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)

“The Ainu (アイヌ?), also called Aynu, Aino (アイノ), and in historical texts Ezo (蝦夷), are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities and confusion over mixed heritages. In Japan, because of intermarriage over many years with Japanese, the concept of a 'pure Ainu' ethnic group is no longer feasible. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, while the unofficial number is upwards of 200,000 people”. – Wkipedia

Photo: A captive bear drinking from a large bottle held by an Ainu tribeswoman. (Photo by Evans/Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Los Angeles native Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to painting and drawing not only on vintage paper, record covers and book pages, but on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, colored pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a melancholic and at times a whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. A lingering sense of loss and longing hints at emotional depth and draws the viewer into their introspective thrall with a mixture of capricious poetry, wit, and mystery. (Photo by Mike Stilkey)

MTV's “Ex On The Beach” star Jemma Lucy gives her neighbours an eyeful as she takes her bins out in her underwear in Manchester, UK on August 22, 2016. Jemma Lucy is well known in UK for her love of flashing more than a little bit of flesh on a night out. But the reality star took things a step further this week as she took out the bins wearing nothing but her bra and knickers. (Photo by XposurePhotos.com)

In this Tuesday, July 14, 2015, photo, Phoe Thaw, center, a member of the White New Blood lethwei fighters club, a Myanmar traditional martial-arts club which practices a rough form of kickboxing, stretches during a practice session in their gym on a street in Oakalarpa, north of Yangon, Myanmar. Three of the club's members competed this summer on a stage a world away from the street gym: a mixed-martial-arts “One Championship” event broadcast globally on cable television networks, where fighters could receive $1,000 for each fight, according to coach Myint Zaw who started the traditional fighters' club 15 years ago. (Photo by Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP Photo)

“A very delicate person, beneath the flamboyance”. Jasper, Ladbroke Grove, 1977. “In the 1970s, Australia was rather cut off. I’d always wanted to live abroad, so I moved to Rome and then London. I was an art historian, but started studying photography part-time. I was interested in the demi-monde culture and began mixing in all sorts of circles. Jasper was a rather wonderful character...”. (Photo by Jane England)

“Boom, a three-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, who loves birds and rabbits. He has already acquired a legion of fans on his Facebook page, and who can blame them? He might actually be the cutest pup we've ever laid eyes on (and his little buddies seem to agree). Check out these pics and see if you don't fall in love!” (Photo by Boom)

If life wasn’t exciting enough for these beautiful tortoises, they now get to wear a selection of fantastic knitted suits. They made a very slow sashay down the catwalk to showcase the talents of Katie Bradley. She has made cute woolly suits from 25 designs to transform the little animals into a shark, a lobster, a burrito, a burger, bumble bee and a birthday cake.