MINAMISOMA, JAPAN - JULY 25:   Samurai horsemen compete in the Kacchu-keiba (armed horse race)  during the Soma Nomaoi festival at Hibarigahara field on July 25, 2015 in Minamisoma, Japan. Every summer the people of Fukushima prefecture have gathered to honor the ancient traditions of the Samurai at the Soma Nomaoi festival. The festival started as a military exercise more than 1000 years ago by Taira no Kojiro Masakado the founder of the Soma Clan. The three-day Shinto festival sees more than 500 horsemen recreate ancient battle scenes from the Edo Period (1603-1869).  Soma city, Minamisoma and the surrounding towns of Fukushima prefecture, famous for their samurai and horse breeding traditions were heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami and the following nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. Minamisoma sits just 25 kilometers north of the nuclear power plant and residents were forced to evacuate as much of the city fell in the radiation exclusion zone. In April 2012, residents of Minamisoma were able to return to their homes after the exclusion zone was moved to 10 kilometers. The tradition of the Soma Nomaoi is extremely important to the local community, and despite the ongoing clean up operations and many of the participants losing their homes, horses and belongings, including their armor, weapons and ceremonial clothing, the festival has never been cancelled, although some events were postponed in 2011 the festival was held at full scale again in 2012 and since then has gained in momentum with local residents keen to pass on the traditions to younger generations.  (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
MINAMISOMA, JAPAN - JULY 25: Samurai horsemen compete in the Kacchu-keiba (armed horse race) during the Soma Nomaoi festival at Hibarigahara field on July 25, 2015 in Minamisoma, Japan. Every summer the people of Fukushima prefecture have gathered to honor the ancient traditions of the Samurai at the Soma Nomaoi festival. The festival started as a military exercise more than 1000 years ago by Taira no Kojiro Masakado the founder of the Soma Clan. The three-day Shinto festival sees more than 500 horsemen recreate ancient battle scenes from the Edo Period (1603-1869). Soma city, Minamisoma and the surrounding towns of Fukushima prefecture, famous for their samurai and horse breeding traditions were heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami and the following nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. Minamisoma sits just 25 kilometers north of the nuclear power plant and residents were forced to evacuate as much of the city fell in the radiation exclusion zone. In April 2012, residents of Minamisoma were able to return to their homes after the exclusion zone was moved to 10 kilometers. The tradition of the Soma Nomaoi is extremely important to the local community, and despite the ongoing clean up operations and many of the participants losing their homes, horses and belongings, including their armor, weapons and ceremonial clothing, the festival has never been cancelled, although some events were postponed in 2011 the festival was held at full scale again in 2012 and since then has gained in momentum with local residents keen to pass on the traditions to younger generations. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

The World in Photos This Week

French police fight with migrants; Palestinians wait in the dark; and Japan honors its Samurai horsemen.

Start Slideshow View as a List
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 27:  Passengers ride on the first day of pre-operations on the partially re-opened Santa Teresa tram line, or 'bonde', on July 27, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The historic tram has been closed since a derailing accident in 2011 which left six dead and fifty injured. The first stretch to re-open covers about one kilometer of the scenic ten kilometer route. It has been operating since the late 19th century and is one of the oldest electric streetcar lines in Latin America. Rio is working on various transportation upgrade projects ahead of the games. August 5 marks the one-year mark to the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.  (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 27: Passengers ride on the first day of pre-operations on the partially re-opened Santa Teresa tram line, or 'bonde', on July 27, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The historic tram has been closed since a derailing accident in 2011 which left six dead and fifty injured. The first stretch to re-open covers about one kilometer of the scenic ten kilometer route. It has been operating since the late 19th century and is one of the oldest electric streetcar lines in Latin America. Rio is working on various transportation upgrade projects ahead of the games. August 5 marks the one-year mark to the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Passengers ride on the partially reopened Santa Teresa tram line on July 27, the first day of the line's pre-operations ahead of the 2016 Olympics.

 

Mario Tama/Getty Images
CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - JULY 29:  Wild ponies are herded into the Assateague Channel during the annual pony swim event from Assateague Island to Chincoteague on July 29, 2015 in Chincoteague, Virginia. Wild ponies were rounded up on the national wildlife refuge and herded across the channel where some will be auctioned off by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company during the 90th annual event. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - JULY 29: Wild ponies are herded into the Assateague Channel during the annual pony swim event from Assateague Island to Chincoteague on July 29, 2015 in Chincoteague, Virginia. Wild ponies were rounded up on the national wildlife refuge and herded across the channel where some will be auctioned off by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company during the 90th annual event. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

People in Virginia take part in an annual wild pony swim event from Assateague Island to Chincoteague, July 29.

Alex Wong/Getty Images
Riot police (L) try to block protesters from marching towards the parliament in Manila on July 27, 2015, hours before President Benigno Aquino delivers his final State of the Nation address.  Aquino was to address parliament for the last time on July 27, racing to secure fragile legacies of peace in the war-torn south and a stronger economy.        AFP PHOTO / Jay DIRECTO        (Photo credit should read JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
Riot police (L) try to block protesters from marching towards the parliament in Manila on July 27, 2015, hours before President Benigno Aquino delivers his final State of the Nation address. Aquino was to address parliament for the last time on July 27, racing to secure fragile legacies of peace in the war-torn south and a stronger economy. AFP PHOTO / Jay DIRECTO (Photo credit should read JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Riot police try to block people protesting against Philippine President Benigno Aquino from marching towards the parliament in Manila, July 27.

JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images
<> on July 29, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
<> on July 29, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Elderly men sit near a pile of debris in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on July 29, three months after a massive earthquake hit the country.

Ukrainian servicemen man a position held by Ukrainian forces on the front line at the village of Zaytseve in the Donetsk region on July 29, 2015.  AFP PHOTO/  ANATOLII STEPANOV        (Photo credit should read ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian servicemen man a position held by Ukrainian forces on the front line at the village of Zaytseve in the Donetsk region on July 29, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ ANATOLII STEPANOV (Photo credit should read ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukrainian servicemen stand on the front line at the village of Zaytseve in Donetsk, July 29.

ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images
LOWER LAKE, CA - JULY 31:  Cal Fire firefighter Johnny Miller monitors flames from the Rocky Fire as it approaches a home on July 31, 2015 in Lower Lake, California. Over 900 firefighters are battling the Rocky Fire that erupted to over 15,000 acres since it started on Wednesday afternoon. The fire is currently five percent contained and has destroyed 3 homes.  (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
LOWER LAKE, CA - JULY 31: Cal Fire firefighter Johnny Miller monitors flames from the Rocky Fire as it approaches a home on July 31, 2015 in Lower Lake, California. Over 900 firefighters are battling the Rocky Fire that erupted to over 15,000 acres since it started on Wednesday afternoon. The fire is currently five percent contained and has destroyed 3 homes. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A firefighter monitors flames as they approach a home on July 31 in Lower Lake, California. Over 900 firefighters are battling the Rocky Fire, which has spread to over 15,000 acres since it started on Wednesday afternoon.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
MINAMISOMA, JAPAN - JULY 25:   Samurai horsemen compete in the Kacchu-keiba (armed horse race)  during the Soma Nomaoi festival at Hibarigahara field on July 25, 2015 in Minamisoma, Japan. Every summer the people of Fukushima prefecture have gathered to honor the ancient traditions of the Samurai at the Soma Nomaoi festival. The festival started as a military exercise more than 1000 years ago by Taira no Kojiro Masakado the founder of the Soma Clan. The three-day Shinto festival sees more than 500 horsemen recreate ancient battle scenes from the Edo Period (1603-1869).  Soma city, Minamisoma and the surrounding towns of Fukushima prefecture, famous for their samurai and horse breeding traditions were heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami and the following nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. Minamisoma sits just 25 kilometers north of the nuclear power plant and residents were forced to evacuate as much of the city fell in the radiation exclusion zone. In April 2012, residents of Minamisoma were able to return to their homes after the exclusion zone was moved to 10 kilometers. The tradition of the Soma Nomaoi is extremely important to the local community, and despite the ongoing clean up operations and many of the participants losing their homes, horses and belongings, including their armor, weapons and ceremonial clothing, the festival has never been cancelled, although some events were postponed in 2011 the festival was held at full scale again in 2012 and since then has gained in momentum with local residents keen to pass on the traditions to younger generations.  (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
MINAMISOMA, JAPAN - JULY 25: Samurai horsemen compete in the Kacchu-keiba (armed horse race) during the Soma Nomaoi festival at Hibarigahara field on July 25, 2015 in Minamisoma, Japan. Every summer the people of Fukushima prefecture have gathered to honor the ancient traditions of the Samurai at the Soma Nomaoi festival. The festival started as a military exercise more than 1000 years ago by Taira no Kojiro Masakado the founder of the Soma Clan. The three-day Shinto festival sees more than 500 horsemen recreate ancient battle scenes from the Edo Period (1603-1869). Soma city, Minamisoma and the surrounding towns of Fukushima prefecture, famous for their samurai and horse breeding traditions were heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami and the following nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. Minamisoma sits just 25 kilometers north of the nuclear power plant and residents were forced to evacuate as much of the city fell in the radiation exclusion zone. In April 2012, residents of Minamisoma were able to return to their homes after the exclusion zone was moved to 10 kilometers. The tradition of the Soma Nomaoi is extremely important to the local community, and despite the ongoing clean up operations and many of the participants losing their homes, horses and belongings, including their armor, weapons and ceremonial clothing, the festival has never been cancelled, although some events were postponed in 2011 the festival was held at full scale again in 2012 and since then has gained in momentum with local residents keen to pass on the traditions to younger generations. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Samurai horsemen compete in the Kacchu-keiba (armed horse race) during the Soma Nomaoi festival at Hibarigahara field on July 25 in Minamisoma, Japan. Every summer the people of Fukushima prefecture gather to honor the ancient traditions of the Samurai at the Soma Nomaoi festival, which started as a military exercise more than 1000 years ago; the three-day Shinto festival sees more than 500 horsemen recreate ancient battle scenes from the Edo Period (1603-1868).

Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Left-wing militants protect themselves as Turkish anti-riot police fires water cannon to disperse a demonstration in Istanbul's Gazi district, on July 26, 2015. Tensions across the country are high, with police routinely using water cannon to disperse nightly protests in Istanbul and other cities denouncing IS and the government's policies on Syria. Turkey has launched a two-pronged "anti-terror" cross-border offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery. But the expansion of the campaign to include not just IS targets in Syria but PKK rebels in neighbouring northern Iraq -- themselves bitterly opposed to the jihadists -- has put in jeopardy a truce with the Kurdish militants that has largely held since 2013. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC        (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Left-wing militants protect themselves as Turkish anti-riot police fires water cannon to disperse a demonstration in Istanbul's Gazi district, on July 26, 2015. Tensions across the country are high, with police routinely using water cannon to disperse nightly protests in Istanbul and other cities denouncing IS and the government's policies on Syria. Turkey has launched a two-pronged "anti-terror" cross-border offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery. But the expansion of the campaign to include not just IS targets in Syria but PKK rebels in neighbouring northern Iraq -- themselves bitterly opposed to the jihadists -- has put in jeopardy a truce with the Kurdish militants that has largely held since 2013. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Left-wing militants protect themselves as Turkish anti-riot police fire water cannons to disperse a demonstration in Istanbul's Gazi district on July 26.

BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
A Palestinian boy stands amidst the rubble of his home in al-Tufah, in the east of Gaza City on July 27, 2015, during a power outage. Residents of Gaza, home to 1.8 million people, have been experiencing up to 15 hours of electricity outage a day for the past two weeks due to fuel and power shortages. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS        (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)
A Palestinian boy stands amidst the rubble of his home in al-Tufah, in the east of Gaza City on July 27, 2015, during a power outage. Residents of Gaza, home to 1.8 million people, have been experiencing up to 15 hours of electricity outage a day for the past two weeks due to fuel and power shortages. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian boy stands amid the rubble of his home in al-Tufah, in the east of Gaza City on July 27, during a power outage. Residents of Gaza, home to 1.8 million people, have been experiencing up to 15 hours of electricity outage a day for the past two weeks due to fuel and power shortages.

AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS
Migrants wait for a train heading to Serbia at the Gevgelija railway station, on the Macedonian-Greek border on July 28, 2015. The migrants, among them children and elderly people, are trying to cross Macedonia and Serbia and enter the EU via Hungary, a country that will finish building its anti-migrant fence on its southern border with Serbia by August 31, ahead of a previous November deadline.  AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF        (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Migrants wait for a train heading to Serbia at the Gevgelija railway station, on the Macedonian-Greek border on July 28, 2015. The migrants, among them children and elderly people, are trying to cross Macedonia and Serbia and enter the EU via Hungary, a country that will finish building its anti-migrant fence on its southern border with Serbia by August 31, ahead of a previous November deadline. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF (Photo credit should read DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images)

Migrants wait for a train heading to Serbia at the Gevgelija railway station near the Macedonia-Greece border, July 28. The migrants are trying to cross Macedonia and Serbia and enter the European Union via Hungary.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images
YUEYANG, CHINA - JULY 27:  (CHINA OUT) Tourists play mahjong during a mahjong competition in a pond at Shiniu Village National Geopark on July 27, 2015 in Yueyang, Hunan Province of China.  (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
YUEYANG, CHINA - JULY 27: (CHINA OUT) Tourists play mahjong during a mahjong competition in a pond at Shiniu Village National Geopark on July 27, 2015 in Yueyang, Hunan Province of China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Tourists play mahjong during a competition held in a pond at Shiniu Village National Geopark on July 27 in Yueyang, Hunan province.

ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images
Maasai men follow the live coverage of the US President's visit to Kenya at the Emanyian Hotel in the town of Kiserian, on July 25, 2015. US President Barack Obama declared on July 25 that "Africa is on the move", praising the spirit of entrepreneurship at a business summit on landmark visit to Kenya. Obama arrived in Kenya late on July 24, making his first visit to the country of his father's birth since he was elected president.   AFP PHOTO / TILL MUELLENMEISTER        (Photo credit should read Till Muellenmeister/AFP/Getty Images)
Maasai men follow the live coverage of the US President's visit to Kenya at the Emanyian Hotel in the town of Kiserian, on July 25, 2015. US President Barack Obama declared on July 25 that "Africa is on the move", praising the spirit of entrepreneurship at a business summit on landmark visit to Kenya. Obama arrived in Kenya late on July 24, making his first visit to the country of his father's birth since he was elected president. AFP PHOTO / TILL MUELLENMEISTER (Photo credit should read Till Muellenmeister/AFP/Getty Images)

Maasai men follow the live coverage of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Kenya at the Emanyian Hotel in the town of Kiserian, July 25.

Till Muellenmeister/AFP/Getty Images
PROBOLINGGO, EAST JAVA, INDONESIA - JULY 31: A Tenggerese worshipper family walk climb the mountain for collect holy water at Widodaren cave during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on July 31, 2015 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The festival is the main festival of the Tenggerese people and lasts about a month. On the fourteenth day, the Tenggerese make the journey to Mount Bromo to make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano's caldera. The origin of the festival lies in the 15th century when a princess named Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband Joko Seger, and the childless couple asked the mountain Gods for help in bearing children. The legend says the Gods granted them 24 children but on the provision that the 25th must be tossed into the volcano in sacrifice. The 25th child, Kesuma, was finally sacrificed in this way after initial refusal, and the tradition of throwing sacrifices into the caldera to appease the mountain Gods continues today. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
PROBOLINGGO, EAST JAVA, INDONESIA - JULY 31: A Tenggerese worshipper family walk climb the mountain for collect holy water at Widodaren cave during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on July 31, 2015 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The festival is the main festival of the Tenggerese people and lasts about a month. On the fourteenth day, the Tenggerese make the journey to Mount Bromo to make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano's caldera. The origin of the festival lies in the 15th century when a princess named Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband Joko Seger, and the childless couple asked the mountain Gods for help in bearing children. The legend says the Gods granted them 24 children but on the provision that the 25th must be tossed into the volcano in sacrifice. The 25th child, Kesuma, was finally sacrificed in this way after initial refusal, and the tradition of throwing sacrifices into the caldera to appease the mountain Gods continues today. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A family climbs a mountain to collect holy water at Widodaren cave during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on July 31 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The festival is the main celebration of the Tenggerese people and lasts approximately a month. On the 14th day, families make the journey to Mount Bromo to make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano.

Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais, northern France, on late July 29, 2015. One man died Wednesday in a desperate attempt to reach England via the Channel Tunnel as overwhelmed authorities fought off hundreds of migrants, prompting France to beef up its police presence. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUEN        (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)
French gendarmes try to stop migrants on the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles near Calais, northern France, on late July 29, 2015. One man died Wednesday in a desperate attempt to reach England via the Channel Tunnel as overwhelmed authorities fought off hundreds of migrants, prompting France to beef up its police presence. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUEN (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)

French gendarmes try to stop migrants in Coquelles, near the town of Calais, in northern France on July 29. One man died this week in an attempt to reach England via the Channel Tunnel as overwhelmed authorities fought off hundreds of migrants.

PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images
Previous Next Close