We present some of the most striking images from major stories around the world in the past week.

The cast members of the St Petersburg ballet are in Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, Aug 18, 2015. [Photo/IC]

A welcoming ceremony is held for seven Chinese warships that have arrived in Vladivostok to participate in the 2nd stage of the Russian-Chinese joint military exercise "Maritime Cooperation", Vladivostok, Russia, Aug 20, 2015. [Photo/IC]

A little girl cries as she tries to take shelter from the rain on Greece's border with Macedonia, as she waits with her family to enter Gevgelija, Macedonia August 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Hot air balloons are about to start in Bouzov, Olomouc region of Czech Republic on August 21, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Men climb greased poles to retrieve prizes such as bicycles and rice cookers as part of the Independence Day festivities at Ancol Beach in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug 17, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Experts investigate at the site of a blast in central Bangkok, Thailand,  August 17, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Indonesian students hold red and white papers forming the Indonesian national flag to mark the country's 70th Independence Day at the University of Surabaya, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, August 17, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Russian President Vladimir Putin (front) is seen inside a research bathyscaphe while submerging into the waters of the Black Sea as he takes part in an expedition near Sevastopol, Crimea, August 18, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

A migrant washes as the passenger ship "Eleftherios Venizelos" leaves the port on the Greek island of Kos, August 19, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Afghani migrants try to leave a dinghy that hit on rocks near a beach on the island of Lesbos, Greece August 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

                                                                                                                                                Editor: Lily Li