Just a week before Rio de Janeiro hosts South America's first Olympics, city residents expressed mixed feelings about the cost and security of the Games, while holding out hope they will bring joy to a nation facing economic and political crises. The conflicted thoughts mirror a recent survey by the Datafolha polling group showing that half of Brazilians were opposed to holding the Games, while 63 percent think the costs of hosting the event will outweigh benefits. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Organizers of an exhibition of ancient instruments of torture in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, have suggested that children, heart disease patients and people with high blood pressure stay away because of the vivid depictions of shocking cruelty. The exhibition has more than 200 instruments of torture on display in the 50,000-square-meter exhibition halls of a restored ancient building. Wax figures, along with sound and light techniques, are incorporated for scary effect. The local government said the exhibition is for tourists and historians to research ancient torture practices. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

In the past people used to bury their loved ones or turn them into ashes. However, now there is a completely new possibility. Since having an urn with ashes in your house may be a bit weird, you may want to choose the option of turning your deceased relative into a diamond. Yes, diamond! You’ve heard us correctly. By using immense heat and pressure, the ashes you get after cremating a person can be turned into a real diamond. After this, the diamond can be left as it is, and stored in a jewelry box, or it can be used as a piece of jewelry, such as a ring or a pendant, allowing you to always keep your loved one close to your heart. (Photo by djd/Algordanza memorial diamonds)

A woman takes a photo of a mural by Berlin-based street artist Eme Freethinker featuring the likeness of US actor Will Smith (R) slapping US comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony, in Berlin on March 30, 2022. (Photo by John MacDougall/AFP Photo)

A Peru fan cheers of her team during a Quarterfinal match between Colombia and Peru at MetLife Stadium as part of Copa America Centenario US 2016 on June 17, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US. (Photo by Chris Szagola/LatinContent/Getty Images)

A resident uses face shields made from used mineral water containers while working on the streets of Yogyakarta City, Indonesia on April 16, 2020. This face shield aims to prevent contracting from coronavirus while working outside the home. (Photo by Nuryanto/Opn Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

A woman is cooled down with a watering can as she sunbathes using insulating tape, at a beauty center in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on December 21, 2017. Brazilian women take advantage of the beginning of the summer to sunbathe using the new national trend: natural tanning with insulating tape. Instead of using tiny bikinis on the beach, women avoid being bothered or stalked by getting taped in the shape of them, and lay in the sun over rooftops to enjoy the morning sun and get the perfect “marquinha” tan lines. (Photo by Douglas Magno/AFP Photo)