A mahout (a person who rides an elephant) decorates his elephant using chalk while preparing for the Elephant Festival at Sauraha in Chitwan, south of Kathmandu, December 26, 2014. Elephants and mahouts from Chitwan will participate in the Elephant festival, which involves elephant races, elephants playing an exhibition soccer match and taking part in various other sporting activities. The event will start from 26 December and will end on 30 December, 2014. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A member of “Laughter Doctors of Ciudad Juarez” performs at a children's hospital in Ciudad Juarez March 11, 2015. Through clown performances, music and interactive activities, the group of doctors visit different hospitals throughout the border city, using laughter to help aid the recovery of young and elderly patients suffering from serious illness or injury, as well as provide hope for the hospitalized patients and their families, local media reported. (Photo by Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)

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.

History Created on 15th June 92 Young poor & Physically challenged Couples tied in a lifelong knot of Marriage “Free of Cost” Combined Marriage Function at Ramlila Ground on behalf of “Narayan Sewa Sansthan”. “Although we are unable to move without the support of a crutch or might take the help of others in performing every activity, still, we can afford to become a support for each other”. With this spirit, 92 young disabled and poor brides &bridegrooms promised to support each other throughout their life. The historical Ramliila Ground of Delhi became the witness of this mega event. Photo: Mass wedding in Delhi.

Mount Etna erupts near Sicily, Italy on March 15, 2021. This is the thirteenth time in twenty-eight days. During the early evening of 14 March and the night between 14 and 15 March a strombolian activity at the Southeast Crater gradually increased, leading to a paroxysmal event which had its peak around 01:00 am, ash blown by the wind touched the south-southeast slope of the volcano reaching also Catania, the event ceased completely around 3:45, photo taken from Milo near Catania on March 15, 2021. (Photo by Salvatore Allegra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

An amazing photo shows a rare meteor shower captured from Glastonbury Tor, UK. Astrophotographer Josh Dury took the photo when the skies cleared for 30 minutes in the early hours of the morning on January 4, 2024. Josh said the Quadrantids meteor shower is an active shower where up to 100 meteors can be seen per hour, although it only peaks for a few hours during January. He said that meteor showers are produced by debris left over from comets – but what produces the meteors during the Quadrantids meteor shower is unknown. (Photo by Josh Dury/South West News Service)

A stunning photographic collection featuring portraits of people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day. In this fascinating study of people and their diets, 80 profiles are organized by the total number of calories each person puts away in a day. Featuring a Japanese sumo wrestler, a Massai herdswoman, world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria, an American competitive eater, and more, these compulsively readable personal stories also include demographic particulars, including age, activity level, height, and weight. Essays from Harvard primatologist Richard Wrangham, journalist Michael Pollan, and others discuss the implications of our modern diets for our health and for the planet. This compelling blend of photography and investigative reportage expands our understanding of the complex relationships among individuals, culture, and food.

Layers of breathtaking colour streak the rolling hills of this vast desert, making the landscape appear as though it has been tie-dyed. The natural phenomenon, nicknamed the “Painted Desert”, was formed when the area was once a river floodplain. Each colour corresponds to a different underground geological feature – rocks which have seemingly dyed the layers of earth above. Formed from volcanic activity, the hills at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in East Central Oregon, USA, are almost bursting with colour. Pictured: The colourful hills at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in East Central Oregon, USA. (Photo by Mark Brodkin/Solent News/SIPA Press)