"Proving ground"

#12434114

1 June 2025

Municipal cleanliness staff wash the ground ahead of the Bhoto Jatra procession, which marks the end of the months-long Rato Machhindranath chariot procession in Lalitpur, Nepal, on June 1, 2025. The chariot procession of Rato Machhindranath is observed for at least one month to four months and ends with the showing of the 'Bhoto,' expecting the rightful owner to come and claim it. Historians claim that the chariot procession of Machhindranath started around 1,300 years ago. According to legend, shortly after the procession started, the queen of the serpent king Karkotak developed an eye ailment. While searching for a healer, Karkotak mistook a farmer working in the fields for a physician and brought him to Taudaha, a wetland on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Frightened, the farmer prays to Machhindranath and rubs his hands on the soil to make an herbal paste. He offers it to Karkotak as medicine, and the paste cures the queen's eyes. Grateful, Karkotak rewards the farmer with a jewel-studded vest (bhoto) and returns him to the human world. The farmer begins wearing the bhoto while working in his fields. One day, a ghost in human form steals the vest. The farmer searches everywhere but cannot find it. Later, while attending the Machhindranath chariot festival, he sees the ghost wearing the same vest and claims it as his. When the ghost refuses to return it, a dispute breaks out. People summon Karkotak to resolve the conflict. In the end, because neither party can prove ownership, they entrust the bhoto to Machhindranath. Since then, devotees follow the tradition of displaying the bhoto after the chariot procession, hoping that someone with valid proof of ownership will come forward. Each year, they display the sacred vest on an auspicious date. According to legend, no one has succeeded in proving ownership of the bhoto so far.

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#12271934

17 April 2025

A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor releases flares during a demonstration in Yuma, Arizona.

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#12271935

17 April 2025

A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor releases flares during a demonstration in Yuma, Arizona.

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#12271936

17 April 2025

A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor releases flares during a demonstration in Yuma, Arizona.

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#9712598

8 March 2023

The spotted redshank (Tringa erythropus) is a large wader (shorebird) in the large bird family Scolopacidae, It Breeds in arctic bogs and swamps; migrants occur in varied wetland habitats. Usually seen as singles or small groups, though will sometimes congregate in large flocks, especially on wintering grounds. Feeds mainly by wading in fairly deep water, probing and picking with its bill, at times swimming. The call is a creaking whistle teu-it (somewhat similar to the call of a roseate tern), the alarm calls a kyip-kyip-kyip. Spotted redshank is paler and greyer in Nonbreeding plumage in winter in water at the Wetland OxBow Lake known as 'Chupi Char' in East Burdawan, West Bengal; India on 09/01/2023.

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#9712602

8 March 2023

The spotted redshank (Tringa erythropus) is a large wader (shorebird) in the large bird family Scolopacidae, It Breeds in arctic bogs and swamps; migrants occur in varied wetland habitats. Usually seen as singles or small groups, though will sometimes congregate in large flocks, especially on wintering grounds. Feeds mainly by wading in fairly deep water, probing and picking with its bill, at times swimming. The call is a creaking whistle teu-it (somewhat similar to the call of a roseate tern), the alarm calls a kyip-kyip-kyip. Spotted redshank is paler and greyer in Nonbreeding plumage in winter in water at the Wetland OxBow Lake known as 'Chupi Char' in East Burdawan, West Bengal; India on 09/01/2023.

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#9590882

14 February 2023

The wood sandpiper (Tringa glareola) is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. This bird is usually found in freshwater during migration and wintering. They forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud and mainly eat insects and similar small prey. The wood sandpiper nests on the ground or uses an abandoned old tree nest of another bird. Four pale green eggs are laid between March and May. A wood sandpiper bird is roaming in search of food on the Water Hyacinth at the Wetland OxBow Lake known as 'Chupi Char' in East Burdawan, West Bengal; India on 14/02/2023.

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#7924080

16 March 2022

Ukrainian soldiers carry coffins with the bodies of servicemen of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924082

16 March 2022

Ukrainian soldiers carry coffins with the bodies of servicemen of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924086

16 March 2022

Ukrainian soldiers carry coffins with the bodies of servicemen of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924088

16 March 2022

Coffins with the bodies of servicemen of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924092

16 March 2022

Ukrainian soldiers spread the state flag over the coffin with the body of a serviceman of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachny Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924096

16 March 2022

Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Stepan Sus buries the bodies of servicemen of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachny Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924098

16 March 2022

Coffin with the body of a serviceman of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#7924102

16 March 2022

A soldier holds a photo of a serviceman of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachny Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security (Yavoriv proving ground). The defenders of Ukraine are buried with all military honors at the Lychakiv Cemetery, Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

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#4838116

7 September 2019

The tactical training for the tank forces of the Ukrainian Army performs at the proving grounds in Honcharivske, Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, on September 7, 2019. During the technical demonstration of the tanks, the units were firing with live ammunition and showed the practical use of the anti-tank missiles. Based on the training results, the best tank units were awarded the trophies and the diplomas.

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