From ancient Babylon to modern Kiev, from snow-draped Switzerland to searing hot Delhi, from trekking in remote, mountainous Cape Verde to sailing on a luxury yacht in Venice, from Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee to 75 years of the Golden Gate Bridge, experience the world in dramatic photographs.
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Visitors walk on the newly constructed walking path and bicycle trail near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California May 25, 2012. The iconic landmark observed its 75th anniversary.
Commuters travel through a mirage on a hot summer day at Rajpath in New Delhi May 30, 2012. Temperatures in New Delhi reached 43.5 degrees Celsius (110.3 degrees Fahrenheit), according to information posted on India's metrological department website.
A reveler from the Portuguese village of Aveiro playfully chases a tourist during the Iberian Mask parade in Lisbon May 12, 2012. Traditional masks from northern Portugal and Spain were presented during the parade.
Participants form the Mayan word "MA OGM" (No Genetically Modified Organisms) during a protest at the pyramid of Chichen Itza in the Mexican state of Yucatan May 13, 2012. About 2,000 people, organised by Greenpeace, Mayan communities, beekeepers, entrepreneurs and other non-governmental organisations, staged protests simultaneously at eight archaeological sites to demand that the federal government ensure the Yucatan Peninsula remains a territory free of genetically modified food.
A China Southern Airlines aircraft flies over a slum before landing at Manila's International airport. China Southern Airlines announced it will reduce flights between Guangzhou City and Manila to one a day on certain dates from May 26 to June 30. It quoted a spokesman for the airline as saying the adjustment was due to the cancellation of "a large number of tourist groups" lately. The airline normally operates two flights daily on the route, GMA News reported.
Hundreds of tourists gather around a cauldron with the Olympic Flame atop the Athens Acropolis. Greece formally handed over the Olympic flame to a London delegation led by Princess Anne and including David Beckham at the Panathenaic stadium where the first modern Games were held in 1896.
The Costa Classica cruise ship is seen in the Venice lagoon.
Cowboy Gaetan Bernard (center) prepares along with fellow competitors for the bareback bronco riding during the 94th Annual Falkland Stampede in Falkland, British Columbia. Many of the cowboys will travel day to day, competing in different rodeos on the same weekend in other towns hundreds of kilometres apart.
A view of mountains on the island of Santo Antao in Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa.
A ferry boat crosses Cocibolca Lake with the Concepcion Volcano in the background at Ometepe Island. Nicaragua makes up for 12 percent of the 8.5 million tourists who visit Central America annually, according to the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (INTUR). The country estimates some $387 million of tourism revenue this year.
Visitors enter the ancient city of Babylon near Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad. In the ancient city of Babylon, once home to the fabled Hanging Gardens, an extended oil pipeline has churned through the dirt and dug up a conundrum: which takes precedence, preserving Iraq's heritage or developing its oil wealth? The definitive answer will probably be decades coming. But for the moment, oil appears to have the edge. The site of ancient Mesopotamia, said by some to be the birthplace of writing, agriculture and written law, Iraq holds many keys to the history of civilization. It's a point of pride for Iraqis, but so are the riches it earns from oil.
Tourists take pictures beside a Swiss national flag at the Jungfraujoch (3,572 metres/11,782 ft) in front of the peak Mount Jungfrau (4,158 metres/13,642 ft) during sunny spring weather near the Swiss mountain resort of Grindelwald in the Bernese Alps.
A man fishes from a bridge next to his tricycle and in front of the National Stadium, also known as the 'Bird's Nest'.
Abseilers secure a giant canvas along the River Thames of a photograph showing Britain's Royal Family during the 1977 Silver Jubilee, London May 25, 2012. The photograph, shot by an unknown photographer shows (L-R) Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Louis Mountbatten, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Mark Phillips and Princess Anne on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth marks her Diamond Jubilee by travelling in a 1,000-boat regatta on the river on June 3.
Visitors walk along Ocean Drive, next to barricades placed to separate diners from pedestrians, during the Urban Beach Weekend, on southern Miami Beach May 26, 2012. Urban Beach Weekend is an annual hip hop festival.
An airship of "The New7Wonders of the World" travels over Iguazu waterfalls in Foz do Iguacu May 26, 2012. The Iguazu Falls was announced as one of the New7Wonders of Nature by the New7Wonders of the World foundation last November. It received a bronze plaque on May 25, 2012 during an official inauguration ceremony.
An arrival area of a newly-opened terminal of Borispol airport is seen near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Borispol will be Ukraine's main air hub during the Euro 2012 soccer championship.
A boy plays in the waters of Lake Katzensee in Affoltern, near Zurich.
An airplane taxis at the Luis Munoz Marin international airport in San Juan. Puerto Rico has a debt equivalent to 103 percent of its annual gross product. To raise funds, the government hopes to make tourism as important to the island as in Florida, where about 10 percent of the economy comes from vacationers. A pending deal to sell an operating lease for San Juan's underused international airport to a private consortium includes not just an upfront cash payment of about $1 billion, but also capital improvements meant to jump-start tourism.
Joanne Gregory carries the London 2012 Olympic torch on a hand-drawn boat across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales.
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