Alive in Russia

Alive in Russia

These photos may look like they taken from an apocalyptic horror film or some strange Photoshop work, but these are as true as ever, and they become a daily reality for residents in a Russian city named Samara.

The wake of Typhoon Bopha: Philippines

Typhoon Bopha, an incredibly powerful typhoon, has killed hundreds, triggered landslides and floods and left immeasurable destruction in its path in the Philippines. The death toll stands at over 500 – entire families washed away – many still missing. At least 200 of the victims died in Compostela Valley alone. A muddy wasteland of collapsed houses and trees felled by ferocious winds; 300,000 left homeless in great need of water, food and shelter. – Paula Nelson ( 38 photos total)

Typhoon Bopha is shown moving toward the Philippines from the International Space Station, Dec. 2, 2012. The typhoon slammed into the Davao region of the Philippines early Dec. 4, killing hundreds and forcing more than 50,000 to flee from inundated villages. (NASA/Associated Press)

Protests return to Tahrir Square

Protestors once again have massed in Egypt's Tahrir Square and around the country in opposition to their ruling leader. Yesterday a crowd of more than 200,000 gathered in growing opposition to President Mohamed Morsi's decree last Friday that granted him sweeping constitutional powers. Tahrir Square became the epicenter of the protests in early 2011 that led to the resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak. -- Lloyd Young ( 28 photos total)

Egyptian protesters shoot fireworks as they demonstrate against President Mohamed Morsi's decree, in Tahrir Square on Nov. 27. Thousands took to the streets across Egypt to protest a decision by President Mohamed Morsi to grant himself sweeping powers. Protesters in Cairo converged on Tahrir Square where a sit-in began on 23 Nov. after the Islamist leader signed a decree making all his decisions and laws immune from legal challenge. (Andre Pain/European Pressphoto Agency)

Gaza conflict escalates

An Israeli envoy held talks with Egyptian officials on a ceasefire in his country's offensive on Gaza as Israel widened the range of its targets, striking more than a dozen homes of Hamas militants and two media officials on Nov. 18. Seven civilians were killed, including five children, in the conflict's highest one-day civilian toll yet.Enlarge GalleryMembers of the Palestinian Civil Defense help a survivor after he was pulled out from under the rubble of his destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City November 18, 2012. Israel bombed militant …

China gets a new leader Images

New leaders emerge in China but once a decade. The 18th Party Congress concluded with the ascension of Xi Jinping to the top leadership posts. The meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing's Tiananmen Square drew delegates to formalize the power transfer and led citizens to wait for news. Pictured here are scenes from inside the gathering, and from outside the hall as China anticipated the next ruler of the largest country on earth. -- Lane Turner (34 photos total)

A passenger watches a television screen showing Xi Jinping on a subway train in Shanghai on November 15, 2012. Xi vowed to fight official corruption and build a "better life" for the nation's 1.3 billion people. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

Why Obama would handle Pakistan’s floods better

The swift response of the leadership here to Hurricane Sandy makes me think back to the lack thereof during the disastrous flooding in Pakistan in 2010. DESIGN: ERUM SHAIKH

President Obama for another 4 years: Let the rhetoric continue!

Voters feel that by empowering candidates other than the usual suspects, they might put the power, truly, into the hands of the people. PHOTO: REUTERS

Top shots for the month of October, 2012

A boy blows a balloon at a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Faisal

Election Day Pictures in America (40 Images)

The people of the United States spoke with their votes yesterday in local, state, and national races and on numerous ballot questions. President Obama was reelected after a hard-fought campaign with challenger Mitt Romney, and the Republicans and Democrats remained in control of their respective majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate. Here's a look at the voting process throughout Tuesday and into the early morning hours Wednesday of the celebrations and disappointment as the results came in. -- Lloyd Young ( 40 photos total)

Voters wait for the polling station to open to cast their ballots on Election Day, Nov. 6, outside the May Town Hall in May Township, Minn. (Jim Gehrz/Jim Gehrz via Associated Press)

Syria conflict intensifies Images

In a conflict dragging on into its twentieth violent month, today was an especially deadly day in Syria, where rebels are fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad. A pair of car bombs exploded, one in Hama and one in Damascus, and both sides claimed wildly different casualty totals. Intense shelling of rebel positions served as counterpoint. But even an especially deadly day here makes it just one of many in the conflict that has claimed as many as 35,000 victims since it began with street protests on March 15, 2011. Over a quarter of a million refugees have fled to Syria's neighbors, and the UN puts the number of internally displaced at over a million. Gathered here are images from the last month in the Mediterranean country of 22 million. -- Lane Turner (37 photos total)

A rebel fighter signals victory after he fires a shoulder-fired missile toward a building where Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad were hiding while they attempt to gain terrain against the rebels during heavy clashes in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria on November 4, 2012.. The uprising against Assad started with peaceful demonstrations in March last year, but has since morphed into a bloody civil war. Activists say more than 36,000 people have been killed in 19 months of fighting. (Narciso Contreras/Associated Press)

Austerity protests Images And Pictures

Matters of the economy are forefront in many minds, with economic issues dominating the recent American election and the leadership change in China. But in several countries in Europe, economic debate is played out on the streets with protests, petrol bombs, and strikes. As the Eurozone struggles with the global financial crisis, many member countries have turned to a series of spending cuts to health, education, and other services and social programs. Widespread protests against these so-called austerity measures have erupted in several countries. Gathered here are photographs from the most heavily impacted nations in recent months, including Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Italy. -- Lane Turner (31 photos total)

A riot police officer is engulfed by petrol bomb flames in front of parliament during clashes in Athens on November 7, 2012. (Dimitri Messinis/Associated Press)

King Norodom Sihanouk mourned

Cambodians this week mourned King Norodom Sihanouk, who died in China while seeking medical treatment since January. The 89-year-old former monarch held many roles in government and was king on more than one occasion, starting in 1941. He gave up the throne to his son, Norodom Sihamoni, in 2004. Sihanouk led the country through its independence from France in 1953 and was connected to much turmoil in the country over the last 50 years. A crowd estimated at 200,000 lined the streets in Phnom Penh today to welcome home the body, which will lie in state for three months before being cremated according to Buddhist ritual. -- Lloyd Young ( 29 photos total)

Cambodian people watch as workers install a portrait of the late former king Norodom Sihanouk in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on Oct. 16. Grieving Cambodians wore black ribbons and flags flew at half-mast on Oct. 16 as the nation mourned the death of revered ex-king Norodom Sihanouk and prepared for the return of his body from China. (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)

Battle for Aleppo intensifies Syrian conflict

With 200,000 fleeing Aleppo, fighting in Syria intensified in the 16-month long struggle opposing the rule of Bashar al-Assad. While fighting still grips Homs after a brutal siege, the conflict has moved north to finally include commercial hub Aleppo - largely spared until now - a city of over two million. Both the Syrian army and the rebel Free Syrian Army claim advances in the battle for Aleppo, which began in earnest over the weekend. More pockets of conflict rage in other locations within Syria as well. Gathered here are images made available in the last week from Syria, where independent news coverage has been limited and difficult. Some of the images are from third parties and transmitted without confirmation via international wire services as they were received. -- Lane Turner (32 photos total)

A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad burns during clashes between rebels and Syrian troops in Selehattin, near Aleppo, on July 23, 2012. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/GettyImages)

Downpour and drought

An unexpected downpour briefly drenched parts of the US this week, while most of the central and southern United States continued to experience drought conditions - expected to be the most expansive drought in a half century. In the South, 14 states are now baking in blast-furnace conditions - from Arizona, which is battling the largest wildfire in its history, to Florida, where fires have burned some 200,000 acres so far. More than 70 percent of the nine-state Midwest was in some stage of drought this week. More extreme heat and scant rains were expected in the area, suggesting the poorest crop conditions since the historic 1988 drought. The visual documentation of the breadth and depth of the current drought conditions has just begun. This is a small sampling of images, expect much more storytelling to come in the weeks ahead. -- Paula Nelson (24 photos total)

People walk through heavy rain at Times Square in New York, July 18, 2012. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Wildfires in western US

The western United States continues to battle a ferocious wildfire season that has seen record-breaking fires in several states. The worst of the blazes is the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado, blamed for two deaths, for forcing 35,000 residents to evacuate, and for the destruction of at lest 346 homes. The area around Colorado Springs has been declared a federal disaster area after the most destructive fire in state history. Wildfires have also destroyed property and forced evacuations in California, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico. [Editors' note: There will be no Big Picture on the Wednesday, July 4 holiday.] -- Lane Turner (38 photos total)

The Waldo Canyon fire burns an entire neighborhood near the foothills of Colorado Springs, Colo. on June 26, 2012. Colorado endured nearly a week of 100-plus-degree days and low humidity, sapping moisture from timber and grass, creating a devastating formula for volatile wildfires across the state and punishing conditions for firefighters. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/Associated Press)

World Refugee Day 2012 Photographs

Today marks World Refugee Day, which the United Nations uses to raise awareness of the plight of the estimated 42 million displaced people worldwide. A UN report released this week showed that 800,000 people were forced to flee across borders last year -- more than any time since 2000. In a message to mark the day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "Refugees leave because they have no choice. We must choose to help." -- Lloyd Young (30 photos total)

A Myanmar ethnic Rohingya child preparing for a midday prayer on April 23 inside a community school in Klang, a port town 30 kilometres west of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is observing World Refugee Day along with other countries of the world, there are over 98,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

Afghanistan of 2010 vs Afghanistan of 1994 – Photo Comparison

Photo comparison of looks of a Afghanistan today in 2010 and back in 1994. Intriguing photography of scenery of a country where time has obviously stopped and little changes in 16 years time. These photos were taken by photographer Seamus Murphy in 1994 and 2010. Even though the Taliban era is over, Afghanistan still looks like back in the old times. Has time stopped in certain parts of the world? What can we do to help? Those are the serious questions that arise here.

Take a look for yourself at this photo comparison between Afghanistan of 2010 and Afghanistan back in 1994. Amazing photos tell an amazing story of human life and drama.

Brazil: 2012

Mario Tama, a Getty Images staff photographer since 2001 and based in New York, has covered conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan - as well as numerous humanitarian crises and natural disasters in the US and around the world, including most recently the earthquake in Haiti and the tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri. He's also spent extensive time documenting Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath. Mario will be working on several feature stories in Brazil, ahead of the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Energy, his first work featured in this post. The summit aims to overcome years of deadlock over environmental concerns and marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Brazil is now the world's sixth largest economy and is set to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Mario’s' editor on the project describes him as passionate and enthusiastic about showing us pieces of a country in which he has traveled before, drawn by the people, the culture and the economics/development of the region. -- Paula Nelson (48 photos total)

Federal highway BR-222, June 9, 2012 in Para state, Brazil. Highway construction through Amazonian rainforest has led to accelerated rates of deforestation. Although deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down 80 percent since 2004, environmentalists fear recent changes to the Forest Code will lead to further destruction. Around 20 percent of the rainforest has already been destroyed. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

China's Wuhan city covered in mysterious haze

A woman wears a mask as she walks along a street in front of a Chinese temple during a hazy day in Wuhan, Hubei province June 11, 2012. China's carbon emissions could be nearly 20 percent higher than previously thought, a new analysis of official Chinese data showed on Sunday, suggesting the pace of global climate change could be even faster than currently predicted. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA  less

Scenes from Pakistan

The government of Pakistan announced on Monday that it would accept Islamic Sharia Law to be implemented in its Swat Valley region, as part of a truce with local Taliban leaders. Militants had been demanding Sharia law, attacking opponents, burning scores of girls' schools and banning many forms of entertainment. Gun battles between Pakistani security forces and militants have killed hundreds, while up to a third of the valley's 1.5 million people have fled. A nuclear power with a growing economy, Pakistan's government is still struggling for control of the country, coping with internal clashes and terrorism, that can bleed over and involve neighbors and allies, including militant attacks in India, and excursions into Afghanistan - inviting U.S. military operations that follow the attackers back into Pakistan. Collected here are 40 recent photos from Pakistan, with a special acknowledgement to the artistry of AP Photographer Emilio Morenatti. (40 photos total)

Imran Zargul, 71, from the Pakistani tribal region of Bajur waits for donated food during a distribution at the Jalozai refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)