Gulf of Mexico — Boats spray water on an oil and gas platform that caught fire after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press

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Kalam, Pakistan — A U.S. rescue helicopter carries flood victims to a relief camp.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: A. MAJEED / AFP/Getty Images

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Kabul, Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Robert Gates, center, and commander of NATO and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus arrive at the Presidential Palace.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Reuters/Pool

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Baikonur, Kazakhstan — A Proton-M rocket, carrying three Russian Glonass-M navigation satellites, blasts off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AFP/Getty Images

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Atlantic Beach, N.C. — Waves crash around the Oceanana Fishing Pier as Hurricane Earl approaches the North Carolina coast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRIS SEWARD / Raleigh News & Observer

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Hurricane Earl is seen off the East Coast of the United States in this satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: NOAA / REUTERS

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Fraijanes, Guatemala — National police officers confiscate two helicopters allegedly used by drug traffickers in an area southeast of Guatemala City.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JOHAN ORDONEZ / AFP/Getty Images

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Copiapo, Chile — Women take photographs in the "Flowery Desert" in Chile's Atacama desert, between Copiapo and Vallenar. Between the months of July and August the area is covered with diverse flowers.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: IAN SALAS / European Pressphoto Agency

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Seoul — Twelve movable metal type blocks are on display at a gallery in the South Korean capital. Nam Kwon-heui, a professor at Kyungpook National University, says he discovered the blocks, which predate the world's oldest book "Jikji" by over a hundred years.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: LEE JAE-WON / Reuters

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New York — James Blake of the U.S. hits a return to Peter Polansky of Canada during at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS

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New York — Caroline Wozniacki returns a shot against Kai-Chen Chang on Day 4 of the 2010 U.S. Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matthias Hauer / GEPA/US PRESSWIRE

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Beaupre, Canada — Canada's Ashley Barson crashes during the women's U23 cross country race event at the Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press / AP

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Panvel, India — Hindu men flagellate a devotee as part of rituals during celebrations for Janmashtami, which marks the birth of the Hindu god Krishna.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP/Getty Images

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — The sun sets over Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Felipe Dana / Associated Press

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Gaza City — A Palestinian woman carries her son as she walks past an anti-Israel mural. Hamas said on Thursday its militants would keep attacking Israelis and denounced peace talks between Israel and the West Bank-based Palestinian government that started in Washington.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MOHAMMED SALEM / Reuters

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Tiraspol, Moldova — Participants dressed as World War II Soviet soldiers, and a girl, take part in a military parade marking the Independence Day of Moldova's self-proclaimed separatist Dnestr region in Tiraspol. Moldova's separatist Dnestr region celebrated 20 years of self-styled independence on Thursday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: GLEB GARANICH / Reuters

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Berlin — A woman looks at high-definition 3D television screens at the Panasonic stand at the 2010 IFA technology and consumer electronics trade fair at Messe Berlin.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Sean Gallup / Getty Images

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Bilbao, Spain — A woman screams as she realizes that a man dressed up like a zombie sits next to her in the northern Spanish city. Actors and dancers, dressed up like zombies, visited Bilbao to promote the musical "Forever, King of Pop", based on Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: RAFA RIVAS / AFP / Getty Images

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Baoshan, China — Women grieve for relatives missing in the landslide in Wama township of Baoshan city in southwest China's Yunnan province. The landslide occurred late Wednesday night, killing six people with 42 still missing.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CAN CAN / EPA

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Mumbai, India — Hindu devotees fall as they form a human pyramid to break the "Dahi handi," an earthen pot filled with curd hung high, an integral part of celebrations to mark Janmashtami. Janmashtami is the festival that marks the birth of the Hindu god Krishna.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rafiq Maqbool / Associated Press

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Sultan Kot, Pakistan — Pakistani workers throw rocks to restore a damaged portion of a railway track washed away by heavy floodwaters in southern Pakistan. The floods, which swamped wide swaths of the country, have left nearly 8 million people in need of aid, according to government figures.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anjum Naveed / Associated Press

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Berlin — People huddle against each other during a so-called snuggling-in in front of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate. The cuddling party was organized to promote the importance of touch and physical contact.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JOHANNES EISELE / AFP / Getty Images

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Katmandu, Nepal — Exiled Tibetan monks prepare to take part in a procession to mark the 50th Tibetan Democracy Day at Samling Monastery. Nepal's exiled Tibetans, along with Tibetans around the world, marked the anniversary of the establishment of democracy in exile.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: NARENDRA SHRESTHA / EPA

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Beijing — Grappler Thomas Le Cuyer Jr., right, of the U.S. has opponent Mykhailo Lasiuchenko of Ukraine locked in a triangle choke during their bout for the men's 70kg (about 154 pounds) category at the Sportaccord Combat Games 2010. The first-ever Sportaccord Combat Games run until Saturday, with over 1,600 athletes representing 60 countries and regions, and competing in 13 martial arts disciplines.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DIEGO AZUBEL / EPA

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Dresden, Germany — A crowned lemur in the city's zoological garden.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matthias Rietschel / Associated Press

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