Venezuela's food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilizations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing. Traditional contraceptives like condoms or birth control pills have virtually vanished from store shelves, pushing women towards the hard-to-reverse surgery. While no recent national statistics on sterilizations are available, doctors and health workers say demand for the procedure is growing. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

A visitor takes a photograph from the North Star observation capsule onboard the cruise ship Quantum of the Seas which is currently docked at Southampton on October 31, 2014 in Southampton, England. Billed as the world's first smartship, Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas is claimed to be the most high-tech cruise ship in the world, with high tech modifications such as virtual balconies in windowless rooms and features such as the first dodgem ride on water, and a skydiving simulator. The ship will shortly begin its voyage from Southampton, where it docked earlier this week, to New York before relocating to the Caribbean for the 2014-15 season. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Winners celebrate after the annual Lelo match in the village of Shukhuti, Georgia, May 1, 2016. The villagers of Zemo (upper) Shukhuti and Kvemo (lower) Shukhuti have played the game every Easter Sunday for generations, with each side trying to carry the 16-kilogram ball to their end of the neighbouring villages. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

Villagers hold torches during the Divina Pastora procession, as part of a festival to honour the Virgin of Los Rondeles, in the southern Spanish village of Casarabonela, near Malaga, late December 12, 2016. Villagers celebrate the festival on the eve of St. Lucia's Day and hold torches during the procession to represent light and vision. St. Lucia is the patron saint of vision. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

A monkey catches knives as it balances on a board during a daily training session at a monkey farm in Baowan village, Xinye county of China's central Henan province, February 2, 2016. Baowan village of China's central Henan province appears to be your average farming community from the surface, but at a closer look, one can hear monkey hoots from every direction. Although no official number exists, villagers say that they have been a breeding ground for both monkeys and monkey trainers for centuries. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Maudy – Kalulushi, Zambia. Maudy was born in a hut in a small village close to Kalulushi, in Zambia. She grew up playing in the street with the other children in the village, who all attend the same school, where students ages 3 to 10 years old are in the same class. The village has no shops, restaurants or hotels, and just a few children are lucky enough to have toys. Maudy and her friends found a box full of sunglasses on the street, which quickly became their favorite toys. “Toy Stories” project. (Photo and caption by Gabriele Galimberti)

A child with his body and face painted prepares to attend the sacred Ngerebeg ritual at the Tegallalang village in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, 03 April 2024. The sacred Ngerebeg ritual takes place every six months and it is mainly aimed at driving all evil spirits out of the villages. During the ritual, the participants paint their bodies in various colors and patterns to join the procession across the village. (Photo by Made Nagi/EPA/EFE)

On Saturday, September 2, 2017, local Chinese villagers gathered to celebrate a folk festival parade known as “Dog carrying Day” in Jiaobang village, Gedong Town, Jianhe county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou province. (Photo by Imaginechina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)