In this photograph taken on October 27, 2017 an Afghan woman collects saffron flowers after picking them in a field on the outskirt of Herat For years, Afghanistan has tried to give farmers alternatives such as fruit crops and saffron to wean them away from poppy farming – the lifeblood of the Taliban insurgency. International donors have splurged billions of dollars on counter- narcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, including efforts to encourage farmers to switch to other cash crops such as saffron. But those efforts have shown little results. (Photo by Hoshang Hashimi/AFP Photo)

An Iraqi special forces Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) member screams during a battle against Islamic State group jihadists (IS) in Mosul's al-Rifaq neighbourhood on January 8, 2017, as an ongoing military operation against the militants continues. Elite Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State group in eastern Mosul reached the Tigris River that splits the city in two for the first time, a spokesman said. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

A barber cuts hair of his client at a shuttered market during the countrywide traders strike in Lahore on October 29, 2019. Pakistani traders have joined hands to observe a nationwide shutterdown strike against the government over its “anti-business” policies, seeking to bring trade and economic activities across the country to a standstill on October 29 and 30. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinian members of al-Agha family, who were killed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

A plume of smoke rises above Gaza City as Israeli air strikes hit on August 18, 2011 in Gaza City, Gaza. The airstrikes came hours after attacks by militants killing Israelis in a cross border operation near Eilat, Southern Israel. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

An incredible view of daytime lightning on Saturn during one of the biggest storms the ringed planet has ever seen has been captured by a NASA spacecraft.

Photo: The huge storm which generated the lightning strike on Saturn can be seen in the top right of this image. (Photo by NASA)

Lighting from an approaching thunder storm strikes near the shore in Panama City Beach, Fla., on Thursday, July 10, 2014. (Photo by Brennen Smith/AP Photo/The Decatur Daily)

A man looks out of a window as Palestinians inspect the site and search for casualties of an overnight Israeli air strike on a house at al-Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, on July 15, 2025. (Photo by Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)