This watering hole is the social hub of the veldt; the scrubby grasslands that stretch across Namibia. The scorched earth supports sometimes fragile populations of magnificent wildlife – from endangered predators to plentiful herds of game. But these gentle giraffes and elephants need to be careful: lions don’t sleep at night, they hunt! The spectacular starscape above southern Africa is unchanged since explorers first mapped the continent. The photographer, Pietro Olivetta from Italy, said he had to be patient to capture these shots – but it was worth the wait. (Photo by Pietro Olivetta/Caters News)

Retired Malam Jabba engineer Akbar Ali skis down the piste at the ski resort in Malam Jabba, Pakistan February 7, 2017. Atop the piste of Malam Jabba in Pakistan's once dangerous Swat Valley skiers schuss downhill, a new Chinese-built chairlift ferries tourists to the peak, and a luxury hotel is under construction to replace one torched by the Taliban. (Photo by Caren Firouz/Reuters)

Sport category, winner: Yuan Peng. Liu Bingqing and Liu Yujie are twin sisters who have studied and trained in gymnastics since their early childhood in Jining, China. (Photo by Yuan Peng/Sony World Photography Awards)

Three female friends dancing in nightclub. (Photo by Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy Stock Photo )

A boy doing chin-ups as he takes entrance exams at the Moscow Suvorov Military School in Moscow, Russia on July 11, 2019. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Russian News Agency TASS via Getty Images)

An Iraq fan poses before the World Cup 2022 Qualifier 2nd round Group C football match between Iraq and Iran at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan on November 14, 2019. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

In the mangrove swamps of Quang Lang in Vietnam fishermen use stilts to take them into the deeper water on December 18, 2021. (Photo by Bang Nguyen Trong/Solent News)

Hot air balloons in flight over Melbourne, Australia on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)