--- description: From protests in Yemen and a religious festival in Nicaragua to continued fighting in Syria and the summer Olympic games in London, TIME's photo department presents the best pictures of the week. title: Pictures of the Week: July 27 – August 3 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8297d7f8e36a3a80/69879f89e53aba99594d992b/2012-07-29t153157z_49624022.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 27 - August 3 by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 3, 2012 2:31 PM CUT  July 29, 2012\. A woman gestures during the Holi festival in Berlin. July 29, 2012\. A woman gestures during the Holi festival in Berlin.Thomas Peter—Reuters by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 3, 2012 2:31 PM CUT From protests in Yemen and a religious festival in Nicaragua to continued fighting in Syria and the summer Olympic games in London, TIME’s photo department presents the best pictures of the week.  July 27, 2012\. Chantel Blunk waits as the flag-draped casket bearing the remains of her husband, Jonathan Blunk, is loaded onto a plane bound for a full military funeral in Denver, Colorado. Jonathan Blunk, Blunk, a five-year U.S. Navy veteran, was killed in the Century 16 shooting massacre in Aurora, Colorado. RJ Sangosti–Getty Images  Aug. 1, 2012\. Filipinos frolic along the breakwater area as waves hit Manila Bay in Manila. Francis R. Malasig–EPA  July 29, 2012\. A woman gestures during the Holi festival in Berlin. Thomas Peter—Reuters  July 31, 2012\. A much needed storm system rolls over starved corn fields in Elburn, Ill. Robert Ray—AP  July 27, 2012\. Andy Avellana, a person with disability (PWD), trains for the high jump competition inside the Philsports Athletic Oval in Pasig City, Philippines. Avellana will compete in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. Rouelle Umali—Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.com  August 3, 2012\. A dressed up woman performs during the King and Queen Competition and Show during the 45th Toronto Caribbean Carnival in Toronto. Zou Zheng—Xinhua/ZUMAPRESS.com  August 1, 2012\. Britain's Emma Pooley waits to start in the women's cycling individual time trial at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Mark Blinch—Reuters  July 28, 2012\. Hot air balloons are pictured during the 30th annual New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Readington, N.J. Eric Thayer—Reuters  July 29, 2012\. Michael Phelps exits the pool after competing in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Jed Jacobsohn—The New York Times/Redux  July 27, 2012\. A young Yemeni soldier stands guard as protestors demanding that the relatives of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh be fired from army and police posts in Sanaa, Yemen. Ahmad Jamshid–AP  July, 31, 2012\. An Afghan family visits an old palace on the outskirts of Kabul. Ahmad Jamshid–AP  Aug. 1, 2012\. A Sri Lankan dancer prepares to perform on the opening night of the annual Kandy Esala Perahera Festival in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Ishara S. Kodikara–AFP/Getty Images  August 3, 2012\. A runner passes by the Olympics flame on the first day of athletic competition in the Olympic Stadium in London. Daniel Ochoa De Olza—AP  July 31, 2012\. Gabrielle Douglas performs on the balance beam during the women's gymnastics team final at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Dylan Martinez—Reuters  Aug.1, 2012\. A torch bearer marches in front of the historic Buddhist Temple of the Tooth, during a procession at the Esala Perahera festival in the ancient hill capital of Kandy, Sri Lanka. Ishara S. Kodikara–AFP/Getty Images  July 31, 2012\. Kashmiri Muslims carry the shroud covered body of Auqib Ahmad Bhat, 22, during his funeral Balpora, India. Yawar Nazir–Getty Images  July 28, 2012\. LeBron James crosses his arms as he talks to reporters during a men's team basketball practice at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Jae C. Hong—AP  July 29, 2012\. A body wrapped in a bloody shroud lies on the sidewalk as shelling continues on the second day of a Syrian government military offensive against rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Aleppo, Syria. Scott Peterson–Getty Images  July 27, 2012\. Hundreds of Indonesian students read the Koran on the seventh day of Ramadan at Ar-Raudhatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, Indonesia. Dedi Sahputra–EPA  July 30, 2012\. South Korea's Shin A Lam (R) fences against Germany's Britta Heidemann at the London 2012 Olympic games. Alberto Pizzoli–AFP/Getty Images  Aug. 2, 2012\. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is seen through the light of a TV camera as he speaks at a press conference with Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti, unseen, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid. Andres Kudacki—AP  Aug. 2, 2012\. Rain falls as David Marcus, of Canada, rides Capital, as they compete in equestrian dressage at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. David Goldman—AP  Aug. 2, 2012\. Samantha Arevalo Salinas of Ecuador starts in a women's 800-m freestyle swimming heat at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. David J. Phillip—AP  Aug. 1, 2012\. A woman launches a firework during Santo Domingo de Guzman celebrations in Managua, Nicaragua. Esteban Felix—AP  July 28, 2012\. Two thousand and twelve torch waders gather at Weymouth beach, the sailing venue of the London 2012 Olympic Games, during the "Battle for the Winds" in Weymouth, southern England. Benoit Tessier—Reuters  July 30, 2012\. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a celebration marking the completion of the learning cycle of the Babylonian Talmud in Jerusalem. Oded Balilty—AP  Aug. 2, 2012\. An Indian rag picker searches for reusable items by floating on a makeshift raft in the polluted Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, India. Sam Panthakysam–AFP/Getty Images  July 27, 2012\. An Indian Muslim women sits inside the the Jama mosque on the first friday of Ramadan in New Delhi, India. Tsering Topgyal—AP  Aug. 2, 2012\. Children climb trees as they play on the outskirts of Srinagar, India. Danish Ismail—Reuters  Aug.1, 2012\. U.S. gymnast Danell Leyva performs on the floor during the men's individual all-around competition of the artistic gymnastics event of the London Olympic Games. Thomas Coex–AFP/Getty Images  Aug. 2, 2012\. A couple takes a bath in a huge puddle at the summer music festival "Przystanek Woodstock" (Polish for Woodstock Station) near the Polish-German border in Kostrzyn, Poland. Gero Breloer—AP  Aug. 2, 2012\. A dying whale shark washes up on the shores near the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Suryo Wibowosuryo–AFP/Getty Images  July 29 , 2012\. A fighter of the M23 rebel movements stands in front of the "Mabenga stations," an outpost of the Congolese park authority, in the Virunga National Park. Marc Hofer—Sipa Press  July 31, 2012\. An ultra-Orthodox Jew uses binoculars during a celebration marking the end of a seven-year cycle of studying texts from the Talmud in Jerusalem. Baz Ratner—Reuters  July 30, 2012\. Damaged buildings in the Al Karabise area, in Homs province, Syria. Syrian Arab News Agency/Sana/EPA  Aug. 2, 2012\. Indian villagers bury a dead elephant that was killed by a train in Kurkruia village, northeast India. EPA  Aug. 1, 2012\. A promiser dressed as a devil with his body coated in a mix of grease and motor oil, stands on a cemetery wall to get a better view of a procession during Santo Domingo festivities in Managua, Nicaragua. Esteban Felix—AP  July 29, 2012\. A mirror reflects a roadside barber attending to a customer in New Delhi. Rajesh Kumar Singh—AP  July 31, 2012\. Water runs down the cap strap of Aaron Younger of Australia during a preliminary men's water polo match against Kazakhstan at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Julio Cortez—AP  July 30, 2012\. A ceremonial guard holds his sword for the arrival of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at a diner with the Tunisian Minister for Defense in Tunis. Mark Wilson–AFP/Getty Images  Aug. 1, 2012\. U.S. fencer Seth Kelsey looks on during his match against Estonia's Nikolai Novosjolov in the men's individual epee fencing competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Dmitry Lovetsky—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/50602/pictures-of-the-week-july-27-august-3/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/50602/pictures-of-the-week-july-27-august-3/"},"headline":"Pictures of the Week: July 27 - August 3","datePublished":"2012-08-03T14:31:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:59.296Z","description":"From protests in Yemen and a religious festival in Nicaragua to continued fighting in Syria and the summer Olympic games in London, TIME's photo department presents the best pictures of the week.","url":"https://time.com/50602/pictures-of-the-week-july-27-august-3/","keywords":["LightBox","Tunisia","Afghanistan","olympics","India","Philippines","Germany","photography","Spain","Pictures of the Week","Nicaragua","Aurora","Ramadan","Photojournalism","closeup","DRC"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8297d7f8e36a3a80/69879f89e53aba99594d992b/2012-07-29t153157z_49624022.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo Department","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo-department/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8297d7f8e36a3a80/69879f89e53aba99594d992b/2012-07-29t153157z_49624022.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Germany","caption":"July 29, 2012. 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