Balinese Hindu people take part in a cleansing ceremony called “Melasti”, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 25 March 2025. Melasti is a purification ritual where Balinese Hindus cleanse themselves and their sacred objects in the ocean to purify and renew spiritually, symbolizing the washing away of impurities and starting anew. It typically precedes Nyepi, the Day of Silence, marking the Balinese New Year. Balinese will celebrate Nyepi Day on 29 March 2025, during which Hindus on the island of Bali are not allowed to travel, work, light lamps, cook, or do any other activities. (Photo by Made Nagi/EPA)

Hawaii has long been known as a tropical paradise, but in recent years another image has intruded into the state's carefully crafted one of idyllic beaches and relaxing resorts: homelessness. The number of homeless people has grown in recent years, leaving the state with 487 homeless per 100,000 people, the nation's highest rate per capita, above New York and Nevada, according to federal statistics. Many of the homeless, however, defy the stereotype of the mentally ill or drug addicted. They are families, with men and women who work full-time jobs. They are struggling to get a foothold in a place with a high cost of living and low wages. Here: in this Thursday, August 27, 2015 photo, a homeless man drinks water while sitting on the beach at Ala Moana Beach Park located near Waikiki in Honolulu. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Pooh, a one-year-old cat, who lost his hind legs in an accident and has been given bionic paws, walks in a vet clinic in Sofia on January 31, 2017. Pooh, who is thought to have lost his legs in a car or train accident last April, is back on the prowl thanks to Bulgarian veterinary surgeon Vladislav Zlatinov. He is the first vet in Europe to successfully apply the pioneering method of Irish neuro-orthopaedic surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick, who shot to fame in 2009 when making Oscar the first bionic cat by fitting him with new hind legs in Britain. (Photo by Nikolay Doychinov/AFP Photo)

Camels kick up clouds of sand as they race down a steep dune. The camels can reach speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour as they descend the ten-metre tall dunes on April 20, 2022. The photos were taken by photographer Qian Guo in Naiman Banner, near the city of Tongliao in the Inner Mongolia region of northeastern China. The 58 year old said: “These are local Mongolian farmers, and two of them are a father and a son. They have more than ten camels which they farm and train”. (Photo by Qian Guo/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Twenty-four-year-old Maryam Aghayee makes hyper-realistic baby dolls acting as surrogates for some Iranian families who are apprehensive of having more children. “It has been about three or four months since I started this work”, says Maryam in Tehran, Iran on October 7, 2020. “After making my second doll, many orders have been coming in. The second doll was much more realistic than the previous one. After making my second doll, I said that from now on I can take customer orders. I did not intend to start a business from the beginning because it was a hobby, but after the second doll, the demand for these kinds of dolls increased, customers want to have such dolls”. (Photo by Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

Water is seen on part of the glacial ice sheet that covers about 80 percent of the country is seen on July 17, 2013 on the Glacial Ice Sheet, Greenland. As the sea levels around the globe rise, researchers affilitated with the National Science Foundation and other organizations are studying the phenomena of the melting glaciers and its long-term ramifications. The warmer temperatures that have had an effect on the glaciers in Greenland also have altered the ways in which the local populace farm, fish, hunt and even travel across land. In recent years, sea level rise in places such as Miami Beach has led to increased street flooding and prompted leaders such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to propose a $19.5 billion plan to boost the citys capacity to withstand future extreme weather events by, among other things, devising mechanisms to withstand flooding. (Photo by Joe Raedle)

“The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). It is most common in the southern hemisphere along the coast of Antarctica and on most sub-Antarctic islands, but can also be found on the coasts of southern Australia, Tasmania, South Africa, New Zealand, Lord Howe Island, Tierra del Fuego, the Cook Islands, and the Atlantic coast of South America. It can live twenty-six years, possibly more. Orcas and large sharks are the only natural predators of leopard seals”. – Wikipedia

Photo by: Gilad Rom; Source: Flickr