A pregnant woman poses on June 19, 2018 in Vertou, western France. France had an estimated population of 68.4 million by January 1, 2024, representing a further year-on-year increase of 0.3 percent, limited by a marked drop in the birth rate, the INSEE national statistics bureau of France reported on January 16, 2024. In 2023, 678,000 babies were born in France, 6.6 percent fewer than the previous year, the lowest number of births in any year since 1946. Over the same period, there were 631,000 deaths, down 6.5 percent on 2022, a year marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and episodes of extreme heat. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)

An Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchling releases into the sea at Lhoknga beach, Indonesia's Aceh province on January 16, 2024. (Photo by Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP Photo)

An Indian Sikh Nihang (a traditional Sikh religious warrior) Baba 'Avtar' Singh wears an oversized giant traditional turban as he pay respects at the Golden temple in Amritsar on November 10, 2015 on the eve of the Indian festival of Diwali, the festival of lights. There will be no spectacular show of light and fireworks this Diwali at the Golden Temple as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has decided not to celebrate the festival in the wake of series of incidents of alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book). (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

A midnight safari has been caught on camera as wild animals gather in front of a full moon. Photographer Brendon Cremer, 35, snapped the impressive collection of night sky images while in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. It can be challenging for even the best photographers to take full control of their camera while ensuring they don’t become the deadly animals' next meal. But this impressive set of images looks both effortless and fierce. Here: A elepant strolls under the milkyway. (Photo by Brendon Cremer/Caters News)

A fishing boat (L) heads out to sea at dawn in Lhokseumawe, Aceh on August 9, 2021. (Photo by Azwar Ipank/AFP Photo)

Hindu devotees offer prayers during “Chhat Puja” festival on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Guwahati on November 10, 2021. (Photo by Biju Boro/AFP Photo)

A partial Solar eclipse is seen just after sunrise over the Queens borough of New York across the East River on November 3, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Stan Honda/AFP Photo)

A long skater speeds away on the rain-wet ice on lake Orlangen, South of Stockholm on December 15, 2013. Meteorologists forecast temperatures around 5 degrees for southern Sweden. (Photo by Tobias Rostlund/AFP Photo)

P.S. All pictures, as usual, are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews).