A Palestinian fisherman casts his net as he stands along the beach in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 14, 2019. The Israeli government said late on June 12 that the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza had been closed, in retaliation for the launch of incendiary balloons from the Palestinian enclave. The move came after COGAT said on Tuesday it had reduced the extent of the fishing zone to six nautical miles offshore from 10 nautical miles, having downscaled it from 15 nautical miles a week ago. (Photo by Said Khatib/AFP Photo)

In this Friday, August 9, 2019, file photo, Pakistan Rangers soldiers face Indian Border Security Force soldiers at a daily closing ceremony on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border. India's recent clampdown has a long history in Kashmir and the conflict has existed since the late 1940s, when India and Pakistan won independence from the British empire and began fighting over rival claims to the Muslim-majority territory. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three subsequent wars over Kashmir, and each administers a portion of the region. India has long seen the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as Islamabad's proxy war against New Delhi. (Photo by Prabhjot Gill/AP Photo/File)

Pregnant Tibetan antelopes move across the Qinghai-Tibet highway in Hoh Xil, northwest China's Qinghai Province, May 29, 2023. A growing number of pregnant Tibetan antelopes are migrating to the heart of northwest China's Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve to give birth, according to the reserve's management office. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth and leave with their offspring in late July. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

“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)

A damaged vehicle is seen next to the ring road, around Skopje, near the village of Stajkovci, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 08 August 2016. At least 21 people have died and more than 100 are injured in the heavy rain storm that hit the Macedonian capital Skopje late Saturday night causing severe damage to the roads and house infrastructure. More than 80 vehicles were hit by landslides at Skopje's ring road. The highway remains closed. The government announced a 15-day state of emergency in the Skopje and Tetovo region. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA)

People take part in a protest outside the Department for Education, London, Sunday August 16, 2020, in response to the A-level results. The British government has been urged to “get a grip” over how grades are being awarded to school students, who were unable to take exams earlier this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest confusion emerged late Saturday when England’s exam regulator launched a review on its own just-published guidance on how students can appeal grades awarded under a complicated system. (Photo by London News Pictures/The Sun)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

A little girl seen waiting in a queue to participate in the Kumari Puja ritual in Kolkata, India on March 30, 2023. Kumari Puja is an Indian Hindu Tradition mainly celebrated during the Durga Puja / Basanti Puja / Navratri according to Hindu calendar. Kumari actually describes a young virgin girl from the age 1 to 16 who is getting worshipped during the transition of Ashtami / Navami tithi of Durga Puja / Navaratri according to Hindu mythology. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)