A looter smiles as she runs away from a member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) inside the Lotsoho Mall in Katlehong township, East of Johannesburg, on July 12, 2021. Several shops are damaged and cars burnt in Johannesburg, following a night of violence. Police are on the scene trying to control further protests. It is unclear if this is linked to sporadic protests following the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP Photo)

On the morning of the February 18th, 2025, a foreign tourist wearing a scarf walks past a store window with spring clothes hanging on the street in Myeongdong, Seoul. (Photo by Park Seong-won)

It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)

Drastic inequality is by no means new in New York. Jacob A. Riis was called a muckraker after he chose to spotlight the city’s poverty at the turn of the 20th century by photographing it. Here: Sweatshop in Hester Street, 1889-1890. (Photo by Jacob A. Riis/Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Roger William Riis)

The Spanish photographer Xavi Bou digitally combines sequential pictures of birds to create a single image, or chronophotograph, that reveals the shapes of their flight paths against Catalonian skies. His work shows the variety and beauty to be found in the daily activities of the local birds, including spiralling storks, swooping starlings and giddy swifts. Here: European herring gulls at Llobregat Delta. (Photo by Xavi Bou/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

(From L) Spanish actresses Aixa Villagran, Leticia Dolera and Celia Freijeiro pose on the pink carpet during the closing night of the 2019 Cannes International Series festival Canneseries, at the Palais des festival, in Cannes southern France, on April 10, 2019. (Photo by Valéry Hache/AFP Photo)

The mummy of Yuya thought by some to be Josua who, after Moses, led the Hebrews into the Promised land and logically would be the father-in-law of Amenophis III, at Cairo Museum, Egypt. (Photo by Patrick Landmann/Cairo Museum/Getty Images)