Young women wear kimonos to mark “Coming of Age Day” to honour people who turn 20 this year to signify adulthood, in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Buzludzha is a historical peak in the Central Stara Planina, Bulgaria and is 1441 metres high. In 1868 it was the place of the final battle between Bulgarian rebels led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha and the Ottoman Empire. The Buzludzha Monument on the peak was built by the Bulgarian communist regime to commemorate the events in 1891 when the socialists led by Dimitar Blagoev assembled secretly in the area to form an organised socialist movement with the founding of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, a fore-runner of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The Monument was opened in 1981. No longer maintained by the Bulgarian government, it has fallen into disuse. Buzludzha is reached by a 12 km side road from the Shipka Pass.

Some of the worlds most iconic cities have been photographed as youve never seen them before in the shape of tiny round planets. By using a pioneering method of aerial photography, each location can be now seen at a full 360 degree angle. After some skilful manipulation on Photoshop known technically as stereographic projection, each sweeping panorama is then turned into a small circular shaped image. Whether its the Eiffel Tower, The Empire State Building or the Shanghai Skyline, each image manages to show hundreds of miles of city landscape. Here: the French Riveria of Cannes, France. (Photo by Airpano/Caters News)

An iguana in Bali helped Julij Kopilović, age eight, from Slovenia, earn second runner-up in Amazing Animals. (Photo by Julij Kopilović/National Geographic)

Twenty-year-old women draped in traditional kimonos gather for their “Coming-of-Age Day” ceremony at the Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, eastern suburb of Tokyo on January 13, 2020. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, wrestles with a boy the same age as him, during a training session at Buddy acL Ariake's wrestling club in Tokyo, Japan, August 22, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A Rohingya refugee girl named Rufia Begum, aged 9, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, March 31, 2018. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Local villagers prepare to bury the body of elephant Hemantha during a religious ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Colombo March 15, 2016. Elephant Hemantha, which died from injuries to its feet, was under medical treatment for the last six months. The elephant used to march at street parades during festivals held by the temple. Elephant Hemantha died at age 23. Wild elephants have long lifespans, reaching 60–70 years of age. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)