A member of the Mercedes team rides during inspections of the track Thursday for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Flames and smoke billow above rooftops and houses burning after a gas pipeline exploded Thursday during renovation work in Jankow Przygodzki, western Poland. Several people were killed and at least 10 injured. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Iranian Shiites cover themselves with mud Thursday during Ashoura, marking the death anniversary of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, at the city of Bijar, west of the capital Tehran, Iran. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A surfer is silhouetted against the sea while riding a wave Thursday near Peniche, on the west coast of Portugal. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Col. William M. Knight, commander of the 11th Wing, salutes as Air Force One with President Barack Obama departs Thursday at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A sinkhole has swallowed parts of two houses and forced seven homes in the area of Robmar Road in Dunedin to be evacuated. LUKE JOHNSON/STAFF

Typhoon Haiyan survivors help carry USAID food Thursday after a U.S. military helicopter unloaded in the destroyed town of Guiuan, Philippines. Aid was beginning to reach some of the half-million people displaced by the storm that tore across several islands in eastern Philippines six days ago, killing thousands. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Famous Czech pop music singer Karel Gott presents golden medals issued at the occasion of his 75th birthday by the Czech Mint in Jablonec and Nisou, Czech Republic, some 100 kilometers north of Prague. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A staff member stands on top of school buses Thursday after taping posters of Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as students gather to honor him in Chennai, India. Tendulkar is about to play his world-record 200th and last test. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS