Bogota orchestra performs concert for dogs

For them, it may only be a game, but the work they do saves lives. Dogs trained in Bosnia to detect landmines left over from the 1990s Balkan wars are today sent around the world to carry out their dangerous job.

On his motorbike, Mohammed Derbas darts across a field in northeast Syria, slender greyhounds and saluki dogs galloping behind. He hopes to export them for racing in the Gulf, despite a war and a pandemic.

Majd Shaar, a veterinarian, along with volunteers treat stray dogs that are brought back to a shelter in Iraq's Arbil. The shelter currently incubates around 250 dogs, where a group of specialists work in the shelter despite facing challenges and difficulties due to the lack of financial support and the lack of a culture of adopting these dogs by the residents of the region.

Twenty years ago, Wen Junhong took home one abandoned dog. Now, she has over 1,300 rescued canines crammed into a single brick house on the outskirts of the southern Chinese metropolis Chongqing.

Members of the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra perform a concert for pets and their humans in support of animal rights and to raise awareness of the impact on animals of fireworks, which are a popular Christmas and New Year tradition in Colombia.

In a training centre located in a Czech mountain village, a group of dogs are being put to the test as they try to sniff out Covid-19. So far, the trainers report a 95-percent success rate in samples of human scent.

Champ and Major Biden play on the South Lawn of the White House after they moved into the presidential mansion with President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden.

The dogs were trained at the Hanover University of Veterinary Medicine and may help prevent the illness from spreading in large crowds. Dogs have already been put to work at airports and sport arenas around the world.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki assures the world's media that the Bidens' dogs won't be away from the White House for long, saying their banishment to Delaware was planned before a "biting incident" involving one of the hounds, and they will return "soon". She adds that there's no plan to replace them with a cat, yet.

It's whip fast, obeys commands and doesn't leave unpleasant surprises on the floor -- meet the AlphaDog, a robotic response to two of China's burgeoning loves: pets and technology. The high-tech hound uses sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to 'hear' and 'see' its environment -- and can even be taken for walks.

Members of the Xi'an Symphony Orchestra play as the Long-March 5B rocket with the first module of the Chinese space station shoots up behind them. The concert was put on "to cheer up the rocket launch" according to the orchestra’s conductor. The band were playing "Positive Outlook" by David Hoffner.

Colombians protest with arts performances, music and dance in the capital Bogota as anti-government demonstrations continue in the South American country.