Employees conduct a final check to fix any cavities in the seams of balls inside the soccer ball factory that produces official match balls for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, in Sialkot, Punjab province May 16, 2014. It was when he felt the roar of the crowd at the 2006 World Cup in Germany that Pakistani factory owner Khawaja Akhtar first dreamt up a goal of his own: to manufacture the ball for the biggest soccer tournament on the planet. Last year he finally got his chance – but only 33 days to make it happen. (Photo by Sara Farid/Reuters)

The winners of The London’s Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year for 2013 have finally been unveiled. Selected from almost 43,000 entries from 96 countries, the winners offer a glimpse of the stunning array of natural beauty on our planet. Photo: Canada: “Lucky pounce”. “Anticipating the pounce – that was the hardest part”, says Connor, who had come to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, in search of wildlife as much as the spectacular landscape. He had found this fox, his first ever, on his last day in the park. It was so absorbed in hunting that Connor had plenty of time to get out of the car and settle behind a rock. It quartered the grassland, back and forth, and then started staring intently at a patch of ground, giving Connor just enough warning of the action to come. When it sprung up, Connor got his shot. And when it landed, the fox got his mouse. (Photo by Connor Stefanison/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013)

“The scientists behind NASA's $2.5 billion Curiosity rover mission on Mars on Tuesday explained the nature of a tiny, gleaming "flower" embedded in Red Planet rock, and revealed where they'll be using the SUV-sized robot's drill for the first time”. – Alan Boyle via NBCNews.com

Photo: Scientists say that a “Martian flower”, seen here in an image from the Curiosity rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager, is a 2-millimeter-wide grain or pebble that's embedded in the surrounding rock. Another, darker-colored mineral grain can be seen above and to the left. (Photo by NASA)

A brown bear is checked by foreign veterinaries and local staff members at the Four Paws Bear Sanctuary in Pristina, on May 9, 2014. (Photo by Hazir Reka/Reuters)

A model displays the collection of Italian luxury brand Diesel at its China's first flagship shop unveiling ceremony, at Henglong Plaza on November 26, 2005 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

(L-R) Mollie King and Frankie Sandford of The Saturdays performs for a dress rehearsal before the first night of their “All Fired Up!” tour at The Bournemouth International Centre on December 1, 2011 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images)

A member of the musuem team attends to a Aston Martin DB5 used in the James Bond film Goldfinger and being displayed at the Bond In Motion exhibition at National Motor Museum on January 17, 2012 in Beaulieu, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Robert Burck, a street performer known as “The Naked Cowboy” dips a woman as he poses for a photo in Times Square in New York, U.S., August 4, 2016. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)