A drone view shows people surfing during spring sunshine, as the warm weather is set to continue into the weekend, at Fistral Beach, Newquay, south west Britain, on May 9, 2024. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

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)

A toddler sits on the winner of the giant pumpkin category during the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) London Harvest Festival Show at RHS Lindley Halls on October 6, 2015 in London, England. The traditional harvest themed show runs October 6-7 and showcases a wide range of late summer grown fruit and vegetables. (Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)

Udomsak Ratanotayo, left, and Suttinan Boonsomkiat wear storm trooper costumes while donating blood at the Thai Red Cross in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday, April 28, 2014. Thai Star Wars fans will donate blood and give toys at an orphanage as part of a promotional campaign. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

Models prepare backstage before a presentation as part of Fashion Weekend Plus Size Summer 2015 collection show in Sao Paulo, July 25, 2015. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Iraqi rapid response forces take a selfie picture outside a hospital damaged by clashes during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in the Wahda district of eastern Mosul, Iraq, January 8, 2017. (Photo by Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters)

Revelers, covered in coloured powder, celebrate, during a Holi Run Festival in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2015. Thousands of revelers took part in the festival that includes a mini marathon. The festivals are fashioned after the Hindu spring festival Holi, which is mainly celebrated in the north and east of India. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)