Said, a young Somalian man, left his home in 2015 to escape recruitment by jihadist group al-Shabab. After journeying for nearly a year — during which he was tortured in a Libyan slave camp, saw many of his fellow travellers die, and crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber boat — he finally made it to Belgium. This is his story.

Rescued male migrants are brought to southern Italian ports, 28 June 2015; LE Eithne Operations 28 June 2015.

Heaven and the Underworld Meet at a Catholic festival in the mountains of Calabria.

Festival of the Madonna di Polsi by Antonio Lemma

A series of border closures by the southeastern member states of the European Union have made criminal smuggling networks the only option for migrants and refugees traveling through the Balkans —forcing them to pay thousands only to be left stranded, penniless, and treated like outlaws.

An Afghan woman stuck in the northwestern Bosnian town of Bihac on her way to western Europe.

Millions fill the streets of Rio de Janeiro every February to dance the smooth samba rhythms and watch the giant floats and brightly-costumed performers celebrate the nation’s strengths and mock its shortcomings.

Beija-Flor's winning float: a rat pulling the Petrobras HQ (Photo: AFP)

Dressed in gray coats with white scarves, Russian athletes marched into South Korea’s Pyeongchang Stadium carrying the Olympic flag instead of their own.

Russian athletes enter the stadium at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, 9 February 2018. (Photo (c): Daniel Karmann / Picture-Alliance / DPA / AP Images.)