Beshara: The most captivating photos of 2024

This year's selection includes Hajj pilgrims in Makkah, Eiffel Tower in Paris and star trails in Ras Al Khaimah

Star trails form circles in the night sky as the Earth spins on its axis in the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah. Antonie Robertson/The National.

A man looks out from a container restaurant near an art sculpture depicting a sleeping Chinese astronaut in the Songzhuang art district in eastern Beijing. AP

Fish are released in the waters of the Guarino wetland of Jamundi, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. EPA

A view of The Rink at Rockefeller Center, in New York. AP

The Moon and the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower ahead the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, France. Reuters

Participants during the UAE National Sailing championship 2024 held at The Club in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National

A construction worker talks on his mobile phone at a building site in Kathmandu, Nepal. EPA

A member of the Astronomical Society photographs a meteor during the Perseid meteor shower over the Kozjak Lake, North Macedonia. EPA

A falcon auction at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) 2024 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Residents bathe in a dam on the Unda River in Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia. AP

The Global Media Congress held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibtion Center. Ryan Lim for The National

Muslim pilgrims gather at the top of the plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. AP

A snorkeler watches a shoal of fish near a shipwreck off Cubagua Island, Venezuela. AP

People watch an annular solar eclipse in Puerto San Julian, Argentina. AP

A beluga whale swims through the Churchill River, near Churchill, Manitoba. AP

A Muslim woman prays at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound during Ramadan in the Old City of Jerusalem. AP

Children line up to enter school on Gardi Sugdub Island, part of the San Blas archipelago off Panama's Caribbean coast. AP

Pilgrims under a waterfall to cleanse themselves of evil spirits during a ritual on the Braamfontein Spruit river in Johannesburg, South Africa. EPA

Isaac Young, 5, rests his cheek on the family horse Rusty's forehead during farm chores, before homeschooling, in Sunbury, Ohio. AP

A fisherman casts his fishing line into the Mediterranean Sea from a rocky area along the Beirut coastline in Lebanon. AP

Icelandic horses play at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany. AP

Friends and family fuss over a quinceañera in preparation for her photo session at Colon Square in the Zona Colonial neighbourhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. AP

A woman dances in a procession to mark Falgun Mahotsav ahead of Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, in Hyderabad, India. AP

A woman on a swing at Venao Beach in Pedasi, Panama. AP

A papier-mache sculpture burns during the 'Nit de la Crema' (Valencian for 'Burn Night') of the Fallas Festival in Valencia, eastern Spain. EPA

A woman stands inside the art piece 'The network', by the Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota (Gallery Templon), exhibited in the Museum of Tapestries, in Aix-en-Provence, France. Reuters

Nasser Al Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel in action during Stage 6 of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. Reuters

Ethiopian Orthodox faithful participate in the Holy Fire ceremony at the Ethiopian section of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters.

A military aircraft carries out a display during the celebrations to make 10 years of the National Service Program in Al Sameeh between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Victor Besa / The National