Nature – first prize, stories. Pandemic Pigeons – A Love Story. The photographer’s daughter, Merel, cowers after Dollie flies past and perches on the balcony before entering the house in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands on 6 April 2020. “She’s still frightened when Dollie suddenly lands on the balcony railing. I hide my smile behind the camera, as I try to comfort her by saying they won’t hurt you. “I thought he was going to attack me”, she replies. As the nesting pigeons keep coming back to our place, slowly my girls have started to appreciate them – perhaps not as much as I do, but it’s a start”. (Photo by Jasper Doest/World Press Photo 2021)

Stunning images have revealed ice-cool British tourists chilling out inside Europe’s largest glacier – despite being at risk of flooding. The spectacular collection of images show the explorers braving the freezing temperatures to climb, photograph and even abseil down the inside of the icy cliff sides. Another image shows one visitor on his knees appearing to pray next to a water fall of melted ice. Other glistening shots show an adventurer trying to keep warm by a fire whose flames dance beautifully against the glossy roof. (Photo by Einar Runar Sigurdsson/Mediadrumworld.com)

Law enforcement officers detain a man during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia on January 31, 2021. Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Russia to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, keeping up the wave of nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin. Hundreds have been detained by police. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Meat is seen for sale at Laurenzo's Italian Center on January 9, 2012 in North Miami Beach, Florida. The store tries to keeps costs down but across the country grocery bills are going up due to factors including higher commodity and energy prices, along with regions of the world having experienced natural disasters that have hurt the food supply. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The selfie is the most popular photography trend of the internet today. It's gotten so popular, in fact, that even our beloved feline friends have started to catch on. I dare you to keep the smile off your face for this one!

With more than 40,000 followers on Twitter and 26,400 fans on Vine, it looks like Marutaro the hedgehog from Japan is one of the most popular hedgehogs on the Internet. And as his owner keeps on posting Marutaro’s pictures online daily, Marutaro’s popularity continues to grow. There are hundreds of cute photographs and videos of this little fellow, but the ones with little paper cut-out faces are probably the cutest. As Marutaro lies on his back, his owner gives him a variety of silly expressions and smiles. The 20 best of them will definitely boost your mood!

Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

The Cotopaxi volcano, one of the world's highest active volcanoes, spews smoke as seen from El Pedregal, Ecuador, October 22, 2015. Ecuadorian authorities are monitoring activity at Cotopaxi volcano, which prompted Ecuador's President Rafael Correa to maintain a yellow alert for eruptions as bursts of ash keep spewing from the snow-encircled crater of the volcano and falling in gusts on residential communities. (Photo by Guillermo Granja/Reuters)