Gold medalist Mujinga Kambundji, of Switzerland, left, and silver medalist Ewa Swoboda, of Poland, celebrate after finishing the Women 60 meters final at the European Athletics Indoor Championships at Atakoy Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 3, 2023. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

Russian model Irina Shayk arrives on September 4, 2022 for the screening of the film “L'Immensita” (Immensity) presented in the Venezia 79 competition as part of the 79th Venice International Film Festival at Lido di Venezia in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)

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.

A Chinese vendor wears a rooster hat as he smokes a cigarette at his souvenir stall at a fair at Temple of Earth, on the eve of Chinese New Year February 8, 2005 in Beijing, China. Chinese started February 8, to celebrate the New Year of the Rooster. (Photo by Andrew Wong/Getty Images)

A dramatic sunset acts as a backdrop to Stonehenge on November 20, 2008 in Stonehenge, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

A lighting bolt flashes in the sky as U.S. Army M1A1 Abram tanks roll through the desert December 9, 2002 near the Iraqi border in Kuwait. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“Doctor fish is the name given to two species of fish: Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus. Other nicknames include nibble fish, kangal fish, physio fish and doctorfishen; in non-medical contexts, Garra rufa is called the reddish log sucker. They live and breed in the outdoor pools of some Turkish spas, where they feed on the skin of patients with psoriasis. The fish are like combfishes in that they only consume the affected and dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to grow, with the outdoor location of the treatment bringing beneficial effects. The spas are not meant as a curative treatment option, only as a temporary alleviation of symptoms, and patients usually revisit the spas every few months”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Visitors to the Aqua Sheko fish therapy spa have their feet exfoliated on June 24, 2010 in London, England. Customers sit with their feet in a tank filled with 100-150 Garra Rufa fish which remove any dead skin by nibbling and sucking. A half hour session is then followed by a foot massage. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)