A man dressed as Hindu god Shiva, smokes during an annual Hindu religious festival locally known as Shyam Baba festival in Ajmer, in the desert Indian state of Rajasthan, April 12, 2015. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

A mahout splashes water on his elephant in the river Sabarmati on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India, May 20, 2015. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

An Indian artist gives the finishing touches to a figure of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha at a workshop ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in New Delhi on September 15, 2015. The idol is meant for the forthcoming festival Ganesha Chaturthi, a ten-day long event which is celebrated all over India. During the Ganpati festival, that is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, idols of the Hindu deity are worshipped at hundreds of pandals or makeshift tents before they are immersed into water bodies. This year, the festival starts on 17 September 2015. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

Indian artist, Ravi Kali (32), dressed as Hindu goddess Kali, participates in a religious procession for the Hindu festival, Ganesh Chaturthi in New Delhi on September 24, 2015. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)

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)

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 girl presents the new Oktoberfest beer festival mug in a Oktoberfest tent in Munich, southern Germany, on August 21, 2014. The world famous beer festival Oktoberfest will takes place from September 20 to October 5, 2014. (Photo by Christof Stache/AFP Photo)

A street vendor spreads vermilion powder used for worship during the Tihar festival, also called Diwali in Kathmandu, Nepal, November 9, 2015. Hindus all over Nepal are celebrating the Tihar festival during which they worship cows, which are considered a maternal figure, and other animals. Also known as the festival of lights, devotees also worship the goddess of wealth Laxmi by illuminating and decorating their homes using garlands, oil lamps, candles and colourful light bulbs. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)