In this November 30, 2017 photo, Douglas scoops up mud from the bottom of the polluted Guaire River, in search of gold and anything valuable he can sell, in Caracas, Venezuela. Some stretches of the river smell of sewer while others emit a toxic odor of fuel, a stench that stays in ones nose for hours after leaving the water. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Runner-up. “The heavens opened and the streets around Shibuya, Tokyo, were suddenly drenched in even more colour and movement. I was taking photos (my friend was holding the umbrella) when I noticed this woman at the crossing. I’m pleased with the futuristic feel of the image”. (Photo by Katherine Bridgestock/The Guardian)

A worker wearing a protective face mask, cleans up the road in front of a mural in Jakarta, Indonesia, 24 July 2020. Indonesian government has assigned a new team to rebuild the national economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The country has started to ease COVID-19 lock-down restrictions in an effort to restart the economies and help people in their daily routines after the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Mast Irham/EPA/EFE)

Mariana Sousa, student of the Ballet Paraisopolis, warms up during a rehearse in Paraisopolis favela, outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 27, 2020, amid the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The 200 ballet students of Paraisopolis, the second largest favela in Sao Paulo, restarted rehearsals after five months with a coreography about a police operation that put their community in mourning last year. (Photo by Nelson Almeida/AFP Photo)

“Secrets of the Whales”. Skerry’s photographs celebrate the lives and culture of whales, illuminating recent research and their diverse behaviours. His latest work focuses on four key species: sperm whales, humpbacks, orca and beluga whales. Humpback whales bubble-net feeding off the coast of Alaska. They work cooperatively to feed on herring by blowing a perfect ring of bubbles underwater to form a net encircling the fish. The whales then swim up through the centre of the bubble net with their mouths open. (Photo by Brian Skerry/National Geographic Photo/Visa pour l'Image)

Students run past a burning barricade set up by protesters demanding the release of kidnapped people, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, November 25, 2021. The country is experiencing a rise in gang-related kidnappings, many demanding ransom, with the U.S. State Department issuing a warning in Aug. about the risk of kidnapping in Caribbean country. (Photo by Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo)

A young Iranian woman walks in Tehran on June 14, 2021, ahead of the June 18 presidential elections. Iran is gearing up for a presidential election on June 18 but many young people are more focussed on the daily struggle to survive and their dreams for the future. Jobs are scarce in a recession-hit economy battered by sanctions, a crisis exacerbated by the region's worst outbreak of the Covid pandemic. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)

Armed officers of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy's (LWC) anti-poaching unit look out from a ridge at dawn in Meru, on July 31, 2021, as they wind up their nightly security patrol against poaching and illegal incursions into the conservancy. Despite the global condemnation of poaching and the resources that have been mobilised to safeguard endangered wildlife, well-funded and well-equipped poaching groups continue to pose a real threat to Africa’s wildlife. (Photo by Tony Karumba/AFP Photo)