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)

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)

In this Thursday, April 11, 2013 photo, North Korean female soldiers stand watch on the river bank of the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite to the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Photo by AP Photo)

“Great White Shark of Guadalupe Island”. A great white shark very quiet under the boat and a lot of fish. The sun ray lighting the head of the shark. Location: Guadalupe Island, Mexico. (Photo and caption by Marc Henauer/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

These stunning images could be mistaken for a cheetah ravenously chasing down a dog, but in fact, the pair are best of friends. Savanah, the one-and-a-half-year-old cheetah and Max, who is just a few weeks younger, were put together when Savanah was just 10-weeks-old. Ever since, their friendship has amazed visitors at Cincinatti Zoo, who are delighted but confused as to why the spotted beast hasnt eaten the dashing hound. So, when it snowed, Savanah and Max just like young children were very excitable and wasted no time playing in the snow. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Residents carry a slaughtered pig with a bamboo pole as they walk home on a street, which was shut to traffic due to ice, in Leishan county, Guizhou province January 31, 2015. Blizzards and icy rain that lasted for several days at the end of January have disrupted traffic, collapsed houses and decimated crops in central Chinese provinces, Xinhua News Agency reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A lunar eclipse appears behind a gargoyle atop the old red Dallas County Courthouse early Wednesday morning, October 8, 2014. The moon appears orange or red, the result of sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere. This is known as the blood moon. (Photo by Tom Fox/AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News)

In this May 17, 2015, photo, two men walk past pagodas at Ngwe Saung beach, Pathein township, about 145 miles from Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo by Khin Maung Win/AP Photo)