“Russian singer Eduard Khil has died at the age of 77, following a stroke. Khil is apparently well known in Russia, though attained belated fame outside of Russia when a musical number he performed on Soviet television in the 1970s, in which he sung nonsense lyrics in a rich baritone over luxuriantly loungy background music, but above all with an infectious sense of good cheer, ended up on YouTube and became a meme”. ... (Listen to songs of Eduard Khil)

A timber truck driver (L) dressed as Father Frost is saluted by a soldier at the Kremlin's Spasskiye (Saviour) Gate in Moscow, Russian Federation, on December 24, 2013. (Photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev/ITAR-TASS/ZUMA Press)

Hindu devotees, their bodies pierced with lemon and paladai, or bowl with a spout mainly used to feed milk to infants, wait to participate in a procession to mark Shivratri, or the night of Shiva, in Chennai, India, Wednesday, February 18, 2015. Such processions are held as an offering and show of devotion by devotees on the day dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. (Photo by Arun Sankar K./AP Photo)

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)

“Self-educated photographer, Quebec. I always impassioned myself for the animal world and natural spaces, in particular for the red squirrels and the titmouses. Having reached sixty and more, I am nothing any more has to prove but all has to show”. – Andre Villeneuve. Photo: “Eat and run”. (Photo by Andre Villeneuve)

Star Wars collector James Burns, 44, poses for a photograph with some of his collection in London December 2, 2015. He said “I've met so many wonderful people, all over the world. It's a wonderful community of likeminded people with an interest in Star Wars. There's nothing else like it”. (Photo by Paul Hackett/Reuters)

Kashir Mir, 34, poses for a photograph at his workplace, Juliet Wig Shop, in the London constituency of Brent Central, Britain, April 13, 2015. Mir, who was born in Pakistan, said: “I will vote but it's a secret. I also hope they can manage immigration better as I have been stopped and interviewed for hours returning from Pakistan. I'm an honest man, working here and paying my tax”. Brent, a northwest London neighbourhood that's home to Wembley football stadium, is among the most ethnically diverse areas in the United Kingdom. As the country approaches a closely fought election on May 7, Reuters photographer Eddie Keogh visited shopkeepers to get their views on the poll. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Reuters)