A devotee of the Chinese Bang Neow Shrine, with two plastic guns pierced through his cheeks, takes part in a street procession celebrating the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket September 29, 2014. The festival, featuring face-piercing, spirit mediums and strict vegetarianism celebrates the local Chinese community's belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

It is amazing how much the humanity can change the face of the earth. Not only can it create huge craters, which look a lot like craters from meteors, they leave a big enough impact that it can be seen from space. Though this crater, caused by a massive explosion on 1 July 1916, looks large, being 90 feet deep and 300 feet across; it is nowhere big enough to be viewed for space. A common misconception is that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space. In reality, however, it is impossible. Not only is it of the same color as the earth near it, it is also not that wide. Deforestation, on the other hand, can be clearly seen from space. Also, at night, all the lights that the large cities produce are also very visible.

In his series “Ballerinas of Cairo”, photographer Mohamed Taher documents Egyptian dancers making the city streets their stage – pirouetting, leaping and posing their way through their country’s sprawling capital. The photos are, at first glance, stunning snapshots of a city’s vibrant culture in motion. (Photo by Mohamed Taher/Ballerinas of Cairo)

Just a week before Rio de Janeiro hosts South America's first Olympics, city residents expressed mixed feelings about the cost and security of the Games, while holding out hope they will bring joy to a nation facing economic and political crises. The conflicted thoughts mirror a recent survey by the Datafolha polling group showing that half of Brazilians were opposed to holding the Games, while 63 percent think the costs of hosting the event will outweigh benefits. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Girls of the Long Horn Miao ethnic minority group wear headdresses as they prepare gather for Tiaohua or Flower Festival as part of the Lunar New Year on February 6, 2017 in Longga village, Guizhou province, southern China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Nature – first prize, stories. Pandemic Pigeons – A Love Story. The photographer’s daughter, Merel, cowers after Dollie flies past and perches on the balcony before entering the house in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands on 6 April 2020. “She’s still frightened when Dollie suddenly lands on the balcony railing. I hide my smile behind the camera, as I try to comfort her by saying they won’t hurt you. “I thought he was going to attack me”, she replies. As the nesting pigeons keep coming back to our place, slowly my girls have started to appreciate them – perhaps not as much as I do, but it’s a start”. (Photo by Jasper Doest/World Press Photo 2021)

A girl stands with arms outstretched at North Narrabeen on January 27, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. Around 30 indigenous children from Brewarrina, Weilmoringle, and Goodooga in the far North West NSW travelled to Sydney to participate in the program. The initiative is part of the Bush to Beach programme, which now in its 19th year, gives indigenous children a unique opportunity to learn and explore Sydney's beach culture. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

A girl looks on next to a damaged car buried in mud in an area heavily affected by torrential rains and flash floods in the village of Kamuchiri, near Mai Mahiu, on April 29, 2024. At least 45 people died when a dam burst its banks near a town in Kenya's Rift Valley, police said on April 29, 2024, as torrential rains and floods battered the country The disaster raises the total death toll over the March-May wet season in Kenya to more than 120 as heavier than usual rainfall pounds East Africa, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)