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)

Two Chinese farmers got more than they bargained for when they pulled up the root of a fleece flower – and came face-to-face with the doppelganger of Homer Simpson, on May 17, 2013. The large root appears to have two bulging eyes and a prominent nose – giving it an uncanny resemblance to the famous cartoon character. With two offshoot roots shaped like arms, it even looks like it is pondering or confused – just what you would expect from the real Homer. (Photo by ImagineChina)

Breath of an Arctic fox by Marco Gaiotti, Italy. Marco was watching this little Arctic fox as it incessantly called another nearby. Gradually he noticed the fox’s wet breath was quickly freezing in the air after each call. It was late winter in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, and the air was -35C (-31F). Photographing Arctic foxes is often frustrating, as they are normally running around fast in search of food, but this one was very relaxed and let Marco get close enough to focus on it, with the light glowing perfectly in the background. (Photo by Marco Gaiotti/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)

A Guarani Mbya man smokes a pipe next to a cut tree as he occupies land as a protest against real estate developer Tenda which plans to build apartment buildings here, next to his indigenous community's land in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, February 6, 2020. In response to an injunction filed by the builder, a judge has authorized the eviction of the indigenous protesters from the builder's property. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

A girl poses in antlers ahead of a curfew on pub in Nottingham, a city in central England’s Midlands region on September 21, 2020 as Freshers' Week got underway. Revellers were also pictured out in Birmingham, which was plunged into a local lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases. (Photo by Ashley Kirk/The Sun)

Contestants perform during the semifinals of the first Miss Colonia pageant hosted by the Factoría nightclub in Veracruz, Mexico, Sunday, March 5, 2023. The nightclub held the pageant as part of annual Women’s Day events and the only requirement for contestants was to prove residency in working-class areas of the city, known as “colonias”. Prizes originally covered utility bills and property taxes, but when the event attracted more sponsors the prizes expanded to include cash, travel, dental work, spas and makeovers. (Photo by Felix Marquez/AP Photo)

This handout picture released by Jordan's Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on July 23, 2019 shows a Jordanian Armed Forces armored vehicle lies on the seabed of the Red Sea off the coast of the southern port city of Aqaba, part of a new underwater military museum. (Photo by Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority via Reuters)

Bangladeshi farmers carry harvested produce in a cultivated field ahead of the 14 May World Farmers Day in Chittagong, Bangladesh on May 12, 2022. (Photo by Mohammad Shajahan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)