In Pictures

Year in pictures 2016

  • 27 December 2016

Our selection of some of the most powerful news photographs taken around the world this year.

Jackeline, 26, holds her son who is four months old and born with microcephaly, in front of their house in Olinda, near Recife, Brazil, 11 February 2016. Image copyright Nacho Doce/REUTERS
Image caption At the beginning of the year an urgent global race was under way to establish how and why the Zika virus could be causing a devastating spike in cases of babies being born in South America with underdeveloped brains. Brazil reported about 4,000 cases of microcephaly since October 2015 - an unprecedented number. The World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency in response.
Audience member Robin Roy reacts as US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets her at a campaign rally in Lowell, Massachusetts, 4 January 2016. Image copyright Brian Snyder/REUTERS
Image caption A supporter was overwhelmed when US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greeted her at a campaign rally in Lowell, Massachusetts in January. Mr Trump entered the race with very low expectations, but rode a wave of protest all the way to election day and victory.
US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, right, dance the tango with tango dancers during the State Dinner at the Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 23 March 2016. Image copyright Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Image caption US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were invited to step out and try Argentina's national dance, the tango, at a state dinner on a visit to Argentina in March.
A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, 9 July 2016. Image copyright Jonathan Bachman/REUTERS
Image caption Ieshia Evans, a 27-year-old nurse from New York, became an icon of the Black Lives Matter movement after this image of her went viral. It was taken on 9 July as she protested in Baton Rouge against police killings of unarmed black men.
Manhattanhenge' New York, USA - 11 Jul 2016 Image copyright Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock
Image caption On 11 July, New Yorkers witnessed an urban solar phenomenon, with the Sun setting in alignment with the city's skyscrapers and giving an effect fans say is reminiscent of England's Stonehenge – Manhattanhenge.
A man covered with blood stands near the Bosphorus bridge as Turkish military clash with people at the entrance to the bridge in Istanbul on 16 July 2016 Image copyright BULENT KILIC/afp
Image caption During the failed coup in Turkey, the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul became the scene of a confrontation between soldiers trying to overthrow the government and supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The struggle for this symbolic landmark, which connects Europe and Asia, resulted in fierce fighting between the two sides.
People walk on a sightseeing platform in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China, 1 August 2016. Image copyright Reuters
Image caption A glass walkway around Tianmen mountain in Hunan was an addition to China's craze for vertiginous tourist attractions. The 100m walkway turns around the side of the sheer cliff face. For those immune to the terror of a vertical drop, it's a perfect place to enjoy spectacular views across the Hunan countryside.
People gather at a mural of singer David Bowie by artist Jimmy C, in Brixton, south London. Image copyright Tim Ireland/AP
Image caption A mural of David Bowie that became a shrine to the musician after his death is to be listed by the local council to ensure its long-term protection. Crowds of fans gathered in Brixton in south London, Bowie's birthplace, to celebrate his life and music. The influential singer died of cancer on 11 January at the age of 69.
Beyonce performs her song Freedom with Kendrick Lamar at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in Los Angeles Image copyright Danny Moloshok/ Reuters
Image caption Beyonce opened the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in Los Angeles with a surprise performance of her song Freedom with Kendrick Lamar, dancing in a pool of water. She won video of the year and the viewers' choice award for her song Formation but had already left the ceremony to fly to London for a concert so her mother Tina Knowles accepted the award on her behalf.
Migrants, most from Eritrea, jump into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation in the Mediterranean sea, about 13 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, on 29 August 2016. Image copyright Emilio Morenatti/AP
Image caption At least 3,800 migrants have died or are missing in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016 - the deadliest year on record, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said. This was despite a significant drop in migrant crossings compared with 2015, when 3,771 deaths were reported. Here migrants, most from Eritrea, jump into the water during a rescue operation north of Sabratha, Libya.
Abbey D'Agostino of the United States (R) is assisted by Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand after a collision during the Women's 5,000m Round 1 - Heat 2 on Day 11 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 16 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image copyright Ian Walton/Getty Images
Image caption Two runners at the Rio Olympics were praised after stopping to help each other after both women fell during the 5,000m. US runner Abbey D'Agostino encouraged New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin as she lay dazed on the track after the two collided. Despite D'Agostino visibly limping, she managed a few steps after helping Hamblin to her feet before falling to the track, with the New Zealander returning the favour and helping her rival up.
Usain Bolt of Jamaica competes in the Men's 100m semi-final on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on 14 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image copyright Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Image caption Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt managed to find time to smile for the cameras while easing to a 100m semi-final victory. It prompted a flurry of internet memes. He later won the final in a time of 9.81 seconds - his third 100m Olympic crown.
Omran Daqneesh a Syrian boy covered in dust and blood, sits in an ambulance after being rescued from the rubble of a building hit by an air strike in the rebel held Qaterji neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo late on 17 August 2016. Image copyright MAHMOUD RSLAN/afp
Image caption A photograph of a dazed and bloodied Syrian boy rescued from a destroyed building in Aleppo after an air strike caused outrage around the world. Images of the boy, identified as five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, sitting in an ambulance were released by activists and were subsequently shared widely on social media.
Congolese soldiers arrest a civilian protesting against the government's failure to stop the killings and inter-ethnic tensions in the town of Butembo, in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, 24 August 2016. Image copyright Kenny Katombe/REUTERS
Image caption Congolese soldiers arrest a civilian protesting in the town of Butembo in August against the government's failure to stop the killings and inter-ethnic tensions in North Kivu province. Days earlier, suspected rebels killed at least 30 civilians in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The military blamed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels for the deaths in the village of Rwangoma near the town of Beni in North Kivu province.
Syrian men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood of the northern city of Aleppo on 11 September 2016. Image copyright AMEER ALHALBI/AFP
Image caption Families made their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in Aleppo on 11 September. A ceasefire was supposed to open the way to aid deliveries in Syria but Russia accused the United States of failing to fulfil its obligations under the agreement.
Devotees carry the idol of Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, through a street on the last day of the ten-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, 15 September 2016. Image copyright SHAILESH ANDRADE/Reuters
Image caption Devotees carry the idol of Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, through the streets on the last day of the 10-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India.
People wait to receive food supplies at a processing centre for displaced people In Qayyara, south of Mosul, Iraq. 21 October 2016. Image copyright Zohra Bensemra/REUTERS
Image caption A long-awaited military offensive to reclaim the northern Iraqi city of Mosul from so-called Islamic State forced thousands of Iraqis to flee their homes. The offensive was launched on 17 October, more than two years after jihadists overran the city before seizing control of much of northern and western Iraq.
Queen Elizabeth II looks at products on the shelves at a Waitrose supermarket during a visit to the town of Poundbury on 27 October 2016 Image copyright Justin Tallis/Getty Images
Image caption Britain's Queen Elizabeth II looked around a supermarket during a visit to the town of Poundbury, after unveiling a statue of the Queen Mother at the model town in Dorset. Prince Charles designed the village on the outskirts of Dorchester after outlining his plan in his 1989 book, A Vision of Britain.
The moon raises over the Uppatasanti Pagoda in Naypyitaw, Burma, 14 November 2016. Image copyright HEIN HTET/EPA
Image caption The Moon came closer to Earth than at any time since 1948. Skygazers around the world congregated near landmarks, on beaches and atop tall buildings to take a look. The "supermoon" reached its brightest in Asia on 14 November.

All photographs are copyrighted.

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