Meenakshi Amman Temple and Meenakshi Amman Kovil is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar.

A boy reaches for a ball on a creek clogged with plastic waste on April 15, 2023 in Caloocan, Metro Manila, Philippines. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

A woman leans against the colonnade of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (also known as the Victory Museum ) – the largest museum of military history in Russia at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow on August 18, 2023. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Photo)

The fairy chimneys are seen with light illuminations created with different techniques in Cappadocia, Nevsehir, Turkiye on August 01, 2024. Fairy chimneys are formed by volcanic eruptions and erosions over millions of years and are considered as one of the unique characteristics of the geography. (Photo by Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A person suspected of looting is beaten by protesters during demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the deadly 2024 anti-government protests that drew widespread condemnation over the use of force by security agencies, in Nakuru, Kenya on June 25, 2025. (Photo by Suleiman Mbatiah/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.

Global wildlife populations will decline by 67% by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to reduce human impact on species and ecosystems, warns the biennial Living Planet Index report from WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and ZSL (Zoological Society of London). From elephants to eels, here are some of the wildlife populations most affected by human activity. Here: The maned wolf is among the large mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado that are threatened by the increasing conversion of grasslands into farmland for grazing and growing crops. (Photo by Ben Cranke/Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo)