Saturday 29 August 2015

AP PHOTOS: Hindu holy men lead bath rituals in Indian river

Naked Hindu holy men wait to bath in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival, will cleanse them of their sins. According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would give them immortality.
Naked Hindu holy men wait to bath in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival, will cleanse them of their sins. According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would give them immortality.  

Wednesday 26 August 2015

AP PHOTOS: Thousands bathe at riverside festival in India

Hindu devotees take holy dip in the River Godavari on the first official day of bathing as part of Kumbh Mela celebrations in Nasik, India, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. Bathing in sacred waters on the most auspicious day of the Kumbh festival, or Pitcher Festival, believers say rids them of their sins.
Hindu devotees take holy dip in the River Godavari on the first official day of bathing as part of Kumbh Mela celebrations in Nasik, India, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. Bathing in sacred waters on the most auspicious day of the Kumbh festival, or Pitcher Festival, believers say rids them of their sins.  

Monday 24 August 2015

AP PHOTOS: Kashmiris suffer as India, Pakistan trade fire

In this Thursday, Aug, 20, 2015, photo, Indian villager Pritam Lal carries his grandson on his shoulder as he walks back to his house, near international border of India and Pakistan in Akhnoor sector, 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Jammu, India. On the face of it these villages in the Jammu region of Indian Kashmir seem idyllic, but over the last two weeks these villages have been witness to an angry exchange of fire and mortar shells between Indian and Pakistani soldiers. This isn't the first time that these villages have borne the brunt of the animosity between India and archrival Pakistan. And this likely won't be the last.
In this Thursday, Aug, 20, 2015, photo, Indian villager Pritam Lal carries his grandson on his shoulder as he walks back to his house, near international border of India and Pakistan in Akhnoor sector, 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Jammu, India. On the face of it these villages in the Jammu region of Indian Kashmir seem idyllic, but over the last two weeks these villages have been witness to an angry exchange of fire and mortar shells between Indian and Pakistani soldiers. This isn't the first time that these villages have borne the brunt of the animosity between India and archrival Pakistan. And this likely won't be the last. 

Thursday 20 August 2015

26 Real Places That Look Like They’ve Been Taken Out Of Fairy Tales

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany. As a way to seek refuge and withdraw from public life, Ludwig II of Bavaria built this extravagant castle in 1868. Seven weeks after his death in 1886, the structure was opened to the paying public and has since become one of the most visited castles in Europe. Neuschwanstein is also the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland, so it’s clearly magical!
Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany. As a way to seek refuge and withdraw from public life, Ludwig II of Bavaria built this extravagant castle in 1868. Seven weeks after his death in 1886, the structure was opened to the paying public and has since become one of the most visited castles in Europe. Neuschwanstein is also the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland, so it’s clearly magical!

AP PHOTOS: Kimono-clad foreigners get a taste of old Tokyo

In this Aug. 1, 2015 photo, Nyrul Ain binti Ahmad Danial of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, right, tries authentic green tea for the first time with other participants during a Japanese tea ceremony at the Kyu Yasuda Garden in Tokyo. With some help from Japanese volunteers, more than 80 foreigners from around the world, including the United States, Russia and Malaysia, donned casual summer kimonos called “yukata” for a stroll around old Tokyo earlier this month. Originally part of a samurai residence in the 1600's, the garden, which is now free of admission, was donated by the Yasuda family, to the city of Tokyo in 1922.
In this Aug. 1, 2015 photo, Nyrul Ain binti Ahmad Danial of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, right, tries authentic green tea for the first time with other participants during a Japanese tea ceremony at the Kyu Yasuda Garden in Tokyo. With some help from Japanese volunteers, more than 80 foreigners from around the world, including the United States, Russia and Malaysia, donned casual summer kimonos called “yukata” for a stroll around old Tokyo earlier this month. Originally part of a samurai residence in the 1600's, the garden, which is now free of admission, was donated by the Yasuda family, to the city of Tokyo in 1922. 

Sunday 16 August 2015

Madonna

Madonna poses at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 14, 1984 in New York's Radio City Music Hall. The singer was nominated "Best New Artist" in video.
Madonna poses at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 14, 1984 in New York's Radio City Music Hall. The singer was nominated "Best New Artist" in video.  

Friday 14 August 2015

10 Things to See: A week of top AP photos

Luis Enrique Tuanama, 17, rests while climbing the Cerro de Saraja , a mountain of sand, in Ica, Peru, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015.
Luis Enrique Tuanama, 17, rests while climbing the Cerro de Saraja , a mountain of sand, in Ica, Peru, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. 

Thursday 13 August 2015

Famous left handers (Left Hander's Day is Aug. 13)

Scarlett Johannson

Scarlett Johannson

10 famous left handers (Left Hander's Day is Aug. 13)

Being left handed used to be a crux. Only 10 percent of humans are naturally left handed and it is more difficult to find items designed for left handers. Despite the challenges of being left handed, many of America's most popular people are lefties. Here is a list of 10 famous southpaws.
Being left handed used to be a crux. Only 10 percent of humans are naturally left handed and it is more difficult to find items designed for left handers. Despite the challenges of being left handed, many of America's most popular people are lefties. Here is a list of 10 famous southpaws. 

Monday 10 August 2015

AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from Asia

In this Aug. 7, 2015 photo, a relative of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that went missing on March 8, 2014, is carried away by policemen as she and other family members kneel down and cry in front of the media during a protest near the Malaysian embassy in Beijing. Malaysia was intensely criticized early in the Flight 370 mystery for failing to quickly to disclose that its military radar had picked up an unidentified aircraft the night the Boeing 777 disappeared. Now its reticence has given way to what looks like haste compared to other countries involved, at least, and that has left relatives of the missing as exasperated as ever.
In this Aug. 7, 2015 photo, a relative of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that went missing on March 8, 2014, is carried away by policemen as she and other family members kneel down and cry in front of the media during a protest near the Malaysian embassy in Beijing. Malaysia was intensely criticized early in the Flight 370 mystery for failing to quickly to disclose that its military radar had picked up an unidentified aircraft the night the Boeing 777 disappeared. Now its reticence has given way to what looks like haste compared to other countries involved, at least, and that has left relatives of the missing as exasperated as ever. 

Thursday 6 August 2015

10 Things to See: A week of top AP photos

Michal Navratil of the Czech Republic competes during the men's 27 meter high dive final at the Swimming World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015.
Michal Navratil of the Czech Republic competes during the men's 27 meter high dive final at the Swimming World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015.

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

In this undated publicity photo courtesy Running Press, Marilyn Monroe is shown in the first photo taken of her in the famous white dress from the "The Seven Year Itch." For a brief scene in "The Seven Year Itch," in September 1954, her character strolls on a Manhattan street on a stifling summer evening. When a subway rattles beneath her, Marilyn stands astride a sidewalk vent to catch a cool breeze that swirls her skirt up around her waist.
In this undated publicity photo courtesy Running Press, Marilyn Monroe is shown in the first photo taken of her in the famous white dress from the "The Seven Year Itch." For a brief scene in "The Seven Year Itch," in September 1954, her character strolls on a Manhattan street on a stifling summer evening. When a subway rattles beneath her, Marilyn stands astride a sidewalk vent to catch a cool breeze that swirls her skirt up around her waist.

Monday 3 August 2015

AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from Asia

In this July 31, 2015 file photo, a woman lights candles in celebration at Dashiarchhara, in Kurigram enclaves, Bangladesh. At the stroke of midnight Friday, tens of thousands of stateless people who were stranded for decades along the poorly defined border between India and Bangladesh will finally get to choose their citizenship, as the two countries swapped more than 150 pockets of land to settle the demarcation line dividing them.
In this July 31, 2015 file photo, a woman lights candles in celebration at Dashiarchhara, in Kurigram enclaves, Bangladesh. At the stroke of midnight Friday, tens of thousands of stateless people who were stranded for decades along the poorly defined border between India and Bangladesh will finally get to choose their citizenship, as the two countries swapped more than 150 pockets of land to settle the demarcation line dividing them.