In this photo taken on Wednesday, January 9, 2013, ahead of the Chinese lunar new year of the Snake, following the Chinese zodiac, genetically modified, auspicious, white snakes slither across the altar at the Temple of White Snakes in Taoyuan county, in north western Taiwan. Director of the temple Mr. Lo Chin-shih says the new year of the snake would be a time of steady progress, in contrast to the more turbulent nature of the outgoing year of the dragon. The Chinese new year fall on February 10. (Photo by Wally Santana/AP Photo)

Participants struggle to reach the prizes during a greased-pole climbing competition held as a part of the independence day celebrations in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, August 17, 2014. Indonesia is celebrating its 69th independence from the Dutch colonial rule. (Photo by Dita Alangkara/AP Photo)

Riot police scuffle with pro-democracy students after hundreds of protesters stormed into a restricted area at the government headquarters, after a rally ahead of the October 1 “Occupy Central” civil disobedience movement in Hong Kong September 27, 2014. Hong Kong riot police used pepper spray on Saturday to disperse dozens of students who had stormed government headquarters, but an equal number held their ground in protests against Beijing's tightening grip on the city. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

A woman lays dead outside the Redemption Hospital on Saturday September 20, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Ebola patients come to the hospital, which has become a transfer and holding center to intake Ebola patients, but there is no space and some die while waiting outside. Redemption is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Monrovia that locals call "New Kru Town”. Health workers are overwhelmed with a constant stream of new patients since the Ebola outbreak. (Photo by Michel du Cille/The Washington Post)

Widows, who have been abandoned by their families, light sparklers after offering prayers on the banks of the river Yamuna as part of Diwali celebrations organised by non-governmental organisation Sulabh International in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh October 21, 2014. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

Super-cell thunderstorms, whirling tornados and lightning bolts illuminating the sky – these photos capture the terrifying brilliance of American storms. (Photo by Brandon Goforth/Solent News & Photo Agency)