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)

A man takes a selfie in front of a fire from oil that has been set ablaze in the Qayyarah area, some 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul, on October 19, 2016, during an operation by Iraqi forces against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists to retake the main hub city. In the biggest Iraqi military operation in years, forces have retaken dozens of villages, mostly south and east of Mosul, and are planning multiple assaults for October 20. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/AFP Photo)

A Russia-backed rebel looks at the flag covered body of an Ukrainian serviceman in Debaltseve, Ukraine, February 20, 2015. The struggle for the strategic rail hub, Debaltseve, a sleepy town with a pre-war population of 25,000 people, left the town in ruins and became one of the darkest pages in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has already killed more than 6,000 people. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo/File)

A girl holds up her hand to confront the police during a banned protest in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. China imposed a controversial national security law on Hong Kong on Tuesday, a historic move that worried many Western governments that will strangle the finance hub's freedoms and hollow out its autonomy. (Photo by Keith Tsuji/Zuma Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

This long exposure picture shows vehicles on roads during rush hour on the eve of the National Day holidays in Shanghai on September 30, 2014. According to local media, police checkpoints will be set up at highways, elevated roads and business hubs to tackle drunk driving during the National Day holiday. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)

Iraqi army soldiers attempt to move their truck stuck in the mud near the village of Al-Boutha al-Sharqiyah, west of Mosul, on December 2, 2016, during a broad offencive by Iraq forces to retake the main hub city from Islamic State group jihadists. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)