Carnival revellers take the metro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 19, 2023. Shaking the ground to the beat of their drums, Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival parades returned Sunday in a swirl of glitter, sequins and samba, the festival's first full-on edition since Covid-19 and Brazil's bitterly divisive elections. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)

North Korea has closed its borders in fear of the spread of the Ebola virus. But at a time when the secretive state was still welcoming tourists, former aid worker Andrew Macleod made the journey to the repressive nation. Andrew's holiday snaps and camera footage provide a unique insight into the reclusive country, where he came across deserted motorways, metro stations plastered with propaganda and attractive border guards. Here: a female traffic police officer in the snow in February 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo by Andrew Macleod/Barcroft Media)

The face of a graduating student is displayed on a tablet attached to a robot during a “cyber graduation” ceremony at a school on May 22, 2020 in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. Robots represented some 179 graduating students of the Senator Rene Cayetano Science and Technology High School during a graduation ceremony that was streamed online, as mass gatherings remain prohibited in the country under the Philippine government's lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The robots were developed by alumni of the school's robotics club, which used tablets to display the faces of the graduating students as they “marched” on stage to receive their diplomas. The Philippines' Department of Health has so far reported 13,434 cases of the coronavirus in the country, with at least 846 recorded fatalities. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

Philippine actor Soliman Cruz wearing a business suit stands inside an 8-foot transparent bubble while other activists wearing masks touch the bubble during an anti-pollution protest near a park in Manila on April 25, 2025. The protest is part of a climate advocates 350 campaign on Manila's air pollution crisis, due to traffic emissions, fossil fuel and unchecked industrial activity. (Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP Photo)

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev attends the Gorby 80 Gala at the Royal Albert Hall on March 30, 2011 in London, England. The concert is to celebrate the 80th birthday of the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

People look at paintings by artists inspired by the Pokemon at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, on September 28, 2023. (Photo by Remko de Waal/ANP via AFP Photo)

A woman travels on a train stopping at a subway station visited by foreign reporters in central Pyongyang, North Korea on April 14, 2017. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)