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.

Despite any political differences between the United States and Russia, the space agencies of the two countries continue their cooperative work in Earth's orbit, aboard the International Space Station. Apart from the research being done in microgravity, ISS crew members continue to send back amazing images of our home world, photographed from low Earth orbit. Gathered here are recent images of Earth from aboard the ISS, and from a handful of other NASA satellites.

Completion is near on Monaco's tallest skyscraper ever, and its first new one since the 1980s. Fueled by a luxury-housing boom in the tax-haven nation, the Odeon Tower's so-called Sky Penthouse is expected to sell for more than any other apartment in the world has ever sold before. Photo: The five-story Sky Penthouse is expected to be complete in September 2015. The water slide extends from a dance floor in the residence down to a private infinity pool. (Photo by Tour Odeon)

We are so used to seeing common square-shaped buildings that we are completely surprised when architects cook up something new and refreshing. However, the new creation that appeared in Rotterdam beside the Binnenrotte is simply jaw dropping. This one of a kind architectural masterpiece is a combination of a huge open air market and an apartment building. The name of this place is Markthal Rotterdam, and it is bound to become one of the main destination points for tourists that come and visit the beautiful city of Rotterdam. (Photo by Ossip van Duivenbode)

A girl jumps over a campfire while celebrating Ivan Kupala Night, a traditional Slavic holiday not far from Kiev on July 6, 2013. During the celebration, originating in pagan times, people plait wreaths, jump over fires, and swim naked. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)

Tourists ice skate at night on the Eiffel Tower's skating rink in Paris December 9, 2014. The skating rink, located on the first level of the Eiffel Tower, opens to the public as part of the Christmas holiday season. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

Ukrainians swim in an ice hole as part of the celebration of the Epiphany in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, January 19, 2015. Orthodox believers celebrate the holiday of the Epiphany on Jan. 19, and traditionally bathe in holes cut through thick ice on rivers and ponds to cleanse themselves with water deemed holy for the day. (Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov/AP Photo)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews knead dough in a bakery in an Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem, 29 March 2015. Matzah, or unleavened bread, is used instead of bread during the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover, commemorating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times. (Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA)