A fan of Japan reacts after Crotia winning the penalty shoot out during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between Japan and Croatia at Al Janoub Stadium on December 5, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar. (Photo by John Sibley/Reuters)

People play with snow during the first snowfall in a park in Tehran, Iran on December 24, 2022. (Photo by Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

Firefighters rescue Dylan, a catalina macaw, from a tree in the Manhattan borough in New York on March 23, 2021. The bird escaped as he was being brought to see a vet by his owner. (Photo by Bill Swersey/Reuters)

Zheng Qinwen of China returns a shot to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in a women's singles semi-final match, of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, Saturday, October 5, 2024. (Photo by Achmad Ibrahim/AP Photo)

A model falls over on the runway in a design by Victoria Bliss during the Project NextGen show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Resort 18 Collections at Carriageworks on May 16, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images)

The northeastern United States sweltered this week in a scorching summer heat wave, complete with stagnant, sticky air and no winds for relief, forecasters said. Even in a summer already filled with stretches of very hot weather, this week will be stubbornly brutal, with no relief in sight until the weekend brings thunderstorms to the region, they said. "Plain and simple, this week may feel the worst of any week for this summer in the Northeast," said Accuweather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. (Reuters)

Nature – first prize, stories. Pandemic Pigeons – A Love Story. The photographer’s daughter, Merel, cowers after Dollie flies past and perches on the balcony before entering the house in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands on 6 April 2020. “She’s still frightened when Dollie suddenly lands on the balcony railing. I hide my smile behind the camera, as I try to comfort her by saying they won’t hurt you. “I thought he was going to attack me”, she replies. As the nesting pigeons keep coming back to our place, slowly my girls have started to appreciate them – perhaps not as much as I do, but it’s a start”. (Photo by Jasper Doest/World Press Photo 2021)

Winner, photojournalism. Elephant in the room, by Adam Oswell, Australia Zoo. Visitors watch a young elephant performing underwater. Oswell was disturbed by this scene, and organisations concerned with the welfare of captive elephants say performances like this encourage unnatural behaviour. In Thailand, there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild. With the Covid pandemic causing tourism to collapse, elephant sanctuaries are becoming overwhelmed with animals that can no longer be looked after by their owners. (Photo by Adam Oswell/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)