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COAL

2012-01-30T21:05:00.000-08:00

A crane lifts miners out of a 300ft deep mine shaft as they head out for their lunch break on April 13, 2011 in Jaintia Hills, India. Workers can earn as much as 150 USD per week or 30,000 Rupees per month, significantly higher than the national average of 15 USD per day.

Coal occupies a central position in modern human endeavors. Last year over 7000 megatons were mined worldwide. Powerful, yet dirty and dangerous, use of coal is expanding every year, with 2010 witnessing a production increase of 6.8%. Around 70 countries have recoverable reserves, which some estimates claim will last for over a hundred years at current production levels. Mining for coal is one of the world's most dangerous jobs. While deadliest in China, where thousands of miners die annually, the profession is still hazardous in the West and other regions as well. Our mining and use of coal accounts for a variety of environmental hazards, including the production of more CO2 than any other source. Other concerns include acid rain, groundwater contamination, respiratory issues, and the waste products which contain heavy metals. But our lives as lived today rely heavily on the combustible sedimentary rock. Over 40% of the world's electricity is generated by burning coal, more than from any other source. Chances are that a significant percentage of the electricity you're using to read this blog was generated by burning coal. Gathered here are images of coal extraction, transportation, and the impact on environment and society. The first eight photographs are by Getty photographer Daniel Berehulak, who documented the lives of miners in Jaintia Hills, India.

22-year-old Shyam Rai from Nepal makes his way through tunnels inside of a coal mine 300 ft beneath the surface on April 13, 2011 near the village of Latyrke, in the district of Jaintia Hills, India. In the Jaintia hills, located in India's far northeast state of Meghalaya, miners descend to great depths on slippery, rickety wooden ladders. Children and adults squeeze into rat hole like tunnels in thousands of privately owned and unregulated mines, extracting coal with their hands or primitive tools and no safety equipment.

20-year-old Anil Basnet sits for a portrait above the coal mine where he works on April 13, 2011 in Jiantia Hills, India. Many workers leave homes in neighboring states, and countries, like Bangladesh and Nepal, hoping to escape poverty and improve their quality of life.

20-year-old Anil Basnet pushes a coal cart, as he and a fellow worker pull coal out from the rat hole tunnel 300 ft below the surface on April 13, 2011 in Jaintia Hills, India. Some miners send money back to loved ones at home, whilst many others squander their earnings on alcohol, drugs and prostitution in the dusty, coal mining towns like Lad Rymbai

A boy works at a coal depot on April 16, 2011 in Jaintia Hills, India. Some of the labor is forced, and an Indian NGO group, Impulse, estimates that 5,000 privately-owned coal mines in Jaintia Hills employed some 70,000 child miners. The government of Meghalaya refuted this figure, claiming that the mines had only 222 minor workers. Despite the ever present dangers and hardships, children, migrants and locals flock to the mines hoping to strike it rich in India's wild east

School children walk through a coal depot on their way home from school on April 14, 2011 in Jaintia Hills, India. Local schools in the area, providing free tuition, find it difficult to convince parents of the benefits of education, as children are seen as sources of income. The lure of the mines is stronger than that of the classroom.

38-year-old Prabhat Sinha carries a load of coal weighing 60kgs, supported by a head-strap, as he ascends the staircase of a coal mine on April 16, 2011 in Jaintia Hills, India. After traversing treacherous mountain roads, the coal is delivered to neighboring Bangladesh and to Assam from where it is distributed all over India, to be used primarily for power generation and as a source of fuel in cement plants.

Smoke billows from the chimneys of a coal-burning power plant in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on October 14, 2011. Ulan Bator's pollution is seasonal, with relatively low amounts in summer, but critical levels in the depths of winter when the PM10s can reach 2000 micrograms per cubic meter in the worst affected areas. The 10 most polluted cities on the planet are all in emerging-market or developing countries: Iran, Pakistan, India, Botswana and Mongolia.

A rescuer rests during a break at Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine in Ukraine on July 29, 2011. At least eighteen miners died and another 20 went missing after an explosion in the coal mine known to be dangerous due to large methane build-ups.

A man walks past a coal plant amidst a dust storm in Lingwu, in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region March 29, 2011.

Workers of the Auguste Victoria coal mine make their way to work underground in Marl, Germany on June 28, 2011. 3,700 workers mine three millions tons of coal per year there.

Heavy machinery works in the distance at the Kedrovsky open pit coal mine, operated by OAO Kuzbassrazrezugol near Kemerovo, Russia on March 31, 2011. OAO Kuzbassrazrezugol is Russia's second largest coal producer.

A women sells coal in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on July 7, 2011. With little or almost no new job opportunities in Haiti, people try to make ends meet by selling goods and services in the streets.

Steam and other emissions rise from a coal-fired power station near Lithgow, Australia on July 7, 2011. A new carbon tax will see Australia's 500 heaviest polluters pay A$23 for every ton of carbon emissions.

A survivor trapped for more than 180 hours in a collapsed coal mine receives medical treatment at a hospital in Heshan, China on July 10, 2011.

Coal moves on a conveyor belt at the PT Bukit Asam open pit coal mine in Tanjung Enim, Indonesia on July 7, 2011.

Family members grieve as they wait for news of the fate of trapped miners in Heshan, China on July 3, 2011. Heavy rains hampered efforts to reach more than 40 workers trapped in a colliery which collapsed due to torrential downpours pummelling the area.

Relatives comfort each other during the funeral of a miner killed in a mine blast, in Makiyivka, Ukraine on July 31, 2011. Eleven miners were killed in the accident at the Bazhanova pit in the town of Makiyivka in the Donetsk region where a concrete mine headframe collapsed. Ukraine held a day of mourning July 31 for 37 miners killed in two separate accidents in coal pits in the country's eastern industrial district as the last bodies were pulled from the rubble.

A couple nap under an umbrella at an open-air dumpsite of a coal mine on the outskirts of Fushun, China on August 21, 2011.

Rescuers carry a survivor out of a flooded pit at Hengtai Coal Mine in Qitaihe, China on August 30, 2011.

Miners prepare to travel to work in the Vorgashorskaya coal mine in Vorkuta, Russia on August 30, 2011. Vorkuta is one of Russia's largest coal producing regions.

A coal worker poses for a portrait in Shanxi Province, China on March 24, 2011. China is by far the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world.

Railway workers push a wagon loaded with coal back to its track after it derailed at Sabarmati power house in Ahmedabad, India on September 7, 2011. Four people were injured after six wagons of a goods train carrying coal got derailed due to heavy rains.

Two mine rescue workers leave the Rhos community center as emergency services and rescue specialists continue the operation to rescue four Welsh miners that were trapped 300ft underground after a coal mine tunnel collapsed and flooded near the village of Cilybebyll, Wales on September 16. All four died

An excavator works in an open-cast lignite mine on September 28, 2011 in Belchatow, Poland.

An Afghan man works at his shop as he sells coal in Kabul on October 4, 2011.

A truck holds 447 tons of coal at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle coal mine, north of Douglas, Wyo. Guiness World Records recently awarded the body’s manufacturer a certificate for its custom-built unit designed for a Wyoming mine.

A crew member of the submerged ship MV Rak Carrier is winched into a Seaking helicopter off the coast of Mumbai on August 4, 2011. The Panama-flagged MV Rak Carrier, transporting 60,000 tons of coal from Indonesia to India, sank off the coast of Mumbai after its crew were rescued when it began taking on water in stormy seas.

A young woman stumbles as she tries to carry a large basket of coal as they illegally scavenge at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari, India, where a community of coal scavengers live and work. The contrast between India old and new is nowhere more vivid than among the villages of coal scavengers in eastern India, sitting on an apocalyptic landscape of smoke and fire from decades-old underground coal fires. While India grows ever more middle-class and awash in creature comforts, these villagers risk their lives scavenging coal illegally for a few dollars a day, and come back to homes that at any moment could be swallowed by a fresh fire-induced crack in the earth.

Locals face riot police while blocking a highway in Haimen, China on December 22, 2011 during a protest against a plan to build a coal-fired power plant. Thousands of angry residents in the town surrounded a government building and blocked an expressway, and online accounts of the incident claimed two people had died.

A miner works in the extraction gallery 900 meters underground in the Budryk Coal Mine in Ornontowice, Poland on June 22, 2011.

Residents transport illegally mined coal by bicycle in Mong Duong ward in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province on September 16, 2011.

Workers carry the body of a colleague on a stretcher during a rescue operation at a coal mine on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan on October 13, 2011. Five mine workers were killed when a gas explosion occurred in a coal mine in southwestern Pakistan.

A laborer (right) at a coal dump site cleans his face after washing in the early morning hours outside Kabul October 18, 2011. Each laborer earns $10 on an average working day. Most of them come from the northern provinces, leaving their families behind in search of fortune in the capital.

he front end of a continuous miner, which spares miners a long walk into and out of the mine on a steep grade at the Allen Mine, sits idle on September 26, 2011, near Trinidad, Colo.

Greenpeace activists hang from a crane inside Eskom's Kusile power plant in the Delmas municipal area of South Africa with banners reading 'Kusile: Climate Killer' on November 7, 2011. Greenpeace is calling on the state owned utility ESKOM to abandon the Kusile coal fired power plant, which is set to become world's fourth most polluting power plant in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and to instead invest in both green energy sources and jobs.

Big coal companies are buying out small mining towns along Route 26 in West Virginia, a highway linking Bandytown, Twilight, and Lindytown. High above Route 26 the coal companies are in the process of mountaintop removal mining. Lifelong resident of Lindytown Leo Cook, 75, drove along Route 26 reminiscing about his childhood and pointing out all that is gone

The father of a missing miner grieves at a coal mine where seven miners were missing after a flooding accident November 14, 2011 in Jingtai county in China's Gansu province.

High-voltage power lines frame a coal power plant in Nierderaussem, Germany on November 9, 2011.

A group of Bosnians transport coal for heating in horse-drawn carts near Sarajevo on January 9, 2012. The average unemployment rate is up to 42 percent, according to the Bosnian government. Collecting coal by hand and selling it on a local market is the only way an impoverished category of the Bosnian population can survive the winter.

A child sifts the usable residue from the ashes of coal used at a brick factory during the cold days of a harsh winter in Surkhroad, Afghanistan on January 30, 2012.

Relatives identify bodies of killed miners at the Sizhuang Coal Mine after a gas leak in Shizong county in China's Yunnan province on November 11, 2011. Hundreds of rescuers took turns descending into the illegally operated coal mine to search for miners trapped by a gas leak in the country's second deadly mining accident in less than a week.

EGYPYIANS GATHER IN SQUARE TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF UPRISING

2012-01-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

Egyptian protesters gather in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, 2012, during a mass rally marking the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

A massive demonstration of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo today to mark the anniversary of the uprising that eventually led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. Political divides are still in force with liberals and Islamists differing on their visions for the future of the country. Mubarak is now on trial for complicity in the deaths of protesters. The uprising in Egypt last year was one of the initial protests of what is called the Arab Spring, which has included the slaying of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy and the ongoing protests in Syria.

Egyptian men chants slogans as thousands gather in Tahrir Square to mark the one year anniversary of the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt on Jan. 25.

Demonstrators pray at Tahrir Square during a protest marking the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising in Cairo on Jan. 25.

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Elder Safwat Hegazy is carried through Tahrir Square as thousands gather to mark the one year anniversary of the revolution on Jan. 25 in Cairo Egypt. Tens of thousands have gathered in the square on the first anniversary of the Arab uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptians march during a demonstration toward Tahrir Square marking the first anniversary of the popular uprising that unseated President Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptians gather in their thousands in Tahrir Square to mark the one year anniversary of the revolution on Jan. 25, 2012 in Cairo Egypt. Tens of thousands have gathered in the square on the first anniversary of the Arab uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak

Egyptians gather in the thousands in Tahrir Square to mark the one year anniversary of the revolution on Jan 25 in Cairo, Egypt.

Demonstrators take part in a protest marking the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Jan. 25.

Egyptian protesters lift an obelisk with the names of those killed during last year's uprising, at a huge rally in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25 marking the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak as a debate raged over whether the rally was a celebration or a second push for change.

An Egyptian man holds a copy of the Koran in one hand and a wooden cross in the other during a mass rally in Tahrir Square.

COSTA CONCORDIA CRUISE SHIP RUNS AGROUND OFF COAST OF ITALY

2012-01-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia is shown run aground off the coast of Giglio in this Jan. 17, 2012 DigitalGlobe handout satellite photo. Eleven people are confirmed dead and some twenty are still missing from more than 4,200 passengers and crew after the Concordia ran aground two hours into a week-long cruise of the western Mediterranean.

The search continued for those still missing after the Costa Concordia luxury cruise ship smashed into a reef off the coast of Giglio, Italy, and partially sank last weekend. Eleven deaths were confirmed on Tuesday. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, has been accused of manslaughter by prosecutors after he left the ship before all passengers were evacuated.

Rescuers surround the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia after it ran aground off the coast of Isola del Giglio island, Italy, gashing open the hull and forcing some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate aboard lifeboats to the nearby Isola del Giglio island, early Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. About 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members.

A handout aerial view taken and released on Jan. 14, 2012 by Italian Guardia de Finanza shows the Costa Concordia, after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio, on late January 13.

The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio as floating barriers are positioned to prevent pollution of the coasts on Jan. 18, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy. The official death toll is now 11, with some twenty people still missing. The rescue operation was temporarily suspended earlier due to the ship moving as it slowly sinks further into the sea.

A rescuer being lowered on the cruise liner Costa Concordia on Jan. 18 that ran aground in front of the harbor of the Isola del Giglio (Giglio island) after hitting underwater rocks on January 13. Emergency workers fear that the ship could slip from its resting place on a rocky shelf and slip into deeper waters.

Captain Francesco Schettino (center) of cruise ship Costa Concordia is escorted into a prison by police officers at Grosseto, after being questioned by magistrates in this still image from a video Jan. 17, 2012. Italian coastguards pleaded angrily with the captain of the stricken super-liner to return to his ship, according to recordings released on Tuesday as divers found five more bodies in the half-submerged wreck of the Costa Concordia. Taking the known death toll to 11, that some 24 people, including a number of German tourists, unaccounted for four days after the giant cruiser carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew was ripped open by rocks off a Tuscan island. Schettino is accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck by sailing too close to shore and abandoning ship before all his passengers and crew scrambled off.

Italian rescue personnel are seen atop the Costa Concordia cruise liner, two days after it ran aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012. The captain of a cruise liner that ran aground and capsized off the Tuscan coast faced accusations from authorities and passengers that he abandoned ship before everyone was safely evacuated as rescuers found another body on the overturned vessel.

Firefighters on a dinghy look at a rock emerging from the side of the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia, the day after it ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.

A scuba diver rests on the rocks as he looks at the Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the west coast of Italy, at Giglio island, Jan. 18, 2012. Divers searching the capsized Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia suspended work on Wednesday after the vast wreck shifted slightly but officials said they are hoping to resume as soon as possible.

Rescue divers retrieve a body from the stricken cruise liner Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 17, 2012. Divers searching for survivors inside a stricken cruise ship off the Italian coast found five more bodies on Tuesday, as prosecutors grilled the arrested captain over his role. The death toll has now risen to 11, leaving some twenty still missing of the 4,200 people on board when the ship went down on Jan. 13

A scuba diver inspects a side of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, seen underwater after it ran aground off the west coast of Italy, at Giglio island in this photo released on Jan. 16, 2012. Rescue squads used controlled explosions on Tuesday to enter a stricken Italian cruise liner in the increasingly despairing hunt for survivors.

A part of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is seen underwater after it ran aground off the west coast of Italy, at Giglio island in this photo released on Jan. 16, 2012.

Underwater photo taken on Jan. 13, 2012, and released by the Italian Coast Guard on Jan. 16 shows a diver inside the cruise ship Costa Concordia, after it ran aground in front of the Isola del Giglio harbor. Pier Luigi Foschi, head of the Costa Crociere line, said the company had commissioned several firms to look at the best way to salvage the 114,500-ton vessel lying on its side. The 290-meter (950-feet) long Costa Crociere, which is 17 decks high, has a large gash in its hull from running on to rocks before it capsized on Friday night.

Sunset on Jan. 16, 2012, over the cruise liner Costa Concordia aground in front of the harbor of Isola del Giglio after hitting underwater rocks on Jan. 13.

Carabinieri scuba divers inspect the interior of the Costa Concordia cruise ship on Jan. 17 through a breach in a window after the ship ran aground at Giglio island off the west coast of Italy

View of the wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia on Jan. 16, 2012, in the harbor of the Tuscan island of Giglio after it ran aground after hitting underwater rocks on Jan. 13.

An helicopter evacuates Marrico Giempietroni, the Costa Concordia's cabin service director after he was rescued from the Costa Concordia on Jan. 15, 2012, after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio, late on Jan. 13.

Oil removal ships near the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon Monday after the Costa Concordia shifted a few inches (centimeters) in rough seas. The fear is that if the ship shifts significantly, some 500,000 gallons of fuel may begin to leak into the pristine waters.

Italian firefighters scuba divers approach the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia which ran aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.

View of the wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia on Jan. 16, 2012, in the harbor of the Tuscan island of Giglio after it ran aground after hitting underwater rocks on Jan. 13.

A woman takes a picture of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island Jan. 14, 2012.

A cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island Jan. 14.

Passengers of the Costa Concordia arrive at Porto Santo Stefano on Jan. 14, 2012, after being evacuated from the cruise ship that ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio, Friday Jan. 13. The ship was on a cruise in the Mediterranean, leaving from Savona with planned stops in Civitavecchia, Palermo, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona and Marseille," the company said.

Passengers of the luxury ship Costa Concordia that ran aground off the coast of Tuscany arrive on a ferry in Porto Santo Stefano, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. The Costa Concordia ran aground, gashing open the hull and taking on water, forcing some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate aboard lifeboats to a nearby island early Saturday.

Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island Jan. 14, 2012. At least eleven people were killed and rescuers were searching for other victims after the Italian cruise ship carrying more than 4,200 people ran aground and keeled over in shallow waters

A passenger from South Korea (center) walks with Italian Firefighters after being rescued from the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia which ran aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio.

This aerial black-and-white video image shot with an infrared camera and made available by the Italian Coastguard Tuesday Jan. 17, 2012 appears to show passengers of shipwrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia slipping down the belly of the luxury liner one-by-one using a rope to reach a lifeboat, bottom left, late Friday Jan. 13, 2012 off Giglio Island, Italy.

An image grab taken from Sky TV Italy shows passengers and crew members wearing life jackets as they prepare to evacuate the Costa Concordia cruiseship on Jan. 13, 2012 after the ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio after hitting underwater rocks.

A cruise ship that ran aground is seen off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island Jan. 14, 2012. The Costa Concordia, a large Italian cruise ship, carrying more than 4,000 people ran aground overnight, took on water and tipped over

Rescuers are seen next to the Costa Concordia cruise ship on Jan. 14, 2012 that ran aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island Jan 13. Passengers leapt into the sea and fought over lifejackets in panic when an Italian cruise ship ran aground and keeled over.

DAKAR RALLY 2012

2012-01-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

South African Giniel de Villiers drives his car along a road in the Argentine province of Catamarca on January 6, 2012, a day in which organizers were forced to cancel the sixth stage between Fiambala in Argentina and Copiapo in Chile due to summer snow in the Andes.

Traversing over 8000 miles through Argentina, Chile, and Peru, the Dakar rally pits drivers and riders against each other and against extreme terrain. The 14-stage race attracts competitors from over 50 countries to race 465 vehicles - motorcycles, quad bikes, cars, and trucks - through deserts, rivers, and mountains. The race has seen its share of tragedy over the years, and the 2012 edition is no different, with Argentine motorcycle rider Jorge Boero dying after a crash near the end of the very first stage, and two spectators dying when their ultralight aircraft crashed. Begun on January 1st, the race concludes Saturday in Lima, Peru.

South Africa's driver Alfie Cox (left) and co-pilot Jurgen Schroder leave their Volvo XC60 Pewano burning during stage one between Mar del Plata and Santa Rosa de la Pampa, Argentina on January 1, 2012.

Franz Echter of Germany drives around the burning car of Jose Antonio Blangion of Argentina during stage one from Mar Del Plata to Santa Rosa de la Pampa on January 1, 2012 in Santa Rosa de la Pampa, Argentina.

Pieter Versluis of The Netherlands drives his MAN truck through a stream during stage one from Mar Del Plata to Santa Rosa de la Pampa on January 1, 2012 in Santa Rosa de la Pampa, Argentina.

Kazakstan's Artur Ardavichus and co-pilots Alexey Kumich of Russia and Kazakstan's Nurlan Turlubaev drive their Kamaz truck during the third stage from San Rafael to San Juan on January 3, 2012.

Marc Coma races his KTM in the 10th stage of the 2012 Argentina-Chile-Peru Dakar Rally between Iquique and Arica, Chile on January 11, 2012.

Giniel De Villiers, from South Africa, and co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz, from Germany, try to push their car after it went off the road during the fifth stage between Chilecito and Fiambala in Argentina on January 5, 2012.

Drivers compete during the fifth stage between Chilecito and Fiambala in Argentina on January 5, 2012.

Argentina's Marcos Patronelli races his Yamaha quad as a helicopter flies over during the seventh stage through Copiapo, Chile on January 7, 2012.

Spain's Gerard Farres Guell rides his KTM during the fourth stage from San Juan to Chilecito on January 4, 2012.

Marc Coma of Spain races on stage seven from Copiapo to Copiapo on January 7, 2012 in Copiapo, Chile.

Andrey Karginov of Russia and co-drivers Andrey Mokeev and Igor Devyatkin attempt to free their Kamaz truck after it became stuck on top of a sand dune during stage seven in Copiapo, Chile on January 7, 2012.

A quad bike rider makes his way into the Chilean mountains during stage seven in Copiapo, Chile on January 7, 2012.

Mechanics prepare the MAN truck of France's Raphael Gimbre on the eve of the eighth stage in Copiapo, Chile on January 8, 2012.

Competitors ride their motorbikes during stage seven in Copiapo, Chile on January 7, 2012.

Bruno Bony of France and Eric Palante of Belgium ride along a valley floor during stage eight from Copiapo to Antofagasta on January 9, 2012.

Etienne Lormand of France rides his Yamaha on stage nine in Iquique, Chile on January 10, 2010.

Spain's Nani Roma and co-pilot Michel Perin of France drive their Mini Monster during the 10th stage of the fourth South American edition of the Dakar Rally 2012 from Iquique to Arica January 11, 2012.

Joan Pedrero of Spain races his KTM in the tenth stage between Iquique and Arica, Chile on January 11, 2012

Injured biker Xavier Pizzolito of Argentina is carried to a helicopter during the eighth stage between Copiapo and Antofagasta in Chile on January 9, 2012.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO GRAPHY CONTEST WINNERS 2011

2012-01-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

Places Honorable Mention - SULFURIC FIRE FESTIVAL: Once a year, Formosa fishermen’s unique sulfuric fire fishing ritual is handed down from generation to generation. Taipei, Taiwan.

More than 20,000 photographs, from over 130 countries were submitted to the National Geographic Photography contest, with both professional photographers and amateur photo enthusiasts participating. The grand prize winner was chosen from the three category winners: Nature - Shikhei Goh, People - Izabelle Nordfjell, Places - George Tapan. Shikhei Goh, of Indonesia, took the grand prize honors with his amazing photograph of a dragonfly in the rain and will be published in the magazine. The competition was judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts composed of field biologist and wildlife photojournalist Tim Laman, National Geographic photographer Amy Toensing and National Geographic nature photographer Peter Essick. The winning submissions can be viewed at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/

Nature Honorable Mention - SUNRISING JELLYFISH: Jellyfish (Cotylorhiza tuberculata) drifting just beneath the surface, looking to capture the first sunrays to trigger their symbiotic algae to produce energy for it. Mar Menor coastal lagoon, Murcia province, Spain.

Nature Honorable Mention - THE HUNT - I personally believe that, beyond the formal representation of reality, mediated by the technical instruments necessary to fix an image in time, photography is made of insights. The shot is the last act of image capturing and in many ways the easiest part of the whole process. This panning effect, even in its imperfection, with the chromatic harmony of the background, with all the needless information eliminated and the luck of having the big cat’s lifted tail in symmetry with the impala horns, brings the observer inside the hunting without distractions. Kenya, Masai Mara National Reserve.

Nature Honorable Mention - BLUE POND & FIRST SNOW: The blue pond of the famous tourist resort. This is a place where many tourists gather in spring, summer, and autumn. However, since this pond freezes in winter, nobody is there during that period. This photograph is the moment of the first snow of the season falling on that blue pond. We can see the first snow of the season beginning at the end of October. Why is the pond blue? Because the underground hot spring ingredient is gushing. This blue pond changes color every day. I think that mystical blue and pure white snow are beautiful. All are nature's tints. Biei, Hokkaido, Japan.

People Honorable Mention - AUBURN PRIDE: Young men driving into a patch of reflected light along Auburn Road. Part of a larger personal project documenting the western Sydney suburb of Auburn. The series provides a glimpse into the life of the next generation of Australians living in Auburn, peering behind the veil of this little-known side of society. Auburn is a small suburb in Sydney’s west, a landing point for many migrants and refugees when they first arrive in Australia. Sydney, Australia.

Grand Prize Winner and Nature Winner - SPLASHING: This photo was taken when I was taking photos of other insects, as I normally did during macro photo hunting. I wasn’t actually aware of this dragonfly since I was occupied with other objects. When I was about to take a picture of it, it suddenly rained, but the lighting was just superb. I decided to take the shot regardless of the rain. The result caused me to be overjoyed, and I hope it pleases viewers. Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia

Places Winner - INTO THE GREEN ZONE: A beautiful rainbow after the rain, into the green zone of the Palawan Islands. Onuk island, Balabac Palawan, Philippines.

Places Honorable Mention - WATERWAY TO ORBIT: Space shuttle, Endeavour, launches into orbit toward the east, as the stars and waning crescent moon trail toward the west, leaving a beautiful reflection on the Intracoastal Waterway in Ponte Vedra, Florida. This 132-second time exposure of the final night launch of a space shuttle, from launch through SRB separation, was taken 115 miles north of Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Places Honorable Mention - CYBER MONSOON: A torrential monsoon rain in Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur, Nepal.

People Honorable Mention - ZOMBIES, BRISBANE: A young family dressed as zombies in Brisbane, Queensland. Each year around Halloween time a gathering of people dressed as zombies walks through the city in an effort to raise money for the Brain Foundation of Australia. Brisbane, Australia

BEST PHOTOS FROM THE NATURAL WORLD

2011-12-29T05:05:00.000-08:00

An eight-month-old baby sloth Camillo yawns at the zoo in Halle, eastern Germany.

We share our world with many other species and live in an ever-changing environment. Fortunately, photographers around the world have captured the moments and beauty that allow us to see amazing views of this awe-inspiring planet. This is a collection of favorite photos from The Natural World gallery in 2011, a showcase of images of animals and environment that runs on Boston.com throughout the year. Next week's posts will take a look at the year in photos, so stay tuned.

Seahorses are displayed at an endangered species exhibition at London Zoo.

Lightning flashes around the ash plume of the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano chain near Entrelagos, Chile.

An Abyssinian Colobus baby yawns at the Nogeyama Zoological Gardens in Yokohama, Japan.

Clouds roll in and out of Paris, Texas, behind the Eiffel Tower replica.

A zebra stands in its enclosure in the Berlin zoo.

A buffalo cools off in a pond in the outskirts of Jammu in Kashmir.

A female Amur tiger, Iris, licks its 7-week-old cub during one of their first walks in an open-air cage at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The Amur tiger is an endangered species.

A snake at a snake farm in Zisiqiao village, also known as the snake town, in Zhejiang Province, China. Residents raise more than 3 million snakes a year for food and medicinal purposes.

A swarm of bees, partly loaded with pollen, returns to its hive in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

A one-week-old jaguar cub plays with her mother Rosa Salvaje at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua.

A lion's mane jellyfish swims beneath the waters at the Farne Islands, England. The archipelago of 16 to 28 separate islands (depending on the tide) off Northumberland is a summer home to many kinds of wildlife.

A water bird flies over a Danube Delta canal next to Tulcea city, east of Bucharest.

A rare baby Siamese crocodile hatches from an egg at the Lao Zoo outside Vientiane, Laos. Last month, 20 baby crocodiles were hatched from eggs found in a lake in southern Laos; they will eventually be released into the wild.

Two 3-month-old crowned lemurs lay on their mother's back at the zoo in Mulhouse, France. Every year there are about 250 to 350 births at the Mulhouse zoo.

Horses fight during the Rapa Das Bestas traditional event in Sabucedo, Spain. Hundreds of wild horses are rounded up, trimmed, and groomed in Spain's northwestern region of Galicia on the first weekend of July.

A chameleon waits to be weighed and measured in the reptile house at the London Zoo. Every year the keepers record the heights and weights of more than 750 different species in the International Species Information System, where they can be shared with zoos across the world.

Iblis, an Asiatic lion, plays with a recycled Christmas tree in his enclosure at the Chester Zoo in England. Unsold Christmas trees donated to the zoo are used in the animal enrichment program.

A pony grazes in a meadow at sunset in Lausanne, Switzerland.

A murmuration of starlings fill the evening sky above Gretna, Scotland

A swan walks through a green field in Kamp-Lintfort, Germany.

Kamchatka brown bear Mascha and one of her two 3-month-old cubs nuzzle in Hagenbecks Zoo in Hamburg, Germany.t

Ana Julia Torres kisses Jupiter, a lion rescued from a circus 12 years ago, at Villa Lorena shelter, in Cali, Colombia. Torres, 52, a teacher, founded the shelter, which protects about 600 animals seized from drug traffickers, circuses, animal traffickers, or abandoned by their owners.

Lesser flamingoes rest on their only breeding ground, Lake Natron, at the foot of Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania

Marine life is rich in the Indonesian waters of Raja Ampat between the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Water drops cling to the bottom of a leaf in Harrisonburg, Va.

A new blue phalaenopsis orchid called "Blue Mystique" is sold by Bachman's florists in Minneapolis. The color is achieved using a patented process from Europe that colors the flowers from the inside.

A colony of Gentoo penguins enters the water at the Sea Life London Aquarium in central London. The nine Gentoos are a new adition to the aquarium after being transfered from Edinburgh Zoo's thriving colony.

A cat clings to a rock surrounded by rapids in Akron Falls Park in Akron, N.Y.

A giant panda cub holds on to a log at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.

An Egyptian goose attacks its reflection in Anish Kapoor's sculpture "Sky Mirror 2006" in Hyde Park in London.

Csui, a male African leopard, reacts after being vaccinated in Nyiregyhaza Animal Park in Hungary.

A bird sits on a perch in Sausalito, Calif., as clouds passed over the San Francisco skyline.

Tam Dao, a 2-week-old Francois leaf monkey, is presented to the media at Taronga zoo in Sydney. Less than 1,000 of the monkeys exist in the wild.

A polar bear jumps into the water at the St.-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in Quebec.

A black rhino is transported by helicopter in South Africa. Nineteen of the critically endangered animals established by the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project were moved from the Eastern Cape to a new location in Limpopo province.

A 4-day-old African spurred tortoise, one of eight babies, sunbathes on its mother's head in the animal park in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary

An owl perches in front of Greenpeace activists who were arrested for raising an inflatable model of a wind turbine in front of Congress in Brasilia.

Long-tailed mayflies mate on the surface of the Tisza river near Tiszakurt, Hungary. Millions of these short-lived mayflies engage in a frantic rush to mate and reproduce before they perish in just a few hours.

A pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) rests at the zoo in Cali, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia.

A cicada emerges from its shell at a home in Fort Smith, Ark. There are more than 1,500 species of cicada.

An Asian elephant sprays sand in its enclosure at the zoo in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Shinmoedake volcano erupts between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, Japan.

Rapeseed blooms in a field near Prevonloup, Switzerland.

A pair of great gray owls, or Lapland owls, sit inside an open air cage at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Sheep graze on a field at the Siennese clays area near Asciano, Italy. The Crete Senesi, located in Tuscany, consists of an untouched natural landscape of hills and woods.

A turtle swims with sardines at the COEX Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea

A duck sits on top of volcanic ash from the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano on a farm west of Skaftafell, Iceland.

A hawk attacks a rabbit during an annual traditional hunting competition near the village of Uzynagash, Kazakhstan.

Tree frogs sit on a leaf at an amphibian feeding camp outside Hanoi. Vietnam's first amphibian breeding farm was established in 2004 with the aim of promoting environmental awareness, conservation, and for export as pets.

PEARL HARBOR 70TH ANNIVERSARY 1941-2011

2011-12-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

Survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor wait outside before starting their tour of the USS Arizona Memorial at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu Dec. 5.
Some 100 survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor will gather in Hawaii today 70 years after the day which drew the US into World War II. The Japanese air and naval strike on the American military base claimed nearly 2,400 hundred lives, destroyed over 160 aircraft and beached, damaged or destroyed over 20 ships. President Franklin D. called it " a date which will live in infamy" when he addressed the Congress the next day asking to declare war with Japan.

The USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Ford Island is seen in this ariel view during the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor Dec. 7, 1941 in Hawaii. The photo was taken from a Japanese plane.

The battleship USS Arizona belches smoke as it topples over into the sea during a Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Wednesday is the 70th anniversary of the attack that brought the United States into World War II.

Japanese soldiers wave at a plane from under their flag Dec. 7, 1941 just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A small boat rescues seaman from the USS West Virginia which is burning in the foreground during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The USS Maryland (left) moored inboard and the USS Oklahoma, which capsized, (right) after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

This captured Japanese photograph shows the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the distance, the smoke rises from Hickam Field. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in which over 2,400 members of the United States military were killed.

A burnt B-17C aircraft rests near Hangar Number Five, Hickam Field, following the attack by Japanese aircraft on Pearl Harbor.

The US Pacific Fleet in flames following the surprise attack by Japanese warplanes. The carefully-planned and well-executed attack removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion.

A view of the USS West Virginia in flames in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Dec. 7, 1941.

The US Navy battleship USS California is seen ablaze after an attack by Japanese carrier based strike aircraft on the Hawaiian port of Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor survivor Richard Mayo talks to US Navy Chief Nixon Galan at the "Remembrance Wall" on the Arizona Memorial at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii Dec. 5. Some 100 aging Pearl Harbor Survivors will attend ceremonies on Dec. 7th in Oahu marking the 70th anniversary of the Japanese air and naval assault.

US Navy divers carry the remains of Pearl Harbor survivor Lou Soucy, to be interned on the USS Utah, during a memorial ceremony on Ford Island in Honolulu, Hawaii, Dec. 6.

Dean Griffeth, 94, of Norfolk, Va., is a Pearl Harbor survivor. He spent 30 years in the Navy and then spent 25 years working at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. He was aboard the USS Phelps at the time of the attack.

Paul Moore, 90, of Chesapeake,, Va., is a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was a seaman aboard the battleship West Virginia when it was hit by a Japanese torpedo at Pearl Harbor.

Ray Baer, 93, of Norfolk, Va., is a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was a Petty Officer 3rd class at the time of the attack.

Pearl Harbor veteran Robert Templet, who was a Radioman 1st Class at Ford Island, Hawaii during the attack, is seen outside his home in Metairie, Louisiana. Templet was walking to breakfast on that Sunday, December 7, when he heard a plane motor surging at his back. He turned and saw the pilot, his goggles atop his head, smiling down at him before a torpedo fell from the plane's belly. Stories like Templet's are being documented in "Infamy: December 1941," an exhibit opening on Dec. 7, the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

Eugene Gorman,92, is a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was a 3rd class petty officer aboard the USS Hulbert, a sea plane tender at the time of the attack. He made the Navy a career and retired as a Warrant officer

TAKING THE VOTE : ELECTIONS IN EGYPT AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

2011-12-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

In a combination image made from six photos, Egyptian women pose with their inked fingers after voting at a polling station in Cairo Nov. 29. Long lines formed at polling stations for a second day of voting and the head of the election commission, Abdel-Mooaez Ibrahim, proclaimed turnout so far had been "massive and unexpected." But he did not give figures.

Hours after violent clashes between masses of protesters and police, Egyptians swarmed the polls early this week for the beginning rounds of parliamentary elections. They are the first elections since a prodemocracy uprising ousted longtime president Hosni Mubarak from office earlier this year. The poll stations have been remarkably peaceful, despite the simmering anger over the military’s extended role in running the government. In contrast, the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential and legislative elections this week were beset by fraud, some observers say. In one town, rebel fighters attacked a polling place, killing at least five people and burning ballots. The voting was Congo's second since the end of the country's last war and the first organized by the government rather than the international community.

An old man casts his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28. Egyptians lined up to vote in the first big test of a transition born in popular revolutionary euphoria that soured into distrust of the generals who replaced their leader, Hosni Mubarak.

An Egyptian voter passes between the hands of soldiers guarding at a polling center Nov. 28 in Cairo, Egypt. Voting began on Monday in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising nine months ago. The vote is a milestone many Egyptians hope will usher in a democratic age after decades of dictatorship.

A man waits outside a polling station to cast his vote during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28

An old man is carried by a volunteer after casting his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28.

A woman reads a ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Alexandria Nov. 29.

An Egyptian woman looks at voters as they line up outside a polling station in the Shubra district of Cairo on Nov. 28. Post-revolution Egypt headed to the polls for a chaotic election clouded by violence and a political crisis, the start of a long process to bring democracy to the Arab world's most populous nation.

Egyptian soldiers stand guard at the entrance of a school turned polling station as voters gather in the Ain Shams district of Cairo on Nov. 28

A woman carrying her child reads a ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 29.

Egyptian women vote at a polling station in the town of Ibshawai, near Fayoum, 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Cairo Nov. 29. Polls opened Tuesday for a second day of voting in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections, the first since Hosni Mubarak's ouster in a popular uprising earlier this year.

A Egyptian woman casts her ballot in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo Nov. 28. Voting began on Monday in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising nine months ago. The vote is a milestone many Egyptians hope will usher in a democratic age after decades of dictatorship.

People line up at a polling station as they wait to cast their votes during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28.

Egyptian voters waited at a school turned polling station in old Cairo on Nov. 28.

Egyptian women look at a ballot paper at a polling station in the Sahel district of Cairo Nov. 28. Post-revolution Egypt headed to the polls for a chaotic election clouded by violence and a political crisis, the start of a long process to bring democracy to the Arab world's most populous nation.

Egyptian elections officials burn wax to stamp a ballot box before sending it to a counting center in Cairo Nov. 29. Polls opened Tuesday for a second day of voting in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections, the first since Hosni Mubarak's ouster in a popular uprising earlier this year. The Arabic on the box reads, "parliamentary elections."

A Congolese man walks through ballots Nov. 29 claimed to be fake by opposition supporters and then shredded and burned in a school used as a polling station in the Bandal commune in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, one day after the country went to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections. The vote is only the second since the end of Congo's last war, and the first to be organized by the government instead of the international community. The election was supposed to mark another step toward peace, but if the results are not accepted by the population, especially the country's fractured opposition, analysts fear it could drag Congo back into conflict.

An election witness is refused access to a voting center at the Twalemishe school in Kamalondo district of Lubumbashi on Nov. 29. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted Tuesday in polling marred by deadly violence.

Egyptian soldiers stand guard as voters leave a polling station in Cairo Nov. 29. Polls opened Tuesday for a second day of voting in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections.

Ballot papers burned in an attack on two pick-up trucks lie on the roadside in Lubumbashi on Nov. 28. A convoy of 8 vehicles were carrying papers at 3am this morning when they were attacked by a group of armed men in the capital of the mineral rich province of Katanga

Members of Congo's presidential guard walk through heavy rain ahead of incumbent Joseph Kabila (not seen) as he leaves a polling station after voting in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, Nov. 28. Voting began slowly on Monday in Congo's second-post war election, held despite fears logistical problems and irregularities would undermine the result.

Supporters of opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi parade what they claim are badly printed fraudulent photocopies of election ballots they say they found in the Bandal commune in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Nov. 28. Polls opened in Congo's capital as the government of this nation pummeled by war vowed to go ahead with its much-anticipated presidential and parliamentary election despite massive logistical challenges. As day broke on Monday, a trickle gathered outside polling stations as residents waited to take part in a presidential and legislative election that could further consolidate the country's peace, or else drag it back into conflict.

Young Congolese men check their names against the list of registered voters at the Jean Calvin College voting centre in Lubumbashi Nov. 27, the eve of DR Congo's elections. The National Electoral Commission has registered over 32 million people to vote, choosing between over 18,000 parliamentary candidates nation-wide.

Congolese women, one using a light, go through the ballot for parliamentary elections at a polling station in the Masina district of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Nov. 28.

Piles of ballot papers sit during vote counting at the Twalemishe school polling station in Kamalondo district of Lubumbashi on Nov. 29.

A man navigates a maze of tape as he checks his name against voter registration lists at the EP 1 Imara Voting Station in Lubumbashi Nov. 27. This is one of the largest voting centers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's second largest city, and officials here expect large queues tomorrow morning as voting opens on what will be the country's second democratic elections in four decades.

A voter shouts at an election official at the Njanja polling station in Lubumbashi Nov. 29. The polling station was attacked by seven armed gunmen yesterday, who burned all of the ballot papers, including those already cast. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted in polling marred by deadly violence.

A pile of presidential and legislative ballot papers sit unattended on the ground of a compound outside a polling station in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa Nov. 29. First results emerged from the Democratic Republic of Congo's chaotic elections on Tuesday but some voters were still casting their ballots in a vote tainted by confusion, violence and allegations of fraud.

A voting official sits in the Njanja polling station in Lubumbashi Nov. 29. Monitors reported widespread fraud in Democratic Republic of Congo elections and presidential rivals demanded an annulment as votes were counted in polling marred by deadly violence.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO CONTEST 2001

2011-11-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

DAY OF YOUTH: Muslim girls at the day of the youth on the 11th of February. The girls are walking in a procession to the mayor of the village and are singing about the power of Cameroon. Lagdo, Cameroon.

There's still time! The deadline for entries for this year's National Geographic Photo Contest is November 30. Photographers of all skill levels (last year more than 16,000 images submitted by photographers from 130 countries) enter photographs in three categories: Nature, People and Places. The photographs are judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts. There is one first place winner in each category and a grand prize winner as well.

LONE TREE YELLOWSTONE: A solitary tree surviving another harsh winter in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

LANDSCAPE IN THE RAIN: It was raining heavily when I took the photo, but the sun illuminated the landscape parochially. Bergueda, Catalonia, Spain.

NONI NECTAR FOR GREEN GECKO: Madagascar Gold Dust Day Gecko licking nectar from a young noni fruit in Kailua, Hawaii. These geckos were living all around the hale' we were staying in, enjoying the noni and basking on the railing and sunny steps to our place. They were very shy mostly, except this one must have enjoyed the nectar so much as to let me get a shot of their favorite activity. They seemed to tend the noni very attentively throughout the day. August 2010, Chandra S Sherin. Kona Village Resort, Kailua - Kona, Hawaii.

MOSAIC: Patterns of sea stars as exquisite mosaics, attractive, and each time is different. Cambodia

DUNBAR: Two elements. Water and rock. Motion and tranquility. Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland

IS HE STILL THERE?!: One morning while on the Big Island of Hawaii, i exploring my surroundings to see if i could find something to photograph. I almost went back inside when something on this huge palm tree leaf caught my eye. I stayed around and it was this little gecko, startled by my presence he was hidden between the ridges of the leaf. He would pop his head up periodically to check his surroundings, as soon as he saw i was still there he would hide again. We played this game for a while until i got the shot. Holualoa big Island, Hawaii

CONFRONTING: Cage divers confront a great white shark on the Isla de Guadalupe.

THE CLOUD: At safari not only animals can attract attention. South Africa, Western Cape, Aquila Safari park.

FLESH AND BONES: In a world where no one understands the importance of nature, all that is left of our nature is just these flesh & bones. Toronto, Canada.

ATACAMA SUNSET: Setting sun lights up clouds over Salar de Atacama in north Chile. I took this photo in July 2011 and at that time clouds like this were worrying sign of more unusual snow fall which already blocked roads to Bolivia and Argentina. Thankfully this time it just served as spectacular canvas to a sunset and reminder how beautiful is the world we live in. Salar de Atacama, Chile

FLIGHT OF AN EAGLE OWL: A large adult eagle owl in flight. Lingfield, Surrey, UK.

LOVE OF PARENTS: The emperor penguins fight for survival and to protect their only baby in the frozen Antarctic ice desert. Antarctica: Atka Bay, Weddell Sea.

WINTER LOLLIPOPS: Winter is extremely beautiful in Lithuania. It was an early morning and minus 25 degrees Celsius outside. This landscape feels out of this world, but in fact it's in the outskirts of my home city, Kaunas—just a mile away from my house. Oftentimes beauty lies just a step away from our door. Kaunas,

OXPECKER'S PUZZLE: I've always been intrigued by the markings of giraffes--how they vary between individuals and how they look like pieces of a puzzle, cracked mud or even tectonic plates in my scientific mind. I've tried many times to capture them but it was never right. Here, this oxpecker in a tight crop, lost on the abstract surface and framed by the legs of the larger animal finally seems to work. South Africa.

NIGHT TIME HAMMERHEAD: Curious hammerhead at dusk. Cat Key, Bahamas.

STINGRAY: This image was captured to Sandbar, Grand Cayman during my last trip.This beautiful creature turn around you very close and you can touch it.This is a really amazing experience, you are surrounded by dozen of this friendly animal. Sandbar-Grand Cayman-Caribean

WILDEBEEST CROSSING: Beautiful mayhem. Masai Mara, Kenya

SAND SPHERES: The food filtered 2-3mm sand ball creations of a tiny Sand Bubbler Crap. Done so that it knows which sand has been filtered for food. Daintree Rainforest region, Cairns, Austrailia.

SUMMER AT GRANNY'S: This is a heart-shaped stawberry in the hand of my grandmother. Love is the message. Gyula, Hungary

GOOD MORNING: Jabulani the elephant greeting his caretaker, Stavros Chakoma, before heading out on safari. Kapama Game Reserve, Kruger region of South Africa.

RHEA'S PORTRAIT: A different angle from an American Rhea (Rhea americana) seen in Pantanal, Brazil, on a cloudy day. Pantanal, Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

SUNBATHING UNDERWATER: The sun gives us energy even underwater. This image was captured during freediving (diving on a single breath without scuba gear) in the Red Sea. Eel Garden, Dahab, Sinai, Egypt.

WEATHERED HANDS: The Kara women collect the water, cook for family, harvest the fields, make the clothing, and are the backbone of the tribe. This elderly woman was the only white-haired person I came in contact with. I tried desperately to get a pleasing portrait and caught her hands in my peripheries; the perfect symbol of the woman's role in tribal society in the Omo River Valley. Her bracelets are made from salvaged AK-47 shell casings, a symbol in itself for the cyclic theme of war and revenge between the Kara and the neighboring tribe, the Nyangatom. Omo River Valley, Ethiopia

THE UNTOLD STORY: A young Afghan refugee girl living, with her family, in a village named Bhaun near district Chakwal in Punjab, Pakistan. Village Bhaun, Punjab, Pakistan.

DUSK IN THE BALE MOUNTAINS: A kitten and an elderly woman stand outside their hut deep in the subalpine Bale Mountains of southeastern Ethiopia. Bale Mountains, Ethiopia.

PAPA: This a portrait that I took of my Grandfather. He was a photographer and I wanted to show all his wonderful old cameras and his life in an editorial styled portrait. He just turned 95 years old and still remembers how all his old camera's work. I really love this picture and hope you like it as well. Hillside,

SALOME RAMOS: Salome Ramos is 64 years old and lives in Quibdo, a town with a 95 percent Black population derived from African slaves imported to Pacific coast of Colombia by the conquistadors. She is presently out of work, but her previous Jobs include everything from maid to miner. The economics of Quibdo are almost entirely supported by the wages of mining or fishing and the towns atmosphere has a raw vibrance, I felt like an alien as everyone stared at me- in a curious rather than un-welcoming way. Quibdo, Colombia

NEW ORLEANS STREETCAR: This is a streetcar in New Orleans traveling back towards The Quarter on St. Charles Ave. I held the camera against the window sill, making sure to divide the image equally between the inside and the outside. New Orleans, Louisiana.

PRAYING ON THE LAND OF BLACK JERUSALEM - I: Black Jerusalem is the name given to Lalibela, the ancient capital of Abyssinia and monastic city of northern Ethiopian mountains. Its 11 rocky churches hidden in the volcanic rock are still venerated as the Mecca of the Ethiopian Coptic Christianity. Every believer is required to make at least once in his or her life a pilgrimage. Inside the rock-carved church Debra Sina, a female pilgrim draped in her robe is reading the bible. In the background a corridor communicates with the church Golgotha whose access is denied to women. Lalibela

TERENCE STAMP: The actor at my home in Ojai, California, during a casual photoshoot in my living room. Ojai, CA.

LIGHT'S TRYST WITH DARKNESS IN SEMI-URBAN INDIA: Image shot at 11:45pm, where a windstorm caused complete blackout on a newly constructed bridge in Lucknow,India. The pic is taken in a newly urbanized area, however cheaper modes of transport-autorickshaws and 2 wheelers still rule the streets at any hour. The pic shows various contrasting features - Some folks sitting, some walking, some driving without lights (autorickshaw), some navigating with 'high beam lights' to also give the missing illumination of installed street lights. The contrasting movements/features are depicted by the contrast of lightness and darkness, in the semi-urban city. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

THE PIGEON FEEDERS: Photographs taken at the entrance to the New Mosque in Eminonu districkt of Istanbul. After strolling through the streets of this ancient city, I have stopped there to relax watching the hordes flying from one feeder to the other. Istanbul, Turkey.

FALLING LEAVES: This photo was taken in Bruges, Belgium in September in 2011. Bruges, Belgium

NATURAL LANDSCAPE PAINTING: The Landmannalaugar is probably one of the most impressive place in Iceland, a popular tourist destination. Located near the volcano Hekla in southern section of Iceland's highlands. The area displays a number of unusual geological elements, like the multicolored rhyolite mountains. When I took this picture, it was raining and it became worse after. I waited a bit for have people into my composition, in such a landscape to have a notion of scale is important, hence you will find a group of people at the bottom left. Iceland, Landmannalaugar. (Photo and caption by Romain

FLAT OCEAN: Just before a huge monsoon downpour, the ocean became flat as I have never seen before. It was drizzling a bit, people were on their way to their house, when I walked up this pier. The light rain made the pier mirror-like, and the ocean was so calm. On the horizon are the islands just in front of Makassar, part of that special islands of Sulawesi. Makassar, Indonesia.

BLOW'N IN THE WIND: A warm blustery Labor Day 2011, Chicago. Oak Street Beach, Chicago,

THE GOLDEN GATE: A very different perspective of the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco, CA, USA

FISHING ON THE CLOUD: Anglers fishing in the mist rising from the reservoir by dawn look like fishing on cloud. Gosam reservoir, Anseong, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

TIME: An image with beautiful natural colours i was surveying for work when i found this moment and only got the one single shot due to the meeting with my client, the car and the climber was removed one week after the image was taken.

BY THE WIND OF CHANCE: I was doing my touristic duties to photograph the Pyramids, and I hear my professor shouting. Next thing you know my entire class and some police officers were running to catch my professors hat. It actually wasn't until later that night when scrolling through my photos that I realized I captured this gem. Great Pyramid of Giza.

DENGEROUS WORK:"THE MINE" IN GUATEMALA CITY

2011-11-16T20:07:00.001-08:00

Informal workers search for scrap metal in contaminated water at the bottom of one of the biggest trash dumps in the city, known as "The Mine," in Guatemala City.

In Guatemala City, a place called "The Mine" can deliver both a means of survival and a grisly death. Every day, dozens of residents salvage a living by scouring the massive dump for scrap metal. Facing the threat of mudslides, collapses, and disease, they can potentially earn twice the daily minimum wage. Associated Press photographer Rodrigo Abd documented their efforts.

A gorge at the edge of one of the biggest trash dumps where workers look for scrap metal.

David Flores digs for scrap metal in contaminated water at the bottom of one of the biggest trash dumps in the city, known as "The Mine," in Guatemala City.

A man covers himself from the rain on a mound of garbage at the bottom of one of the biggest trash dumps in the city, known as "The Mine," in Guatemala City. Hundreds of informal workers descend daily into the mounds of the landfill and the rushing waters that come from a storm tunnel and a sewer at the bottom of a gorge to search for scrap metal to sell. This activity known locally as "mining" is extremely dangerous due to mud slides and collapses, but earns many of them about 150 quetzals ($20 dollars) a day, nearly twice the minimum daily wage.

A woman stands amongst the debri as she searches for scrap metal. Hundreds of informal workers descend daily into the mounds of the landfill and the rushing waters that come from a storm tunnel and a sewer.

Miguel carries a hand full of metal he collected in the contaminated water.

Irma (29, right) and Dora (30) carry sacks of metal they collected after working all night.

Julio (second from left) shows off what he found to other metal collectors.

A man uses a magnet to find metal in the material collected from the contaminated water.

A collector reaches for a bag of metal he he collected in the trash mounds.

A young man who goes by the name Paleta searches for metal in contaminated water by a tunnel where the water from sewage converges with storm water runoff.

A man holds up a gold ring he found while searching for scrap metal.

Men search for scrap metal in contaminated water, a task that earns many of them about 150 quetzals ($20 dollars) a day, nearly twice the minimum daily wage.

Julio (second from left) shows off what he found to other metal collectors.

Tomas Perez Hernandez (67) prepares to carry a sack of metal he collected from the bottom of one of the biggest trash dumps in the city, known as "The Mine," in Guatemala City.

A man who gave only his first name as Ronnie carries a sack of metal he collected.

A boy who only gave his first name as Wilmer helped a fellow collector, Gilberto, weigh a sack of metals that they collected.

Men sort scrap metal they found at the bottom of the trash dump.

A scale and ledger of a metal buyer sits at the top of the trash dump.

A man who only gave his first name as Wilmer carries a sack of metal he collected after working the entire day at the bottom of one of the biggest trash dumps in the city, known as "The Mine," in Guatemala City. Hundreds of informal workers descend daily into the mounds of the landfill and the rushing waters that come from a storm tunnel and a sewer at the bottom of a gorge to search for scrap metal to sell. This activity known locally as "mining" is extremely dangerous due to mud slides and collapses, but earns many of them about 150 quetzals ($20 dollars) a day, nearly twice the minimum daily wage.

A youth who goes by the name Baluquita (15) searches for scrap metal in contaminated water next to a mountain of garbage.

A man holds up a gold ring he found while searching for scrap metal.

Men sort scrap metal they found at the bottom of the trash dump.

FEEDING 7 BILLION AND OUR FRAGILE ENVIRONMEND

2011-11-12T03:25:00.000-08:00

This image taken by NASA's Aqua satellite in 2008 shows the state of Arctic sea ice. Mankind's immense pressure on the planet is causing the fastest extinction of species in millions of years and is rapidly heating up the planet, threatening more extreme weather.

According to projections by the United Nations, the world population has reached 7 billion and continues to grow rapidly. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, gaps are widening between the rich and the poor in some nations and tens of millions of people are vulnerable to food and water shortages. There is, of course, the issue of the impact of that sheer number on the environment, including pollution, waste disposal, use of natural resources and food production. This post focuses on wheat and the effect of our numbers on the environment. Wheat is the most important cereal in the world and along with rice and corn accounts for about 73 percent of all cereal production. It isn't surprising that 7 billion people have a lasting impact on our world's natural resources and the environment in which we live.

A male polar bear carries the head of a polar bear cub it killed and cannibalized in an area about 300 km (186 miles) north of the Canadian town of Churchill in 2009. Food supplies for polar bears are being affected by rising temperatures and melting ice.

One of the world's breadbaskets lies in the prairies of Canada. This stalk, near Lethbridge, Alberta, helps form the foundation for the most important food product in the world: cereal grains.

Massive grain elevators hold wheat before it is transferred onto railway cars in Carseland, Alberta.

Grain inspector Jim Dolan inspects wheat from the Canadian prairies at the Pioneer grain elevator in Carseland, Alberta. For decades, the world's focus has been more on distributing food aid, including excess grains, to poor nations. Over the last few years, that focus has shifted toward better positioning poor farmers to feed themselves, according to Reuters.

A display case in the quality control room at the Alliance Grain Terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia. With the stumbling economy hindering government efforts to boost production and distribution, such private groups as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation are becoming more involved in agricultural research and development.

Rail cars loaded with Canadian wheat travel through the Rocky Mountains on the Canadian Pacific railway line near Banff, Alberta.

Wheat is harvested in Alberta this fall. The United Nations predicts the world's population will grow to about 9 billion by 2050. With no increase in arable land expected, a collection of private foundations, government agencies, and the United Nations are seeking ways to boost production in such crops as wheat.

A farmer takes water from a dying pond to irrigate his vegetable field on the outskirts of Yingtan in China.

A worker removes dead fish from a lake in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, in 2007. Mankind's immense pressure on the planet is causing the fastest extinction of species in millions of years and is rapidly heating up the planet, threatening more extreme weather, according to scientists.

A Hindu devotee wraps a piece of clothing around himself after a ritual dip in the polluted Yamuna river in New Delhi in 2010. The United Nations warns that the problems of pollution, deforestation, and climate change are expected to worsen as the world's population climbs.

A boy swims in the polluted waters of Manila Bay in the Philippines in 2010. "Manila Bay has become a huge floating dump for the whole of metro Manila,'' said one Greenpeace worker.

A cargo ship plies the Strait of Georgia off Vancouver, British Columbia. Grain exports from Canada and the United States are pieces of the puzzle on how the world is going to feed its growing population. "We are talking about adding 2.6 billion people between now and 2050. That is two Chinas," Robert Thompson, former director of rural development for the World Bank, told Reuters. "We have to raise productivity. I think we can do it all if we invest enough in research. But at the moment we aren't."

Pigeons and dust cloud a street in Kuwait City in 2008. The world's mean temperatures continue to rise, say UN scientists

Two youths frolic at a beach in Qingdao, Shandong province, in China. The resort city has been the site of large algae blooms.

A garbage collector carries a sack as he walks atop a massive pile of garbage at the Bloemendhal dump in central Colombo in 2009.

Steam billows from the cooling towers of Vattenfall's Jaenschwalde brown coal power station on a lake near Cottbus, eastern Germany in 2009.

Oil is burned off the surface of the water near the source of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana last summer. The US government estimates that 206 million gallons of oil were released by BP's well a mile beneath the sea. Tens of billions of dollars have been spent or committed by BP on cleaning up the devastation and compensating victims.

A laborer takes a break from his work at a brick factory at Togga village on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of Chandigarh in 2009.

The Haibowan coal-fired power plant on the outskirts of Wuhai in China's northern Inner Mongolia region in 2009.

A man works at the site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, Jiangxi province in 2010.

AFGHANNISTAN OCTOBER 2011

2011-11-10T04:34:00.000-08:00

Shafiyah, 27, released from prison after three years in jail, poses for a portrait at a shelter run by women for Afghan women in Kabul on October 12, 2011. Shafiyah was arrested and imprisoned after fleeing her Taliban husband who became destitute after the Taliban was ousted. Women's rights in Afghanistan risk being forgotten as international troops withdraw, reports by Oxfam and ActionAid said.

With a per capita GDP of $900, Afghanistan ranks as one of the world's ten poorest countries. By any measure, challenges are numerous. Aid agencies observe an erosion of women's rights as foreign troops prepare to leave, the infant mortality rate is among the world's highest, and despite eradication efforts, 90 percent of the world's opium is still produced by Afghan farmers. Meanwhile, military fatalities approach 2800 since the war began in 2001. Civilians are afforded no such precision for their casualties, with varying estimates in the tens of thousands being the only accounting. Gathered here are images from the country made in October of the lives of women and children, daily life, and consequences of the conflict in Afghanistan and in the United States.

Muttahara Mohammed, 5, attends a class on how to read verses of the Quran in a mosque in Kabul on October 26, 2011.

An Afghan child lies on the ground next to a woman begging for money in a street in Kabul on October 23, 2011.

A burqa-clad Afghan woman holds her baby as she walks in the outskirts of Herat on October 25, 2011

Girls attend a class at a camp for the displaced in Kabul on October 11, 2011. Women's rights have improved in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted, but recent Oxfam data shows women's personal safety, opportunity, and human rights inside the nation are beginning to erode back to conditions that existed previously. Under the Taliban, girls schools had been closed, women were banned from working outside the home, and forced to wear the burqa.

People visit a cemetery outside the Sakhi shrine in Kabul on October 24, 2011.

The Qala Iktyaruddin Citadel in Herat that dates back to Alexander the Great has been restored, a bright sign of progress in a country destroyed by war. The citadel and a new museum was completed by hundreds of local craftsmen with funding and support from the U.S. and German governments and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Boys sit on a grave at a cemetery in Kabul on October 17, 2011.

Laborers have breakfast in their quarters at a coal dump site outside Kabul on October 18, 2011. Each laborer earns ten dollars on an average working day. Most of them come from the northern provinces, leaving their families behind in search of fortune in the capital.

Women walk in a market in Kabul on October 26, 2011.

US soldiers fly on a military plane across Afghanistan on October 8, 2011.

Afghanis look at the site of an explosion in a fuel truck in Parwan province on October 26, 2011. A bomb hidden inside exploded as scores of people gathered to collect fuel that was leaking, killing at least five.

A man mourns his brother, who was killed in a fuel tanker blast in Parwan province on October 26, 2011.

A security man checks the wreckage of a civilian car which was hit by a roadside bomb in Nangarhar province on October 28, 2011, killing two men, a woman and a child.

Aziz Ahmad, 25, who believes he has mental problems, is chained to a wall during his 40-day incarceration at the Mia Ali Baba Shrine in Jalalabad on October 11, 2011. It is believed that 40 days in chains and a diet of bread and water at the 300-year old shrine can cure mentally ill people. Ahmad was chained by the shrine keeper at the request of his family.

A severely wounded US Marine hit by an improvised explosive device is carried by his comrades to a helicopter on October 31, 2011. The Marine lost both his legs and fights for his life.

Donna and Dennis Elm (left) cry during the funeral of their son, Army Spc. Michael Elm, 25, of Phoenix, Ariz., at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. on October 31, 2011. Insurgents attacked his unit in Khowst with an improvised explosive device.

A woman watches the casket of Army Pvt. Danny Chen placed in a hearse in Chinatown on October 13, 2011 in New York. Pvt. Chen, who had been in Afghanistan for two months, was found dead with a gunshot wound below his chin. While preliminary signs suggest Pvt. Chen killed himself, the Army told the soldier's parents he was subjected to taunting and violence by some of the soldiers with whom he served.

The body of Army Spc. Steven E. Gutowski, who died in Afghanistan after an improvised explosive device attack, is carried out of St. Peter's Church in Plymouth following his funeral on October 17, 2011.

An Afghan policeman reacts as a U.S. helicopter lands at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul October 29, 2011. At least four people were killed when a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of foreign soldiers.

THE HAJJ AND EID AL-ADHA 1432 H/2011

2011-11-08T05:59:00.000-08:00

The Mecca CLock Tower dominates the city as Muslim pilgrims walking around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque of the holy city of Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage rituals on November 7, 2011.

The Hajj pilgrimage draws millions of Muslims from around the world every year to Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's holiest place. Saudi Arabia expects to host perhaps three million people in a ritual journey that every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must make at least once in their lifetime. It is the largest annual gathering of humanity anywhere. Timed to the Muslim lunar calendar, the Hajj is followed by the celebrations of the three-day festival of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, which symbolizes Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Collected here are photographs of the Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as well as images of preparations for the Hajj and Eid al-Adha in many other parts of the Muslim world.

A Muslim pilgrim prays as visits the Hiraa cave at the top of Noor Mountain on the outskirts of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 2, 2011. According to tradition, Islam's Prophet Mohammed received his first message to preach Islam while he was praying in the cave.

Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba (center) inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 3, 2011.

Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims pray inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 4, 2011.

Muslim pilgrims wait in line as they arrive at Jeddah airport on October 30, 2011 before going to the Saudi holy city of Mecca, where they will take part in the annual Hajj or pilgrimage.

Muslim pilgrims climb a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy on the Plain of Arafat near Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 5, 2011

Birds fly over Muslim pilgrims near the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on November 3, 2011.

Muslim pilgrims pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy on the Plain of Arafat near Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 5, 2011.

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims arrive to throw pebbles at pillars during the "Jamarat" ritual, the stoning of Satan, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, on November 6, 2011.

A Saudi police officer monitors screens connected to cameras set up at all the holy places in Mina near the Saudi holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 7, 2011.

Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba (center) inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on November 3, 2011.

Hajj pilgrims cry as they prepare to depart for Mecca from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on October 18, 2011.

Thai Muslim pilgrims offer prayers before they depart for the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca at the Hat Yai International airport in southern Thailand on October 5, 2011.

Indonesian pilgrims conduct a practice run of a religious ritual before a mock-up of the Kabaa, Islam's holy shrine, at a training center in Jakarta as part of final preparations before departing for the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca on October 28, 2011. For the world's largest Muslim-majority country with more than 200,000 pilgrims each year, the training is crucial in preventing chaos and casualty in the holy land, officials say.

Yemenis shop at a market in Sanaa on November 3, 2011, in preparation for the Eid al-Adha feast, or Feast of Sacrifice, which marks the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage for Muslims worldwide.

Pakistani traders wait for customers to sell their livestock for the upcoming Eid-al-Adha festival in a market in Islamabad, Pakistan on November 4, 2011.

Tents of Muslim pilgrims recede into the distance at Mina, Saudi Arabia on November 7, 2011.

A Muslim boy attends a prayer session in celebration of the Eid al-Adha festival inside the Golden Mosque in Manila on November 6, 2011.

Russian Muslims pray outside St. Petersburg's mosque during the first day of the Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bairam) on November 6, 2011.

A Yemeni soldier who defected greets a fellow Muslim after attending prayers on the first day of Eid al-Adha prayers in Sanaa on November 6, 2011.

Bangladeshi passengers sit on the roof of a train as they head to their homes to celebrate Eid al-Adha on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh on November 6, 2011.

A man carries a sacrificial goat on sale at a market, ahead of the Eid al-Adha feast, in Sanaa, Yemen on November 5, 2011.

Anti-Khadafy fighters visit the graves of their friends during Eid al-Adha celebrations in Benghazi, Libya on November 6, 2011.

Muslims buy sheep in a bazaar in Linxia, in China's Gansu Province on November 6, 2011. Muslims in northwest China celebrated their traditional feast of Corban Festival, or Eid al-Adha, meaning "Feast of Sacrifice" Sunday.

Iranian Sunni Muslim men try to slaughter a camel on Eid al-Adha in Siminshahr, in a Sunni area of Iran, a country which is predominantly Shiite, on November 7, 2011.

A young Indian Muslim boy smiles with a sacrificial goat on Eid-al-Adha in Allahabad, India on November 7, 2011.

Muslim women attend prayer on the slopes of Mount Merapi (in the background) to celebrate the festival of Eid al-Adha in the village of Kalitengah Lor outside city of Yogyakarta, Central Java on November 6, 2011.

WORLD POPULATIONN : WHERE IT'S THICK AND WHERE IT'S THIN

2011-11-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

Indians gather to get water from a huge well in the village of Natwarghad in the western state of Gujarat in 2003. Although its population growth has slowed in the past quarter century, India still has the second-highest population, at 1.19 billion, with three births for every death.

The growing population of the world, now estimated to be over 7 billion, marks a global milestone and presents obvious challenges for the planet. There are extremely densely populated cities and sparsely populated countries. China is the most populous country with India following closely behind. This post brings together some disparate illustrations of our world as it grows, including scenes from Mong Kok district in Hong Kong, which has the highest population density in the world, with 130,000 per one square kilometer. In Mongolia, the world's least densely populated country, 2.7 million people are spread across an area three times the size of France. Then there's Out Skerries, a tiny outcropping of rocks off the east coast of Scotland where the population is just 65. And doing what he can to contribute to that 7 billion global milestone is Ziona, the head of a religious sect called "Chana." He has 39 wives, 94 children, and 33 grandchildren. The world is an interesting place.

A hot summer day in Suining, China, draws hundreds of residents to the swimming pool on July 4, 2010. China has the world's largest population, at 1.3 billion or one out of every five people on Earth.

Motorists pack a junction during rush hour in Taipei in 2009. Taiwan's capital is notorious for its traffic jams, even though many motorists choose motorcycles and scooters over cars. United Nations analysts warn that population growth increases pollution, deforestation, and climate change.

People cross a street in Mong Kok district in Hong Kong. The United Nations, which reported the world's population reached 7 billion on Oct. 31, says that while more people are living longer and healthier lives, gaps between rich and poor are widening and more people than ever are vulnerable to food insecurity and water shortages.

An elderly woman pushes a cart with paper for recycling on a street in Mong Kok district in Hong Kong, An increasing population is lessening the Earth's resources, the United Nations says.

Javzanpagma, 71, talks on the phone as her husband, Javzansuren, fixes a lantern in Shivert, northeast of Ulan Bator, last month. In addition to being the world's least densely populated country, Mongolia is known for its rich resources of copper, gold, and coal.

The facade of an apartment building in Shanghai, one of China's fastest-growing urban areas. The city has about 23 million people, or the equivalent of the eight biggest cities in the United States combined.

Javzansuren, 72, herds his sheep in Shivert, northeast of Ulan Bator. Herding remains an important part of the Mongolian economy.

A combination picture shows 28 of the wives of Ziona, the head of a religious sect called "Chana," which allows polygamy and was founded by Ziona's father in 1942. Ziona has 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren. He lives in his 4 story 100-room house with 181 members of his family.

Ziona's 4 story house in Baktawng village where he lives with 181 members of his family, Oct. 6, 2011.

Family members of Ziona pose for group photograph outside their residence, October 7, 2011.

Yurts, such as this one in Shivert, are traditional homes that dot the Mongolian countryside. As the world's least densely populated country, Mongolia's economy is built on agriculture and herding. Recently, foreign investors have expressed interest in the country's rich mineral deposits.

Jugderdem, 2, stands at the door of a traditional Mongolian yurt in Shivert, about 140 miles northeast of Ulan Bator.

PAN AMERICAN GAMES 2011

2011-11-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

Canada's silver medal-winning team for group apparatus watch Keegan Soehn of Canada on the podium with his gold medal for the trampoline final at the Pan American Games.

The 16th Pan American Games wrapped up with closing ceremonies this past weekend in Guadalajara, Mexico. Over 6,000 athletes from 42 nations in the Western Hemisphere competed for gold, silver, and bronze medals in many of the same events that will be seen during the Olympic Games next summer in London. Athletes were also vying for Olympic qualifying berths in many of the events. The 2015 edition of the games will be held in Toronto.

Cuban Jose Alberto Sanchez (left) battle other runners in the men's 3000 meter steeplechase race.

Jose Alberto Vargas of Mexico competes in the men's trampoline qualification round at the Pan American Games.

Luis Mansilla of Chile rides during the men's omnium on day 4 of the games. Juan Estaban Arango of Colombia won the gold.

Mexico's Giovanni Lanaro makes an attempt at 5.60 meters (about 18 feet, 4 inches) during the men's pole vault final. Lanaro missed, taking the bronze medal. Lazaro Borges of Cuba took the gold and Jeremy Scott of the United States the silver.

Yack Martinez of the Dominican Republic takes a rebound off the head as Christiano Felicio of Brazil lunges for the ball during their men's preliminary round basketball game at the Pan American Games.

In an image using multiple exposures, Brandie Jean Jay of the United States competes in the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Vault Finals. Jay won the event.

Frederick August Krueger IV of the United States goes airborne while competing in the water ski men's jump final. Krueger won the gold.

Henry Linton Quesada of Costa Rica competes in the men's high jump final at Telmex Athletics Stadium in Guadalajara. Donald Thomas of the Bahamas won the event.

Cylists warm up at sunrise before their heats in the men's BMX cycling competition final.

Mexican swimmers leave the pool after competing in the free routine final of the synchronised swimming event. Canada won the team gold.

United States swimmer Sean Mahoney competes in the preliminaries of the men's 200 meter breaststroke event. Mahoney won the gold.

Frederick August Krueger IV of the United States goes airborne while competing in the water ski men's jump final. Krueger won the gold.

THAILAND FLOOD REACHES BANGKOK.

2011-11-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

Vehicles at a Honda car factory are submerged in floodwaters in the Rojana industrial district in Ayutthaya province, central Thailand on October 16, 2011.
Flood waters inundating Thailand north of Bangkok since July have made the journey south and reached the capital. The disaster is responsible for 400 deaths in Thailand and neighboring Cambodia and Vietnam. Thailand is the world's biggest rice exporter, but the floods have wiped out over a quarter of the country's crop. The government has declared a five-day holiday for the capital to allow residents time to evacuate. Damages could top six billion dollars in Thailand's worst flooding in 50 years. Collected here are images of the water as it moves south to Bangkok, and how residents there are dealing with the disaster.

A woman holds a toddler as she walks through floodwaters in an area near the Chao Praya river in Bangkok on October 29, 2011.

Thai residents make their way across a flooded street close to the rising waters of the Chao Phraya river on October 30, 2011 in Bangkok.

Thai residents are transported out of a flooded street close to the Chao Phraya river on October 30, 2011 in Bangkok.

Houses in a residential area are submerged in the northern section of Bangkok on October 30, 2011.

Flood victims watch TV at the Don Muang airport, which had become an evacuation center, on October 23, 2011 in Bangkok. It has since been evacuated.

Thai soldiers hold onto each other against the water flowing into a neighborhood after a wall was breached by the swollen Chao Phraya River in Bangkok on October 30, 2011.

Thai residents make their way through flooded streets across sandbags on October 22, 2011 in Pathum Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok.

This pair of photographs from NASA shows images from space of the Bangkok metropolitan area (lower center) taken by the Terra satellite on November 12, 2008 (left) and the same area on October 19, 2011, illustrating the flood surge north of the city.

A man paddles a makeshift raft through a flooded area in the suburbs of Bangkok October 20, 2011.

This aerial picture shows an under-construction temple surrounded by floodwaters outside the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok on October 11, 2011.

People push their belongings through floodwaters during an evacuation from a flooded market in Bangkok October 24, 2011.

Thai factory workers walk through floodwaters as they evacuate the area of Nava Nakhorn industry estate in Pathum Thani province, suburban Bangkok, on October 18, 2011.

Thai residents make their way through flooded streets on October 22, 2011 in Pathum Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.

A Thai worker looks at an aircraft parked in floodwaters at Don Muang airport in Bangkok on October 27, 2011.

A flood victim rides through the water using a homemade tall three-wheeler in Bang Phlad district, Bangkok on October 30, 2011.

KONVOKESYEN UITM KE 75 TAHUN 2011

2011-10-31T16:32:00.000-07:00

THE TURKEY EARTHQUAKE.

2011-10-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

Turkish men and rescue workers try to find survivors in a collapsed building in Ercis on the evening of the earthquake, Oct. 23.

The effort to save any remaining earthquake victims continues around the clock in the eastern province of Van in Turkey after an earthquake reduced many of its buildings to rubble on Sunday, Oct. 23. A two-week old baby girl, her mother and grandmother were rescued in Ercis on Tuesday, but most teams are finding only bodies among the ruins. The 7.2 magnitude quake has reportedly killed at least 450 people as of Tuesday night and damaged more than 2,000 structures. Survivors live on the streets and in tents provided by the government.

About 46 hours after an earthquake decimated the Turkish town of Ercis, rescue workers cradle 14-day old Azra Karaduma after pulling her from a collapsed apartment building. “Given the work conditions and hardships of rescue teams, the best prize is to bring people back to life,” Ercan Toprak, leader of the rescue team that saved the girl, told NTV. “We feel the joy of connecting her back to life and hope her mother and grandmother will also be saved very shortly.” Her mother and grandmother had taken shelter with the baby behind a couch in their damaged apartment. After hearing their cries for help, rescuers drilled a hole into their wall.

Two men comfort each other near a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van. Ercis sustained some of the worst damage from the earthquake, and 3,000 rescue workers have converged on the site, with many digging with only their hands.

A rescuer inspects a hole in the debris to search for possible survivors trapped under a collapsed building where seven people are believed to be buried in Ercis on Oct. 25. The 7.2 magnitude quake in eastern Turkey Sunday killed at least 450 people and injured more than 1,300

A gravedigger works in Ercis on Oct. 25.

Mourners attend a funeral of an earthquake victim in Ercis on Oct. 25.

Funerals in Ercis increase as workers dug deeper into collapsed buildings in a battle against time to find survivors.

As temperatures fall, men sit around a fire amid the rubble of collapsed buildings on Oct. 25 in Ercis. Tens of thousands of people have had to spend their nights under canvas, in cars or huddled round small fires in towns rattled by aftershocks.

An earthquake survivor collects his belongings in a collapsed building on Oct. 25 in Ercis. With thousands of homeless survivors facing near-freezing temperatures, Turkey said it would accept international aid offers, even from Israel, with which it has had strained relations.

A Turkish soldier guards a rescue operation on Oct. 25 amid collapsed buildings in Ercis. Pockets of jubilation over successful rescues have been tempered by many more discoveries of bodies.

Passing a resting rescue worker, a man carries a half dozen loaves of bread on Oct. 24 in Ercis. Shortages of food and shelter have gripped the region, with desperate survivors forcing aid trucks to pull over before they even reach their destinations.

People stay amid the rubble of a collapsed building on Oct. 25 in Ercis.

Residents grab tents from a Turkish Red Crescent truck on Oct. 24 in Ercis. Much of the town still lacked running water or power two days after the earthquake and aid workers said they could only provide shelter for about half of the thousands of homeless people.

A refugee camp has been set up in Ercis, where casualties have been concentrated so far. Officials are still checking outlying areas.

A Turkish soldier guards a rescue operation on Oct. 25 amid collapsed buildings in Ercis. Pockets of jubilation over successful rescues have been tempered by many more discoveries of bodies.

Survivors pick through the rubble of their collapsed apartment on Oct. 25 in Ercis.

Relatives of quake victims gather as rescue workers take part in an operation to pull people from a collapsed building in Ercis on Oct. 25.

A rescue worker enters the crevice created by a collapsed building on Oct. 25 in Ercis.

A boy looks through a hole on a collapsed building on Oct. 25 in Ercis. Scores of people remain missing in the town.

Relatives of quake victims watch as workers try to rescue survivors from a collapsed building in Ercis on Oct. 25, two days after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake reduced scores of buildings to rubble

More than 2,200 buildings were damaged in the town of Ercis and the surrounding Van province, according to the emergency unit of the prime minister's office.

Rescue teams, working with bare hands and heavy machinery, try to find survivors in the rubble in Ercis on Oct. 24, the day following the earthquake

Emergency service workers carry an earthquake survivor after pulling him from the rubble on Oct. 24 in Ercis in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.

A man stands amid the remains of a building in Van in eastern Turkey on Oct. 24. Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said that at least 100 people had died in both the city of Van and the town of Ercis.

A man makes a bed of concrete blocks in Ercis on Oct. 24. Distraught families mourned outside a mosque or sought to identify loved ones among rows of bodies in the town.

Yunus, a 13-year-old with a hand of a victim on his shoulder, waits to be rescued from under a flattened building on Oct. 24 in Ercis.

Rescuers pull survivors from the rubble hours after an earthquake hit a village near the city of Van on Oct. 23.

Villagers and rescue workers try to save people trapped under debris on Oct. 23 in Tabanli, near the eastern Turkish city of Van.

A member of a search and rescue team combs through the darkness of a collapsed building for survivors in Ercis on Oct. 25.

GADDAFI DITEMBAK DIKEPALA

2011-10-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Kepala Gaddafi dipalingkan sedikit ke kiri. Dipercayai ia dilakukan untuk menyembunyikan lubang peluru di kepalanya.

Tubuhnya kini disimpan di dalam bilik penyejuk daging bersebelahan Mutassim, anaknya yang turut mati. Luka peluru boleh dilihat dada dan bahagian atas lengan kirinya. Seorang saksi yang melihat dari dekat dapat melihat saki-baki serbuk letupan di sekeliling luka yang sering selaras dengan keadaar ia ditembak pada jarak dekat. Pelawat diberikan topeng untuk dipakai kerana bau busuk.

Seorang tokoh kanan di kalangan pejuang-pejuang di Misrata berkata mereka dia malu dan kesal dengan cara seorang lelaki memaklumkan berita kematian Gaddafi kepada anak perempuannya, Aishah, yang menghubungi Gaddafi sejurus selepas dia ditembak.

'Aisha menelefon dan salah satu daripada pihak pemberontak menjawabnya," kata komander. Beliau berkata: "Sudah selesai. Abu Shafshufa mati''.

Saat kematiannya: Imej- imej ini diambil dari video yang baru dikeluarkan, Gaddafi nampaknya memegang kerongkongnya ketika pistol ditekan di kepalanya.

(Kiri)Pistol yang ditujukan ke bahu Gaddafi meningkatkan kemungkinan beliau telah ditembak di sini untuk kali pertama. (Kanan) Pistol itu kemudian ditujukan ke arah kepala diktator yang ketakutan.

Detik terakhir: Gaddafi dipalingkan untuk menghadap tanah, satu tanda jelas yang biasa dijalankan untuk mengelakkannya daripada melihat mata si pembunuh.

Terbunuh: Klip kedua yang dirakamkan di lokasi yang sama dan dengan teriakan suara di belakang kini menunjukkan Gaddafi sudah pun mati.

Gaddafi di dalam ambulans: Pemandu ambulans berkata diktator sudah mati ketika itu dan dia tidak cuba untuk memulihkan dia.

Pemandu ambulans, Ali Jaghdoun, berkata Gaddafi telah mati ketika dia melihatnya dan kemudian keluar dari bandar Misrata. 'Saya tidak cuba untuk merawatnya kerana dia sudah meninggal'.

Pemangku Perdana Menteri Mahmoud Jibril berkata hari ini bahawa siasatan ke atas siapa yang menembak Gaddafi akan diteruskan.

Dia telah memberikan pandangannya sendiri peristiwa-peristiwa yang mungkin membawa kepada kematian bekas pemimpin Libya itu.

Beliau berkata: 'Ia seolah-olah ada pertempuran di antara pasukan keselamatan Qatar Gaddafi dan pejuang kebebasan. Dia bersembunyi di sejenis saluran kumbahan. Salah seorang daripada tentera upahan dari Mauritanian telah menemuinya (Gaddafi dan memaklumkan) kepada pejuang-pejuang kebebasan yang Gaddafi bersembunyi di dalam saluran tersebut,'.

'Jadi mereka pergi ke sana membawanya keluar dan menaiki trak itu untuk membawanya ke hospital.

'Di dalam perjalanan mereka, mereka terperangkap di dalam tembak-menembak di antara pejuang-pejuang kebebasan dan pasukan keselamatan. Dia ditembak di kepala. Kami tidak tahu sama ada beliau telah ditembak oleh pejuang-pejuang kebebasan atau pasukan keselamatan.'

THE OCCUPY WALL STREET MOVEMENT SPREAEADS

2011-10-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

Protestors who are calling for an end to the Federal Reserve and are part of the Occupy DC movement, burn a dollar bill in front of the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, Oct. 9

What started in NewYork City in mid September, a call to "flood lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street," has continued to feed similar groups around the United States taking up the name and cause. Groups have gathered to bring attention to many issues, with a central focus on the economic hardships and inequality they say many Americans face.

A protester affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street protests stands with a U.S. dollar bill taped over his mouth in Zuccotti Park, New York Oct. 10.

A man signs a huge banner during Occupy DC anti-corporations protest at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC Oct. 10. A four-day protest in Washington to reclaim American politics for the people went into overtime, its participants vowing to stay put despite the expiry of their permit. The Stop the Machine occupation of Freedom Plaza is one of two ongoing protests in the capital, alongside the like-minded but more youthful Occupy DC sit-in, now in its 10th day. Occupy DC, inspired by the much bigger Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, meanwhile, continued to draw several dozen people every day to McPherson Square, in the shadows of big lobbying firms.

Police arrest demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement after they attempted to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on the motorway on Oct. 1. This portion of the bridge is not intended for pedestrians and as the marchers attempted to cross, they were stopped midway by police. Hundreds were arrested.

Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement rally in Foley Square before marching though Lower Manhattan on Oct. 5 in New York. Hundreds of activists affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have been living in a park in the Financial District near Wall Street. The activists have been gradually converging on the financial district over the past two weeks to rally against the influence of corporate money in politics among a host of other issues. Over 700 people were arrested last weekend on the Brooklyn Bridge after temporarily blocking traffic.

Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement are reflected in a stock ticket screen as they march though Lower Manhattan on Oct. 5. Thousands of protesters including union members and college students from an organized walkout joined the rally and march.

Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement rally in Lower Manhattan on Oct. 5.

About one thousand people gather and form a large "99%" in the middle of Freedom Plaza during an occupation of the plaza Oct. 6 in Washington, DC. Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began last month in New York, large and small occupations have sprung up in cities across the country.

Julia Botello and other protesters occupy the lobby of a Bank of America on Oct. 6 in Los Angeles, CA. The demonstrators are marching to major bank offices to protest the role of Wall Street banks in the federal budget crisis and in solidarity with protesters in New York and other US cities.

Protesters hold candles during a vigil as a part of the Occupy DC protest against corporations at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC, on Oct. 6. Protests against corporate power in the United States took root in Washington on Thursday, with hundreds of people occupying Freedom Plaza in the city center to demand progressive reform. The Stop the Machine rally, midway between the Capitol and the White House, echoed the demands of the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York that drew more than 5,000 people as well as labor-union support.

Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement are reflected in a stock ticket screen as they march though Lower Manhattan on Oct. 5. Thousands of protesters including union members and college students from an organized walkout joined the rally and march.

wo New York police officers walk alongside a protestor affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street protests outside Zuccotti Park after the arrest of two men in New York on Oct. 10. As the protest on Wall Street enters its fourth week, police officers are keeping their posts around the perimeter of the park at the center of it all. And with no end in sight, the cost of constant police surveillance will continue to rise at a time when Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered citywide budget cuts.

Tigh Barry of Santa Monica, CA., a member of Code Pink and part of the Occupy DC demonstration cleans spilled paint from the tiles on Freedom Plaza, in Washington Oct. 9.

New York Police Department officers stand guard at the Wall Street Bull, as a person poses for a picture in New York Oct. 7.

A member of Occupy Wall Street wakes up after spending the night on Zuccotti Park near Wall Street in New York, Oct. 11. Protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement scheduled a "Millionaires March" taking their march in front of the homes of some of New York's wealthiest residents in Manhattan Upper East Side.

Police arrest a man who refused to leave a tent pitched at an Occupy Seattle protest encampment in downtown Seattle's Westlake Park on Oct. 5. People protesting the current economic situation and several other causes had been camped in the park for several days, mirroring other demonstrations in other areas of the country. On Wednesday afternoon, police moved in and took down all of the tents, and arrested those who refused to leave them.

A member of the Occupy Wall Street movement holds a sign aloft in front of the home of hedge fund manager John Paulson during a march through the upper east side of New York on Oct. 11. The Occupy Wall Street movement took protests to the New York homes of super-wealthy executives on Tuesday as rallies against economic inequality were planned this week for over 50 U.S. college campuses and in several cities around the world.

A doorman looks out the entrance to a Park Avenue building as members of the Occupy Wall Street walk past in protest through the upper east side of New York on Oct. 11

A man walks through the Occupy Boston encampment on Oct. 11. Tensions boiled over early Tuesday in downtown Boston, where police arrested about 100 protesters from the Occupy Boston movement after the group expanded its encampment.

A member of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Noah Fischer, shouts his protests against income inequality while demonstrating in the financial district of New York on Oct. 6. Demonstrators, taking part in the Occupy Wall St have staged demonstrations protesting income inequality for several weeks now while camped in Zuccotti Park.

A man wears an Occupy LA t-shirt at their protest camp in Los Angeles, CA, Oct. 9. The Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York last month with a few people has expanded to protests across the country with marches and camps taking shape from Tampa, Florida to Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles to Philadelphia. Protesters messages range from anti-corporate sentiments to frustration with the financial system and politicians.

Maggie Babb (16) a junior at Loring Nicollet Alternative School, participates in an Occupy Minnesota demonstration held at Hennepin County Government Plaza on Oct. 7.

A man washes coins donated to protestors while participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park on Oct. 7, in New York. The three-week-old campout in a lower Manhattan plaza looks like a jumble of tattered sleeping bags, but teams of volunteers working on food, sanitation, health care and other needs keep the shifting population of protesters functioning like an impromptu city within the city.

Demonstrators with Occupy Boston stop on Washington Street during a march through Boston on Oct. 10.

A member of the Secret Service (right) makes demonstrators step back from the fence in front of the White House in Washington on Oct. 7, during Occupy DC activities in the capital.

A demonstrator protests in downtown Los Angeles as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The anti-Wall Street demonstrators say they're angry at big banks and corporate America. But they are also deeply disgusted with politics and the inability of lawmakers to get things done in Washington.

Lauren Bieber (left) and Mike Mull, both from from Philadelphia, sit next to a haiku they wrote on the sidewalk near City Hall on Oct. 9. Organizers of what is being called Occupy Philadelphia say the demonstration is meant to be a stand against corporate greed.

Jordan McCarthy, 22, from Sandwich, N.H., awakes from under a makeshift shelter where she is camped out among participants in the Occupy Wall Street Protest at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, in New York. "We have allowed greed to be more important than humans," said McCarthy who joined the camp a week ago. The protests started on Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange, and has since grown to hundreds in New York, as well as across the nation

Emily McArthur, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., chants through a bullhorn in front of the Statehouse, in Boston, as part of an Occupy Boston demonstration. The group is part of a nationwide grassroots movement in support of the ongoing Wall Street protests in New York

A protestor who is part of the Occupy Boston group is led off by police during a stand off with Boston Police at the Charlestown Bridge on Oct. 10.

A Occupy Wall Street protester camped in Zuccotti Park tries to catch a little sun on an overcast morning in the financial district in New York on Oct. 4. The protests have gathered momentum and gained participants in recent days as news of mass arrests and a coordinated media campaign by the protestors have given rise to similar demonstrations around the country

Police officers block Occupy Wall Street protesters from marching to Wall Street in New York on Oct. 5. Protesters in suits and T-shirts with union slogans left work early to march with activists who have been camped out in Zuccotti Park for days. Some marchers brought along their children, hoisting them onto their shoulders as they walked down Broadway.

Christopher Posey, 28, of Astoria, stands in the rain along with other protesters encamped in Chapman Square on Oct. 10 in Portland, Ore. Occupy Portland, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York, began on Thursday with at least 4,000 people marching through downtown Portland. Since the march, hundreds of people have remained in tents concentrated in Chapman Square and have not set a date for when the protest will end.

Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street protest wear Guy Fawkes masks in Zuccotti Park in New York on Oct. 10. The growing protest over class and wealth is entering its fourth week.

Women who came to practice yoga in participation with the Occupy Wall Street protests, lift their yoga mats in the air while listening to yoga instructor Seane Corn speak in Zuccotti Park in New York on Oct. 10

SMALL WORLD PHOTOMICROGRAPH

2011-10-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Using laser-triggered high-speed macrophotography, Dr. John H. Brackenbury of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, UK captured a water droplet containing a pair of mosquito larvae.

The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition lets us see beyond the capabilities of our unaided eyes. Almost 2000 entries from 70 countries vied for recognition in the 37th annual contest, which celebrates photography through a microscope. Images two through 21 showcase the contest's winners in order, and are followed by a selection of other outstanding works. Scientists and photographers turned their attention on a wide range of subjects, both living and man-made, from lacewing larva to charged couple devices, sometimes magnifying them over 2000 times their original size.

A confocal image of a reconstruction of a fruit fly (Drosophila sp.) nervous system by Dr. Jana Boerner of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla.

Jonathan Franks of the University of Pittsburgh used the confocal method with autofluorescence to capture algae biofilm.

The embryonic pectoral fin of a whitespotted bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) was photographed by Dr. Andrew Gillis of the University of Cambridge using stereomicroscopy with fiber optic lighting.

Dr. Marta Guervos of the Image Processing Unit, Scientific-Technical Facilities, University of Oviedo in Asturias, Spain photographed Acacia dealbata (Silver wattle tree) anther using the confocal method with autofluorescence.

Confocal image of Clausidium sp. nov., female with egg sacs, ventral view was made by Dr. Terue Kihara of the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB) in Senckenberg am Meer, Germany.

An antique mount of a blowfly (Calliphoridae) proboscis was photographed by Dr. Davis Linstead of Kent, UK with differential interference contrast.

The double compound eyes of a male St. Mark's fly (Bibio marci) photographed with reflected (episcopic) diffuse illumination by Dr. David Maitland of Feltwell, UK.

The egg of a red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) in stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) trichomes photographed by David Millard of Austin, Texas with diffuse incident illumination.

Marek Mis of Suwalki, Poland used polarized light to photograph green algae (Spirogyra sp.) filaments.

The eyes (anterior lateral and median) of a jumping spider photographed in reflected light by Walter Piorkowski of South Beloit, Illinois.

A confocal image of a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor, direct surface view, magnified 1000 times by Kevin Smith of MetPrep Ltd. in Warwickshire, UK.

A water flea (Daphnia sp.) and green algae (Volvox sp.) captured with darkfield and flash by Dr. Ralf Wagner of Dusseldorf, Germany.

The mouth of a common fly photographed with fiber optic illumination by Dr. Havi Sarfaty of the Israeli Veterinary Association.

SCENES FROM KASMIR

2011-10-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

The India-Pakistan border appears as an orange line in this photograph taken by the Expedition 28 crew on the International Space Station on August 21, 2011. The fence between the two countries is floodlit for surveillance purposes. Srinagar (left), Islamabad (bottom center), Lahore (center near the border line) and Delhi (top center) can be seen as brighter spots.

Kashmir is a scenic land of tranquil beauty. A longstanding dispute over control of the region ensures that life for Kashmiris is anything but tranquil. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir, and a fortified Line of Control separates forces. China also administers part of the region. Two wars have been fought between Pakistan and India since borders were drawn in 1947, and the predominately Muslim area chafes under Indian control. In August mass graves were disclosed that likely held the bodies of "disappeared" civilians killed during insurgencies years ago. The disclosure was one of a series of incidents which keeps the region tense. The political dispute and attendant violence disturbs what should otherwise be a culturally vibrant, lushly beautiful idyll. Collected here are images from the last several months in Kashmir, a region of roughly twelve and a half million people.

Kashmiri Muslims pray as the head priest, unseen, displays a holy relic believed to be a hair from the beard of the prophet Mohammed at the Hazratbal Shrine on the outskirts of Srinagar on July 1, 2011. Devotees thronged the shrine on the second day of the Muslim festival of Mehraj-u-Alam, which marks the ascension of the prophet to heaven.

International Lalit and local Drass polo players compete in a game of polo in Drass, Kashmir on July 9, 2011. T he tournament was organized to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.

A relative of a disappeared Kashmiri youth looks at the photographs of missing people during a demonstration organized by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, a prominent local rights group, in Srinagar on July 10, 2011. Human rights workers have complained for years that innocent people have disappeared, been killed by government forces in staged gun battles, and suspected rebels arrested and never heard from again

Indian tourists enjoy a traditional Shikara boat ride on Dal Lake in Srinagar, India on July 7, 2011.

Indian soldiers returning from border posts are briefed at the Siachen base camp on the border with Pakistan on July 19. The nuclear-armed South Asian nations have competing territorial claims to Siachen, often dubbed the world's highest battlefield, and troops have been locked in a standoff there at an altitude of up to 20,000 feet since 1984, when Indian forces occupied the glacier.

Tourists park on a strip of land at the Pangong Lake, near the India-China border in Ladakh, India. Ladakh is a remote part of the former princely state of Kashmir. While Kashmir is best known for the Indo-Pakistani standoff, part of Ladakh, an ethnically distinct region with historical ties to Tibet, has been controlled by China for decades.

Tourists ride camels at Nubra valley in Ladakh. The heavily militarized region borders China.

Indian boy Naresh waits for customers as he displays his toys at a market in Srinagar September 8, 2011.

Residents watch as an Indian police honor guard performs a drill at the Mazar-e-Shohda (Martyr's graveyard) in Srinagar on July 13, 2011 during a ceremony held to mark the 80th anniversary of Kashmiris slain by the army of a Hindu king. Authorities in Indian Kashmir deployed thousands of security personnel in the main city of Srinagar to prevent separatist protests on a key state holiday. July 13 is marked in Indian Kashmir as "Martyrs' Day", which marks Maharaja Hari Singh's use of force in 1931 to quell protests against his rule, resulting in the death of 23 Muslims. Separatists had planned to hold anti-India demonstrations but authorities responded with hardline measures detaining and arresting key separatists.

An Italian tourist stands on a hilltop overlooking Leh city from Namgyal Tsemo Gompa monastery in Leh, capital of Ladakh, on July 8, 2011. The Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, situated at a height of 11,499 feet, is famous among foreign tourists for its monasteries, landscapes, mountains, and rich cultural heritage.

A Bakerwal, or nomadic man, smokes a water pipe as his wife cooks evening meals outside their tent at a camp on the outskirts of Srinagar on June 27, 2011

Kashmiri Muslims offer prayers on a street on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar on August 2, 2011.

A child stands along with protesters and watches Indian policemen from a distance during a protest in Srinagar on August 3, 2011. Kashmiris shut down shops and businesses in a general strike to protest a man's death in police custody in the Indian-controlled portion of the disputed Himalayan region

Women selling vegetables wait for customers at a market in Leh, 275 miles east of Srinagar on July 7, 2011.

A Muslim boat man prays on his boat after breaking his fast during the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar on August 8, 2011.

An Indian soldier patrols as a Kashmiri boy sits outside his home in Srinagar on August 14, 2011. Security was beefed up across the Kashmir Valley ahead of India's Independence Day on August 15

A farmer works in a paddy field near the fenced border between Indian and Pakistan in Suchetgarh, southwest of Jammu, on August 1, 2011. As India and Pakistan embark on a tentative peace process and try to decide how to open their borders to trade and travel, it will be the situation on the ground in places such as Suchetgarh that determine the pace of the detente.

Police use colored water from a cannon to disperse protesting state government employees of Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar September 8, 2011. The employees demanded a hike in their salaries.

Muslim children recite verses from the holy Quran at a local madrasa, or Muslim religious school, during the holy month of Ramadan in Srinagar on August 3, 2011.

A man takes a nap on sacks of onions at a wholesale market on the outskirts of Jammu September 14, 2011. Indian inflation climbed to its highest in more than a year as prices of food and manufactured goods surged

A passenger train leaves Jammu on the outskirts of the city August 5, 2011. India's struggle to build a railway to Kashmir has become a symbol of the infrastructure gap with China, whose speed in building road and rail links is giving it a strategic edge on the mountainous frontier. Nearly quarter of a century after work began on the project aimed at integrating the revolt-torn territory and bolstering the supply route for troops deployed there, barely a quarter of the 215-mile Kashmir track has been laid.

Indian Army soldiers patrol outside their camp at Gurez on August 20, 2011. Troops in Kashmir fought a deadly battle with suspected rebels crossing the Line of Control from Pakistani-controlled territory. One soldier and 11 suspected rebels were killed, according to the army.

A Kashmiri Muslim woman carries her daughter as they watch the funeral procession of Haji Syed Mohammad Yousuf, a 61-year-old retired teacher and worker of the governing National Conference party in Locktipora on October 1, 2011. Yousuf died in police custody after the region's top elected official handed him over to investigators probing charges that he took money from people promising to get them nominated as lawmakers

MAJLIS HARI RAYA BERSAMA RAKAN RAKAN RADIO DI RUMAH 9W2MPB

2011-09-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

AFGHANNISTAN ,SEPTEMBER 2011

2011-09-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Private Chad Payton, 21, of Louisville, Ky., prepares to load a 120mm high-explosive mortar round in support of an Afghan outpost under attack by insurgents on Sept. 14 in Kunar province.

Tribal elders say the Taliban are far from defeated. The Taliban continue to wage a brutal war, taking a toll on Afghan citizens and American forces. The Department of Defense has identified 1,761 American service members who have died in the Afghan war and related operations as of Sept. 21, about 10 years since the start of the war. In visiting Afghanistan monthly in The Big Picture, we try to reflect our troops presence in the country as well as their interaction with the Afghan people.

The United States, which had largely pulled out of Kunar province, has recently moved troops, including the 27th Infantry Regiment, back in as part of an effort to take the battle to Taliban strongholds. The mountainous region of Kunar borders Pakistan and is often a transit point for Taliban between the countries.
US soldiers from the 27th Infantry Regiment fire 120-mm mortar rounds toward insurgent positions at Outpost Monti in Kunar province on Sept. 17. After a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, 130,000 troops from dozens of countries continue to battle resilient Taliban, who use homemade bombs and guerrilla tactics in a bid to undermine the Afghan government and the NATO mission.

Specialist Gart Kamon, of the 27th Infantry Regiment, is peppered with stones after firing mortar rounds at Outpost Monti in Kunar province.

A muddied Gart Kamon, an Army specialist, is part of the coalition effort to help Afghan troops take control of restive Kunar province.

A US soldier from the 2-27 Infantry's "Wolfhounds" takes cover during a firefight with the Taliban at Outpost Bari Alai in Ghaziabad district in Kunar on Sept. 15.

Lieutenant Steve Grizley of the 2-27 Infantry "Wolfhounds" takes care of some grooming during a lull at Outpost Bari Alai in Ghaziabad district in Kunar.

A US soldier observes a bombing strike from a US fighter jet during a firefight at Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar on Sept. 15.

US soldiers fire 60mm mortar rounds toward a Taliban position during a firefight at Outpost Bari Alai, in Kunar. ign:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fgt9wg5Aah4/Tn3hYCvNmEI/AAAAAAAAO4s/z69vGfBtY8k/s320/bp10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655924510215215170" />
A US fighter jet drops bombs at Taliban positions during a firefight at Outpost Bari Alai.

A convoy passed a village, as viewed from a bunker at Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar.

A soldier from Task Force "No Fear" of the 2-27 Infantry brushes his teeth between machine guns at his post in the bunker of Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar.

Soldiers with the 27th Infantry Regiment fire a 120mm mortar round from Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province.

The rotors of a landing Blackhawk helicopter kick up dust and debris around Second Lieutenant Andrew Ferrara at the Shigal district center in Kunar province on Sept. 15. Ferrara is helping coordinate a meeting with village leaders.

A truck carries villagers near Outpost Bari Alai in Kunar.

Afghan medics take fingerprints from one of the Taliban militants killed during a gun battle with Afghan and NATO forces in Kabul on Sept. 14.

Afghan security men and media members gather around the body of a militant at a building in Kabul on Sept. 14. The brazen 20-hour attack demonstrated the ability of the Taliban to strike terror in the heart of the capital.

Sergeant Matt Murray, 25, of Warwick, R.I., greets Second Lieutenant Andrew Ferrara while hiking up to an observation post on Sept. 12 at Combat Outpost Monti in Kunar province.

US soldiers walk toward the Kuschamond forward base in Paktika province. So far, the 10-year war has cost America $444 billion. There are currently approximately 130,000 NATO-led forces in Afghanistan; 100,000 of them from the United States.

Afghan war amputees and children practice walking at the International Committee of the Red Cross orthopedic center on Sept. 10 in Kabul. After more than 30 years of war and a decade since the 9/11 attacks in the United States, thousands of Afghans, both military and civilian, continue to pay a heavy price from the conflicts. The center makes prosthetics for amputees and helps them, as well as Afghans with spinal injuries and children with congenital birth defects, to learn to walk.

An orthopedic technician adjusts a prosthetic leg for a war amputee at an International Committee of the Red Cross center in Kabul.

Afghan women listen to a trainer during an animal husbandry class on Sept. 8 in Kabul. The program, run by the Afghan Women Rights Organization, is aimed at educating women on ways to raise their household income. The program is funded by the US Ambassador's Small Grants Program and USAID.

An Afghan woman milks a cow during an animal husbandry class, September 8, 2011 in Kabul.

An Afghan vollunteer weighs a child at a USAID-funded health help center, September 7, 2011 in Farza, Afghanistan. More than $2 billion of American development money will be spent in Afghanistan in 2011. The goal is to provide basic health services for Afghans throughout the nation and to lower Afghanistan's child and maternal mortality rate, among the highest in the world.

Female would-be Afghan lawmakers attend a protest in front of the Afghan Presidential palace in Kabul, September 7, 2011. Hundreds of supporters of would-be Afghan lawmakers, declared winners by a court but losers by an election body, blocked a main junction in downtown Kabul, the latest scene in a long-running political crisis.

Supplies for US Army troops overlook the Hindu Kush mountains at Observation Post Mustang in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. The area, in northeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, is a major infiltration route by Taliban fighters coming across from Pakistan and has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

US Army soldiers from the 2-27th Infantry Regiment work out at Observation Post Mustang.

A STEP -BY-STEP GUIDE TO CELEBRATING

2011-09-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

A girl waves national flags as she participates in a parade during the double celebrations of Malaysia Day and Independence Day in Kuala Lumpur Sept. 16. Malaysia celebrated the 48th anniversary of the union of Malaysia as well as the 54 years of the country's independence.

All it takes are two groups of people, one to gather and one to march past them. Parades took place across the globe these past two months for a variety of celebrations, from shows of military power, to tributes to organized labor, to pride for one’s country or culture.

A Malaysian woman performs during the Malaysia Day and Independence Day parade in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16. Malaysia is celebrating its 54th independence day with the theme "1 Malaysia transformation, success, people peace".

Malaysians stand in line during a parade rehearsal for the Malaysia Day celebrations at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Sept. 14. The country celebrates the holiday on Sept. 16, to commemorate the formation of the Malaysia federation which was announced on the same date in 1963.

Performers dance in the street parade at the annual Notting Hill Carnival in central London Aug. 29.. Revelers flocked to west London for one of Europe's biggest street parties, with record numbers of police on duty to prevent a repetition of riots that shook the British capital three weeks ago. Notting Hill Carnival, an annual celebration of Caribbean culture that usually draws about 1 million people for a colorful procession of musicians and performers.

Manash Sharma (left) waves to performers during the 31st India Day Parade on Aug. 21 in New York.

Dancers perform the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance on Sept. 12 in Abbots Bromley, United Kingdom. The dance comprising of six Deer-men, a Fool, Hobby Horse, Bowman and Maid Marian start in the early morning at the village church. A melodian player accompanies the dancers as they parade around the parish holding Reindeer antlers above their heads. The traditional Wakes Monday dance is believed to be the oldest folk dance in Britain and some of the antlers have been carbon dated to be over 1000 years old.

Soldiers march in the military parade during the Independence Day celebrations in Mexico City Sept. 16. Mexico celebrated the 201st anniversary of its 1810 independence uprising.

Military cadets parade commemorating the 190th anniversary of Independence on Sept. 15 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

A solider stands at attention as Evzones presidential guards parade outside the Greek parliament in central Athens, Greece, on Sept. 13

Volunteers and attendees parade around the field in front of nearly 3000 flags during a Sept. 11th commemoration ceremony at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. The flags represent the people who died at the World Trade Center.

Indonesian Muslim children carry torches during a parade celebrating Eid al Fitr holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia Aug. 30.

Libyan National Transitional Council fighters parade in Tripoli on Sept. 9 as diplomats said that the UN Security Council could pass a resolution next week easing an asset freeze and arms embargo against Libya to help launch a UN mission in the country.

Namibia fans parade their colors prior to kickoff during the 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool D match between Fiji and Namibia at the Rotorua International Stadium on Sept.10 in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Vessels sail during a great parade of the Culture Tall Ships Regatta on the Bay of Gdansk near the eastern Polish Baltic Sea city of Gdynia Sept. 5. The Culture 2011 Tall Ships Regatta featured two races from Klaipeda to Turku to Gdynia as part of the Tall Ships festival season, during which participating cities showcased their cultural activities, according to organizers.

The North Korean military parades to celebrate the 63rd founding anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Pyongyang on Sept. 9. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his son reviewed the parade of military hardware and thousands of goose-stepping troops, in what analysts saw as a bid to bolster loyalty to the regime.

The Group Aero Squadron (Esquadrilha da fumaca) flies in formation during a civic-military parade in commemoration of 189 years of Brazilian independence, in Brasilia Sept. 7.

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff waves from a vehicle during a civic-military parade commemorating 189 years of Brazilian independence in Brasilia Sept.7.

Union members, along with their relatives, walk in the annual Labor Day parade in Detroit, MI Sept. 5.

A marcher fakes death from a mock battle on Peachtree Street between medieval characters during the Dragoncon parade on Sept. 3 in Atlanta. Dragoncon is a multimedia convention held annually over Labor Day weekend that draws tens of thousands of comic book, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music film and science-fiction fans.

Turkish veterans carry Turkish flags during a parade marking the 89th anniversary of Victory Day in Ankara Aug. 30

Boston Bruins Brad Marchand lifts the Stanley Cup for the crowd at the conclusion of a parade on Aug. 29 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A girl sits in a decorated vehicle during a parade ahead of the country's 190th anniversary of independence at the Joaquin Robles elementary school in Los Encuentros, Solola, 130 km (112 miles) from Guatemala City Sept. 14. The country celebrates its independence on September 15.

Star Wars Storm Troopers match in the Dragoncon parade on Sept. 3 in Atlanta. Dragoncon is a multimedia convention held annually over Labor Day weekend that draws tens of thousands of comic book, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music film and science-fiction fans.

SLEEPERS

2011-09-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

A man, displaced by heavy floods for almost a year, sleeps under mosquito netting while taking refuge in a camp for flood victims in Sukkur, Pakistan July 12, 2011.

Most of us don't get enough sleep. "As the world is getting faster and crazier, I've noticed sleepers around the streets, just everywhere," writes photographer Romain Philippon. "Of course, I also see some poetry and dreamings in all of that, but the contrast is so interesting to me, people trying to escape to their condition…" Philippon is self-publishing a book on the topic called "Inconscience". The first eight photographs in this entry are from that book. Collected here as well are more photographs of people everywhere lucky enough to find a few winks.

Delivery man, in front of a shop, Kolkata, India

A tool seller in a market, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Man asleep in public transport, Laos

Shop owner, Jaipur, India

Sleeping taxi driver, waiting for clients. Kolkata, India

Woman sleeping in a public square in Montreal, Canada

Fruit seller having a rest in Ca Mau, Vietnam

Street hairdressers resting in Hanoi, Vietnam

A girl sleeps inside a Citroen 2CV on July 26, 2011 in Salbris, France during the 19th World meeting of 2 CV Friends.

A woman sleeps in the trunk of a car before the start of the annual International Descent of the River Sella canoe race which started in Arriondas, Spain on August 6, 2011.

A child sleeps in a bamboo basket on the side of a road as her mother sells vegetables on the streets in Kathmandu on August 6, 2011.

A baby sleeps while Palestinian women attempt to pass the checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the second Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on August 12, 2011

A woman sleeps on a couch near tents at a camp set up on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard calling for lower property prices in Israel on August 2, 2011

A young Chinese couple wait as their baby sleeps on a display bed as they shop at a department store in Beijing on August 15, 2011.

Protesters sleep outside Spain's parliament in Madrid on June 22, 2011 to condemn plans by the government to reform the collective bargaining system and the Euro pact.

A man sleeps in his tent at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm on June 22, 2011 in Glastonbury, England.

Filipinos sleep on cardboard boxes at an evacuation center in Marikina, Philippines on June 26, 2011 after Tropical Storm Meari forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.

Pakistani bus drivers and conductors sleep on the roofs of their vehicles at a bus terminal in Lahore on June 27, 2011.

A spectator sleeps prior to the start of play at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon on June 27, 2011.
Jaseem, a taxi driver, sleeps with a fluorescent light on inside his cab in Mumbai on June 30, 2011. The practice of keeping the light on is an indication to customers that even though the driver is resting, the cab is available for hire.

A protester sleeps on the road during a protest march to demand universal suffrage and to rally against rising property prices in Hong Kong July 2, 2011.

A worker sleeps on the back of his motor tricycle under a mosquito net with his wife and son in Hefei, China on July 5, 2011.

Festival goers sleep among tents at the EXIT festival camp near the Serbian city of Novi Sad on July 7, 2011. More than 150 acts performed at the festival, which has been held since 2000 at an old fortress overlooking the River Danube in Novi Sad city.

People sleep in their chairs as they wait to watch the launch of Space shuttle Atlantis on the last mission of the space shuttle program on July 8, 2011 in Titusville, Florida.

A woman sleeps as people stop to look at classic cars displayed at the annual RNAS Yeovilton Air Day on July 9, 2011 in Yeovil, England.

A woman sleeps in the shade on a park bench in Bucharest, Romania on July 11, 2011.

An Egyptian protester, his face painted in the colors of the Egyptian flag, sleeps on the ground during a protest at Tahrir Square in Cairo on July 12, 2011.

A youth sleeps while others sit in front of computers on July, 12 2011, during the Campus Party meeting in Valencia in the Principe Felipe Museum, where more than 7,000 youths can surf on the internet with an exceptionally good connection.

Anti-government protesters sleep in a makeshift tent at Tagheer Square in Sanaa, Yemen on July 12, 2011.

Indian passengers sleep on a platform at the railway station in Bhubaneswar, India on July 12, 2011.

A reveler tries to get some sleep on the street during the San Fermin festival in Pamplona early July 8, 2011.

GROUND ZERO : SEPTEMBER11 ,2001 - SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

2011-09-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

A man stood in the rubble and called out, asking if anyone needed help, after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower on Sept. 11, 2001. More than 2,700 people were killed when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked US passenger jets and flew them into the twin towers in New York.

Photos by Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite showing the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York, collected on June 30, 2011 showing the 110-stories twin towers; on September 15, 2001 showing the remains of the 1,350-foot (411.48-meter) twin towers of the World Trade Center, and the debris and dust that have settled in Ground Zero, four days after the terrorist attacks; and June 8, 2002, showing the progress in the reclamation of Ground Zero where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood.

An aerial view of the wreckage at the World Trade Center on Sept. 16, 2001.

Workers climbed over the remains of the World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan, New York, on Sept. 28, 2001.

Firefighters made their way over the ruins of the World Trade Center through clouds of smoke as work continued at ground zero on Oct. 11, 2001, one month after the terrorist attacks.

A major section of Building 6 collapsed as demolition of the remaining piees of the World Trade Center continued on Dec. 18, 2001.

Recovery workers looked on as heavy machinery helped remove debris on Jan. 12, 2002.

Workers unfolded an American flag on May, 25, 2002, on top of the last standing beam at the site of the World Trade Center disaster in New York a few days before the official end of the recovery effort.

Workers unfolded an American flag on May, 25, 2002, on top of the last standing beam at the site of the World Trade Center disaster in New York a few days before the official end of the recovery effort.

Sunlight filtered into the still smoldering remains of Tower Two as workers riding in a basket suspended from a giant crane hovered above on Oct. 27, 2001

Lights illuminated ground zero as the sun set over the Manhattan on Sept. 6, 2002.

The original slurry wall of the World Trade Center, showing steel old cement and the new resh cement, was visible on Nov. 19, 2003.

Workers laid the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower on the location of the World Trade Center on July 4, 2004.

People looked out at the former site of the World Trade Center on May 5, 2005. The construction of the Freedom Tower on the site had run into numerous obstacles.

At ground zero, a lone police officer sat amid the rubble during a ceremony marking the one year anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2002

Construction workers watched from a ramp as others raised the first of three 25-ton steel columns into position before it was bolted into place on Dec. 19, 2006, a milestone in efforts to build a new office tower to replace the World Trade Center.

Construction at the foundation of the Freedom Towers at the World Trade Center site in New York, September 10, 2007.

Construction continued on the Freedom Tower foundations at the World Trade Center site on June 20, 2008.

On the east side of the World Trade Center bathtub, the old inbound Hudson & Manhattan Railroad tunnels, which also served as truck ramps for the World Trade Center, were visible on July 16, 2005

Friends and relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks tossed flowers into the Reflecting Pool during a ceremony at ground zero on Sept. 11, 2008

The survivors’ staircase at the World Trade Center was moved to its permanent spot on Dec. 11, 2008. The Vessey Street staircase was used by many to evacuate the towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

The sunken pool, which marks the site of One World Trade Center, was almost entirely framed out in structural steel, except for its southwest corner in a January 2009 photo.

Ironworker Eon Mathieson prepared to connect a steel beam on the fourth floor of One World Trade Center on Nov. 17, 2009. The Port Authority changed the name from Freedom Tower to One World Trade Center in 2009.

The galleria at the World Trade Center, an east-west underground connecting passageway between the Transportation Hub and Battery Park City, was still exposed to daylight during construction on Nov. 18, 2008

A 19th-century ship that has been buried for over 100 years was found on July 14, 2010, during construction at the former World Trade Center site. Archeologists worked to uncover, measure, and collect artifacts quickly before the ship would be buried again.

Work in the memorial pools continued on Aug. 27, 2010.

Looking up at the base of one of the cranes at the One World Trade Center on Aug, 27 , 2010.

Construction continued at the World Trade Center site with the memorial footprints of the twin towers visible on Sept. 7, 2010

People watched out the window as construction continued at the World Trade Center site on March 26, 2010, in New York City. A new development agreement was announced after a 16-month stalemate over building at the site.

People stood on the 20th floor restaurant terrace of the World Center Hotel as construction continued on One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on July 8, 2011. The memorial features two reflecting pools on the footprints of the twin towers.

Clouds were reflected in the glass of One World Trade Center on May 11, 2011. The base of the tower was supposed to be covered by prismatic glass panels to cover the bomb-proof concrete, but plans were scrapped.

Tourists looked on as the Fire Department of New York's Ladder Company 3 fire truck, which was responsible for evacuating civilians from the North Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, was lowered 70 feet by crane to its exhibition space of the National September 11 Memorial Museum on July 20, 2011.

Construction workers lowered the Sept. 11 cross by crane into a subterranean section of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on July 23, 2011. The cross is an intersecting steel beam discovered in the World Trade Center rubble which served as symbol of spiritual recovery in the aftermath of 9/11.

A trumpeter played Taps at ground zero at the end of the ninth annual commemoration ceremony on Sept. 11, 2010

A flag flies over Ground Zero before the start of ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2011.

The World Trade Center ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks takes place at the National September 11 Memorial, Sept. 11, 2011 in New York.

A flag flies over ground zero before the start of the ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Two steel beams known as the tridents from the original World Trade Center tower were visible inside the National September 11 Museum during construction on July 28, 2011.

TEXAS DROUGHT AND WILDFIRES

2011-09-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station photographed east-central Texas on September 6, 2011, highlighting numerous smoke plumes caused by wildfires burning across the state. Smoke plumes are clearly visible to the east of Austin; to the north of Houston; to the northwest of Lake Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend Reservoir; and to the west of Shreveport, Louisiana. Diffuse smoke is moving offshore into the Gulf of Mexico. Part of an ISS photovoltaic radiator panel is visible at image top center.

Wildfires have blazed across Texas for several days, but the drought conditions that fed the flames have been building for many months. The ten-month period through July was the driest in Texas state history. Entire lakes have dried up. Since last November, almost 1,500 homes have burned in nearly 21,000 fires across the state. Two deaths so far have been attributed to the fires, which have forced the evacuations of thousands of residents. The Texas drought and wildfires come on the heels of the Arizona wildfire, the largest in that state's history.

Ranch owner Myron Calley looks at a drying pond at his ranch near Snyder, Texas on August 12, 2011. Some Texas cities, including Waco and Tyler, have broken their record for 100-degree consecutive days.

An air tanker drops fire retardant on a fire in The Cliffs development on August 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.

Sailboats are left high and dry at Benbrook Lake in Benbrook, Texas on August 16, 2011.

A rain gauge stays dry on the edge of a pasture on July 28, 2011 near Canadian, Texas.

Two firefighters break from battling a wildfire off Foster School Road near Needville, Texas on September 7, 2011.

Motorists drive through a dust storm along Highway 191 between Midland and Odessa, Texas on July 29, 2011. The dust cloud accompanied a line of storms that brought much needed precipitation to the drought stricken area.

Insulators on a power line are washed from a helicopter in Galveston, Texas on April 28, 2011. As the prolonged drought causes dust buildup on the lines, electricity distributors are using helicopters to clean equipment to prevent outages.

A cryogenic tank from the Space Shuttle Columbia was discovered in an evaporating lake bed on the shoreline of Lake Nacogdoches in east Texas, part of debris from the 2003 Columbia disaster, on August 3, 2011.

A portion of the Cypress Creek Arm of Lake Travis dry on July 20.

Spectators gather near the Congress Street bridge in downtown Austin, Texas July 27, 2011, to watch the bats make their nightly flight for food. The largest urban bat colony in the world lives below the bridge. The drought has killed off crops, and that in turn has killed off pests the Mexican free-tailed bats eat, so they begin their nightly hunt earlier, while it's still light outside.

Eddie Ray Roberts, superintendent of the waste and water department, walks on the bed of Lake E.V. Spence in Robert Lee, Texas on August 7, 2011. Roberts makes the trek toward the water line daily to check on the pump that is feeding Mt. Creek Reservoir nearly 1.3 million gallons of water daily. Every few days, Roberts or members of his small department must relocate the pump because of the receding water line

An underweight longhorn stands in a field near Stoneham, Texas in an area that was part of a 5,000-acre wildfire in June on July 14, 2011.

A white tail doe stands by a water tank on a ranch near San Angelo, Texas. Most of the wildlife in the region relies heavily on the watering holes maintained for livestock.

Charred appliances and a fireplace are all that remain of a home in Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas on August 31, 2011, the day after a wildfire swept through the area.

Dead fish sit mired in the mud of O.C. Fisher Lake on July 25, 2011 in San Angelo, Texas. The 5,440 acre lake which was established to provide flood control and serve as a secondary drinking water source for San Angelo and the surrounding communities is now dry.

A home burns in Steiner Ranch west of Austin, Texas on September 4, 2011

Flames engulf a road near Bastrop State Park as a wildfire burns out of control near Bastrop, Texas September 5, 2011.

Allen Hoffman runs towards the home of Patrick McAlister as smoke engulfs the house while a wildfire burns out of control near Bastrop, Texas September 5, 2011.

A burned ridge line smolders on September 7, 2011 east of Bastrop, Texas

A series of large wildfires approaches Bastrop, Texas on Highway 71on September 5, 2011.

The chimney of a house remains standing as the rest of the building burns to the ground near Bastrop, Texas September 5, 2011. Sixty separate wildfires, whipped by strong winds, were burning across Texas on Monday.

Bastrop, Texas smolders on September 6, 2011.

A melted basketball goal remains after a wildfire near Bastrop, Texas September 6, 2011. The Bastrop County Complex fire has destroyed up to 600 homes, the most of any single fire in Texas history.

Ryan Joseph Terranova packs up his belongings moments before evacuating his home in Bastrop, Texas, as a huge fire approaches on September 5, 2011. The fire destroyed nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, which brought no rain.

A photograph sits amid the remains of a home in the Steiner Ranch on September 6, 2011 outside Austin, Texas

Eric Kemper looks at a letter written by his sister-in-law, who was killed in Iraq, that was stored in a fireproof cabinet after his home was destroyed by fire near Bastrop, Texas September 6, 2011.

Hillary Polly looks through belongings as Thomas Polly tries to pry open a fireproof gun safe with his father Louie Polly amongst the rubble of their burned house September 7, 2011 near Bastrop, Texas.

A statue stands charred in front of the remnants of a home on the east side of Lake Bastrop on September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas.