“The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During reconnaissance missions the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A U.S. Air Force SR-71A, also known as the “Blackbird”, is put through it's paces during a test flight over Beale Air Force Base in California. The aircraft is a strategic reconnaissance plane by Lockheed and is the world's fastest and highest flying operational aircraft. (Photo by Getty Images)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

Humanoid robots compete in a group match of the 20th RoboCup in Leipzig, Germany, June 30, 2016. About 3,500 participants from 45 countries and regions compete in the robot world championship until 04 July. (Photo by Sebastian Willnow/EPA)

This photographer has made it her mission to change people’s perception of pigeons – focusing on some of the most beautiful of the more than 300 species found globally. Rather than focus on the gray, nondescript birds people usually associate with the term “pigeon”, Leila Jeffreys has instead decided to snap the more vibrant varieties. Whether it be the wompoo pigeon, with its deep purple breast and green wings, or the rose-crowned fruit dove, with its pink head, Jeffreys, 46, gives the birds the same attention she would give a human model. (Photo by Leila Jefferies/Caters News Agency)

The world’s largest public sauna has opened on a small island in the Arctic Circle and there’s room for you and about 100 of your closest mates.

Garrison Ireland Leigon member John O'Dwyer dressed as the character Darth Vader looks out towards Skellig Michael island on May 4, 2019 in Portmagee, Ireland. The latest Star Wars movies such as The Last Jedi have featured the famous Skellig Michael islands situated off the coast of the small Irish fishing village. The May the Fourth Star Wars festival is taking place in the small County Kerry village for the second year running as millions of fans worldwide celebrate the science fiction series. The quiet costal setting has seen a sharp rise in the number of tourists and fans visiting the area. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

A young female polar bear came to the vessel, which was stopped and shut down in fast ice on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. She was playing right in front of cameras entertaining people.

Stingray City is a series of shallow sandbars found in the North Sound of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. It is a tourist attraction, where southern stingrays are found in abundance and visitors can pet and interact with the animals.