As last week's Valentine's Day chocolate goes on sale, take a moment to soak up some of the most important and striking visuals captured by photographers around the world.
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Casting all for the Miss Russia beauty pageant at Affimall City in Moscow.
© Sputnik / Evgeniy Odinokov
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An IL-78 tanker aircraft during a Black Sea Fleet tactical exersise in Yeysky District.
© Sputnik / Vitaly Timkiv
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Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova performs her short program at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
© Sputnik / Vladimir Pesnya
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) in Moscow.
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy
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School children walk as Mount Sinabung erupts in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Rumbling Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has shot billowing columns of ash more than 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the atmosphere and hot clouds down its slopes. The volcano, one of three currently erupting in Indonesia, was dormant for four centuries before exploding in 2010.
© AP Photo / Sarianto
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Lions are seen at the National Zoo in San Salvador on February 21, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Marvin Recinos
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Israelis sit in a hot spring water pool in Hamat Gader, at the southern tip of the Golan Heights near the border with Jordan, on February 17, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Menahem Kahana
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Spanish bullfighter El Juli is hit by a bull during a bullfight at the La Santamaria bullring in Bogota, Colombia, on February 18, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Raul Arboleda
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Tug of war at a Maslenitsa festival in the Novosibirsk region.
© Sputnik / Alexandr Kryazhev
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Greenpeace activists wear white morphsuits as they stage a protest against particulate matter and the health burden caused by diesel exhaust on February 19, 2018 in Stuttgart, southern Germany.
© AFP 2023 / DPA / Sebastian Gollnow
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Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance under a shower of sparks from molten iron during a traditional performance to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year of the Dog at Happy Valley in Beijing, China February 18, 2018.
© REUTERS / Jason Lee
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Protesters rally against gun violence on the steps of the old Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, FL, Wednesday, Feb 21, 2018.
© AP Photo / Mark Wallheiser
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Vendors try to save their goods from the fire that affected the Nan Gerit Market, also called Hyppolite market, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on February 18, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Hector Retamal
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Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier undergoes maintenance ahead of the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
© Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov
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Two revellers are seen amid flare smoke as they celebrate "Ash Monday" by participating in a colourful "flour war", a traditional festivity marking the end of the carnival season and the start of the 40-day Lent period until the Orthodox Easter, in the port town of Galaxidi, Greece February 19, 2018.
© REUTERS / Alkis Konstantinidis
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A woman participates during the Mr. Olympia Amateur South America bodybuilding competition in Medellin, Colombia, February 18, 2018.
© REUTERS / Fredy Builes
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Aerial view of the military helicopter that fell on a van in Santiago Jamiltepec, Oaxaca state, Mexico, on February 17, 2018.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Mexico on Friday, causing little damage but triggering a tragedy: a cabinet minister's helicopter crash-landed en route to the epicenter in Oaxaca, killing thirteen people, including three children, on the ground.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Mexico on Friday, causing little damage but triggering a tragedy: a cabinet minister's helicopter crash-landed en route to the epicenter in Oaxaca, killing thirteen people, including three children, on the ground.
© AFP 2023 / Mario Vazquez
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An Indian woman works to sift out inpurities in a field of colored powder to prepare it for packaging ahead of the Holi Festival in Mathura on February 16, 2018.
© AFP 2023
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In this photo taken on Sunday Feb. 18, 2018, refugees and migrants are rescued by aid workers from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, after leaving Libya trying to reach European soil aboard an overcrowded rubber boat, 60 miles north of Al-Khums, Libya.
© AP Photo / Olmo Calvo
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Models present creations from design house Nicopanda during their catwalk show on the fourth day of London Fashion Week on February 19, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Niklas Halle'n
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Revelers take a selfie as they celebrate Ash Monday by participating in a colorful "flour war", a traditional festivity marking the end of the carnival season and the start of the 40-day Lent period, which lasts until the Orthodox Easter, in the port town of Galaxidi, Greece, February 19, 2018.
© REUTERS / Alkis Konstantinidis
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Dua Lipa performs at the Brit Awards 2018 in London, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.
© AP Photo / Invision/Joel C Ryan
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Female panda Lumi hangs upside down on a tree as she plays during a snowfall in her enclosure during the opening day of the Ahtari Zoo Snowpanda Resort in Ahtari, Finland on February 17, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Roni Rekomaa/Lehtikuva
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Actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the London premiere of the Red Sparrow.
© REUTERS / Simon Dawson
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Singer Fergie performs the national anthem prior to the NBA All-Star Game, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018, in Los Angeles.
© AP Photo / Chris Pizzello