With a presence in nearly every city and town across Iran, the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps has an ever-increasing influence on life in the Islamic Republic. Authorities created the Basij, which means mobilization in Persian, just after the country's 1979 Islamic Republic. It is part of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard. Photo: In this Thursday, August 22, 2013 photo, a female member of the Basij paramilitary militia aims a rifle as a trainer looks over her shoulder in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Members of Brazil's Movimento dos Sem-Teto (Roofless Movement) stand in the hallway of one of the 11 empty buildings that the movement took over recently, in the centre of Sao Paulo, November 6, 2012. According to City Hall, there are some 400,000 people in need of stable housing, including the 4,000 families of the Roofless Movement who are squatting in abandoned or vacant buildings that range from apartment blocks to hotels, in Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A Scots soldier has won a top award for his photos vividly depicting Army life in Afghanistan. Corporal Jamie Peters took the overall first prize for his portfolio in the annual Army Photographic Competition. Photo: Jamie's overall winning image entitled “Celtic Warrior” and shows Private Ross Cunningham from 1 Scots cleaning his personal weapon. (Photo by Jamie Peters/PA Wire)

The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometres (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth. The island measures 132 kilometres (82 mi) in length and 49.7 kilometres (30.9 mi) in width.

Fukusawa Takayuki is a Japanese designer, whose life’s goal is to brighten up the people's mood through his creations. His latest project sure does the job. In this project he created a number of figurine-pendants called the “Tanima Diver”. When worn by a woman with full breasts, it looks like the figurine is making a dive into her cleavage. Though only the most outgoing of girls will allow herself to wear such a necklace, it will surely bring a wide smile to the face of any man. (Photo by Takayuki Fukusawa)

Crowds look on as Xolo the Giant Dog, one of the giant Royal De Luxe street puppets taking part in Liverpool's World War I centenary commemorations, walks through the streets of Liverpool on July 25, 2014 in Liverpool, England. French street theatre company Royal de Luxe are putting on a show throughout the city as part of Liverpool's World War I centenary commemorations from July 23-27. The giant puppet grandmother has slept in the hall for two days as part of “Memories of August 1914”. As the giants tour the city the Little Girl Giant and her dog Xolo will meet up with the giant Grandmother telling the story of life leading up to World War One. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

From rural life in India to a chick growing inside its embryo and a sea turtle eating a purple jellyfish, the Society of Biology has released their stunning photography competition shortlist. Here: “Spectral Tarsier”. Tangkoko, Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia: Spectral tarsier by Wolfgang Weinhardt. (Photo and caption by Wolfgang Weinhardt/UK Society of Biology Photography Award 2014)