Children carrying guns and flags or wearing Soviet-style uniforms have become a common sight at Victory Day parades and other events in Russian-controlled Crimea. Russian and Ukrainian human rights activists have warned that such displays point to a growing trend of promoting Russian patriotism among kids on the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Here: A young Crimean girl wears military-type clothes during a Victory Day celebration in Sevastopol on May 9, 2018. (Photo by Oleksandra Surgan/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

AFP presents a photo essay on professional wrestler Gia Scott shot by photographer Jim Watson over several months in 2018. Kierra Scott – better known by her stage name Gia – is a rising star in the US pro wrestling scene. This month, the 19-year-old became the youngest ever female champion of the MCW wrestling league in Maryland. Here: Professional wrestler Gia Scott (R) tries to break free from the grip of professional wrestler Aria Palmer (L) during Autumn Armageddon 2018 in Galena, Maryland on October 6, 2018. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP Photo)

In this August 21, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Defense Department, Qatari special operations personnel conduct a military free-fall Friendship Jump over Qatar. The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday, October 6, 2017. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Trevor T. McBride/ U.S. Air Force via AP Photo)

A deer canters past participants in the Darkness into Light event in Killarney, Co Kerry, Ireland on May 7th, 2022. The annual pre-dawn walk raises funds for Pieta, a charity that supports people who are in suicidal distress or engage in self-harm, as well as families affected by suicide. All counselling sessions and other services are provided free of charge. (Photo by James Crombie/INPHO)

A woman clutches a teddy bear covered in red paint to symbolize blood during a government-approved, anti-violence rally held in the Kazakh city of Almaty on November 26, 2023. Organized by the New People youth movement, roughly 300 people took part. The rally was dubbed “Say No To The Animal World”, with organizers likening violent people to animals. (Photo by Petr Trotsenko/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

“David Stoker creates images that tell a story. Rich and atmospheric, his images stop a moment in time letting the viewer decide, or wonder, just what each character is doing. David's work has been recognized in the 2011 Communication Arts Photo Annual, Communication Arts Fresh online, Graphis 100 Best in Photography 2012, PDN’s Photo Annual (2009, 2011), Luezer's Archive, and the International Photography Awards (IPA's – 2009, 2010)”.

“Photoswapped: Mum and dads switch heads with their children in freakiest photos you'll ever see. It is a position that many young children would love to be in. And now these strange and sometimes unnerving images show what it would actually be like if babies swapped roles, and heads, with their mother or father. The photos, created by top advertising photographer Paul Ripke, are so eye-catching that they have swept across the world online”. (Photo by Paul Ripke/Barcroft Media via Fame Pictures)