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)

An ice covered entrance door to the international gene bank Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV) near Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen, Norway, October 20, 2015. Two consignments of crop seeds will be deposited next year in a “doomsday vault” built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global supplies. The vault, which opened on the Svalbard archipelago in 2008, is designed to protect crop seeds, such as beans, rice and wheat against the worst cataclysms of nuclear war or disease. (Photo by Anna Filipova/Reuters)

In this November 17, 2014 photo, Pancho, a domesticated huitia, confronts a camera, in Bainoa, Cuba. With their rope-like, dark tails, long front teeth, and whiskers that appear to be vibrating, huitias look like giant rats. They measure nearly a foot long (about 30 centimeters), with the largest ones weighing in bigger than a small dog. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

“The National Portrait Gallery, London's annual photographic portrait prize was established in 2003 as the Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize. In the years 2006 and 2007 it was referred to simply as the Photographic Portrait Prize, while from 2008 new sponsors have resulted in the name, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portait Prize”. – Wikipedia. Photo: “Tic Tac and Tootsie (twin sisters Carrol and Shelly McKean)”. Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize 2010. (Photo by Jeffrey Stockbridge)

A Funnel Web spider is pictured at the Australian Reptile Park January 23, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. The Funnel Web is one of Australia's deadliest animals, with a venom that is packed with at least 40 different toxic proteins. A bite from a Funnel Web causes massive electrical over-load in the body's nervous system. Finally, fatalities occur from either heart attack or a pulmonary oedema, where the capillaries around the lungs begin to leak fluid and the patient effectively drowns. Death can come as quickly as two hours after a bite if no medical treatment is sought. Due to advances in anti-venom, there has been no death from a Funnel Web bite in Australia since 1980. Australia is home to some of the most deadly and poisonous animals on earth. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

An exterior view of Rauceby, an abandoned mental asylum in Lincolnshire, UK. These haunting photos show the collapsing remains of a derelict mental asylum. The pictures show the ruined former hospital building and chapel, now covered in dust and graffiti. Few signs remain that reveal the site as a former home of mentally ill adults and children. (Photo by Simon Robson/Caters News)

During the spring harvest season, a group of traditional Malaysian honey hunters travel to the rainforest near the Thai border to collect honeycombs from giant bees – and risk their lives climbing 200ft trees. Here: Bees are sensitive to light, which makes them follow the glowing embers down to the ground. (Photo by Hasnoor Hussain/The Guardian)

17 people were photographed by Reuters apparently casting ballots at more than one polling station Sunday during Russia’s presidential election in the town of Ust-Djeguta, southern Russia. Many appeared to be state employees, and some showed up in groups and in mini buses bearing the names of state-provided services. Voting twice is a misdemeanour under Russian law and those caught are heavily fined. But when shown these pictures, election commission member Leila Koichuyeva said: “They could be twins”. Here are a few. (Photo by Reuters/Staff)