With a presence in nearly every city and town across Iran, the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps has an ever-increasing influence on life in the Islamic Republic. Authorities created the Basij, which means mobilization in Persian, just after the country's 1979 Islamic Republic. It is part of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard. Photo: In this Thursday, August 22, 2013 photo, a female member of the Basij paramilitary militia aims a rifle as a trainer looks over her shoulder in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Two holy men with a decorative faces and headdresses, taken in Kathmandu, Nepal. Wandering through the cities and forests of Nepal are the holy men, or Sadhus, who have left all materialistic pleasures behind to live a life devoted to God. Their appearances vary from brightly coloured face paints, and decorations, to minimalistic practical clothing, but they all represent the fundamental values and meanings of Hinduism. Danish photographer Jan Moeller Hansen visited the ancient capital city of Kathmandu between 2013 and 2016 and documented the mysterious holy wanderers. (Photo by Jan Moeller Hansen/Barcroft Images)

Yakutsk, a remote city in Eastern Siberia along the Lena River, is the coldest city in the world. Located 1840 km away from Irkoustk and 5000 km away from Moscow, this city founded in 1632 by the Cossacks imposes upon its inhabitants an extreme way of life. And yet, despite particularly harsh conditions, Yakutsk boasts a population of 270,000, or a quarter of the entire population of Siberia. No other place on the planet experiences the temperature extreme found here: in winter, the temperatures regularly fall to minus 40° (the coldest temperature recorded was –64°C) and in summer often reaches temperatures above 30°C. Photo: January 2013. A scene in Yakutsk, Siberia, the coldest city in the world. (Photo by Steeve Iuncker/Agence VU)

“For centuries, the Moken sea nomads have traveled the islands between Thailand and Myanmar fishing and foraging for food on the sea floor. Throughout the Mergui Archipelago, Moken migrate in flotillas of Kabangs (traditional boat of the Moken people), stopping at different islands and beaches. Expert freedivers, the Moken have adapted physically to an aquatic life, developing unique characteristics that let them see better and hold their breath longer while underwater”. – Taylor Weidman. Photo: Hook, an indigenous Moken man, holds a three-pronged throwing spear and searches for fish in the waters of Ko Surin National Park. March 1, 2013 – Ko Surin, Thailand. (Photo by Taylor Weidman/zReportage via ZUMA Press)

“These are the mind-blowing artworks of one professor who has dedicated his professional life to studying and generating a series of dizzying optical illusions. Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, from Ritsumseikan University, in Kyoto, Japan, has spent more than a decade creating his collecting of stomach-churning works. His designs have been used by the likes of Lady Gaga, who ran the Kitaokas work, entitled Gangaze, as the CD cover for her album Art Pop, in 2013”. – Caters News. (Photo by Akiyoshi Kitaoka/Caters News)

Courthouse facility dogs are professionally trained facility dogs that are graduates from an accredited assistance dog organization that is a member of Assistance Dogs International. They assist crime victims, witnesses and others during the investigation and prosecution of crimes as well as other legal proceedings. Courthouse facility dogs also provide assistance to Drug Court and Mental Health Court participants during their recovery from drugs, alcohol, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Members of Brazil's Movimento dos Sem-Teto (Roofless Movement) stand in the hallway of one of the 11 empty buildings that the movement took over recently, in the centre of Sao Paulo, November 6, 2012. According to City Hall, there are some 400,000 people in need of stable housing, including the 4,000 families of the Roofless Movement who are squatting in abandoned or vacant buildings that range from apartment blocks to hotels, in Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A Scots soldier has won a top award for his photos vividly depicting Army life in Afghanistan. Corporal Jamie Peters took the overall first prize for his portfolio in the annual Army Photographic Competition. Photo: Jamie's overall winning image entitled “Celtic Warrior” and shows Private Ross Cunningham from 1 Scots cleaning his personal weapon. (Photo by Jamie Peters/PA Wire)