“When I was 8 years old, my parents paid a smuggler to take me across the Himalayas, a weekslong walk over the mountains from Tibet to India. It was a trek that tens of thousands of other Tibetans have taken since the Dalai Lama fled a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. My parents must have had their reasons to send me here; they must have had the best of intentions. But 18 years later, I still don't know why they did it. They are not political people. They are small farmers who raise barley and a few yak in a rural area not far from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. I have not seen them since I left...”. – Tsering Topgyal via The Associated Press. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)

The proliferation of marijuana edibles for both medical and recreational purposes is giving rise to a cottage industry of baked goods, candies, infused oils, cookbooks and classes that promises a slow burn as more states legalize the practice and awareness spreads about the best ways to deliver the drug. Edibles and infused products such as snack bars, olive oils and tinctures popular with medical marijuana users have flourished into a gourmet market of chocolate truffles, whoopie pies and hard candies as Colorado and Washington legalized the recreational use of marijuana in the past year. Photo: In this Thursday, July 10, 2014, photo, Mike Fitzgerald, right, teaches behind a sample display of cannabis-infused products during a cooking class at the New England Grass Roots Institute in Quincy, Mass. (Photo by Michael Dwyer/AP Photo)

“Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986), better known as L. Ron Hubbard (and often referred to by his initials, LRH), was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology. After establishing a career as a writer, becoming best known for his science fiction and fantasy stories, he developed a self-help system called Dianetics which was first published in May 1950. He subsequently developed his ideas into a wide-ranging set of doctrines and rituals as part of a new religious movement that he called Scientology. His writings became the guiding texts for the Church of Scientology and a number of affiliated organizations that address such diverse topics as business administration, literacy and drug rehabilitation”. – Wikipedia

Photo: American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, uses his Hubbard Electrometer (patent pending) to determine whether tomatoes experience pain, 1959. His work led him to the conclusion that tomatoes “scream when sliced”. (Photo by Scott Lauder/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

These are the amazing panoramic photographs that look like little planets. They were taken by photographer Dan Arkle, 34, from Sheffield, UK. He said: “On a sharp summit, you feel literally on top of the world, with dramatic views in all directions, including straight down. I tried using conventional photography to capture this feeling, but even with a wide angle lens I couldnt get all the view in the image”. Here: “Taken at the tiny summit of Cima Piccola in the the Tre Cima group in the Dolomites, Italy. The large peak is Cima Grande Some remote peaks have a summit register, and my climbing partner Steve can be seen signing this in the bottom of the picture”. (“Little Planets” Project. Photo and comment by Dan Arkle)

“Sixteen pilot whales died when they became stranded at Pittenweem, near St Andrews, on Sunday morning, Forth Coastguard said.

The mammals were part of a group of 26, of which 10 were refloated and returned to sea by vets and more than 50 volunteers from the emergency services and British Divers Marine Life Rescue. The whales were kept cool and hydrated with wet blankets and sheets on the shore”. – WalesOnline

Photo: Emergency service personnel walk near beached whales as they continue in their rescue attempt to save a large number of pilot whales who have beached on September 1, 2012 in Pittenweem, Scotland. A number of whales have died after being stranded on the east coast of Scotland between Anstruther and Pittenweem. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell)

Dr. Christopher Brown (R), the Director of the Ashmolean, talks with Colin Harrison, the Ashmolean's Senior Curator of European Art, in front of a painting by Edouard Manet entitled “Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus” from 1868 in the Ashmolean Museum on February 24, 2012 in Oxford, England. The painting has been sold to a foreign buyer for 28.35 million GBP, however the Government has extended a temporary export bar on the artwork until August to give the Ashmolean an opportunity to raise funds to retain the painting in the UK. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

“Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached #1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Pure is the fastest-selling international début classical album to date, having made Westenra an international star at age 16. In August 2006, she joined the Irish group Celtic Woman, was featured on their Celtic Woman: A New Journey CD and DVD, toured with them on their 2007 Spring Tour, and also was featured on their DVD, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection, released in 2008”. – Wikipedia

Photo: The world's biggest-selling soprano, Hayley Westenra, has today been announced as the voice of ITV's coverage of this years Rugby World Cup, with her version of “World In Union”. The multi-million selling artist releases her fifth album, “Paradiso”, that has been produced by film composing legend Ennio Morricone, on 29th August. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

These ink-redible, explosive masterpieces are like say-what-you see inkblots tests only in water. The vibrant colors burst from Brian Tomlinsons works, appearing as though they may be coloured ash clouds from an erupting volcano, rather than simply everyday substances. By doing so, Brian challenges viewers to identify what images can be imagined when mixing one fluid with another. In order to shoot the series, entitled Liquid Ink Art, Brain, 40, drops different coloured inks into a fish tank full of water before capturing high-speed shots with a flash. Here: Brian Tomlinsons ink artwork. (Photo by Brian Tomlinsons/Caters News Agency)