Editors’ Picks: Growing Ganges, Cute Koalas, & Lollapalooza

An Indian youth dangles from a power line before diving into the floodwaters of an overflowing Ganges river in Allahabad on August 6, 2013. The monsoon, which covers the subcontinent from June to September and usually brings flooding, accounts for about 80 percent of India’s annual rainfall. SANJAY KANOJIA/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom/. License this image from Newscom.com: afplivefive262267

When I saw this picture, I immediately had so many questions: How did he get up there? Where’s the house that seems to have been obviously swept away? How long can he hold on? What will happen if he falls? Despite not really knowing any answers to those questions, I do know that this is an incredible shot, capturing an intense moment of time. India has had a very heavy monsoon season this year, causing rivers like the Ganges to rise well above normal levels. Landslides and floods have devastated the area, and claimed the lives of thousands in northern India.

Newscom gets between 30-60,000 images a day from our partners around the world, and it’s easy to miss some truly amazing images if you aren’t specifically looking for them. So each week, we’ll go through our collections and present to you our favorites. Our job is to pick whatever catches our eye. Your job is to simply enjoy them. Check out the entire lightbox of this week’s best pictures back at Newscom, and read on to see other stories from this past week.

On a happier note, even koalas are wanting a break from the summer heat. I guess tree hugging offers respite? Not quite sure, but what I am sure of, is this koala is pretty dang adorable. If you ever need an image to promote loving trees, you know where to find the picture…

A Koala hangs on a tree in the over 30 degree temperatures at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany, 01 August 2013. Horst Ossinger/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: dpaphotos959444

Apparently Lollapalooza comes from a late 19th century American phrase meaning, “an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.” And more recently has been referred to as, just an extra large lollipop. So what do you call thousands of weird, unusual people gathering to listen to alternative rock and probably enjoying lollipops? Lollapalooza of course! See more great pictures of this 22-year-old music festival back at Newscom.

Music fans wait to listen to “Foster the People” perform at the Lollapalooza music festival in Grant Park in Chicago in this file photo taken August 5, 2011. Lollapalooza, the three-day music festival in Chicago’s historic Grant Park, was bigger than ever in 2013, with a lineup that honored its alternative rock roots and broadened its appeal to fans of folk, dance, rap and even country music. JIM YOUNG/REUTERS/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: rtrlfive994967

No, not a circus training camp, it’s just part of the normal training routine for the People’s Liberation Army in China. The PLA is the world’s largest military force with more than 2 million active personnel. And they get to jump through fire hoops! Talk about street cred…

A soldier from the People’s Liberation Army jumps through a ring of fire as part of training during the PLA Army Day in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, August 1, 2013. Picture taken August 1, 2013. CHINA STRINGER NETWORK/REUTERS/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: rtrlfive991335

As the holy month of Ramadan comes to a close, many poor and less fortunate Muslims wait to receive the third basic duty of Islam: Zakat. Zakat is basically a tax on a Muslim’s money or possessions, and requires them to be given away in order to cleanse and purify the soul.

Hundreds of Indonesians wait to receive “zakat”, or alms, given to poor people during Ramadan at a tabacco factory of Gudang Garam, Indonesia’s biggest clove cigarette manufacturer, in Kediri in East Java province on August 6, 2013. Each person received 10,000 (1 USD) or up to 20,000 rupiah (2 USD) cash from company in a tradition of giving charity to the poor during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan. M. ANDIKA/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: afplivefive261969

Erick Aybar of the Los Angeles Angels, seems perfectly at ease as he floats effortlessly over Toronto Blue Jays’ Colby Rasmus. (Insert some joke about flying and angels here…) Certainly a welcome laugh after all the news about New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, and the performance-enhancing drugs he may or may not have taken.

Los Angeles Angels Erick Aybar (top) turns a double play forcing Toronto Blue Jays Colby Rasmus (bottom) out at second and J.P. Arencibia out at first to end their American League MLB baseball game in Anaheim, California August 3, 2013. LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: rtrlfive993634

Scroll down for more great photos from this week and be sure to check back next week, for more of your favorite Editors’ Picks!

France’s Camille Muffat prepares to compete in the final of the women’s 200-metre freestyle swimming event in the FINA World Championships at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona on July 31, 2013. PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: afplivefive253403

A model presents a creation by Indian designer Anju Modi during the PCJ Delhi Couture Week 2013 in New Delhi on July 31, 2013. MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: afplivefive253397

Staff of the Veterinary Epidemiology Center (VEC) carry sacks containing culled chickens at a farm in Naghkhel village on the outskirt of Kathmandu, Nepal, 01 August 2013. The Nepalese government announced a ban on the sale of poultry in the capital Kathmandu 01 August, in a bid to curb the spread of the bird flu virus. The Directorate of Animal Health said that they were banning the sale of birds in the Kathmandu valley for a week, after bird flu cases were reported in several places within and outside the capital over the last fortnight. NARENDRA SHRESTHA/EPA/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: epaphotos958846

Two Ankole-Watusi bulls lock horns in their enclosure at the zoo in Duisburg, western Germany on August 1, 2013. HORST OSSINGER/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. License this image from Newscom.com: afplivefive254369