Look here! These are the best photos of the year

Georgy Keburia says goodbye to his wife Maya and children at the Odessa train station on March 5, 2022, as they board a train to Lviv. Fighting is currently escalating in eastern Ukraine. Hundreds of women and children who have fled cities such as Mariupol, Kherson and Mykolaiv are desperately trying to catch trains to get to a safe place. Meanwhile, men like Geordie must stay behind to defend their own country and family.

In Umm al Quwain, in the United Arab Emirates, every winter the camels are led into the sea by their camel drivers to bathe. Reason: Salt water is said to have medicinal properties. It should rid the camels of ticks, fleas and other parasites. Although an ancient Arabic tradition, this custom is becoming increasingly rare in the region due to the development of new hotels and resorts along the coast.

The photo by Swiss social anthropologist and photographer Regula Tschumi shows a scene with two women carrying aluminum baskets on their heads on their way to the market and walking past a wall of vibrant paintings. While one woman carries a bunch of tubers, the other woman appears to be carrying one of the painted fish.

The indigenous group of Nenets lives in the northeast of the European part of Russia and is one of the “little peoples of the north” according to the Russian classification. They mainly spend the cold winter, in which temperatures can drop to -64 degrees, in their traditional tent, the chum. This consists of a frame of long poles and is covered with a double layer of reindeer skins. The opening of the tent is kept as small as possible so that no heat escapes from the tent. Even if it should only be opened when necessary, sometimes children’s curiosity wins.

10-year-old Aliyana Stokes and 5-year-old brother Bryson Stokes take a gun safety course for children in the Choppa community in rural Maryland. At this shooting range, African-American gun owners and others come together to learn gun safety and self-defense.

Young people gather to watch the FIFA World Cup Qatar match between Argentina and Poland in the university district of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on December 1, 2022. You sit on the street and watch a big screen. The photo captured the moment Argentina scored a goal.

A young Iranian Kurdish soldier in her small dormitory. Her hair is wound on curlers outside her veil. This image underlines their right to exist and breathe and reminds us that civil rights must go hand in hand with freedom of expression, writes Siena Awards. This also includes art, hairstyle and beauty.

Female northern spectacled salamander lays her eggs on branches underwater. Shot in the cold water of a stream in Italy’s Foreste Casentinesi National Park.

Villarrica – the most active and dangerous volcano in Chile. The last outbreak was four years ago, but activity picked up again late last year, prompting the Chilean government to declare a yellow alert. The photo shows a lenticular cloud illuminated by the glowing lava from the crater.

In third place is another volcano: Mount Etna, during its explosive eruption in December 2021. The photo shows explosive material erupting with a black cloud of volcanic sand. Thanks to the long exposure, the snowy landscape was also captured, illuminated by moonlight and stars, writes Siena Awards.

When the dry season and the grass turn yellow in the African savannah, the lions blend in almost seamlessly with their surroundings. Photographer Hilley was following footprints when a pride of lions suddenly appeared in front of her, trotting in lines over tire tracks.

A large male polar bear in the Canadian Arctic rests on a bed of narrow-leaved fireweed.

The Indian wolves in this photo are not fighting, but playing. They are known for their playful and loud behavior. However, such moments in the wild are becoming increasingly rare as their population declines on the Indian subcontinent, writes Siena Awards. The animal has been placed on the list of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation.

On November 11, 2022, Ukrainian patrol forces liberated Kherson from Russian occupation. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a speech in a busy square, 13-year-old Glib is in the front row. After months of fear and uncertainty, he was able to leave his home for the first time since the start of the war, according to Siena Awards.

A young boy stands at the entrance to an informal coal mine in Chinarak, Afghanistan. As Siena Awards writes, hundreds of miners between the ages of 10 and 60 work in coal mines every day for a few cents.

A humpback whale with a buoy wrapped around its hind fin. Unable to move, he faces a slow and painful death. This is a tragic consequence of human selfishness and our inability to recognize the impact of our actions and our responsibility to protect our planet, Siena Awards writes about the image.

In a French seaside resort, an Avia gas station suddenly turns into a spectacular diving board.

While two monkeys are engaged in an intimate activity, the father of the family tries to concentrate on taking a selfie. However, the rest of his family is too distracted to notice. (saw)