A man stands near bodies of his young relatives after an airstrike in the rebel held Douma neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria August 22, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

In this December 29, 2004 file photo, Kusol Wetchakul offers prayers for the soul of his sister, at dawn along the beach near Khao Lak, Thailand. Wetchakul's sister was swept out to sea and believed drowned as she sold goods to tourists on the popular tourist beach just north of Phuket. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of one of the deadliest natural disasters in world history: a tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake off the Indonesian coast, leaving more than 230,000 people dead in 14 countries and causing about $10 billion in damage. (Photo by David Longstreath/AP Photo)

“When I was 8 years old, my parents paid a smuggler to take me across the Himalayas, a weekslong walk over the mountains from Tibet to India. It was a trek that tens of thousands of other Tibetans have taken since the Dalai Lama fled a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. My parents must have had their reasons to send me here; they must have had the best of intentions. But 18 years later, I still don't know why they did it. They are not political people. They are small farmers who raise barley and a few yak in a rural area not far from Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. I have not seen them since I left...”. – Tsering Topgyal via The Associated Press. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)

Young Slovaks dressed in traditional costumes throw a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, Slovakia, April 9, 2012. Slovakia's men splash women with water to symbolize youth, strength and beauty for the upcoming spring season. (Photo by Samuel Kubani/AFP)

Among the fish populations that could be harmed by the Xayaburi dam in Laos is the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish, considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the world’s largest freshwater fish. The fish, which grows to 650 pounds and about 10 feet long, is only found in the Mekong River. It is migratory, moving between downstream habitats in Cambodia upstream to northern Thailand and Laos each year to spawn. Some experts fear the Xayaburi dam could block the migration and drive the giant catfish to extinction. (Photo by Courtesy of Zeb Hogan/University of Nevada, Reno)

Afghan air force 2nd Lt. Niloofar Rhmani walks the flight line at Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan, prior to her graduation from undergraduate pilot training, on May 13, 2013. Rhmani made history on May 14, when she became the first female to successfully complete undergraduate pilot training and earn the status of pilot in more than 30 years. She will continue her service as she joins the Kabul Air Wing as a Cessna 208 pilot. (Photo by Senior Airman Scott Saldukas/USAF)

This picture taken on July 9, 2013 shows heavy flood waters sweeping through Beichuan in southwest China´s Sichuan province. Rainstorms sweeping across parts of China have affected millions, causing landslides and disabling transportation in provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan, state media reported. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Passengers climb to board an overcrowded train at a railway station in Dhaka August 8, 2013. Millions of residents in Dhaka are travelling home from the capital city to celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Photo by Andrew Biraj/Reuters)