Venezuela's food shortages, inflation and crumbling medical sector have become such a source of anguish that a growing number of young women are reluctantly opting for sterilizations rather than face the hardship of pregnancy and child-rearing. Traditional contraceptives like condoms or birth control pills have virtually vanished from store shelves, pushing women towards the hard-to-reverse surgery. While no recent national statistics on sterilizations are available, doctors and health workers say demand for the procedure is growing. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Praia du Forte, Bahia. “This was the lead picture for a National Geographic story on Bahia, because it was both mysterious as well as a “geography” picture showing where the slaves arrived from Nigeria. Beach pictures seem like they should be easy to take, but for me they are actually quite difficult. Too easy to fall into cliche. When I saw the kid coming on the horse, I quickly ran to see if I could make something with a woman in a bikini that was not a bikini shot”. (Photo by David Alan Harvey/The Guardian)

A woman reacts after she was hit with pepper spray deployed by police as they cleared a street with protesters rallying against a new national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020, on the 23rd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. A man found in possession of a Hong Kong independence flag became the first person to be arrested under Beijing's new national security law for the city, police said on July 1. (Photo by Dale De La Rey/AFP Photo)

A hot air balloon depicting a dog that participates in the International Hot Air Balloon Festival, flies over Leon, Guanajuato state, Mexico, on November 14, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The festival, in which 100 air balloons participate, was held without spectators to avoid crowds and prevent contagion. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)

Wild boars eat bread as baits fed by officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in Hong Kong, Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Hong Kong authorities this week captured and euthanized seven wild boars to reduce their numbers in urban areas, following an increasing number of boar attacks and after one bit a policeman last week. (Photo by Lam Chun Tung/The Initium Media via AP Photo)

A Ballet dancer prepares backstage during the final dress rehearsal for the famous Nutcracker ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky at the Joburg Ballet, Johannesburg, South Africa, 04 October 2018. The premiere of Nutcracker is scheduled for 05 October and the show will run for two weeks. (Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/EFE)

A guest dressed as a zombie attends the Middle East Film & Comic Con (MEFCC) in Gulf emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 11 April 2019. The event runs until 13 April 2019. (Photo by Ali Haider/EPA/EFE)

A cosplayer poses during Day 2 of London MCM Comic Con 2019 at ExCel on May 25, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Dredd/Rex Features/Shutterstock)