The best photos of the week: from surfing dogs to human towers

Striking pictures from around the world

(From front to back) Carson, Rosie and Charlie Surfs Up compete during the World Dog Surfing Championships in Pacifica, California, on August 5, 2023. The event helps local charities raise money by sponsoring a contestant or a team, with a portion of the proceeds going to dog, environmental, and surfing nonprofit organizations. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP)

A sailing boat anchored at Phaeton Bay in Tahiti, French Polynesia. AFP

A sailing boat anchored at Phaeton Bay in Tahiti, French Polynesia. AFP

Yemeni beekeeper Muhammad Mutahar checks hives at his bee farm on the roof of his house in Sanaa. EPA

People wear Donald Trump T-shirts as Mike Pence gives an interview at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Reuters

Forest officials place flowers on a wild elephant that succumbed to injuries after being hit by a speeding train in India. AP

Abida Siraj, 75, who was born in India, moved to Pakistan after marriage and then to Dubai, embraces her son Khalid, who was born in the emirate. Antonie Robertson / The National

An exiled Tibetan Buddhist monk walks on a mountain path in Dharamshala, India. AP

A tugboat pulls a timber raft down the Angara River near the settlement of Strelka, Russia. Reuters

Pope Francis greets people during the weekly general audience in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Reuters

A vendor sells Indian flags along a roadside in New Delhi ahead of the country's 77th Independence Day. AFP

A displaced Meitei woman takes shelter at a relief camp in Manipur, India. Reuters

Engineers test wave barriers set up on the coast in Masan, South Korea, with Typhoon Khanun's arrival imminent. EPA

Missiles are hurled at police as taxi drivers protest over traffic regulations in Cape Town, South Africa. Reuters

People swim in the ancient Sunken City in the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. AFP

A cat found its way into a dryer at a club near Kuala Lumpur. This week, International Cat Day was celebrated. AFP

Col-Maj Amadou Abdramane, second right, is greeted by supporters at the Stade General Seyni Kountche in Niamey, Niger. AFP

Artisans work on an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha for a festival in Mumbai. AFP

Lights on the Sydney Opera House show support for Australia's women's football team ahead of their World Cup match against Denmark. AFP

A bridge damaged after rain and flooding brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, China's Hebei province. Reuters

People spread red peppers on a roof to dry them to make paste and flakes in Al Mastumah, Syria. AFP

Dancers perform at the Garma Festival in East Arnhem, Australia. Getty Images

People steer their paddle boards along the Griboedov Canal as part of the annual Fontanka Festival in St Petersburg. AP

Players vie for points during an invitational game of the grassroots basketball competition CunBA in Taipan village, Taijiang county, in southwestern China's Guizhou province. AFP

Pigeon and statue in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima at daybreak in Fatima, before the visit of Pope Francis. AFP

Kansas City Royals left fielder Dairon Blanco goes to ground to steal second base past Philadelphia Phillies' Bryson Stott during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Reuters

An art installation called Shattered Souls ... In a Sea of Silence by Dennis Josef Meseg outside Cologne Cathedral in Germany. AFP

Brazil's indigenous chief Raoni Metuktire joins the Dialogos da Amazonia (Amazon Dialogues) event before a summit of Amazon rainforest nations at the Igarape Park in Belem. Reuters

A festival in Millas, southern France. AFP

Window cleaners at work on an office building in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA

More from The National:

Friday's best photos: From sailing in Tahiti to Pokemon World Championships

Thursday's best photos: From Hawaii fires to turbines in Japan

Wednesday's best photos: From Biden at the Grand Canyon to a novice monk in Nepal

Tuesday's best photos: From a sunken city in Greece to Morocco football fans in Australia

Monday's best photos: from Morocco's Moussem festival to Pakistan train crash

Sunday's best photos: from surfing dogs to Hiroshima's bombing anniversary

Saturday's best photos: from an indigenous chief in Brazil to the inside of a glacier