Artists wearing traditional clown masks prepare to march during the annual Shinto festival called the Grand Festival at the Kotohiragu shrine in the Toranomon business district of Tokyo, Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

More than 6 billion people live in countries where serious levels of public sector corruption are fueling inequality and exploitation, according to Transparency International's 2015 index of perceived public sector corruption. The group's annual report measures perceptions of corruption due to the secrecy surrounding most corrupt dealings. Two thirds of the 168 countries assessed were identified as having a serious corruption problem. Somalia, which has been mired in conflict since civil war broke out in 1991, ranks bottom of the list. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

Cave Diver, Anhumas Abyss, Bonito, Brazil: The Anhumas Abyss is an underground cavern with a crystal-clear lake below, more than 260 feet (79 m) deep. A visitor must enter through a narrow opening at the top of the chamber and rappel into the cave. Snorkeling and scuba diving in the lake reveal amazing scenery. Distinctive, conical limestone stalagmites and stalactites occupy the lake and the surrounding area, some reaching 65 feet (20 m) high. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Nature’s Best Photography Awards 2017)

People cool off by diving into a swimming pool on a hot summer day in Amritsar, India, on June 8, 2025. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

“Tough Times for Orangutans”. Nature, first prize stories. Tim Laman, USA. Location: West Kalimantan, Indonesia. A Bornean orangutan climbs over 30 meters up a tree in the rain forest of Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, August 12, 2015. The lives of wild orangutans are brought to light. Threats to these orangutans from fires, the illegal animal trade and loss of habitat due to deforestation have resulted in many orphan orangutans ending up at rehabilitation centers. (Photo by Tim Laman/World Press Photo Contest)

“Stephen Gough (born c. 1959), also known as Steve Gough and the Naked Rambler, is an activist, and a British former Royal Marine. In 2003-2004, he walked the length of Great Britain naked. He did it again in 2005-2006, but was arrested in England and in Scotland. He subsequently spent six years in prison, having been repeatedly rearrested for public nudity within a short period, each time he was released. He has spent most of his sentences in Saughton and Perth prisons, in Scotland”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Stephen Gough the naked rambler makes his way south through Peebles in the Scottish Borders, following his release from Saughton Prison yesterday after serving his latest sentence on October 6, 2012 in Peebles, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell)

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad watches as Pope John Paul II boards his plane at Damascus airport May 8, 2001 at the end of the Pontiff's four-day visit to Syria.

Kamo Mphela, a South African dancer and singer performs Amapiano, a South African musical export that has crossed borders and cultural barriers, reaching as far as Japan, during a music concert in Pretoria, South Africa, July 22, 2022. (Photo by Shafiek Tassiem/Reuters)