A starling jealously guards a seed station in the back garden of the photographer’s Michigan home in January 2024. (Photo by Lisa Cavanary/Solent News)

Shi'ite Muslim girls take part in a mourning procession to mark Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)

Members of Ankara Women's Orchestra, playing different instruments, are seen in Ankara, Turkiye on November 13, 2024.The orchestra, founded by 19 women of different ages and professions, gives concerts to female audiences with their wide repertoire in different languages and styles. (Photo by Esra Hacioglu Karakaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Presenter Sofia Vergara arrives at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 28, 2016. (Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters)

Last Friday, in Afghanistan's mountainous northeastern province of Badakhshan, an enormous landslide took place, burying much of a small village, and killing hundreds. Officials say that at least 300 residents of Abi Barik village were killed, but are uncertain about exact numbers, cautioning that the final number could be 500 or more. Rescue teams gave up hope on Saturday of finding any survivors, focusing energy on helping the hundreds suddenly made homeless. Many of the surviving families have struggled to get aid. Some have gone to nearby villages to stay with relatives or friends, while others have slept in tents provided by aid groups.

More than 700 underwater images were submitted for the 2012 Annual Underwater Photography Contest, hosted by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. This year, for the first time, the University of Miami set up a “Fan Favorite” category for its underwater photo competition. Internet users could vote for their favorite among five pictures. Todd Aki's photo of a jellyfish took the prize, snaring 599 of the 1,221 votes cast. (Photo by Todd Aki)

Small transportation boats, known as bumboats, leave trails of light as they travel across Marina Bay past the skyline of Singapore in this photo taken in 2004. Singapore holds a Jubilee weekend from 7 to 10 August to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence. Fifty years ago, hundreds of small boats lined the Singapore river in the city centre. Today, most small boats are gone, except a handful of neon-lit tourist ferries. Maritime trade is still the backbone of the city-state but after decades of rapid growth Singapore, which at less than half the size of London is among the world’s most densely populated nations, is also a popular tourist destination and a thriving global financial hub. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

The Bridge “Rakotzbrücke” is pictured against trees in autumn colours in the the eastern German town of Kromlau November 4, 2014. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)