A child runs towards Mohamed Maarouf, 28, as he walks with a sack of gifts while dressed in Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) costume in a slum near the centre of Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 24, 2021. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

Kamal Khatib, a volunteer with the Animals Lebanon rescue group, kisses kittens after rescuing them from debris of destroyed buildings at the site of Thursday's Israeli airstrike, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, October 11, 2024. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)

A Hezbollah supporter fires a rocket-propelled grenade in the air to celebrate the arrival of Iranian fuel tankers to Lebanon, in the eastern town of Baalbek, Lebanon, Thursday, September 16, 2021. The delivery violates US sanctions imposed on Tehran after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers three years ago. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)

An army soldier takes a tree branch from an anti-government protester who is blocking a major highway that links the capital Beirut to northern Lebanon, in the town of Nahr el-Kalb, north of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, January 3, 2020. Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, while protests against corruption and mismanagement have gripped the country since October. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Shiite Muslim pilgrims march with banners towards the shrine city of Karbala ahead of the Arbaeen commemorations that mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for the seventh century killing of the Prophet Mohamed's grandson Imam Hussein ibn Ali, in the city of Nasiriyah in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province on August 14, 2024. (Photo by Asaad Niazi/AFP Photo)

A newlywed couple dangling from a cliff face poses for wedding photos at the Chaya Mountain scenic spot on November 11, 2017 in Zhumadian, Henan Province of China. Chaya Mountain scenic spot was the shooting place for TV series “Journey to the West” and working staff dressed as main characters in this TV series to send the blessing to the newly-weds. (Photo by Sipa Asia/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Nature – first prize, stories. Pandemic Pigeons – A Love Story. The photographer’s daughter, Merel, cowers after Dollie flies past and perches on the balcony before entering the house in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands on 6 April 2020. “She’s still frightened when Dollie suddenly lands on the balcony railing. I hide my smile behind the camera, as I try to comfort her by saying they won’t hurt you. “I thought he was going to attack me”, she replies. As the nesting pigeons keep coming back to our place, slowly my girls have started to appreciate them – perhaps not as much as I do, but it’s a start”. (Photo by Jasper Doest/World Press Photo 2021)

Award-winning photographer Alex Bernasconi has captured thousands of images – from hiding hippos to wandering zebras – in his travels across Africa. His amazing work features in a new edition of his book Wild Africa. These amazing pictures create a snapshot of the life of some of the planet’s most spectacular animals and natural habitats. Photo: “Wild Africa”. (Photo by Alex Bernasconi)