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)

Laborers lay down upon a field to cut off the tulips that remained uncut by the tractor in Den Helder, Netherlands April 22, 2017. (Photo by Cris Toala Olivares/Reuters)

Swimmer silhouetted in a waterslide in the coastal suburb of Glenelg, Adelaide, Australia on January 21, 2025. (Photo by Amer Ghazzal/Alamy Live News)

A young woman jumps into the river Rhine to cool off during high temperatures, near Kaiserstuhl, Switzerland, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (Photo by Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP Photo)

Hawk T1 aircraft of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, perform a vertical loop during a practice display in Fitties, Greece on November 10, 2025. The team conducted the display practice as part of Exercise SpringHawk 2025. (Photo by AS1 Iwan Lewis/RAF)

Fireplace for children, Trondheim, Norway, by Haugen/Zohar. The children of Trondheim come to sit around the fire and tell stories in this whimsical cone hut, made with materials recycled from a construction site. (Photo by Jason Havneraas/The Guardian)

A soldier walks on the bank of the river in central Pyongyang, North Korea on April 16, 2017. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)