A carnival member performs during a carnival procession of the closing carnival night in the town of Strumica, southeastern North Macedonia, 16 March 2024. North Macedonians are marking Trimery, an Orthodox Christian holiday, when evil spirits are chased away with dance rituals. The holiday marks the beginning of the fasting period ahead of Easter. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA/EFE)

Lewis McKay, two, from East Kilbride, tries out the drums at the 2024 World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow. on August 16, 2024 Some 204 bands, representing 13 nations and including 9,000 musicians, are competing over two days. (Photo by Wattie Cheung/The Times)

Yanna Xian, 24, and her boyfriend Mitch Brown, 27, were swimming while on a boat tour off Honolulu, Hawaii last year, when a curious two-week-old humpback approached them. (Photo by South West News Service)

Jewish children in fancy dress during the annual Jewish holiday of Purim on March 12, 2017 in London, England. Purim is celebrated by Jewish communities around the world with parades and costume parties. Purim commemorates the defeat of Haman, the advisor to the Persian king, and his plot to massacre the Jewish people, 2,500 years ago, as recorded in the biblical book of Esther. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Vietnamese-American singer and songwriter Thuy poses for a portrait backstage at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 13, 2024 in Indio, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella)

Highly commended birds : Crested guan by Tim Hunt (UK). ‘This photo shows a crested guan in the cloud forests of Costa Rica as it pauses while foraging on a lone branch. Due to the clouds that are so typical for this habitat, I could often only photograph the bird’s silhouette against a grey sky. But then, for a short moment only, the sun broke through the clouds, and I overexposed the image by over two stops in order to blow out the background and allow this beautifully marked bird to stand out’. (Photo by Tim Hunt/GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015)

An Indian policeman wearing a virus themed helmet rides on a horse during an awareness rally aimed at preventing the spread of new coronavirus in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, April 2, 2020. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)

A boy plays at the feet of a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, on October 29, 2024. (Photo by Esa Alexander/Reuters)