Vardzia is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred metres and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Now part of a state heritage reserve, the extended area of Vardzia-Khertvisi has been submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List

From house breaking in Johannesburg to hippos on the loose in Tbilisi to rioters attacking a policewoman in Burundi, Reuters photographers tell the story behind some of the most iconic pictures of the year. Here: Protesters drag a female police officer accused of shooting a protester in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi, May 12, 2015. Goran Tomasevic: Protesters started throwing stones at a group of police, who then started to run away. The policewoman in the photo, Medikintos Inabeza, 33, got left behind and then some protesters started to push her, saying that she had shot a female protestor in the stomach with an AK47 rifle. I didn't see anything of that. There were 5 or 10 protesters pushing the policewoman at first, then others came and joined in. Up to 20 or 30 protesters were surrounding her at one point. The protesters kicked and beat her very badly; I also saw a couple of knives. I thought they were going to kill her... (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

One of the worlds shortest models Mary Russell at 4 feet 1 inch with 6 foot model Georgia Meacham in London, UK on June 16, 2016. The 4ft1 beauty suffers with achondroplasia a medical term for dwarfism, which means she has as average sized torso but short arms and short legs, with an oversized head. As well as stifled growth, Mary also suffers with sciatica and spinal stenosis, an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal – which cause agonising nerve problems, leaving her in excruciating pain and unable to stand for long periods of time. The condition leaves Mary, 47, struggling with everyday tasks things most people take for granted like going to the supermarket, getting cash from an ATM and ordering a drink at a bar become a challenge. (Photo by Simon Jacobs/Caters News Agency)

A photo provided by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows Atlanta police officer T. R. Coxe removing painted material of a large swastika featuring a likeness of Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, along the northbound Buford Highway Connector just south of the Piedmont exit, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 09 December 2015. Just days after Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the United States, someone painted large swastikas featuring the Republican presidential candidate's face on at least two northeast Atlanta bridge supports. The symbol, which includes a cartoon of Trump sporting a Hitler-like mustache, was painted along the Buford Highway Connector. A second, similar image was found on a concrete bridge support on nearby Piedmont Road. Trump said in a statement released on 07 December that there should be a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. (Photo by John Spink/EPA/AJC)

Then U.S. Army First Lieutenant Kirsten Griest (C) and fellow soldiers participate in combatives training during the Ranger Course on Fort Benning, Georgia, in this handout photograph taken on April 20, 2015 and obtained on August 20, 2015. When Griest and another woman completed the daunting U.S. Army Ranger school this week they helped end questions about whether women can serve as combat leaders, as the Pentagon is poised to open new roles, including elite Navy SEALs, to women in coming months. The feat by Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver followed a re-evaluation of the role of women after their frontline involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and the end of a rule barring them from combat roles in 2013. (Photo by Spc. Nikayla Shodeen/Reuters/U.S. Army)

A model poses at the Hashe presentation during Fashion Forward Spring/Summer 2017 at the Dubai Design District on October 21, 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images)

“The Falklands War, also known as the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was a 1982 limited war between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The conflict resulted from the long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which lie in the South Atlantic east of Argentina”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Kenneth “Rocky” Hudson, a Petty Officer from Gosport aboard HMS Hermes, the flagship of the Royal Navy, heading for the Falkland Islands. The troops are waging a Mexican moustache growing contest and Kenneth is wearing 30mm cannon shells slung around his body and sporting a fat cigar. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 18th April 1982