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Photos of the Week: Death Dive, Cool Breeze, Castle Pull

A sheep-crossing-water contest in Turkey, a pilgrimage festival in Portugal, a devastating flood in Nepal, robot racing in China, a tomato-fight fiesta in Spain, and much more

By · August 28, 2026 · 4 min read
This article was originally published by The Atlantic and is republished here under license.
Two young children run inside an exhibit space with walls illuminated by bright striped projections.
Juni Kriswanto / AFP / Getty
Children run at the recently opened Space and Time Cube Surabaya immersive-digital-art space, in Surabaya, Indonesia, on August 23, 2026.
A person stands inside a deep hole above a spring, checking one of dozens of thin water pipes lining the walls of the hole.
Agoes Rudianto / Anadolu / Getty
A villager checks a water-pump pipe connected to the Sendang Sari water source in the foothills of the Kendeng Karst Mountains in Sugihmanik Village, Grobogan, Java, Indonesia, on August 24, 2026. According to local people, access to clean water for more than 500 households in the village has been disrupted by declining water levels in two local springs over the past five years during the dry season.
A large sculpture of praying hands, situated just offshore of a riverbank, during a high-water event.
Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP
The Namo Ghat riverfront on the Ganges River shows higher water levels following monsoon rains in Varanasi, India, on August 23, 2026.
An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge alongside a river, after a powerful flash flood.
Prabin Ranabhat / AFP / Getty
An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devighat, Bidur Municipality in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. Hundreds remained missing following a powerful flood unleashed by a partially collapsed glacier.
Lightning strikes in the clouds over a coastal city at night.
Valery Hache / AFP / Getty
Lightning strikes in the clouds over the Bay of Angels in the French Riviera city of Nice, France, on August 24, 2026.
A stork lands in a field, amid a misty, golden sky.
Michael Probst / AP
A stork lands in a field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, on August 27, 2026.
Dozens of groups of people burn paper offerings on a riverbank.
Fu Yujianglin / VCG / Getty
People burn paper offerings in designated areas to pay tribute to their departed loved ones ahead of the Zhongyuan Festival (“Ghost Festival”) on August 25, 2026, in Kaili, Guizhou province, China.
Villagers participate in a tug-of-war, standing in a rushing river.
Harley Palangchao / AP
Villagers participate in a tug-of-war as they celebrate the end of the agricultural cycle called “Punnuk,” along the Hapao River in Hungduan, Ifugao province, Philippines, on August 22, 2026.
Civilians tug on large ropes, pulling a castle that has been raised up for repairs.
Philip Fong / AFP / Getty
Participants pull Hirosaki Castle using ropes to its original position following repair works in Hirosaki, Aomori prefecture, Japan, on August 26, 2026.
Race cars drive on a track that has been set up on a street in front of the The United States Capitol building.
Chris Graythen / Getty
Christian Rasmussen drives during practice for the NTT IndyCar Series Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., on August 22, 2026.
People run down a road, in front of a giant rolling ball, as onlookers watch from barriers on either side.
Rafael Bastante / Europa Press / Getty
Participants run in the “Boloencierro,” a unique tradition dating back to 2010, when traditional bull runs were suspended due to a lack of funding. Runners now flee from a rolling 440-pound ball instead of bulls, in Mataelpino, Madrid, Spain, on August 22, 2026.
Several humanoid robots crash hard into a pad at the end of a race on a track.
Kevin Frayer / Getty
Humanoid robots hit the crash pad after the finish of a heat in the large-robot category of the 100-meter event at the second World Humanoid Robot Games at National Speed Skating Oval on August 25, 2026, in Beijing, China.
Three ancient skeletons inside burial, tombs, exposed during an excavation
Martin Mejia / AP
Skeletal remains inside the Espiritu Santo Hospital from 1575, according to archeologists from ProLima, are exposed during excavation at the Sanctuary of Santa Rosa de Lima, in Lima, Peru, on August 25, 2026.
A band wearing illuminated costumes performs onstage.
Matthew Baker / Getty
Marcus Grimmie, a.k.a. Armstrong, of the Living Tombstone (left) performs at O2 Forum Kentish Town on August 25, 2026, in London, England.
A soldier, wearing camouflage makeup and uniform, sings during a parade.
Eraldo Peres / AP
A soldier sings Brazil’s national anthem during a parade marking Soldier’s Day at army headquarters in Brasilia, Brazil, on August 25, 2026.
A man splashes into a thick pile of smashed tomatoes.
Alberto Saiz / AP
A man throws himself into a pool of tomatoes during the annual “Tomatina” tomato-fight fiesta, in the village of Buñol near Valencia, Spain, on August 26, 2026.
An aerial view of a surfer on a wave
Donald Miralle / Getty
An aerial view of the 2026 Super Girl Surf Festival, WSL Shortboard Surfing Competition, on August 22, 2026, in Oceanside, California.
An over-under image of a sea turtle swimming through water along the coastline of a medieval town in Greece.
Will Vassilopoulos / AFP / Getty
A loggerhead sea turtle glides through the waters off Monemvasia, Greece, with the medieval castle town rising above the sea, on August 25, 2026.
A person splashes into a shallow river as a sheep that has been dyed red leaps in after them.
Mahmut Serdar Alakuş / Anadolu / Getty
Shepherds guide their sheep to cross the Büyük Menderes River during the 853-year-old traditional “Sheep-Crossing-Water Contest” in the Çal district of Denizli, Turkey, on August 23, 2026.
A motorcycle stunt rider makes a high jump, as an onlooker watches in the foreground.
Finnbarr Webster / Getty
Crowds enjoy the Broke FMX freestyle-motocross show on August 27, 2026, at the Melplash Agricultural Society Show in West Bay, Dorset, England.
A crowd gathered around a harbor watching as a person tumbles through the air during a high dive.
Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB / AFP / Getty
Spectators watch an athlete competing in the DØDS Diving (“Death Diving”) World Championship held in Arendal, Norway, on August 22, 2026. Athletes dive from a 13-meter-high tower, competing to showcase the boldest style in the air and on entry into the water.
A rocket passes above lower Manhattan at dawn, leaving streaks across the sky.
Gary Hershorn / Getty
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket passes by lower Manhattan at dawn in New York City after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 25, 2026, as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey.
Cattle graze in meadows along a broad stream.
Cüneyt Çelik / Anadolu / Getty
An aerial view of cattle grazing and crossing Telek Stream as it meanders through the plain in the Arpaçay district of Kars, Turkey, on August 25, 2026
Two people stand, arms outstretched, on a riverbank in a mountain valley, with tall snow-covered peaks in the distance.
Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times / Getty
Tourists enjoy a cool breeze on the banks of the Suru River in the scenic Suru Valley, with the snow-covered Nun Kun peak in the background, on August 26, 2026, in Kargil, India.
A person takes a photograph of a large mural of Dolly Parton.
Justin Sullivan / Getty
A visitor stops to take a picture of a mural of Dolly Parton on August 26, 2026, in Costa Mesa, California. Parton died on Tuesday at age 80.
A woman walks past a giant dinosaur mural, depicting a triceratops bursting through a wall.
Buddhika Weerasinghe / Getty
A woman walks past a giant dinosaur mural on a wall in Fukui, Japan, on August 23, 2026.
Two giant pandas sit side-by-side in a zoo enclosure, eating vegetables.
John Macdougall / AFP / Getty
Panda twins Lotti (left) and Leni feed on vegetables from their birthday cake at Berlin, Germany’s Zoological Garden on August 21, 2026, as they celebrated their second birthday.
A man holds a child wrapped in a towel after a holy dip in the ocean.
Diogo Baptista / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty
A man holds a child wrapped in a towel after they completed a holy bath during the Romaria pilgrimage festival in São Bartolomeu do Mar, Portugal, on August 24, 2026.
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