A huge wave crashes against Castlerock pier as professional surfer Al Mennie waits on a break in the swell on December 22, 2016 in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Storm Barbara is expected to cause major travel disruption when it hits northern parts of the UK later with 90mph winds predicted. The Met Office has issued an amber warning with the worst effects of the storm expected on Friday and Saturday. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Young gymnasts practice pull-up on a bar at a gymnasium of a sports school in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province April 11, 2015. (Photo by William Hong/Reuters)

If the most popular foods of Rio de Janeiro have one thing in common, it is their informality. You can find fine restaurants in the city, but they do not set Rio apart from other places. What does set it apart, and what invariably brings its residents, known as "Cariocas," together is the unpretentious food they eat in bright, loud, crowded bars and restaurants, on busy street corners, or after a day at the beach. Here: A view of traditional bolinhos de bacalhau (fried codfish balls) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 7, 2016. (Photo by Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Kiritimati is a far-flung outpost of the Republic of Kiribati. The world's largest coral atoll, Kiritimati has just one flight a week to either Fiji or Hawaii, four-and-a-half hours in either direction. Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati lies nearly 3,300 km (2,000 miles) to the west – about three weeks by boat. No lawyers are based on Kiritimati and the High Court only comes once or twice a year to clear a backlog of the most serious cases, bringing a public lawyer for defendants who can't afford their own. (Photo by Lincoln Feast/Reuters)

A surfer rides a large wave at El Bocal during the Vaca Gigante (Big Cow) giant wave surf competition in Santander, northern Spain December 17, 2016. (Photo by Vincent West/Reuters)

Peruvian shamans holding a figure of a Nino Jesus (Child Jesus) and a snake perform a ritual at the Rimac river to fight the negative effects of the Nino weather phenomena over Nature, in Lima, October 1, 2015. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

A dramatic rise in owning exotic pets in China is fuelling global demand for threatened species. The growing trade in alligators, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and spiders is directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Here: A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is groomed in a pet store in central Beijing. Native to the Sahara in North Africa, the species became a popular pet after being depicted as a character in Disney’s 2016 animated movie Zootopia. Individuals can cost between $2,000–$3,000. (Photo by Sean Gallagher/The Guardian)

South African surfer Andy Marr rides a wave at Dungeons offshore reef in the Atlantic Ocean outside Cape Town, South Africa, 01 September 2016. The big wave surfing season is at its peak with winter swells driven by storms in the South Atlantic breaking on the Cape's outer reefs providing good conditions. Big wave surfers are competing in the 2016 Striped Horse Challenge and Rebel Sessions big wave competitons symultaneously throughout the season. (Photo by Nic Bothma/EPA)