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  Police sent reinforcements to the Wonderkop informal settlement in Marikana, North West, on Thursday. Miners are refusing to return to work until their demands over low pay and working conditions are met. Three weeks ago 34 miners were shot and killed by police. (Denis Farrell, AP)
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  A Joburger hides behind her umbrella in the city centre. Dozens of people were displaced, cars were swept away and train services disrupted as stormy weather battered large parts of the country. (Werner Beukes, SAPA)
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  Mine mine workers sing and dance as they welcome their colleagues after they were released from prison, at Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg. The group was the second to be released after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Sunday it was provisionally dropping murder and attempted murder charges against the workers. (Themba Hadebe, AP)
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  South Africa's Arnu Fourie bagged the bronze medal in the men’s 100m T44 final, finishing ahead of compatriot Oscar Pistorius at the Paralympic Games on Thursday night. Fourie, winning South Africa’s fourth medal of the day, set a new regional record in 11.08 seconds, while Pistorius ran in a close fourth with a season’s best of 11.18. (Alastair Grant, AP)
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  Oscar Pistorius, right, and his teammates, from left, Samkelo Radebe, Zivan Smith and Arnu Fourie pose for photographs after setting a new world record of 41.78 seconds in the men's 4x100m relay T44 category final during the athletics competition at the 2012 Paralympics, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, in London. (Matt Dunham, AP)
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  Oscar Pistorius, left, crosses the line to win. (Matt Dunham, AP)
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  President Barack Obama asked Americans on Thursday for patience in rebuilding the weak economy as he appealed for a new term in office and defiantly rejected Republican Mitt Romney's proposals for growth as heartless. Locked in the political fight of his life with two months to go until the election, Obama faces the challenge of recapturing the magic of his historic campaign of four years ago and generating enthusiasm among voters who are weary of economic hardship. (Jae C. Hong, AP)
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  President Barack Obama and his family and Vice President Joe Biden and his family celebrate their nominations as the confetti falls at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention (Carolyn Kaster, AP)
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  President Barack Obama waves after his speech at the Democratic National Convention. (David Goldman, AP)
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  President Barack Obama laughs with his wife Michelle and his daughters Malia and Sasha after his speech to the Democratic National Convention. (Lynne Sladky, AP)
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  President Barack Obama waves after former President Bill Clinton addressed the Democratic National Convention. President Obama caps the convention with a prime time acceptance speech aimed at forcefully making his case for re-election: The economy is still weak but getting better, and America is absolutely better off than when he took office in perilous times. (David Goldman, AP)
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  Afghan children wait to get water at a brick factory on the outskirts of Kabul. Over a third of Afghans are living in abject poverty, as those in power are more concerned about addressing their vested interests rather than the basic needs of the population, a UN report said. (Jose Cabezas, AFP)
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  A demonstrator reacts as an Indian riot policeman charges a crowd during a protest in Bhubaneswar. Dozens were injured September 6 as police fired teargas and charged crowds during a Congress party rally demonstrating against India's Odisha state government, a report said. (STR, AFP)
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  A Syrian man wounded by shelling sits on a chair outside a closed shop in the Al-Muasalat area in Aleppo. Life returned to central Aleppo, an AFP reporter said, in stark contrast with the Syrian city's rebel-held outskirts where activists reported renewed bombardments and food shortages. (Achilleas Zavallis, AFP)
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  A relative of Ihab and Akram al-Zaanin, two Palestinian brothers who were killed by Israeli fire, is comforted by family members as she mourns during their funeral in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the northern Gaza Strip, raising to six the number killed in the past 12 hours, medical sources said. (Mahmud Hams, AFP)
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  Coast guards search for survivors after at least 58 illegal immigrants drowned when a fishing boat carrying people who had been promised refuge in Europe sank after hitting rocks off the coast near Aegean city of Izmir, Turkey, officials said. Dozens of survivors, mostly from Iraq and Syria, were able to swim through the Aegean waters to shore, only 50 meters (160 feet) away. (Hurriyet, AP)
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  An African penguin being washed by staff at the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, SANCCOB, after it was found covered in oil on Robben Island near Cape Town. Around fifty five penguins have been found covered in oil from a spillage by the Turkish stricken bulk carrier the Seli One. (Schalk van Zuydam, AP)

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