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)

Athletes compete in the women's 100m semi-final during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 21, 2023. (Photo by Andrej Isakovic/AFP Photo)

Clouds reflect off the water as they pass over while SpaceX prepares their super heavy-lift Starship SN8 rocket for a test launch this week at the company's facilities in Boca Chita, Texas, U.S. December 1, 2020. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Reuters)

A showgirl in a face mask stands by the door at the reopening of Bally's Las Vegas hotel and casino, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Las Vegas. The casino reopened for the first time since March following a closure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by John Locher/AP Photo)

A model prepares backstage before the Am/Jasmine collection by Chen Liang during the China Fashion week in Beijing on September 5, 2024. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

Demonstrators run inside of subway after clashing with riot police during a protest to denounce the housing crisis and evictions, in Barcelona, Spain, on September 25, 2024. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Protesters run for cover after riot police fired tear gas towards the bridge they were climbing down to the road below, to escape from Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus and from police, in Hung Hom district in Hong Kong on November 18, 2019. Dozens of Hong Kong protesters escaped a besieged university campus on November 18 by lowering themselves on a rope from a footbridge to a highway, AFP video showed. Once on the road they were seen being picked up by waiting motorcyclists. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret climbs during a training session in Verd, some 20 km southwest of Ljubljana, on March 27, 2024. The eight-time world champion is looking to win another gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games this summer, just like she did in Tokyo 2020 when the sport debuted at the Olympics. (Photo by Jure Makovec/AFP Photo)