Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, is locked under the rule of extremists from the Islamic State group trying to purge it of everything they see as contradicting their stark vision of Islam. A trove of photographs now housed at the Library of Congress offers a glimpse of a different Mosul – before wars, insurgency, sectarian strife and now radicals' rule. The scenes were taken in the autumn of 1932 by staff from the American Colony Photo Department during a visit to Iraq at the end of the British mandate. (Photo by AP Photo)

In this undated photo provided by LittleFriendsPhoto.com via Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Kai, a 17-year-old male California sea lion at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Valejo, Calif. peers into the lens of photographer Seth Casteel, known for his “Underwater Dogs” photo series. ... (Photo by Seth Casteel/AP Photo/LittleFriendsPhoto.com via Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)

In this March 18, 2015 photo, a boy rides a mechanical bull for children at the Texcoco Fair on the outskirts of Mexico City. In Mexico, these types of fairs date back to Spanish colonial times, and in some smaller communities they are organized around the feast days of Roman Catholic saints. (Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

An Afghan man mourns outside a damaged house, after earthquakes at Mazar Dara village in Nurgal district, Kunar province, in Eastern Afghanistan, on September 1, 2025. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A visitor stands near an art installation portraying China's President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin during the ARTSUBS exhibition in Surabaya, Indonesia on August 2, 2025. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)

Onokatsu in action against Ichiyamamoto during the twelfth bout of the Grand Sumo Tournament at Royal Albert Hall in London on October 15, 2025. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Action Images via Reuters)

The shadow of a cross is pictured as Catholic faithful arrive to attend a reenactment of the “Via Crucis” (way of the Cross) during Holy Week in Abobote, an area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Luc Gnago/Reuters)

Local residents receive food from federal authorities in Xalacahuantla, Mexico, on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Hundreds of communities in central and eastern Mexico were cut off by deadly landslides and flooding caused by torrential rains. (Photo by Alfredo Estrella/AFP Photo)