A ballet dancer stretches backstage during Nacho Duato's “The Nutcracker” at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia November 21, 2015. For theatregoers in St Petersburg, Nacho Duato's “The Nutcracker” demonstrates the global appeal of a Christmas classic. When the curtain rises at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, among the oldest opera and ballet houses in Russia, it's the culmination of hundreds of hours of toil and sweat by dancers, costume makers, set designers and musicians playing the famous score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. (Photo by Grigory Dukor/Reuters)

Inside the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia’s Danakil desert, camel caravans are used to carry salt. For centuries, the essential mineral has been mined by the Afar people, known for their ability to withstand extremes. The terrain is rugged, travelers are scarce and so are motor vehicles, where the average annual temperature is the highest in the world, and can rise to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, 50 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Ziv Koren/Polaris)

Photographer Khalid Alhammadi really has got his head in the clouds as he scales some of the Middle East’s tallest buildings to photograph iconic landmarks high above the rising mist. Khalid’s breathtaking shots over Abu Dhabi look almost otherworldly, with skyscraper tips and mosque towers poking through the eerie fog. Here: Night view of Abu Dhabi. (Photo by Khalid Alhammadi/Caters News Agency)

A police officer reacts to flames during a protest against Chile's government in Santiago, Chile on November 4, 2019. Unrest began in Chile last October 18 with protests against a rise in transport tickets and other austerity measures and descended into vandalism, looting, and clashes between demonstrators and police. Protesters are angry about low salaries and pensions, poor public healthcare and education, and a yawning gap between rich and poor. (Photo by Henry Romero/Reuters)

Tens of thousands of HIV positive prostitutes in the slums of Lagos to ensure a rapid spread of the epidemic. “If you arrive by car, you can smell the HIV virus outside”, joked my driver as we are on track to Badia a criminal slums of Lagos. Badia is a corruption of “Bad Area”. Nigerians have a lack of everything, except black humor. The poor West African country Nigeria, with a population of 140 million people, after India and South Africa the highest number of people with HIV / AIDS. (Photo by Ton Koene/Exclusivepix Media)

Ender Moreno looks for gold at La Culebra gold mine in El Callao, Bolivar state, southeastern Venezuela on March 1, 2017. Although life in the mines of eastern Venezuela is hard and dangerous, tens of thousands from all over the country head for the mines daily in overcrowded trucks, pushed by the rise in gold prices and by the severe economic crisis affecting the country, aggravated recently by the drop in oil prices. (Photo by Juan Barreto/AFP Photo)

A couple walk on a catwalk in a flooded Saint Mark Square during a period of seasonal high water in Venice on October 29, 2018. Venice frequently floods when high winds push in water from the lagoon, but Monday's levels are exceptional and forecast to rise even higher, to 160 centimeters (nearly 63 inches) by mid-afternoon. (Photo by Manuel Silvestri/Reuters)

Passengers watch as The Waverley, the world's last remaining seagoing passenger paddle steamer arrives at Clevedon Pier on June 10, 2011 in Clevedon, England. Built in 1946, the trust which owns and operates the Waverley, is warning that this could be the last season for the vessel and is appealling for more public funding saying it is struggling to make ends meet in the current financial climate due in part to rising fuel costs. Restored in 1973 after service on Loch Long in Scotland, since 2003, Waverley has been listed in the British National Register of Historic Ships core collection as 'a vessel of pre-eminent national importance'. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)