Rangoli, also known as kolam or Muggu, is a folk art from India in which patterns are created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. It is usually made during Diwali, Onam, Pongal and other Indian festivals. They are meant to be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed down through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. Similar practices are followed in different Indian states: in Tamil Nadu, there is Kolam in Tamil Nadu; Mandana in Rajasthan; Chaookpurna in Chhattisgarh; Alpana in West Bengal; Aripana in Bihar; Chowk pujan in Uttar Pradesh; Muggu in Andhra Pradesh and others.

American singer Tinashe attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., September 12, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) was the most popular species overall based on English language Wikipedia page views. It is the world’s largest lizard, living on the islands of Komodo, Rinca and other smaller islands, and on Flores island in Indonesia. (Photo by Eric Nathan/Alamy)

Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center July 21, 2011 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The landing brings to a close the 30-year era of the space shuttle program that began in 1981, and has included 135 missions. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

The Photographers 2015 runs from 25 November to 23 December at Osborne Samuel and Beetles+Huxley, London. Here: Untitled, 1950, by Bert Hardy. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Beetles+Huxley & Osborne Samuel)

Do you ever get the irresistible urge to light matches on fire, especially if there are many of them in one place? If you do, you shouldn’t come near the giant globe made by an American artist Andy Yoder. The thing is, this 42” globe is made entirely out of matches on the outside, while the center was made using plywood, foam, and cardboard. It took Andy two years to complete his work, finally finishing in 2014. Each of the matches used was hand-painted and then glued in place. Also, in order to prevent his masterpiece from catching fire, Andy Yoder has doused his work with a flame repellant.

When you think of the People's Liberation Army, you probably don't think of line dancing. But the Chinese military's latest online recruiting video makes a soldier's life look more fun than the macarena. The brief spot, posted last week on the website of the Ministry of National Defense and going viral, features tanks and fighter jets, as well as soldiers dancing in rows to a quirky hit tune by the Chopsticks Brothers called “Little Apple”. Its lyrics include, “You are my little dear little apple/I can never stop loving you”.

Dhofar Region, Oman. Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months. Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior, recharging streams, waterfalls and springs that provide plentiful water supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. Image taken by Landsat 5 on April 2, 2005. (Photo by USGS/NASA)