The Week in Pictures

A Muslim woman prays at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta on the first day of Ramadan. During the holy fasting month, Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until dusk as life slips into a lower gear during the day.  (Adek Berry / AFP/Getty Images)

Sri Lankan air force troops walk through colored smoke as they display their commando skills in the northeastern town of Trincomalee. Sri Lanka plans to maintain 2010 defense spending at the same level as in 2009 despite the defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists in May.  (S. Kodikara / AFP/Getty Images)

Germany’s Malte Mohr makes an attempt in the men’s pole vault final during the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin.  (Matt Dunham / AP)

AS Nancy defender Reynald Lemaitre (top) fights for the ball with Le Mans forward Anthony Le Tallec during their French L1 soccer match Saturday at Leon-Bollee stadium in western France.  (JEAN FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images)

Team USA’s Morgan Pressel and Kristy McPherson are seen on the fourth hole during a foursome match at the Solheim Cup golf tournament on Saturday at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.  (Mike Groll/AP)

Goalkeeper Jenni Branam of Sky Blue FC of New Jersey celebrates a 1-0 victory over the Sol during the Women’s Professional Soccer championship at the Home Depot Center on Saturday.  (Harry How/Getty Images)

Matthew Margetts of Canada competes in the men’s free-ski slopestyle final during the first day of the Winter Games NZ.  (Phil Walter / Getty Images)

Red and yellow cosmos flowers cover a field at Hamarikyu Park in Tokyo. The 200,000 cosmos are in full bloom until mid-September.  (Toru Yamanaka / AFP/Getty Images)

Cars are a blur as they go through the third and fourth turns at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Food City 250 in Bristol, Tenn.  (Mark Humphrey / Associated Press)

Mickey Fine Pharmacy, which Michael Jackson used, is raided by Drug Enforcement Administration agents. “We’re searching for evidence of improper dispensing of controlled substances,” one agent said of the Beverly Hills business. Full story  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

A Palestinian boy plays with a sparkler on the eve of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Gaza City. On Friday, the majority of Muslims around the world will mark the beginning of Ramadan, where the devout fast from dawn until dusk and give alms to the poor.  (Mohammed Abed / AFP/Getty Images)

South Korean conservative activists scuffle with police as they try to block a North Korean delegation in front of a hotel in Seoul. The high-level delegation is in Seoul to pay respects to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who died this week at age 85. Full story  (Lee Jin-man / Associated Press)

Mourners place roses on the casket of musician Les Paul during his funeral at the Prairie Home Cemetery in Wisconsin. Paul, 94, a guitar legend whose innovations paved the way for rock ‘n’ roll music, died Aug. 13 in New York. Full obituary  (Darren Hauck / Getty Images)

Big wave surfer Frank Solomon from South Africa wipes out at an offshore reef known as Dungeons. Big wave surfers have had excellent conditions over the last three weeks with a series of strong southern ocean storms generating large swells that break on the cape’s outer reefs, making for perfect big waves.  (Nic Bothma / EPA)

A woman cleans a floor at a mosque-turned-polling station in Kabul, Afghanistan. Campaign teams for President Hamid Karzai and top challenger former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah each positioned themselves today as the winner of Afghanistan’s presidential election, one day after millions of Afghans braved dozens of militant attacks to cast ballots.  (Dima Gavrysh / Associated Press)

Election workers count votes in a school in Kabul, Afghanistan. Counting continues today in Afghanistan’s watershed democratic elections.  (Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images)

A model showcases designs by Romance Was Born at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in Sydney.  (Lucas Dawson / Getty Images)

Family and friends of Lance Cpl. James Fullarton hold pints of beer and roses as his coffin passes through the streets of Wootton Bassett, England. After Britain’s war dead from Afghanistan are flown home to a base nearby, they go to Oxfordshire for postmortems. Wootton Bassett is the first town on the route. People line the main street as hearses pass through. Full story  (Shaun Curry / AFP/Getty Images)

South Korean conservative activists burn photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during an anti-North Korea rally in front of a hotel where a North Korean delegation is staying. The high-level delegation is in Seoul to pay respects to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who died this week at age 85.  (Lee Jin-man / Associated Press)

Men dressed as devils dance to celebrate the “Day to demand the Bolivian origin of the Diablada dance” in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital. Bolivia and Peru disagree on the origins of Diablada. The dance “represents the battle between the archangel and the seven deadly sins represented by the devil,” according to Peruvian National Culture Institute Director Cecilia Bakula.  (Juan Karita / Associated Press)

Philippine officials inspect high-powered firearms seized aboard the Panamanian-registered Turkish ship Captain Ufuk off the coast of Mariveles, in the Bataan province west of Manila. The seizure of several crates of guns and military accessories comes amid a campaign to rid the country of unregistered firearms blamed for fueling crime, terrorism and insurgencies. The ship’s South African captain and his 13 crewmen, mostly Georgians, are undergoing questioning.  (Ted Aljibe / AFP/Getty Images)

Bassist John Lodge of the Moody Blues performs at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Thursday.  (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry (15) hauls in a touchdown against New England Patriots cornerback Terrence Wheatley during an exhibition in Foxborough, Mass.  (Charles Krupa / Associated Press)

Afghan women line up to vote. At least five explosions, one of them at a polling station, were reported in Kabul, the capital, and for the second day in a row, police and suspected insurgents exchanged gunfire in the center of the city, leaving two militants dead. Full story  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

A security officer tries to maintain order among hundreds of people desperate to move to a less crowded refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. The Dadaab refugee complex in northeastern Kenya consists of three camps. It houses more than 280,000 refugees in a facility meant to hold 90,000.  (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

A job fair in San Francisco draws a crowd. Job losses have slowed and first-time claims for unemployment benefits started to trend downward during the summer. But over the last two weeks they have reversed course.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Afghan police remove the bodies of two gunmen killed in a gunfight in Kabul, the capital. Security is tight as Afghans head to the polls. Police were stationed on nearly every corner in the capital; streets where polling places were located were blocked off with barricades or red-and-white police tape. Full story  (Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images)

Palestinians smoke a water pipe in Jerusalem’s Old City, where festive lights adorn buildings ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  (Bernat Armangue / Associated Press)

Loami, Ill., Police Chief Stan Workman surveys tornado damage. In Illinois, at least 19 people were hurt and dozens of homes and businesses destroyed after severe storms slammed the Midwest.  (Seth Perlman / Associated Press)

Samo Jeranko of Slovenia competes at the Individual AIDA indoor freediving World Championship in Aarhus, Denmark. The federation for breath-hold diving held a five-day competition for men and women.  (Nanna Kreutzmann / Associated Press)

Athletes compete in the men’s 110-meter hurdles semifinal during the sixth day of the World Track and Field Championships at Olympic Stadium in Berlin.  (Mark Dadswell / Getty Images)

Odense forward Njogu Demba, left, chased by Genoa defender Emiliano Moretti, controls the ball during a Europa League playoff match between Genoa CFC and Odense BK at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy.  (Carlo Baroncini / Associated Press)

About 366 alphorn blowers play together at Gornergrat Mountain in an attempt to establish a world record. The event takes place as the Gornergrat railway in Zermatt marks its 111th birthday.  (Jean-Christophe Bott / Associated Press)

The car of McLaren Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen of Finland is reflected in the protective glasses of a member of his pit crew at a street circuit in Valencia, Spain. The Grand Prix of Europe will take place Sunday over the circuit surrounding the city’s port.  (Alberto Saiz / Associated Press)

Jovian Ashby-Thomas, 4, gets his second of six immunization shots before school starts. The Washington, D.C., Department of Health provides free immunizations for uninsured and under-insured residents. Full story on recommended flu shots for this fall  (Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images)

The French aerobatics team Patrouille de France performs in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow.  (Dmitry Kostyukov / AFP/Getty Images)

National Day celebrations in Budapest, Hungary’s capital, conclude with a fireworks show over the Danube.  (Bela Szandelszky / Associated Press)

People gathered near a Russian Tu-144 watch fighter jets perform at an international aerospace show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow. The air show is being held for the ninth time.  (Dmitry Kostyukov / AFP/Getty Images)

Hikers make their way up the Mt. Wilson Toll Road above Pasadena. Rain-triggered landslides buried portions of the popular path, and it was closed to the public in 2005. Now, after six months of construction and roadwork, the historic trail is close to reopening. Full story  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Holding their voter cards, women line up for balloting in Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s threats of violence kept many away from the polls.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

An Afghan election worker arranges voting papers during counting at a polling station.  (Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images)

South Koreans hold candles for the late former President Kim Dae-jung. South Koreans offered flowers and prayers as the government arranged a state funeral for the longtime democracy and human rights campaigner. Full story  (Lee Jin-man / Associated Press)

Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi, left, the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, walks on to an airplane at Glasgow International Airport. Scotland’s Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill had announced that the terminally ill Libyan was being released from prison on “compassionate grounds.” The U.S. and some families of victims objected to the release. The bombing killed 270 people. Full story.  (Scott Heppell / Associated Press)

A man protests as a police convoy escorts Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi to the airport in Glasgow where he was flown home to Libya. Ali Megrahi, the only person convicted in the Lockerbie bombing, was released from a Scottish prison on “compassionate grounds.” He is suffering from prostate cancer.  (Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty Images)

A child cools off on the lawn outside the Olympic Stadium in Berlin at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics.  (Hannibal / EPA)

Spas Bukhalov of Bulgaria competes in the pole vault qualification at the 12th International Assn. of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Championships.  (Christophe Karaba / EPA)

A Palestinian prisoner stands inside a new Hamas police-controlled jail. The Hamas jail was built after Gaza’s main prison was destroyed during the three-week offensive Israel launched against Hamas in December in the Gaza Strip.  (Mohammed Saber / EPA)

At a polling station in Mirbachacot, Afghanistan, a man waits for his ballot after having his finger dipped in ink as proof that he voted. Full story  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Afghan President Hamid Karzai shows his ink-marked finger as he leaves a Kabul polling station after casting his vote. He voted about half an hour after polls opened.  (Shah Marai / AFP/Getty Images)

Donkeys are loaded with ballot boxes and ballots for the climb to remote villages in the mountains of the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, the Afghan capital. Afghanistan’s presidential election is Thursday. Read more  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

A helicopter lands to remove wounded U.S. troops after their armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley in Afghanistan’s Wardak province, west of Kabul. The attack was part of a pattern of escalating violence that threatened to keep some Afghans away from the polls Thursday. The troops are with the Army’s Apache Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y.  (David Goldman / Associated Press)

Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La., right, covers an injured soldier as a helicopter lands to evacuate the wounded after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan’s Wardak Province.  (David Goldman / AP)

A boy says goodbye to his cousin as she leaves Karachi to return to her village in the Swat Valley, which thousands of Pakistanis fled this year to escape fighting between Taliban militants and government troops.  (Fareed Khan / Associated Press)

Emergency workers survey the scene of an accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in Cheryomushki, Russia. Rescuers said they had not given up hope for 62 workers still missing two days after a flood engulfed the facility in Siberia.  (Alexander Nemenov / AFP/Getty Images)

Children cool off in a fountain in London, where temperatures were expected to reach the mid-80s.  (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

People sunbathe in London’s Hyde Park.  (Sang Tan / Associated Press)

A child waits to see a doctor at the refugee camp complex in Dadaab, Kenya. The complex, the world’s largest, has been in operation nearly two decades and is home to 289,500 people, most of them Somalis who fled violence in that country.  (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

The shadows of praying Palestinians are cast on the ground at a mosque in the West Bank city of Ramallah.  (Muhammed Muheisen / Associated Press)

Ninth-graders Maria Barrera, 14, left, and Ashley Porter, 15, laugh on their first day at Birmingham Community Charter High School. The school opened its doors for the first time Wednesday after years of bureaucratic, personnel and financial hurdles. Simply by virtue of its size, Birmingham -- with roughly 2,700 students and the largest high school campus west of the Mississippi -- is hailed as a major prize for the charter movement. Read more
  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Linda Davis gives an emotional prayer of thanks during a news conference Wednesday announcing the arrest of Marcas Fisher, the prime suspect in the death of Davis’ grandson, Dae’von Bailey. Fisher is accused of repeatedly beating the 6-year-old, leading to his death July 23. Authorities used street contacts to track Fisher down in North Las Vegas, where he was found disguised in fake dreadlocks and a blue bandanna and allegedly tried to purchase drugs from someone in a car.

The boy’s mother, Tylette Davis, 28, stands at far right next to Eddie Jones of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Assn. Read more.
  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Touring the California Institution for Men in Chino, where prisoners rioted Aug. 8, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the prison system is “collapsing under its own weight.” Acting warden Aref Fakhoury, left, and Corrections Secretary Matt Cate accompanied the governor Wednesday as he surveyed a residential hall strewn with debris.

The prison housed nearly 6,000 inmates, twice the number for which it was designed. About 1,200 beds were damaged in the riot, forcing the state to transfer inmates to other facilities. Read more
  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt celebrates winning a men’s 200-meter semifinal race at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships on Wednesday in Berlin.  (Thomas Lohnes / AFP/Getty Images)

A boy fishes at Rawal Lake in a suburb of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.  (Anjum Naveed / Associated Press)

Hindu women belonging to the Dogra community swing a child as part of a ritual as they pray for the long life of their sons during the Dhrubari festival in Jammu, India.  (Channi Anand / Associated Press)