season ends May 26.

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