Extraordinary tales of everyday heroism have been illustrated beautifully by renowned US photographer Steve McCurry in the new 2015 Lavazza Calendar. The calendar which has been created in collaboration with the Slow Food movement, features twelve breathtaking pictures, capturing the spirit, strength and humanity of the Earth Defenders – women and men who protect their land and projects in Africa with passion and bravery. The proceeds from sales of the calendar and all donations will be contributed entirely to create 10,000 food gardens in African schools and villages by the end of 2016. (Photo by Steve McCurry/2015 Lavazza Calendar)

The Hubble Space Telescope is shown following its release from the space shuttle Discovery Wednesday, February 19, 1997. The Hubble Space Telescope, one of NASA'S crowning glories, marks its 25th anniversary on Friday, April 24, 2015. With more than 1 million observations, including those of the farthest and oldest galaxies ever beholden by humanity, no man-made satellite has touched as many minds or hearts as Hubble. (Photo by AP Photo/NASA)

Tasmanian devils play on May 31, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. Creatures living at the zoo welcomed the arrival of winter with snow and an array of treats. Many of the zoo's species would naturally experience seasonal changes within their wild ranges. With the support of the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium's sub-Antarctic penguin team, snow is predicted to hit the Darling Harbour-based attraction on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

An armed demonstrator lifting a Palestinian and Yemeni flags gestures during an anti-Israel and anti-US rally in the Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 19, 2024, protesting the US designation of Yemen's Huthi rebels as “terrorists”, after a series of attacks on Red Sea shipping amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group in Gaza. (Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP Photo)

Crowds look on as Xolo the Giant Dog, one of the giant Royal De Luxe street puppets taking part in Liverpool's World War I centenary commemorations, walks through the streets of Liverpool on July 25, 2014 in Liverpool, England. French street theatre company Royal de Luxe are putting on a show throughout the city as part of Liverpool's World War I centenary commemorations from July 23-27. The giant puppet grandmother has slept in the hall for two days as part of “Memories of August 1914”. As the giants tour the city the Little Girl Giant and her dog Xolo will meet up with the giant Grandmother telling the story of life leading up to World War One. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

This picture taken on February 23, 2014 shows participants wearing dresses running half-naked in the annual 3.5 km Undie Run held in the Olympic Forest Park smog-covered Beijing. Some 200 participants took part in this event, many of them with gas masks, as dangerous smog blighted swathes of northern China in recent days. (Photo by AFP Photo/STR)

Maj. Matt O'Donnell of Glenelg, MD shields himself from rotor wash as Ospreys carrying the delegation of U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta leaves on March 14, 2012 at Forward Operating Base Shukvani, Afghanistan. Panetta is also scheduled to meet with President Karzai during his two-day visit to Afghanistan. The trip comes as the Taliban has vowed revenge following this past weekend's killing spree by a U.S. soldier who is accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan. Most of those killed were children and women. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“The Yao nationality is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A woman combs her hair at the Huangluo Village of the Yao ethnic group in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 15, 2012. The Huangluo Village of the Yao ethnic group locates at the Longji Terraces in Heping Town of Longsheng County in Guilin. Women here have the tradition of keeping long hair. They believe that long hair brings good luck and fortune. The average length of hair of 180 women in the village is 1.7 meters. (Photo by Lu Boan/Xinhua)