A hostage runs towards a police officer outside Lindt cafe, where other hostages are being held, in Martin Place in central Sydney December 15, 2014. Two more hostages have run out of the cafe at the center of a siege in Sydney, Australia's largest city, according to a Reuters witness at the site. The two women were both wearing aprons indicating they were staff at the Lindt cafe where a gunman has been holding an unknown number of hostages for several hours. Three men had earlier run out of the cafe. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

British Waters Wide Angle category runner-up. Grass snake swimming along a garden pond by Jack Perks (UK)in Nottinghamshire, UK. “I’m always on the lookout for unusual freshwater subjects and grass snakes are a species I’ve been after for years. I was told about a pond where the odd grass snake hangs around the lilly pads for frogs. I put my drysuit on and got into the water and could see one slithering along the surface. Slowly making my way towards it with my head only just poking above I got the spilt shot”. (Photo by Jack Perks/Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019)

Members of the Indonesian Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres) show their skills during the simulation of a terrorist attack in Jakarta, Indonesia, 29 December 2016. According to reports in local media the Indonesian security forces have already arrested 21 terrorists suspects and fatally shot five of them, who were allegedly planning attacks in the Indonesian capital during the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations this year. The presentation was shown on the occasion of a visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and a delegation to the Paspampres headquarters in Jakarta. (Photo by Bagus Indahono/EPA)

A Sri Lankan leopard is pictured at a zoo in Dehiwala near Colombo on March 3, 2016, on World Wildlife Day. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A person dressed as “bigfoot” makes their way through the strong wind and snow in the Back Bay neighborhood during a blizzard on January 27, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images)

Breath of an Arctic fox by Marco Gaiotti, Italy. Marco was watching this little Arctic fox as it incessantly called another nearby. Gradually he noticed the fox’s wet breath was quickly freezing in the air after each call. It was late winter in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, and the air was -35C (-31F). Photographing Arctic foxes is often frustrating, as they are normally running around fast in search of food, but this one was very relaxed and let Marco get close enough to focus on it, with the light glowing perfectly in the background. (Photo by Marco Gaiotti/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)

One of the last incoming trains arrives outside the main train station after Deutsche Bahn cancelled all train traffic in Germany due to heavy storms, Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, January 18, 2018. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Myanmar national award second-place winner: Kyaw Win Hlaing. “Mount Bromo is an active volcano in East Java, Indonesia. The name Bromo derives from the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god”. (Photo by Kyaw Win Hlaing/Sony World Photography Awards 2018)