Serbian police officers of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit pose for a picture in their base outside Belgrade October 8, 2014. When the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, in August sparked sometimes violent protests, the response of police in camouflage gear and armoured vehicles wielding stun grenades and assault rifles seemed more like a combat operation than a public order measure. Some U.S. police departments have recently acquired U.S. military-surplus hardware from wars abroad, but there are many law enforcers around the world whose rules of engagement also allow the use of lethal force with relatively few restrictions. But for every regulation that gives police wide scope to use firearms, there is another code that sharply limits their use. In Serbia, police may use measures ranging from batons to special vehicles, water cannon and tear gas on groups of people who have gathered illegally and are behaving in a way that is violent or could cause violence, but they may use firearms only when life is endangered. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

“Show us our butts! Mucawana tribe – Angola. In Soba village, the Muhacaona (Mucawana) tribe, perhaps the best place i have visited. They use cow dung and fat to make this so nice haircut, and love the beads. They asked me to make pictures of their backs... and butts to see on the camera screen if everything was perfect!”. (Photo and comments by Eric Lafforgue)

The photography of Art Wolfe covers the globe, capturing landscapes, wildlife, and cultures from every continent; here he talks through a selection of his favourite images. Art Wolfe is an American photographer and conservationist. His photographs have been noted by environmental advocacy groups for their “stunning” visual impact. Here: Snowy owlets (Bubo scandiacus), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA. (Photo by Art Wolfe/Art Wolfe Stock)

Organizers of an exhibition of ancient instruments of torture in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, have suggested that children, heart disease patients and people with high blood pressure stay away because of the vivid depictions of shocking cruelty. The exhibition has more than 200 instruments of torture on display in the 50,000-square-meter exhibition halls of a restored ancient building. Wax figures, along with sound and light techniques, are incorporated for scary effect. The local government said the exhibition is for tourists and historians to research ancient torture practices. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)

The Berenson robot strolls among visitors during the exhibition “Persona : Oddly Human” at the Quai Branly museum in Paris, France, February 23, 2016. The Berenson robot, developed in France in 2011, is the brainchild of anthropologist Denis Vidal and robotics engineer Philippe Gaussier. Its programming allows it to record reactions of museum visitors to certain pieces of art and then use the data to develop its own unique taste, which allows “Berenson” to judge whether or not it likes a certain work of art within an exhibition. (Photo by Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)

Participants kiss on a platform as they take part in the annual event “No Trousers Tube Ride” in London, Sunday, January 8, 2023. The No Trousers Tube Ride returns to London, the first time the event had taken place since January 2020, due to Covid. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Catholic pilgrim Matilde Madalena de Jesus crawls on a rocky trail carrying a bottle of water on her head during the annual pilgrimage of the dead (Romaria dos Finados), in the city of Juazeiro do Norte, Ceara state, in Brazil October 31, 2016. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

Palestinian girls struggle as they get donated food at a distribution center in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Friday, December 6, 2024. (Photo by Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo)