Thorsten Mowes has a more intimate knowledge of the worlds most famous monuments than perhaps anyone else on the planet – because hes spent his entire career cleaning them. As a cultural cleaning expert with nearly 25 years experience, he has been commissioned to make wonders all over the world shine like new – from the London Eye to Christ the Redeemer. The places he has been to, stood on top of, or even hung halfway down include Mount Rushmore and the Space Needle in America, the London Eye, the Statue of Christ in Brazil and the Forbidden City in China. Here: A man cleans a part of Mount Rushmore. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

A photographer has shot this series of scenic selfies – scaling freezing mountain tops to snap himself in front of stunning scenery. Paul Zizkas breath-taking work features himself in front of beautiful backdrops such as shimmering lakes, snowy mountains and vibrant auroras. He has travelled to a number of different locations worldwide including Canada, New Zealand, Niue the South Pacific and French Polynesia. Explorer Paul, from Banff, Alberta, Canada, saw his selfies go viral early in 2014 – and has now unveiled his latest work. He said: I find that sometimes including a person in a landscape scene adds to the photograph – that it conveys a different story. Here: lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Paul Zizkas/Caters News)

Bystanders look on as workers arrange silver blue fabric, part of the process of wrapping L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris on September 13, 2021, designed by the late artist Christo. Work has begun on wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in silvery-blue fabric as a posthumous tribute to the artist Christo, who had dreamt of the project for decades. Bulgarian-born Christo, a longtime Paris resident, had plans for sheathing the imposing war memorial at the top of the Champs-Elysees while renting an apartment near it in the 1960s (Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP Photo)

Lily Winter (top) and Lana Austin (back) match up during the “Atomic 6 – Atomic Fighter” wrestling show at the Azvex Brewery in Liverpool, Britain, 21 February 2024. Atomic Pro Wrestling was started in 2023 by wrestling enthusiasts and former training mates Matt Davies, Declan McCarthy (stage name Declan Sands) and Chris Welsh as a way to showcase emerging male and female wrestling talent from England’s North and North West regions, which they felt were being overlooked and under-represented. In contrast to the highly polished world of televised WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Atomic takes a DIY approach, holding shows at a local brewery large enough to make way for the ring, and where customers can enjoy craft beer as they watch the wrestling matches from up close. (Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA/EFE)

Lake Assal is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura in the Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake which lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest land depression on Earth after the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee.

Participants in the Grelka Fest at the Sheregesh resort in Tashtagolsky District of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia on April 22, 2017. Russian girls marked the end of the ski season with a record-breaking bikini ski festival at Siberia’s top winter resort, Sheregesh. Some 1,498 skiers and snowboarders undressed to impress in the annual event as they took to the pistes under blues skies and sunshine in a bracing temperature of just 5°C. (Photo by Grelka Fest/The Siberian Times)

These images of abandoned hospitals across Italy are not for the faint-hearted. Both of the hospitals featured in the photographs are Italian asylums – known as manicomios – that were used as mental hospitals. Shut down by law in 1978, the derelict buildings are visibly overgrown and make for very eerie portraits. Photographer Thomas Windisch, 32, of Graz, Austria, said the asylums, located in top-secret spots, can get very creepy when there aren't many people there with him. Here: a hallway within an abandoned hospital. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

Crampus from Netherworld Haunted House with Amber Thompson, spa staff, at Bliss Spa at W Atlanta Downtown hotel on Thursday, October 7, 2014. A self-guided, dark attraction known for its over-the-top special effects, intense make-up, costuming and stunt actors as well as unique monsters, unusual themes and chilling detail, Netherworld Haunted House in Atlanta is taking over the Halloween holiday this season for its 18th season. (Photo by Hyosub Shin/AJC)