A Muslim Shi'ite boy carries a toy gun while standing next to a picture of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as he takes part in a march organised by Hezbollah during a re-enactment of the battle of Kerbala during a mourning process, ahead of the day of Ashura, in Saksakieh village, southern Lebanon, October 18, 2015. Ashoura, the most important day in the Shi'ite calendar, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

A supporter of Iraqi populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr gashes his head with blade during a ceremony marking Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, at Tahrir Square in Baghdad,,Iraq on August 9, 2022. (Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters)

A media member looks at a humanoid robot portraying the Qin emperor Qin Shi Huang, during an organised media tour to Robot Mall, a store selling humanoid and other robots, in Beijing, China on August 6, 2025. (Photo by Florence Lo/Reuters)

In this February 19, 2017 photo, a couple dances during the “If you don't give me....then you lend me” Carnival street party on Ipanema beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The typical view of Carnival in Brazil is anything goes, with no headdress too big, no outfit too small, no song too ribald, but this year some organizers of the world's best known party are drawing the line at lyrics that are sexist, homophobic or racist. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Polish artist Agnieszka Pilat poses with the artwork of her robot painting dogs – Basia Spot and Bunny Spot – who have become artists painting on canvases with their paws, at the launch of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Triennial 2023 in Melbourne on April 5, 2023. Pilat works with the Boston Dynamics dogs, training them to paint autonomously through AI technology individually and collaboratively, and will be part of more than 100 local and international artists, designers and collectives presenting at the exhibition opening in December. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

Picture dated June 18th, 2023 shows Cambridge University students on their way to the Emmanuel College May Ball in the rain. Hundreds of undergraduates dressed in lavish ball gowns, tuxedos, and even kilts, for the extravagant end-of-term party, which had the theme Where Lyrics Come To Life. The ball, which cost £110 a ticket, featured a rum bar, as well as a host of entertainment, including limbo, belly dancing, a bubbleologist, tarot reading and a magician. (Photo by Bav Media)

“The popularity of the Internet in China has driven the explosive growth of profitable Web companies and made fortunes for some Chinese entrepreneurs despite government controls on what the public can see online. The number of mainland Internet users rose to 513 million in December, up 12 percent from a year earlier, the government-sanctioned China Internet Network Information Center said”. – AP Business Writer

Photo: Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, works on the computer April 8, 2005 in Dengfeng, Henan Province, China. (Photo by Cancan Chu/Getty Images)

The barren landscapes of the south-western US provided inspiration for photographer David Clapp. He visited Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona as part of his project on other-worldy locations, with surreal results. Here: An infrared image at dusk of strange clay rock formations in Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness in Farmington, New Mexico. (Photo by David Clapp/Barcroft Images)