Lake Assal is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura in the Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake which lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest land depression on Earth after the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee.

These images of abandoned hospitals across Italy are not for the faint-hearted. Both of the hospitals featured in the photographs are Italian asylums – known as manicomios – that were used as mental hospitals. Shut down by law in 1978, the derelict buildings are visibly overgrown and make for very eerie portraits. Photographer Thomas Windisch, 32, of Graz, Austria, said the asylums, located in top-secret spots, can get very creepy when there aren't many people there with him. Here: a hallway within an abandoned hospital. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

Crampus from Netherworld Haunted House with Amber Thompson, spa staff, at Bliss Spa at W Atlanta Downtown hotel on Thursday, October 7, 2014. A self-guided, dark attraction known for its over-the-top special effects, intense make-up, costuming and stunt actors as well as unique monsters, unusual themes and chilling detail, Netherworld Haunted House in Atlanta is taking over the Halloween holiday this season for its 18th season. (Photo by Hyosub Shin/AJC)

A protester holds a sign in front of riot policemen during an anti-G20 demonstration through the streets of Nice on November 1, 2011 in Nice, France. Anti-G20 demonstrators are gathered in Nice ahead of the arrival of the world's top economic leaders for the G20 summit in Cannes on November 3rd and 4th. The leaders are expected to debate current issues surrounding the global financial system in the hope of fending off a global recession and finding an answer to the Eurozone crisis. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

English singer Dua Lupa, 25, poses in Puma Mayu trainers in her latest advertising campaign for the brand in Herzogenaurach, Germany on August 16, 2021. The singer posed in the new suede trainers and a black skirt and top with chainmail underneath. Dua Lipa is featured in Puma's latest women's brand campaign “She Moves Us”, which, celebrates women who move together to achieve and connect through fashion, community and sport. (Photo by Mario Sorrenti)

Xie Guobiao (C), 11, tied to a pillar with a rope, cries as his grandmother (L) and younger sister look on at his home in Daohui village of Lishui, Zhejiang province May 7, 2014. Xie was diagnosed as mentally handicapped when he was young, but the family was not able to provide him with sufficient medical treatment because of poverty. At the age of six, Xie started to sneak out of his home when others were not looking, climbing on top of houses and smashing windows. Xie's family had to pay over 10,000 yuan ($1,606) in compensation to others for the damage he caused. Since then, the family has had to tie Xie up with a rope both at home and in public, they said. (Photo by William Hong/Reuters)

Wang Jiayun, born June 18 1993. Wang’s height is 164cm, her weight 42kg. Wang Jiayun says she was born in Kowloon of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and presently lives in Shenzhen City of Guangdong province in China. Identity: High school student. Wang's large eyes, pale face, perfectly structured nose and extremely slim figure resemble a brand of human-sized blow-up doll popular with Korean men. This cute and s*xy barbie doll look a like is hot property. She recently became the No.1 searched name in the country's top search engine, Naver.com. Photo: Wang Jia Yun (王嘉韻 or 왕지아인). (Photo by Wang Jia Yun)

“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)