Photos from around the world: The week of Aug. 12

From Syrian airstrike, to India Independence Day to an earthquake in Iran, some of the best photos from around the world.

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Aug. 16, 2012

A policeman fires at protesting miners outside a South African mine in Rustenburg. South African police opened fire on Thursday against thousands of striking miners armed with machetes and sticks at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine, leaving several bloodied corpses lying on the ground. A Reuters cameraman said he saw at least seven bodies after the shooting, which occurred when police laying out barricades of barbed wire were outflanked by some of an estimated 3,000 miners massed on a rocky outcrop near the mine 60 miles northwest of Johannesburg.

SIPHIWE SIBEKO / REUTERS

Aug. 16, 2012

A supporter of Julian Assange stands outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London awaiting a decision to grant the Australian journalist and founder of WikiLeaks asylum.

ANDREW COWIE / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 16, 2012

Commuters line up at the metropolitano bus station during the public transportation workers' strike in Lima, Peru. Transportation workers are protesting against Lima's Mayor Susana Villaran's new ordinance that aims to impose tighter restrictions to regulate public transportation providers. Private vehicle owners have taken advantage of the strike by providing short-distance routes and charging commuters more than what they would normally pay for public transportation.

ENRIQUE CASTRO-MENDIVIL / REUTERS

Aug. 16, 2012

Thousands of Bangladeshis cram onto ferries at the Sadarghat ferry terminal on the outskirts of Dhaka. They are rushing home to be with their families in remote villages for Eid al-Fitr, the biggest Muslim festival, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 15, 2012

A man searches for the bodies of people who were killed during a recent Syrian Air Force airstrike in Azaz.

GORAN TOMASEVIC / REUTERS

Aug. 15, 2012

Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich, center in suit, is greeted by his wife and relatives at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Kiprotich's win marks the African nation’s first Olympic gold medal since the Munich Games in 1972. Lawmakers are considering a motion that would declare Kiprotich a national hero, and his employer has promised to promote him at work.

Stephen Wandera / AP

Aug. 15, 2012

A police vehicle takes position as miners stage a sit-in close to a South African platinum mine in Rustenburg, 62 miles northwest of Johannesburg. Ten people were killed in clashes at the mine, which is run by leading producer Lonmin, between rival unions: the leading and decades-old National Union of Mineworkers and the smaller Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union. Eight Lonmin employees died, and two of the police officers sent to quell the unrest were hacked to death in two days of violence, which started as an illegal work stoppage called by one of the unions.

/ AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Aug. 15, 2012

A couple pick flowers on a warm and sunny day in a field, Dusseldorf, Germany. Temperatures in the country are likely to reach the low to mid-90s this weekend.

Frank Augstein / AP

Aug. 15, 2012

Indians fly kites from their rooftops while celebrating Independence Day in New Delhi, India.

Kevin Frayer / AP

Aug. 14, 2012

Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev breaks his six-day fast at Ambedkar stadium in New Delhi. Ramdev was arrested and brought to the stadium on Aug. 13 as he attempted to lead a procession of thousands of supporters to Parliament. He ended a protest demanding that the government do more to repatriate illicit money that Indians have stashed in foreign accounts.

Rahul Singh / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 14, 2012

A Pakistani youth gestures next to the national flag during a ceremony in Wagah to celebrate Pakistan's 65th anniversary of independence from British rule.

Arif Ali / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 14, 2012

Vegetarian Silvia Wald puts a cloth ham on the sales counter of her shop, Aufschnitt (German for “cold cuts”), in Berlin. Wald, an engineer in clothing technology, started to design meat products from cotton stretch velvet, Lycra, wool or microfiber in 2009. The sausages have different functions, such as pillows, seat cushions or decoration.

Gero Breloer / AP

Aug. 14, 2012

Visitors walk through concrete blocks of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a Holocaust memorial in Berlin. The memorial to the 6 million Jews killed in Europe under the Nazis was created by U.S. architect Peter Eisenman and consists of an undulating field of 2,711 stone slabs through which visitors can wander.

Gero Breloer / AP

Aug. 14, 2012

Vehicles are stuck in flooded roads after heavy rains in the city of Uji in western Japan. Torrential rains struck wide areas in western Japan on Tuesday.

/ Kyodo News via AP

Aug. 13, 2012

Flood-displaced people line up at a church for food distributed by the Red Cross in Valenzuela, on the outskirts of Manila. Authorities warned that an intensifying storm could bring more misery to the flood-battered capital and surrounding areas, where nearly half a million people were in evacuation centers.

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 12, 2012

A Sarayaku Indian girl shades herself with a large leaf as she watches a celebration in a village in Ecuador. The Sarayaku people were gathering to celebrate a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a 2003 lawsuit against oil exploration on their ancestral Amazon lands.The court ruled that Ecuador violated the Sarayaku's property rights by not consulting them before signing a contract with an oil company.The state must pay the Sarayaku $1.4 million for property damage.

Dolores Ochoa / AP

Aug. 13, 2012

Mothers supporting student protesters are detained by riot police during a demonstration against the government's plans to change the public education system in Santiago, Chile. Students have been protesting what they say is profiteering in the state education system.

Stringer / Reuters

Aug. 13, 2012

North Korean soldiers try to drive their truck out of a riverbed during operations to help victims of flooding near Songchon county. Floods have killed at least 169 people nationwide and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.

David Guttenfelder / AP

Aug. 13, 2012

Police prepare to rappel during a demonstration of K9-unit and police tactics in Guadalupe, Mexico.

/ Reuters

Aug. 12, 2012

In this image released by the U.S. Navy, a guided-missile destroyer is seen after it collided with a Japanese-owned oil tanker outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The collision left a gaping hole in the starboard side of the USS Porter, but no one was injured on either vessel, the Navy said in a statement.

Jonathan Sunderman / AP

Aug. 12, 2012

Outside the home of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, an Israeli in a Batman costume takes part in a protest against a possible war with Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that most threats to Israel’s security were “dwarfed” by the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. The placard, in Hebrew, says “Bibi, Ehud — leave the blasts and the effects to real superheros! Go home!”

Nir Elias / Reuters

Aug. 12, 2012

Residents of San Mateo, a town in Rizal province east of Manila, clean their possessions after floodwaters receded. Emergency relief officials and doctors were deployed to flood-devastated communities in the Philippines to prevent outbreaks of disease as the death toll from the floods rose to 85.

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 12, 2012

In a low-lying part of Manila that is covered in mud after floods, a baby sleeps in a hammock made from a sheet. Another low-pressure system was expected to bring rain and more flooding to the region in the next 24 to 48 hours. According to the Office of Civil Defense, the floods affected as many as 2.7 million people in Manila and surrounding provinces, with more than 440,000 fleeing to evacuation centers.

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Aug. 12, 2012

A volunteer firefighter uses a hose to wash down a neighborhood hit by flooding in Manila. The Philippines’ Red Cross organized the cleanup effort, but new rains are forecast and could cause waters to rise again.

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Aug. 12, 2012

Villagers watch a wildfire burning between the villages of Chirokitia and Kato Dris in the island nation of Cyprus. Cypriot authorities ordered the evacuation of a small, hillside village near the island’s southern coast as a large brushfire continud to rage out of control nearby.

Petros Karadjias / AP

Aug. 12, 2012

The Red Arrows, the aerobatic team of Britain’s Royal Air Force, perform during a celebration outside Moscow, marking the Russian air force's 100th anniversary.

Mikhail Metzel / AP

Navy personnel survey the damage done to the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter after it collided with the Japanese-owned bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan in the Strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported after the collision, and shipping traffic in the waterway, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports pass, was not affected, officials said.

Navy photo / Reuters

Aug. 12, 2012

A woman grieves for loved ones who died in an earthquake that hit the previous day in the village of Bajebaj near the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran. Twin earthquakes in Iran killed at least 250 people and injured more than 2,000, Iranian state television said Sunday. Thousands spent the night outdoors after their villages were leveled and homes damaged in the country's northwest. Iran is located on seismic fault lines and experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although the vast majority are to small to be noticed.

Arash Khamoushi / AP

Aug. 12, 2012

A woman makes her way through the ruins of buildings in a village near the city of Varzaqan in northwestern Iran, a day after two earthquakes in Iran killed at least 250 people and injured over 2,000, according to Iranian state television.

Mahsa Jamali / AP

Aug. 12, 2012

Matador Juan Jose Padilla, center, concentrates in preparation for a corrida at the Malagueta Bullring in Malaga, Spain.

Jorge Guerrero / AFP/Getty Images

Featured Photo Galleries

Homeowner David Firth tries to beat back a brush fire heading towards his home at Bettas Road and Low Drive as wildfire burns Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in Cle Elum, Wash. The fire jumped the line they were trying to make but still stands after being sprayed with water trucks and further efforts to beat it back with the help of several neighbors volunteering. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Bettina Hansen) SEATTLE OUT, USA TODAY OUT, MAGAZINES OUT, TELEVISION OUT, NO SALES . MANDATORY CREDIT TO: BETTINA HANSEN/THE SEATTLE TIMES.

Residents evacuate as wildfires rage through the West

This year’s wildfires are more numerous and have gotten bigger than last year’s, an official says.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 16: Protesters gather outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is staying on August 16, 2012 in London, England. Mr Assange has been living inside Ecuador's London embassy since June 19, 2012 after requesting political asylum whilst facing extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Julian Assange granted political asylum by Ecuador

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted asylum on Thursday by Ecuador, raising the possibility of a diplomatic showdown between British...

Chase Culp of Houston checks his clown makeup before the performance of Circus Smirkus on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 in Montpelier, Vt. Circus Smirkus, based in Greensboro, Vt., is an award-winning international youth circus founded to promote the skills, culture and traditions of the traveling circus.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

India Independence Day, Syrian air strikes, Western wildfires, plastination and more in the day in photos

News and feature images from around the world.

Cast member Charisma Carpenter poses at the premiere of 'The Expendables 2' at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California August 15, 2012. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 17. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Eye on entertainment

Charisma Carpenter, Chuck Norris, Lionel Richie, Joe Jonas, Nelly, Alice Cooper and other celebrities.

US President Barack Obama drinks a Guinness beer at The Dubliner pub on March 17, 2012 in Washington. Obama went to the bar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Hoppy days are here again

President Obama is making clear his love for beer on the campaign trail as he attempts to ferment a coalition of the swilling.

Scanned from Post archive. Washington Senators baseball players Goose Goslin, Manush, Kukel. 9/21/1933. No other info. TWP Photo.

The last time Washington was this good . . .

The Nationals have had the best record in baseball in August, starting to erase memories hardened by decades of mediocrity. Here are clues to...

Montreal Washington, of Kansas City, pets the dog she adopted, Friday, Aug. 10, during 'Tackle Pet Homelessness' at the Kansas City animal shelter in Kansas City, Mo.. Washington plans on naming the pit bull, Alexandra. The shelter is at capacity and is offering a $25 adoption special for all dogs 25 pounds or more. For the month of August, all cats are 'name your own price' and kitten adoptions are $50. (AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Allison Long)

Homeless and adopted dogs, sand kittens, snow leopards and more in animal views.

Amazing creatures from around the world.

LEWISBURG, WV - AUGUST 11: ( EDITORS NOTE: Image was created using the iPhone 4s with Snapseed's vintage filter) Two young boys sip a drink at the West Virginia State fair on August 11, 2012 in Lewisburg, West Virginia. People from across the region travel to the fair, which is celebrating its 88th year, and hosts various events including equestrian and livestock demonstrations along with a full compliment of carnival rides. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

iPhone snapshots at the West Virginia State Fair

An iPhone captures the fun at the West Virginia State Fair, in its 88th year. All images were created using the Snapseed photo-editing app&rsquo...

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