Protesters gathered near a courthouse to hear verdicts on 275 defendants accused of plotting to overthrow Turkey’s government. The trial of alleged members of the so-called Ergenekon network is considered the most important in Turkey’s modern judicial history. Riot police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds. The court sentenced retired military chief of staff Ilker Basbug and 16 other officers to life in prison for allegedly taking part in the conspiracy.
A smouldering mountainside is seen under the stars at the Silver Fire in Southern California on August 7. The fire broke out shortly after 2 p.m. near a backcountry road south of Banning, about 90 miles outside Los Angeles in Riverside County. Within hours, it had blackened more than 5,000 acres.
David McNew/Reuters
Anti-government protesters scuffled with Thai riot police during a demonstration against an amnesty bill on August 7. Lawmakers began debating a bill that many Thais fear could pave the way for an ousted prime minister to return.
A man takes pictures of an installation of panda sculptures on August 5. Marking the 50th anniversary of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the conservation group’s German branch placed 1,600 panda statues in front of Berlin’s main train station to draw attention to the plight of the endangered species that serves as the NGO’s mascot. The group estimates only 1,600 pandas remain in the wild.
Ranomi Kromowidjojo (left) of the Netherlands and Australia’s Cate Campbell are seen underwater as they swim in the women’s 50-meter freestyle final during the World Swimming Championships at the Sant Jordi arena in Barcelona on August 4.
Michael Dalder/Reuters
A celebration of Eid al-Fitr—the end of Ramadan—near St. Petersburg’s Sobornaya mosque.
Police used colored water to disperse Kashmiri government employees during a protest. Police detained dozens, who were demanding regularization of contractual jobs and a hike in salary.
A boy walks through floodwaters on the outskirts of this port city on August 4. At least people 12 were killed Saturday, bringing the death toll to 29 from rain-related accidents across the country, local media said.
Masroor/Xinhua Press/Corbis
A U.S. Air Force Wideband Global SATCOM mission lifted off on a ULA Delta IV rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 on August 7. The unmanned rocket blasted off carrying a communications satellite for the U.S. military and its partners, including Australia, which paid for the spacecraft and launch services.
Mike Brown/Reuters
Demonstrators attempted to prevent police officers from escorting a truck carrying oil-drilling equipment to a site run by Cuadrilla Resources outside the southern English village. The well at the site is a conventional one that will not use hydraulic-fracturing techniques, but Cuadrilla has fracked elsewhere, and is one of a handful of companies with access to shale acreage that might be fracked in the future.
President Barack Obama greets Marines after speaking at the California base on August 7. Obama thanked soldiers and their families for their service.
This photo released by NASA shows a self-portrait taken by the exploration rover Curiosity on the Red Planet. Measurements of the Martian air by the rover found it’s mostly made of carbon dioxide with traces of other gases, according to two studies in the July 19 issue of the journal Science.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi closed his eyes in a gesture to supporters during a rally to protest his tax-fraud conviction, outside his palace on August 4. Tensions in Italy’s squabbling coalition government heightened ahead of the rally. A tax-fraud conviction threatens his future in politics and the fragile government.
Visitors crowd an artificial wave pool at a tourist resort to escape the summer heat.
CDIC/Reuters
A poster of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is seen on a makeshift barrier made by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters at the sit-in area of Rab'a al-Adawiya Square, where they are camping. Islamist supporters of Morsi began marching August 8 after the military-led authorities that removed him held off from carrying out a threat to clear protest sit-ins by force. The poster reads “No to the coup.”
Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
A child cools off from hot weather in a fountain at People’s Square on August 7. China’s National Meteorological Center maintained a high-temperature alert as a record summer heat wave continues to bake most parts of south China, Xinhua News Agency reported.
