Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

A member of an Egungun masquerade group, his identity obscured under his ornate costume in Ouidah, Benin on March 13, 2019. The exclusively male practitioners, found across Yoruba culture, use dance and spinning in the belief that they will summon the spirits of ancestors. (Photo by Massimo Rumi/Barcroft Images)

A single object, a single shape, a single colour,' is how Anish Kapoor summed up Leviathan, his response to the Monumenta challenge this year. Radically departing from Christian Boltanski’s busy collage-like approach in Personnes for Monumenta 2010, Kapoor has filled the 13,500 square metre space with a single cavernous entity which surges through the Grand Palais roof.

The Smilovichi Felting Factory in Belarus was founded in 1928, when Smilovichi was a small Jewish settlement of craftsmen. Five of those craftsmen organized a small artel (a cooperative association of craftsmen who all live and work together), which produced warm boots called “valenki” for cold weather. Photo: Belarusian workers works at a felt boot factory in Smilovichi, some 35km from Minsk, Belarus, 16 January 2012. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA)

A man salts a downtown sidewalk in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2015, as snow begins to fall. The U.S. federal government said its offices in the Washington area will be closed Thursday because of a new round of winter weather expected in the region. The Office of Personnel Management said non-emergency personnel in and around Washington were granted excused absences for the day. Emergency employees and telework-ready employees were expected to work. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

“Dog meat refers to edible parts and the flesh derived from (predominantly domestic) dogs. Human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including ancient China, ancient Mexico, and ancient Rome. According to contemporary reports, dog meat is consumed in a variety of countries such as Switzerland, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea. In addition, dog meat has also been used as survival food in times of war and/or other hardships”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A chef prepares dog meat at a restaurant on July 4, 2005 in Gwacheon, South Korea. Dog meat is a traditional dish in Korea dating back to the Samkuk period (period of the three kingdoms BC 57 – AD 668). Although many recipes existed historically for dog meat, now chefs only make soups, or dishes using boiled or roasted meat. Koreans traditionally eat dog meat on the hottest day of the summer, for it's reputed benefits of virility, invigoration and health. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

In 2012 in Kiev will pass European Football Championship. The history of Kiev, the largest city and the capital of Ukraine, is documented as going back at least 1400 years...

A frightened maid, played by Phoebe Hodgson, knocks a bust off a tall pedestal while dusting, in a scene from the play “Queen High” at the Queen's Theatre. (Photo by Sasha/Getty Images). 1926