--- description: From drought-cracked earth in Yemen and massive floods in China to violent protests in California and Olympic preparation in London, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week. title: Pictures of the Week: July 20 – July 27 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c124e9f40fc5d0b/69879f74428a9e1f2ecc91f7/23_18714029-filepart.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pictures of the Week: July 20 - July 27 by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 27, 2012 2:35 PM CUT  July 26, 2012\. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju visit the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang. July 26, 2012\. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju visit the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang.Xinhua/KCNA by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 27, 2012 2:35 PM CUT From drought-cracked earth in Yemen and massive floods in China to violent protests in California and Olympic preparation in London, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week.  July 22, 2012\. Penn State removed a prominent statue of former head football coach Joe Paterno, who was accused of covering up for child molester Jerry Sandusky, his ex-assistant coach. Gene J. Puskar–AP  July 25, 2012\. Swimmers attend a training session at the main pool of the Aquatics Centre before the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games in London. David Gray–Reuters  July 23, 2012\. Artist Pyotr Pavlensky, a supporter of jailed members of the female punk band "Pussy Riot," with his mouth sewn up as he protests outside the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Reuters/Trend Photo Agency  July 22, 2012\. A buried vehicle is seen after floodwaters receded in Beijing. China Foto Press/ZUMAPRESS.com  July 21, 2012\. Aurora Police officers walk near blood-stained footprints coming from the movie theatre where suspect James Holmes went on a shooting rampage. Kevork Djansezian–Getty Images  July 25, 2012\. Veins are seen on the horse Clifton Promise while mounted by New Zealand rider Jonathan Paget during training for the equestrian eventing competition in Greenwich Park at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. David Goldman–AP  July 25, 2012\. A Yemeni man walks through a drought-affected dam on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. Yahya Arhab–EPA  July 23, 2012\. A flock of 500 sheep were burned during a wildfire in Darnius near La Junquera, Spain. Genelluis Gene–AFP/Getty Images  July 25 2012\. A tourist smears herself with mud from the Dead Sea at a coastal resort near Ein Gedi, Israel. Abir Sultan–EPA  July 24, 2012\. Flood water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, in Yichang City, China. Xiao Yijiu–Xinhua  July 25, 2012\. Hikers walk on the Jungfraufirn, the upper ice field of the Aletschgletscher glacier in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. Arnd Wiegmann–Reuters  July 26, 2012\. Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria descends in the desert during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos, in Roswell, New Mexico. Jorge Mitter–EPA  July 21, 2012\. Two children walk on the Tottori sand dunes in Tottori, Japan. Buddhika Weerasinghe–Getty Images  July 22, 2012\. A Palestinian refugee child plays between makeshift tents in the Al-Zaiton neighbourhood before breaking fast on the third day of Ramadan, in Gaza. Ali Ali–EPA  July 25, 2012\. Police officers stand guard after protesters set fire to a trash bin during a demonstration to show outrage for the fatal shooting of Manuel Angel Diaz, 25, in Anaheim, California. Jonathan Gibby–Getty Images  July 21, 2012\. Tourists dance around a camp fire during the Torch Festival in Butuo County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Jiang Hongjing–Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.com  July 20, 2012\. A person wearing Batman gloves watches the premier of "The Dark Knight Rises" inside the Liberty Science Center IMAX theater in Jersey City, N.J. Julio Cortez–AP  July 23, 2012\. Penn State students and employees react as they listen to a television in the HUB on the Penn State University main campus in State College, Pa., as the NCAA sanctions against the Penn State University football program are announced. Gene J. Puskar–AP  July 22 2012\. Muslims pray on the second day of Ramadan in Surabaya, Indonesia. Robertus Pudyanto–Demotix/Corbis  July 23, 2012\. Soldiers jump in muddy water during a military training session at a military base in Jinan, China. Reuters/China Daily  July 20, 2012\. Orlando Duque of Colombia dives from a rock monolith during the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series at Islet Vila Franca do Campo, Azores, Portugal. Dean Treml–AFP/GettyImages  July 24, 2012\. A boy jumps into the Freibad Lister Bad public swimming pool in Hanover, central Germany. Julian Stratenschulte–AFP/Getty Images  July 22, 2012\. French roller skate designer and performer Jean-Yves Blondeau skates down a road on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China. Reuters/China Daily  July 26, 2012\. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju visit the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang. Xinhua/KCNA  July 21, 2012\. Workers install "Sacrilege," a life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge, in London. Jae C. Hong–AP  July 24, 2012\. People ride with their belongings on a wooden bicycle as they flee from renewed fighting between the Congolese army and M23 rebels near the eastern Congolese city of Goma. James Akena–Reuters  July 23, 2012\. Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin, near Aleppo, during fights between rebels and Syrian troops. Bulent Kilic–AFP/Getty Images  July 24, 2012\. Members of the 18th street gang participate in a meeting to hear visiting speakers at the Cojutepeque Jail, east of San Salvador. Jose Cabezas–AFP/Getty Images  July 20, 2012\. A Sudanese soldier suffering from malaria rests on the floor in a small shack in Juba, South Sudan. Paula Bronstein–Getty Images  July 25, 2012\. The MS Deutschland cruise ship surrounded by the financial distric of Canary Wharf in London. Matthew Lloyd–Getty Images  July 23, 2012\. A man prepares cookies to be eaten when breaking fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Kabul. Mohammad Ismail–Reuters  July 23, 2012\. An evidence marker is placed next to bullet shells at the site of a gun battle in Ciudad Juarez. Jose Luis Gonzalez–Reuters  July 23, 2012\. A cow in the early morning light in the Melchsee-Frutt Region in the central Alps in Switzerland. Sigi Tischler–EPA  July 20, 2012\. Afghan refugee Pasmeena Basheer, 6, holds onto her headscarf while standing in the doorway of a home on the outskirts of Islamabad. 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