A fragment of a Koran manuscript is seen in the library at the University of Birmingham in Britain July 22, 2015. A British university said on Wednesday that fragments of a Koran manuscript found in its library were from one of the oldest surviving copies of the Islamic text in the world, possibly written by someone who might have known Prophet Mohammad. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the parchment folios held by the University of Birmingham in central England were at least 1,370 years old, which would make them one of the earliest written forms of the Islamic holy book in existence. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

“What did I know about Chechnya before last week? For someone who grew up in the 1990s the very word Chechnya meant a string of grainy images on TV showing people in battered camouflage outfits, shooting at each other amid destruction and ruin. Fear, wahhabis, Shamil Basayev, terrorism, mountains: these were the words that used to spring to my mind when someone mentioned Chechnya”. – Maxim Shemetov. Photo: Special forces officers stand guard during a government-organised event marking Chechen language day in the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny April 25, 2013. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Indigenous woven backpacks called guayare are seen in front of a house in Paraitepui village, before a walking excursion to Mount Roraima, near Venezuela's border with Brazil January 13, 2015. A mysterious table-topped mountain on the Venezuela-Brazil border that perplexed 19th century explorers and inspired “The Lost World” novel is attracting ever more modern-day adventurers. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

A man carries a sack of corn through the Comayaguela market on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, days after general eletions in Honduras, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Free Party presidential candidate Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted former president Manuel Zelaya, has taken a commanding lead in Honduras' elections, capping a 12-year effort. (Photo by Moises Castillo/AP Photo)

The graffiti against the war in Ukraine of the street artist ChemiS in Prague, Czech Republic, March 19, 2022. (Photo by Amos Chapple/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

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 man wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus carries a bag of groceries as he walks by a mural depicting an iconic financial market bull statue near the central business district, Monday, April 18, 2022, in Beijing. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)