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)

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)

A truck carrying gold miners across the Sahara desert to far northern Niger drives outside Agadez, Niger, May 9, 2016. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

The Lamb National takes place for the racegoers at Ascot Racecourse on April 2, 2017 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Visitors are seen inside a newly opened bookstore in Chongqing, China on January 29, 2019. Covering an area of 1,400 square meters, the Zhongshuge Bookstore in Chongqing attracts readers with its creative decor. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

Goats jumps to cross a stream as they are driven by a herdsman at Dashiwo village, on the outskirts of Beijing January 26, 2015. The Chinese Lunar New Year on February 19 will welcome the Year of the Sheep (also known as the Year of the Goat or Ram). (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Japan's Naomi Osaka returns the ball during her match against Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova during the Madrid Open tennis tournament, Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Andrea Comas/AP Photo)

A lovely sunrise in at the beachfront of Playa de Muro, Alcudia on the island of Mallorca, Majorca, Spain on May 16, 2022. As a road cyclist walks his road bike along a wooden jetty heading out into the calm waters. (Photo by Phil Wilkinson/Alamy Live News)