This image made available by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 depicts NASA's Solar Probe Plus spacecraft approaching the sun. On Wednesday, NASA announced it will launch the probe in summer 2018 to explore the solar atmosphere. It will be subjected to brutal heat and radiation like no other man-made structure before. (Photo by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory via AP Photo)

Wrestler Kairi Hojo jumps at her opponent Mieko satomura during their Stardom female professional wrestling show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, July 26, 2015. Professional women's wrestling in Japan means body slams, sweat, and garish costumes. But Japanese rules on hierarchy also come into play, with a culture of deference to veteran fighters. The brutal reality of the ring is masked by a strong fantasy element that feeds its popularity with fans, most of them men. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Kenyan activists (L) resist arrest from police officers, as police chased after activists from different social justice centers based in informal settlements, who were marching in protest against police brutality and harassment in their communities on Sab’a Sab’a day (or Seven-Seven), in Nairobi, Kenya, 07 July 2021. Police used tear gas to disperse the protestors and arrested several of them during the protest. The Sab’a Sab’a day commemorates protests and government crackdown on a multi-party democracy movement in the 1990’s. (Photo by Daniel Irungu/EPA/EFE)

Sarah Gibbons grades a new batch of Maple Syrup at Gibbons Family Farm in Frankville, Ontario, Canada, 31 March 2014. The annual maple syrup season marks the end of the often brutal central Canadian winters and heralds the beginning of spring. The maple tree, whose leaf dominates the Canada's flag, plays both a symbolic and practical role in the identity of Canadians who produce around 95 percent of the world's supply of maple syrup. (Photo by Stephen Morrison/EPA)

Anything not recycled in industry is sold on stalls along the neighbouring highway in Sitakunda Beach, Bangladesh, February 2012. A look inside Bangladesh’s ship breaking yards reveal the brutal conditions workers are subjected to everyday. (Photo by Jan Møller Hansen/Barcroft Images)

Unforgiving temperatures of up to 60℃ (140℉) beat down on these saltminers on a daily basis. The mines, situated in the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia, stretch across 38,000 sq miles and at their lowest point are more than 300ft below sea level. Joel Santos travelled to capture the area’s dry, brutal beauty. Here: Dromedaries and donkeys are used to transport the salt. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

Skoda is promoting the Fabia vRS with “Mean Green”, a television commercial filmed at the factory in the Czech Republic, showing a meaner side to the 180hp 1.4L TSI turbo and supercharged Fabia hatchback. The commercial begins with the brutal destruction of the Fabia cake commercial from 2007, with the Sound of Music “Favourite Things” track providing an ongoing sense of irony. The online campaign in the UK invites visitors to decide between lovely and mean, choosing between gingerbread and venom.

The northeastern United States sweltered this week in a scorching summer heat wave, complete with stagnant, sticky air and no winds for relief, forecasters said. Even in a summer already filled with stretches of very hot weather, this week will be stubbornly brutal, with no relief in sight until the weekend brings thunderstorms to the region, they said. "Plain and simple, this week may feel the worst of any week for this summer in the Northeast," said Accuweather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. (Reuters)