Participants bathe in ice-cold water during a ceremony at Teppozu Inari Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, 12 January 2025. 80 men and women took part in the ice water endurance ceremony to purify their souls and pray for good health in the new year. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)

Weddell seal numbers in 2025 have declined sharply on Signy Island, part of the South Orkney Islands in the Southern Ocean, where British Antarctic Survey researchers have tracked seal populations for nearly 50 years to understand the impact of melting sea ice. (Photo by Michael Dunn/The Times)

«Female Boxers», 2024. Julia Fullerton-Batten is a fine art photographer renowned for her cinematic visual storytelling. Her large-scale projects are based around specific themes, each image embellishing her subject matter in a series of thought-provoking “stories” using staged tableaux and sophisticated lighting techniques. (Photo by Julia Fullerton-Batten)

A 15-year-old girl denied a horse from her parents has turned to a cow to fulfil her riding dreams. Teenager Regina Mayer, from southern Germany, is able to ride her cow, Luna. She has even trained her bovine pet to soar over a beer-crate hurdle like a regular show jumper. Why, you may well ask, when most cow-owners are surely content to let the creatures chew and lactate and sit down to indicate the imminent arrival of rain? Well, Regina's parents wouldn't let her have a horse.

The internet has been awash with face swaps for years — here’s our contribution to the art of creating nightmares with Photoshop.

Chase Stone has been working as a freelance illustrator and concept artist for several years. His work has been featured at the Society of Illustrators and in various publications such as 2dartist Magazine, Digital Masters, and Digital Painting Techniques. Stone now lives and works in NYC.

Chow Hon Lam aka Flying Mouse, a tee shirt designer/illustrator from Malaysia. Chow just completed his personal project called Flying Mouse 365, which is create 1 design a day, 365 designs a year.

Officers from the municipal authorities of Huaian city perform red songs at the Huaian Great Hall of the People on June 13, 2011 in Huaian, Jiangsu Province of China. This year's celebrations will mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)