In this Sunday, August 5, 2012 file photo South Africa's Oscar Pistorius starts in the men's semi-finals of the 400-meter in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London. Pistorius could be granted parole on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 after nearly 10 years in prison for killing his girlfriend. The double-amputee Olympic runner was convicted of a charge comparable to third-degree murder for shooting Reeva Steenkamp in his home in 2013. He has been in prison since late 2014. (Photo by Anja Niedringhaus/AP Photo)

A Funnel Web spider is pictured at the Australian Reptile Park January 23, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. The Funnel Web is one of Australia's deadliest animals, with a venom that is packed with at least 40 different toxic proteins. A bite from a Funnel Web causes massive electrical over-load in the body's nervous system. Finally, fatalities occur from either heart attack or a pulmonary oedema, where the capillaries around the lungs begin to leak fluid and the patient effectively drowns. Death can come as quickly as two hours after a bite if no medical treatment is sought. Due to advances in anti-venom, there has been no death from a Funnel Web bite in Australia since 1980. Australia is home to some of the most deadly and poisonous animals on earth. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

Back dropped by planet Earth the International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation May 29, 2011 in space. After 20 years, 25 missions and more than 115 million miles in space, NASA space shuttle Endeavour is on the last leg of its final flight to the International Space Station before being retired and donated to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Capt. Mark E. Kelly, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-AZ) husband, has lead mission STS-134 as it delivered the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-2) to the International Space Station. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

A contestant for Miss Tiffany's Universe Thailand 2018 gets ready backstage during the annual transgender beauty contest “Miss Tiffany's Universe Thailand 2018” at the Tiffany's Show Theatre in Pattaya city, Chonburi province, Thailand, 31 August 2018. Thirty Thai transgender contestants took part in the final stage of the annual beauty contest which is aimed to promote the tourism industry in the resort city of Pattaya city. (Photo by Narong Sangnak/EPA/EFE)

“Russian singer Eduard Khil has died at the age of 77, following a stroke. Khil is apparently well known in Russia, though attained belated fame outside of Russia when a musical number he performed on Soviet television in the 1970s, in which he sung nonsense lyrics in a rich baritone over luxuriantly loungy background music, but above all with an infectious sense of good cheer, ended up on YouTube and became a meme”. ... (Listen to songs of Eduard Khil)

Exhilaration beyond imaginable, intense concentration on a single point, and complete freedom of soul – all these things very accurately describe the art of highlining. Highlining is a branch of a new sport called slacklining, which involves walking on special webbing secured between two points. Andi Lewis is one of the most famous slackliners in the world, particularly due to his performance during Superbowl Halftime Show in 2012. He never fails to surprise people with an amazing stunt or a project. This time he and his friends have created a completely incredible hand-knitted hammock located hundreds of feet above the ground. Just getting to this hammock requires immense skills and bravery. But once you’re finally there, you can rest a while, before mustering up the courage to go back across a narrow line with nothing but thin air beneath your feet.

Crufts is among the largest dog events worldwide. It was first held more than a century ago in 1891. Since then it has grown into more than just a dog show, but an event that celebrates the role that dogs play in our everyday lives. It is unimaginable how much this show has changed since the first time it was set up by Charles Cruft. Even though this event was very different back then, Charles Cruft would surely enjoy the scope and size of the modern Crufts show. The core event of the show is of course the dog show, which celebrates the unique relationship between dogs and their owners.