A Siberian eagle owl, which can grow up to 71cm tall, is among a collection of 60 birds of prey at SMJ Falconry near Oxenhope, West Yorkshire, England. (Photo by Charlotte Graham)

A former Gurkha (special forces soldier), Nirmal Purja, takes a selfie at the start of his attempt to scale the world’s 14 highest peaks in seven months to break a 31-year-old record. Nirmal Purja, known as Nims, aims to smash the current record – which stands at seven years, 11 months and 14 days – set by Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka. On the way, he also plans to defeat at least seven speed world records on mountains over 8,000m high. (Photo by Nirmal Purja/PA Wire Press Association)

A participant lies next to kittens after the yoga session, which was organised by PawHour, at a studio in New Delhi, India on August 6, 2023. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)

A lady-in-waiting adjusts the dress and Christian Louboutin shoes of Dayangku Raabi'atul 'Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah as Adawiyyah waits for Prince Abdul Malik to arrive for the “bersanding” or enthronement ceremony at their wedding in the Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan April 12, 2015. Malik is the son of Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world's richest men. (Photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters)

A man waits with his camel to take part in a camel decoration competition at the Nagaur Cattle Fair, where animals like camels, cows, horses, and bulls are brought to be sold or traded, in Nagaur, in the desert state of Rajasthan, India February 2, 2017. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

A long skater speeds away on the rain-wet ice on lake Orlangen, South of Stockholm on December 15, 2013. Meteorologists forecast temperatures around 5 degrees for southern Sweden. (Photo by Tobias Rostlund/AFP Photo)

P.S. All pictures, as usual, are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews).

“A fter the former Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear test in August 1949, the US reevaluated its postwar defense policies. With the US monopoly on atomic weapons broken, military and political leaders chose to diversify the American stockpile by developing thermonuclear and tactical nuclear weapons. One of the more interesting concepts to come out of this period was atomic artillery, which was successfully tested at the Nevada Proving Grounds (now the Nevada Test Site) in May 1953”. – Alan Carr. Photo: Atomic Annie at work during the Upshot-Knothole test series, 1953. (Photo by Los Alamos National Laboratory/US Army)

Lamon Reccord, right, stares and yells at a Chicago police officer "Shoot me 16 times" as he and others march through Chicago's Loop Wednesday, November 25, 2015, one day after murder charges were brought against police officer Jason Van Dyke in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. (Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo)