“The giant clam, Tridacna gigas (known as pā’ua in Cook Islands Māori), is the largest living bivalve mollusc. T. gigas is one of the most endangered clam species. It was mentioned as early as 1825 in scientific reports. One of a number of large clam species native to the shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, they can weigh more than 200 kilograms (440 lb) measure as much as 120 cm (47 in) across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years or more”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Tridacna Gigas, or Giant Clams spew water as a traditional fisherman passes by a small sanctuary on January 23, 2004 near Bolinao in the Northern Philippines. The clams, prime builders for coral reefs and providing shelter for spawning fish and other marine life, are exposed by low tides in the sanctuary. Overfishing and pollution throughout the country are not only threatening food security, but are also starting to choke one of the few working clam sanctuaries in the world. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)

Though schools around the globe have different start dates, calendars and traditions, the first day of a new term is an exciting time filled with the prospects of gaining more knowledge, making new friends and building community. Here: Schoolchildren attend their first lesson on Knowledge Day in the town of Turov, Zhytkavichy District, Gomel Region, Belarus on September 1, 2017. Knowledge Day marks the beginning of a new school year in Belarus and is celebrated on September 1. (Photo by Viktor Drachev/TASS via Getty Images)

A supporter of the presidential candidate for the Honduran Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship for the past election, Salvador Nasralla, lies on the street in front of police officers during a demonstration against the contested re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on January 21, 2018. (Photo by Orlando Sierra/AFP Photo)

The winners of the Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2020 from triphistoric.com celebrate the places and cultural sites around the world that offer a window to the history that exists all around us. This year, restricted by Covid, photographers were called on to scour their photographic archive to share their imagery of those places that dominate our past. Here: The Brighton Palace Pier. (Photo by Michael Marsh/Historic Photographer of the Year 2020)

An anti-Gaddafi fighter tests an anti-aircraft gun southwest of Sirte, Libya one of Muammar Gaddafi's last remaining strongholds, September 16, 2011. A timeline of images dating from 2010 from Sirte, Libya, the home town of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Libyan forces battling Islamic State in the city of Sirte say they have defeated the militant group after months of street to street fighting backed by U.S. air strikes. Islamic State took control of the city more than a year ago and set up its main base outside Syria and Iraq. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

This picture taken on February 18, 2017 shows a customer holding a crested black macaque in Tomohon market in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Authorities and activists are stepping up efforts to persuade villagers on Sulawesi island to stop consuming the critically endangered crested black macaques, one of many exotic creatures that form part of the local indigenous community' s diet. The macaque' s meat is prized by the ethnic Minahasan people, a largely Christian group in the world' s most populous Muslim- majority country, who have no reservation about eating exotic animals, unlike Indonesia' s Islamic communities. (Photo by Bay Ismoyo/AFP Photo)

We're getting some feedback: “Hi, I have a question. Why is it that 90% of your posts are about women? You don't seem to acknowledge the existence of men unless they were migrants. You're seriously telling me that you can't find a few great accomplishments that MEN are making?? If this is a feminist website I think you should make that public. I've been viewing your posts since 2010 I think, since you first created avaxnews. Now I'm seriously considering blocking you guys”.



And we can reply: We like women more and for that humbly beg for your forgiveness. In general you are right. We promise to rectify the situation somehow.

Runner-up. “The City of London, looking towards the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. The ever-changing London skyline provides many excellent opportunities for cityscape photography, none more exciting than the ebb and flow of traffic at night”. (Photo by Mark Caldon/The Guardian)