Nepalese women performs ritual as they take a holy bath in the Bagmati River, during the Rishi Panchami festival, in Kathmandu, Nepal September 18, 2015. Rishi Panchami is observed on the last day of Teej when women worship Sapta Rishi (Seven Saints) to ask for forgiveness for sins committed during their menstrual periods throughout the year. The Hindu religion considers menstruation as a representation of impurity and women are prohibited from taking part in religious practices during their monthly menstruations. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Hisakata Hiroyuki, a talented photographer from Japan, has managed to snap a group of mortal tomcats in a variety of high-flying kung fu poses. Using his own rapid-fire reactions, he photographs the lovable cats flying through the air, their legs and paws outstretched, like something out of an action movie. (Photo by Hisakata Hiroyuki/Caters News Agency)

A Libyan fireman stands in front of smoke and flames rising from an oil storage tank at an oil facility in northern Libya's Ras Lanouf region on January 23, 2016, after it was set ablaze earlier in the week following attacks launched by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists to seize key port terminals. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

“A skydiver has made history by smashing the world record for the highest skydive after leaping from 128,097ft (39,044m). Daredevil Felix Baumgartner ascended to the edge of space in a pressurised capsule suspended beneath a giant helium balloon. He then jumped out, freefalling for four minutes and 19 seconds before opening his parachute”.

Photo: Baumgartner celebrates after successfully completing the jump. (Photo by Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos)

An emu runs to escape an approaching wildfire as it burns near Potero, California, U.S. June 20, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

A girl walks along rice paddy fields during “National Paddy Day”, which marks the start of the annual rice planting season, in Tokha village on the outskirts of Kathmandu on June 29, 2020. Splashing mud and drinking local rice beer, Nepali farmers this week celebrated National Paddy Day to mark the beginning of the rice-planting season, despite some coronavirus lockdown measures still in place. Traditional farming songs and laughter echoed in the air as farmers waded into waterlogged fields to sow green paddy. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

A performer takes part in the annual street parade, which is part of the Carnival of Cultures celebrating the multi-ethnic diversity of the city, in Berlin, Germany on May 20, 2018. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)