Over 1000 New Year revellers, many in fancy dress, braved freezing conditions in the River Forth in front of the Forth Rail Bridge during the annual Loony Dook Swim on January 1, 2012 in South Queensferry, Scotland. Thousands of people gathered last night to see in the New Year at Hogmanay celebrations in towns and cities across Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

The shoemaker in Turkey, the potato seller in Vietnam, and the weaver in Bolivia are among the billions of low-income entrepreneurs who make the world go round. They are also the type of people who can benefit significantly from microfinance. Every year, the Consultative Group To Assist The Poor (or CGAP) hosts a photo contest asking entrants to submit photos based around the idea of microfinance.The purpose of the contest is to give amateur and professional photographers a chance to show the different ways that poor households manage their financial lives and make their lives better through financial inclusion. Photo: South Asia Regional Winner – “Bricks Worker”, Bangladesh. A private enterprise worker is working at a brick field. These small businesses are creating new job opportunities for many poor people. (Photo by Moksumul Haque)

A man holds a cow at the cattle market in Maiduguri, Nigeria, March 9, 2016. A Nigerian government push to strangle the Boko Haram insurgency has shut down the cattle trade that sustained the city of Maiduguri, leaving many residents with no livelihood, including many of the two million people displaced by the war. In recent months the army has taken back much of the territory lost to the jihadists during the five-year insurgency. (Photo by Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

A farmer is seen hanging from a tree during a rally organized by Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP) in New Delhi April 22, 2015. The farmer hanged himself from a tree during a political rally in New Delhi on Wednesday, in what appeared to be a desperate protest against the hardship felt by many people scratching a living in rural India. Four people climbed the tree to try to save the man after he was seen hanging. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

People take part in a half naked Santa run in downtown Budapest, Hungary, December 9, 2018. The partakers danced, ran, walked and laughed on the streets of Budapest, while others opted to simply raise money for the chosen charity. Many people had the names of their charities written on their bellies, while others were dressed in full Santa outfits. (Photo by Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

The Anthem Veterans Memorial was created in Anthem, Arizona, in order to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the US soldiers that have lost their lives in order to bring peace and democracy to many nations throughout the world. Without these brave souls so many countries around the world would not be able to enjoy the fruits of Western Democracy. These pillars serve as a place of honor for military veterans, their friends and family, and to those people who want to pay their respect to the courageous men and women who continue to serve the United States. (Photo by Anthem Community Council)

“A meteor streaked across the sky above Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday morning, causing sharp explosions and injuring more than 500 people (20 had been hospitalized in serious condition), many of them hurt by broken glass. “There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people's houses to check if they were OK”, said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometres (930 miles) east of Moscow, the biggest city in the affected region”. (Photo by Alexey Bulaew/RIA Nowosti)

Palestinian barber Ramadan Odwan styles and straightens the hair of a customer with fire at his salon in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip February 2, 2017. In Ramadan Odwan's barbershop in Gaza, hair isn't just blow-dried, it's blowtorch-dried. “People have gone crazy about it, many people are curious to go through the experience and they are not afraid”, he told Reuters. “People here love adventures”. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)