Police officers detain a man during a gathering in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny near the Wall of Grief monument to the victims of political repressions in Moscow, Russia on February 17, 2024. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

An artist performs a fire kettle show during the Mid-Autumn Festival at a night market in Beijing, Tuesday, September 17, 2024. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

Japan fans pose for a picture inside the stadium before the England v Japan match at the Rugby World Cup 2023 in Nice, France on September 17, 2023. (Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)

Roosters attack each other during a cockfight as part of Jonbeel festival near Jagiroad, in Morigaon district, India, Friday, January 17, 2025. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

A woman cries outside her house after armed gangs set it on fire in the Post Marchand neighborhood of Port-au-Prince on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Clarens Siffroy/AFP Photo)

A girl wearing a flower wreath takes part in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, on March 17, 2025. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Reuters photographer Bobby Yip took a series of portraits of people taking part in the “Occupy Central” protests in Hong Kong, and asked them why they had joined the demonstrations. China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates. The unrest is the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)