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Wax figures with torture instrument named “torture-rack” are seen on October 25, 2014 in Huai'an, Jiangsu province of China. The exhibition, which opened last year at an educational center in the eastern city of Huai'an, includes reenactments of prisoners being hung over a fire, flayed and being tortured on what is known as a “Tiger Bench” – pictured above – a Qing dynasty (1644-1912) device that contorted victims' legs and arms in high pressure positions that could break bones or tear apart joints. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)

Organizers of an exhibition of ancient instruments of torture in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, have suggested that children, heart disease patients and people with high blood pressure stay away because of the vivid depictions of shocking cruelty. The exhibition has more than 200 instruments of torture on display in the 50,000-square-meter exhibition halls of a restored ancient building. Wax figures, along with sound and light techniques, are incorporated for scary effect. The local government said the exhibition is for tourists and historians to research ancient torture practices. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)
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29 Oct 2014 12:22:00
A worker sweeps leaves below a historic spirit still at Suntory Holdings' Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto town, Osaka prefecture, near Kyoto, December 1, 2014. Nestled at the foot of wooded hills near the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, the Yamazaki whisky distillery feels a long way from the northerly glens of Scotch's spiritual home. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A worker sweeps leaves below a historic spirit still at Suntory Holdings' Yamazaki Distillery in Shimamoto town, Osaka prefecture, near Kyoto, December 1, 2014. Nestled at the foot of wooded hills near the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, the Yamazaki whisky distillery feels a long way from the northerly glens of Scotch's spiritual home. Despite its unlikely birthplace, last month Yamazaki's Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 trumped more than a thousand challengers to be named the world's best whisky by leading critic Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)
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05 Dec 2014 13:57:00
Hong Kong Shop Cats #17. Marcel Heijnen returned to Hong Kong in 2015 and found himself living without a cat for the first time in decades. Soon, though, he was indulging in what he calls “re-tail therapy” and found himself on a first-name basis with a number of cats in his neighbourhood, Sai Ying Pun. (Photo by Marcel Heijnen/Blue Lotus)

When Dutch photographer Marcel Heijnen moved to Hong Kong, the territory’s shop cats instantly caught his eye. While the “feline emperors” are the stars, his shots also offer insights into Hong Kong’s wares, from dried fish to paper. Here: Hong Kong Shop Cats #17. (Photo by Marcel Heijnen/Blue Lotus)
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03 Jan 2017 11:04:00
An adorable baby koala is seen enjoying a snooze after a traumatic start to life. The baby koala, nicknamed “Blondie Bumstead”, is being cared for by a volunteer from the Ipswich Koala protection society in Queensland after her mother was killed by a dog. (Photo by Jamie Hanson/Newspix/REX Features)

An adorable baby koala is seen enjoying a snooze after a traumatic start to life. The baby koala, nicknamed “Blondie Bumstead”, is being cared for by a volunteer from the Ipswich Koala protection society in Queensland after her mother was killed by a dog. Blondie, who was named for her light fur, was given just a 50-50 chance of pulling through after the attack. But after a course of antibiotics and some tender loving car from volunteer Marilyn Spletter she has now been given a clean bill of health. According to Marilyn she has hand-reared around 40 baby koalas but says that Blondie, who will be released back into the wild after 15 months, is one of her favourites. She said: “She's got a little character all of her own and she knows what she wants and what she doesn't. When she's stressed I kiss her on the nose or I rub my nose on hers and it relaxes her”. (Photo by Jamie Hanson/Newspix/REX Features)
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07 Aug 2014 10:26:00
These black-and-white photos are taken from the new book “Armoured Warfare in the First World War 1916 – 1918” by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen & Sword Military. “Interestingly the British, French and Germans took completely different approaches with varying results”. The British military produced “Little Willie” in Autumn 1915 weighing 18 tonnes, which had a crew of two plus four gunners. “Inspired by a tracked artillery tractor “Little Willie” was referred to as a water tank – hence the name tank – to ensure secrecy”, said Anthony. “This led to the strange looking Mark I with its peculiar rhomboid shape, designed to cross trenches with guns in sponsons on either side. The Germans saw the tank as unchivalrous and were slow to grasp its utility. They favoured the Stormtrooper (specialist soldiers used to infiltrate enemy trenches) and artillery, not the tank”, said Anthony. “However, they didn’t hesitate to make use of captured British tanks. Although the tank helped secure victory and German soldiers dubbed it “Germany’s Downfall” the country was ultimately brought to its knees by the Allies blockade”. Here: British troops hitch a ride on a Mark IV after the massed tank fleet spearheading attack at Cambrai on November 20, 1917. (Photo by Anthony Tucker-Jones/Mediadrumworld.com)

These black-and-white photos are taken from the new book “Armoured Warfare in the First World War 1916 – 1918” by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen & Sword Military. Here: British troops hitch a ride on a Mark IV after the massed tank fleet spearheading attack at Cambrai on November 20, 1917. (Photo by Anthony Tucker-Jones/Mediadrumworld.com)
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23 Feb 2017 00:02:00
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. So-named because its call sounds like a barking dog, these birds are native to Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In Victoria they are listed as an endangered species, and in 2003 there were estimated to be fewer than 50 breeding pairs. The main threat to the species in Victoria is loss of habitat, especially large trees with hollows in which they can nest and on which many of their prey depend. Apart from a bark, they may utter a chilling scream when they feel threatened. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

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)
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01 Jul 2017 07:45:00
A Tenggerese shaman praying for worshippers at Widodaren cave during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on July 31, 2015 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The festival is the main festival of the Tenggerese people and lasts about a month. On the fourteenth day, the Tenggerese make the journey to Mount Bromo to make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano's caldera. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

A Tenggerese shaman praying for worshippers at Widodaren cave during the Tenggerese Hindu Yadnya Kasada festival on July 31, 2015 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The festival is the main festival of the Tenggerese people and lasts about a month. On the fourteenth day, the Tenggerese make the journey to Mount Bromo to make offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the volcano's caldera. The origin of the festival lies in the 15th century when a princess named Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband Joko Seger, and the childless couple asked the mountain Gods for help in bearing children. The legend says the Gods granted them 24 children but on the provision that the 25th must be tossed into the volcano in sacrifice. The 25th child, Kesuma, was finally sacrificed in this way after initial refusal, and the tradition of throwing sacrifices into the caldera to appease the mountain Gods continues today. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
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01 Aug 2015 12:07:00
Man your battle stations: The crew chief of helicopter Yankee Papa 13, lance corporal James C. Farley, mans an M-60 machine gun during a mission near Da Nang, Vietnam on March 31, 1965. (Photo by Larry Burrows/Time & Life Pictures)

In the spring of 1965, within weeks of 3,500 American Marines arriving in Vietnam, a 39-year-old Briton named Larry Burrows began work on a feature for LIFE magazine, chronicling the day-to-day experience of U.S. troops on the ground – and in the air – in the midst of the rapidly widening war. The photographs in this gallery focus on a calamitous March 31, 1965, helicopter mission; Burrows’ “report from Da Nang”, featuring his pictures and his personal account of the harrowing operation, was published two weeks later as a now-famous cover story in the April 16, 1965, issue of LIFE.

Photo: Man your battle stations: The crew chief of helicopter Yankee Papa 13, lance corporal James C. Farley, mans an M-60 machine gun during a mission near Da Nang, Vietnam on March 31, 1965. (Photo by Larry Burrows/Time & Life Pictures)
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07 Apr 2013 07:08:00