“Just hanging out”. As full autumn hits the valley of Hallingdal in Norway, this bear chills out in a tree which seems to barely cover its weight. Photo location: Flå, Hallingdal, Norway. (Photo and caption by Jorgen Tharaldsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Located in Siberia, Laka Baikal is the largest freshwater lake on the planet that contains approximately 20 percent of the Earth’s freshwater. Apart from being the oldest lake in the world at over 25 million years old, Lake Baikal is also home to over two thousand varieties of flora and fauna, of which almost 1,600 are endemic to the lake. The water of Lake Baikal is renowned for being some of the clearest in the world. When the lake freezes during the winter, an amazing phenomena takes place: large shards of transparent ice form on the surface of the lake, giving the amazing appearance of turquoise ice.

Spectators in Moscow were treated to the site of humorously designed makeshift aircraft plunging into the Muskova River during the Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011 competition. 38 teams took part at the Flugtag – which means “flying day” – a competition in which teams in fancy dress attempt to pilot human-powered, home-made flying machines off a six-meter-high platform into water.

Photo: A makeshift aircraft plummets into the Moskva River during the Red Bull Flugtag Moscow 2011 competition. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

“Actor and director Mel Gibson has pleaded no contest to a “misdemeanour” battery charge after a fight with then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in 2010. Gibson, 55, was placed on probation for 36 months and ordered to attend a year of domestic violence counselling. The complaint accuses Gibson of “wilfully and unlawfully” using force and violence against Ms Grigorieva. A misdemeanour charge is generally considered a lesser criminal act than a felony charge in the US”. – BBC News

Photo: Oksana Grigorieva arrives at the premiere Of Warner Bros. “The Edge Of Darkness” held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Israelis protest against gender segregation and violence towards women by ultra Orthodox Jewish extremists on December 27, 2011 in Beit Shemesh, Israel. The protest comes following a series of incidents that have seen women being forced to sit at the back of segregated buses, being forced to walk only on certain sides of the road and the harrassment of schoolgirls due to their choice of attire. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Part made cricket bats sit in a box at the Salix Cricket Bat Company in Langley, Britain July 6, 2015. Salix Cricket Bat Company use traditional tools and techniques to make cricket bats by hand. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

Engine driver Josef Kowatsch (top L) steers a train through the NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel during a media visit near the town of Erstfeld August 24, 2015. Crossing the Alps, the world's longest train tunnel should become operational at the end of 2016, consisting of two parallel single track tunnels, each of a length of 57 km (35 miles). (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Vendors selling marigold garlands, which are used to decorate temples and homes during the Hindu festival of Durga Puja, drink tea as they wait for customers at a wholesale flower market in Kolkata, India October 6, 2016. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)