Start the Day Here: Record number of early votes cast in Georgia. Tom Brady becomes part owner of Raiders. Why America’s drug stores are closing.
US photographer Karine Aigner got close to the action as a group of bees competed to mate. “The big buzz” was captured in South Texas.“House of bears” by Dmitry Kokh shows a haunting scene of polar bears shrouded in fog at the long-deserted settlement on Kolyuchin Island in Russia.Japanese photographer Junji Takasago captured this dream-like scene, called “Heavenly flamingos,” in Bolivia. Photographed high in the Andes, Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt pan and home to a large lithium mine.Tony Wu watches the electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. “Shooting star” was taken in Kinko Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.“Ndakasi’s passing” by Brent Stirton shows the closing chapter of the story of a much-loved mountain gorilla in the Senkwekwe Center, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo.“The dying lake” by Daniel Núñez was taken to raise awareness of the impact of contamination on Lake Amatitlán, in Guatemala.Mateusz Piesiak seized the opportunity to capture the moment when a passing peregrine falcon caused some dunlins to fly up. “A theatre of birds” was taken in Poland.“The bat-snatcher” by Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar shows the moment a Yucatan rat snake snaps up a bat in Kantemo, Quintana Roo, Mexico.Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn reveals a mix of contrasting colors and textures of a Bryde’s whale along the Upper Gulf of Thailand.“Spectacled bear’s slim outlook” by Daniel Mideros depicts a poignant portrait of a disappearing habitat and its inhabitant. Taken in Peñas Blancas, Quito, Ecuador.In Spain, Ismael Domínguez Gutiérrez mesmerizes with a monochromatic portrayal of an osprey sitting on a dead tree, surrounded by fog in “Out of the fog.”Nick Kanakis gains a glimpse into the secret life of wrens with this photo “The listening bird,” taken in Tatamá National Park, Colombia.“The Cuban connection” by Karine Aigner captures a caged Cuban bullfinch along a sidewalk to tell the shared story of Cuban culture and these songbirds.In “Battle stations,” Ekaterina Bee watched Alpine ibex fight a battle of domination in Piedmont, Italy.“The great cliff chase” by Anand Nambiar snaps a glimpse into the life of a snow leopard in India charging a herd of ibex toward the edge of the cliff at the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary.
