The shortlist for the coveted Bird Photographer of the Year awards has been announced by Nature Photographers and the British Trust for Ornithology. Here: Red-billed oxpecker on an impala, Kruger National Park, South Africa. (Photo by Edmund Aylmer/BPOTY/Cover Images/The Guardian)

Performers wearing traditional Zulu attire take part in the parade during the 112th African National Congress (ANC) Anniversary rally in Mbombela on January 13, 2024. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP Photo)

A Samoyed is groomed before being judged on the final day of the Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, central England, on March 9, 2025. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

English National Opera presents Georges Bizet's “Carmen” at the London Coliseum in London on October 6, 2025. (Photo by Jane Hobson/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A meerkat stands guard as her pups cuddle at Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa early November 2025. (Photo by Nadine Leonard/Two Point O Media)

Manar Abu Dhabi presents its second public light art exhibition on November 17, 2025. Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism. KAWS, located at Souq Al Mina, Abu Dhabi. (Photo by Victor Besa/The National)

Dr. P.A. Smithe was sent by the American Red Cross as a doctor and surgeon to work at a hospital in Vienna. He sailed to Europe in December 1915 and returned home in August 1916, according to his daughter, who donated his images to the National World War I Museum. Photo: Turkish army, including cavalry, infantry and artillery. (Photo by Dr. P.A. Smithe/National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Mo.)

A woman poses for a photo in the tourist area surrounding Houhai Lake during Chinese National Day holidays in Beijing, China, October 2, 2020. China is celebrating its national day marking the 71st anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the Mid-autumn Festival for a week beginning on October 1st. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)