Today in photos

Seal pup 'Kalli' peers out of a basket in Norddeich, Germany. An egg smashes into a cardboard cutout face of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. And a woman offers prayers as she releases a paper lantern in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan. View a slideshow of these images and more.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Aug. 6, 2009

Seal pup 'Kalli' peers out of a basket in Norddeich, Germany, on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. A total of 71 abandoned young common seals (Phoca vitulina) are reared at the seal station. Five seal pups will be reintroduced to their natural habitat later Thursday.

Joerg Sarbach Associated Press
People enjoy their time in the sea during sunset in the Dekelia area just east from the coastal city of Larnaca, Cyprus, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009.

Petros Karadjias Associated Press
An egg smashes into a cardboard cutout face of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as members of the public are invited to participate in a little old fashioned humiliation, and pelt a man standing in for the prime minister, outside the London Dungeon tourist attraction in London on Thursday Aug. 6, 2009. The public voted that the British prime minister was the most deserving person to be put in the stocks, and passers by were invited to participate in the joke, to shell out some jovial punishment.

Sang Tan Associated Press
People participate in a peace rally in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Aug.6, 2009 to mark the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. The U.S. bombs fell on Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, both in 1945.

Rajanish Kakade Associated Press
A woman offers prayers as she releases a paper lantern in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. Hiroshima's mayor urged global leaders on Thursday to back President Barack Obama's call to abolish nuclear weapons as Japan marked the 64th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack.

Shizuo Kambayashi Associated Press
A Chinese woman in bridal costume pose for photos near a temporary rubbish dump in Beijing, China, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009.

Ng Guan Associated Press
A hand rickshaw puller sits wrapped in a plastic sheet to shield himself from the rain, as he waits for passengers in Calcutta, India, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009.

Bikas Das Associated Press
A Palestinian Hamas security officer sits in front of graffiti of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in Gaza City, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. The Fatah convention on Thursday unanimously concluded that Israel was behind the death of Yasser Arafat, and decided to set up a Palestinian inquiry commission to probe the matter.

Khalil Hamra Associated Press
Members of the Great War Society dressed in replica World War One uniforms look at an order of service before the memorial service for Britain's last World War One infantry veteran Harry Patch, at Wells Cathedral in Wells, England, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. As a mark of reconciliation, soldiers from Britain, Belgium, France, and Germany, walked behind the hearse carrying Patch's coffin, as it was driven through Wells. Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the funeral procession of Patch, who died aged 111, and who was a veteran of the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917.

Matt Dunham Associated Press
The coffin of Britain's last World War I infantry veteran Harry Patch, is carried away after his memorial service at Wells Cathedral in Wells, England, Thursday, August 6, 2009. As a mark of reconciliation, soldiers from Britain, Belgium, France, and Germany, rear, attended the service and walked behind the hearse carrying the coffin as it was driven through Wells, where thousands of people lined the streets to watch the funeral procession of Patch, who died aged 111, and who was a veteran of the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917.

Matt Dunham Associated Press
Members of the Great War Society dressed in replica World War One British and French, left, uniforms look at an order of service before the memorial service for Britain's last World War One infantry veteran Harry Patch, at Wells Cathedral in Wells, England, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. As a mark of reconciliation, soldiers from Britain, Belgium, France, and Germany, walked behind the hearse carrying Patch's coffin, as it was driven through Wells. Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the funeral procession of Patch, who died aged 111, and who was a veteran of the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917.

Matt Dunham Associated Press
Afghan youth Asad Ullah, 10, talks with Private First Class U.S. soldier, Ryan Hayes, from the 2-1 Infantry, 5th. Striker Brigades, as he guards a position in a village in the outskirts of Spin Boldak, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. Thousands of U.S. troops are deploying in southern Afghanistan as part of an effort to prevent the Taliban from disrupting the country's Aug. 20 presidential ballot.

Emilio Morenatti Associated Press