Cyclists compete during the UCI BMX World Championships Elite Women's Moto Race on May 29, 2016 in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia. (Photo by Raul Arboleda/AFP Photo)

A sculpture of Don Quixote shows him wearing the basin he mistook for the enchanted helmet of the fictional Moorish king Mambrino in Alcazar de San Juan, Spain, April 5, 2016. The arid central Spanish region of La Mancha is the setting for “Don Quixote”, the seventeenth-century novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Four hundred years after his death, references to the characters of Don Quixote, his loyal squire Sancho Panza and his beautiful lady Dulcinea abound in the surrounding villages from sweet treats to theatre productions involving livestock. Cervantes did not give away the name of the birthplace of Don Quixote, a middle-aged gentleman who becomes obsessed with chivalrous ideals. But many identify the village of Argamasilla de Alba as his hometown. The anniversary of Cervantes’ death is marked on the 23 April. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

Federico Babina illustrates the imaginary architecture of movie director-designed homes
all images courtesy of Federico Babina.

“News of a ceasefire is greeted by wild celebrations on the streets of Gaza, whilst Israeli residents of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are more cautious in their support for the peace deal”. – Reuters

Photo: Palestinian gunmen hold a poster of late Ahmed Jabari, head of the Hamas military wing in Gaza City, while they celebrate the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza City, Wednesday, November 21, 2012. Israel and the Hamas militant group agreed to a cease-fire Wednesday to end eight days of the fiercest fighting in nearly four years, promising to halt attacks on each other and ease an Israeli blockade constricting the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Adel Hana/AP)

Magbola Alhadi, 20, and her three children pose for a portrait in Jamam refugee camp in Maban County, South Sudan on August 11th, 2012. Magboola and her family weathered aerial bombing raids for several months, but decided it was time to leave their village of Bofe the night that soldiers arrived and opened fire. With her three children, she travelled for 12 days from Bofe to the town of El Fudj, on the South Sudanese border. The most important thing that Magboola was able to bring with her is the saucepan she holds in this photograph. It wasn't the largest pot that she had in Bofe, but it was small enough she could travel with it, yet big enough to cook sorghum for herself and her three daughters (from left: Aduna Omar, 6, Halima Omar, 4, and Arfa Omar, 2) during their journey. (Photo by Brian Sokol/Panos Pictures)

A demonstrator is carried during a rally in support of a identity check draft law and against delinquency, in Santiago, Chile April 30, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Vera/Reuters)

(L-R) Playmate Victoria Silvstedt, Donald Trump and Melania Knauss at the Playboy 50th Anniversary celebration December 4, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images)

Gorgeous galaxies and stunning stars make up this selection of pictures from the shortlisted entries for this year’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The winners will be announced on 15 September, and an exhibition of the winning images will be will be displayed in a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Centre from 17 September. Here: “Seven Magic Points”. The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above. (Photo by Rune Engebø/Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016/National Maritime Museum)