News in Pictures

An international scientific team on Wednesday announced a milestone in astrophysics – the first-ever photo of a black hole – using a global network of telescopes to gain insight into celestial objects with gravitational fields so strong no matter or light can escape. The research was conducted by the Event ...

  Young residents of San Nicolas de Los Ranchos, in Puebla state, Mexico with their bodies painted with oil and wearing masks parade and dance as “Xinacates” in the town’s traditional carnival.

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A youth swings a flaming tyre as part of a tradition marking Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church calendar, in the Romanian village of Poplaca. . A demonstrator offers a flower to a police officer as teachers and students take part in ...

Kanwara Kaewjin prepares backstage at the Miss International Queen 2019 transgender beauty pageant in Pattaya, Thailand.

Lightning strikes as a storm approaches Santa Barbara, California. According to the LA Times, the National Weather Service recorded 1,489 pulses of lightning off the coast of Santa Barbara

Sri Lankan traditional Kandyan dancers perform in front of the Gangaramaya Temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 19, 2019. Thousands of people with dozens of elephants gathered at the Gangaramaya Temple to take part in the annual Buddhist Navam procession scheduled for Feb. 18 to 19. (Xinhua/Gayan Sameera)   ...

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MOSCOW: Eastern Orthodox churches, including Russia’s one, celebrate Epiphany. The occasion marks the baptism of Jesus Christ and traditionally incorporates ice bathing on the eve of the feast. Orthodox Christians across Russia braved the freezing weather to take dips in icy waters to celebrate Epiphany. The rite is not mandatory, but is believed to cleanse the ...

LOS ANGELES: An enormous great white shark – believed to be one of the biggest on record – has been spotted off the coast of Hawaii by divers who took a swim with the predator. The 20-foot (six-meter) female shark – bearing similar markings as “Deep Blue,” the largest great ...