
This collection of images is taken from Agence France Presse, or AFP's 'Pictures of the Year 2016' - a selection of the press agency's most important and powerful photographs from the past year.

Every year AFP, which has photographers around the globe, chooses a selection of their most powerful, moving, shocking or fascinating images, offering a look back at the highlights - and lowlights - of the last 12 months.

Some of the photographs capture the most important events of the year, while others have been chosen because they encapsulate a particularly poignant, touching, or even funny moment.

The pictures span the worlds of news, politics, entertainment, and sport, covering events ranging from David Cameron's resignation and the Donald Trump's election victory, to the Olympics and the Euro 2016 football final.

It has been a turbulent year in many ways, which is reflected in pictures of Black Lives Matter protests, the ongoing refugee crisis, and the battle to defeat Islamic State in the Middle East.

While other, more light-hearted, photographs show a cat in sunglasses riding a motorbike in Rio, and hundreds of naked people painted in blue and green lining the streets of Hull.

All of the photographs from around the world have been taken by AFP photographers, and these are some of the best images.

A man evacuates a boy, while other migrants and refugees lay on the ground after Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of Iraqi and Syrian migrants who tried to break through the Greek border fence in Idomeni, on February 29

Syrian rescue workers and residents try to pull a man out from under the rubble of a building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Salhin in the northern city of Aleppo on March 11

A biker shows off his 12-year-old cat named Chiquinho, which always rides with him on his motorbike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pair were pictured together on June 19

Nigel Farage poses for photographers as he leaves a polling station on June 23, as Britain voted to leave the European Union

A woman holds up a banner during a protest in support of the Black lives matter movement in New York on July 9

Naked volunteers, painted in blue to reflect the colours found in Marine paintings in Hull's Ferens Art Gallery, participate in US artist, Spencer Tunick's 'Sea of Hull' installation in Kingston upon Hull on July 9

People watch the Euro 2016 final match between Portugal and France on a giant screen near the Eiffel Tower, while Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is evacuated on a stretcher after being injured, on July 10

David Cameron, pictured with his family, addresses the medal outside 10 Downing Street on July 13, before going to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to The Queen

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is emotional after attending the funeral of a victim of the coup attempt in Istanbul on July 17

A woman hugs her husband, next to a placard which reads 'I'm a pusher', who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Manila on July 23, as part of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's clampdown on drugs

US President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton embrace on stage during Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia on July 27

France's Samir Ait Said reacts after injures his leg while competing in the qualifying for the men's vault event of the Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 6

Omran, a four-year-old Syrian boy covered in dust and blood, was pictured in an ambulance after being rescued from the rubble of a building hit by an air strike in the rebel-held Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo on August 17

Jamaica's Usain Bolt jokes with Canada's Andre De Grasse after they crossed the finish line in the Men's 200m Semifinal at the Rio Olympic Games on August 17

The then Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves as he steps out of his plane for a rally at the JetCenters of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado on September 17

Migrants wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya, on October 4

A man stands in front of a fire from oil that has been set ablaze in the Qayyarah area, 35 miles south of Mosul, on October 19, during an operation by Iraqi forces against Islamic State

A displaced Iraqi woman holds her cat, Lulu, as she waits for transport in the Iraqi Kurdish checkpoint village of Shaqouli, about 22 miles east of Mosul, on November 10

Rio de Janeiro state's public servants protest against austerity measures in front of the Rio's state Assembly, on November 16

Syrian civil defence volunteers, known as the White Helmets, rescue a boy from the rubble following a reported barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nairab neighbourhood of Aleppo on November 24

Palestinian youth, members of a Gazan martial art group, perform fire breathing at ruins of a house, that was destroyed in the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas militants, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on February 11

A man stands next to the body of a migrant child washed up on a beach in Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30 after at least 33 migrants drowned when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece

Indian bystanders watch as a wild elephant with a tranquillizer dart in its back side walks along a street in Siliguri on February 10. The adult male was tranqulised, captured and transported to a nearby forest

A Turkish gendarme carries the body of a migrant child on beach in Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30 after a boat sank while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece, and at least 33 migrants drowned

Magali Gonzalez Sierra, centre, speaks with her parents before her 15th birthday party in El Cabuyal, Colombia, on January 16. Magali suffers from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a disease that causes premature ageing in children

A woman and her children stand in the ruins of battle-damaged house in the Kurdish town of Silopi, in southeastern Turkey, on January 19 as Turkey wages war against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)

A specialist fumigates the Nueva Esperanza graveyard, the largest cemetary in Peru and the second largest in the world, on the outskirts of Lima on January 15 to prevent Chikunguya and Zika virus, which affect several South American countries

Duane Ehmer rides his horse Hellboy at the occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on the sixth day of the occupation of the federal building in Burns, Oregon on January 7

Afghan five-year-old and Lionel Messi fan Murtaza Ahmadi wears a plastic bag jersey as he plays football in Jaghori district of Ghazni province on January 29

A child strapped with his mother walks with other migrants and refugees after crossing the Macedonian border into Serbia, near the village of Miratovac, on January 29

US President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York on November 8. Trump stunned America and the world by winning the election against Hillary Clinton

Iraqi Shiite fighter from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitaries fires his weapon near the town of Tal Abtah, south of Tal Afar, on November 30 during a broad offensive by Iraq forces to retake the city

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other volunteers search for victims as fire spreads following a reported government air-strike on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus, on November 17

A boy sits during a tribute to the players of Brazilian team Chapecoense Rea at the club's Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina on November 29. The players were killed in a plane accident in the Colombian mountains

Demonstrators protest against US President-elect Donald Trump in front of Trump Tower on November 12 following days of previous protests, even as Trump appeared to back away from the fiery rhetoric that propelled him to the White House

Displaced Iraqi civilians drive back to their village of Tall Abtah, near the city of Mosul, on November 25 after Iraqi forces retook the village from Islamic State (IS) group jihadists during a massive operation

Soldiers cry after the urn with the ashes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro was driven through Santa Clara on December 1 during its four-day journey across the island for the burial in Santiago de Cuba

Iraqi families, who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen near Qayyarah, south of Mosul, on October 29

A sheperd tends to his blackened flock of sheep as oil wells, set ablaze by retreating Islamic State jihadists, burn in the background, in the town of Qayyarah, some 70 km south of Mosul, on November 20

Sri Vasamsetti, 22, of Seattle and a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, watches televised coverage of the election at the Comet Tavern in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Seattle, Washington on November 8

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech after being defeated by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, as her husband and former President Bill Clinton looks on November 9

Migrants look at the smoke rising from fires in the 'Jungle' migrant camp in Calais, northern France, on October 26 during a massive operation to clear the squalid settlement where 6,000-8,000 people have been living in dire conditions

Displaced Iraqis arrive at refugee camp on October 22 in the town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul, as an operation to recapture the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group takes place

Iraqi forces sit in the back of a vehicle as troops advance through the desert on the banks of the Tigris river, northeast of the main staging base of Qayyarah on October 20

Newly displaced Iraqi's who fled from the city of Mosul, Iraq's last major Islamic State (IS) group stronghold, are reunited with their relatives who came two years ago to the refugee camp in the Khazir area, near near the Kurdish checkpoint of Aksi Kalak some 40 kilometres east of Arbil following their arrival on October 26

A picture taken on October 28 shows the body of a Syrian child wrapped in shrouds at a make-shift morgue following government shelling on the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus

Migrants step over dead bodies while being rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya, on October 4

A mourner clutches a picture of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej after the hearse carrying the body of the late monarch passes the Grand Palace in Bangkok on October 14

People protect themselves from fireworks being carried by a hot air balloon that ignited before the balloon was at a sufficient height during the Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival at Taunggyi, in Myanmar's northeastern Shan State, on November 12

Migrants and refugees wrapped in survival foil blankets rest next to rescue members aboard the Topaz Responder ship, run by Maltese NGO Moas and the Italian Red Cross, after a rescue operation early morning on November 5 off the coast of Libya

Relatives visit the graves of their deceased loved ones at the Barangka Cemetery in Marikina, east of Manila, on October 31 on the eve of the traditional All Souls' Day

The father and grandfather of 15-year-old Shafiq mourn as Iraqi forces surround his body at an outdoor field clinic in the Samah neighbourhood in Mosul on November 13

Women walk protecting themselves from the rain, in the commune of Chadonyer in Les Cayes, in the southwest of Haiti on October 16

Soldiers of the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) celebrate while standing in trenches in Lelo, outside Malakal, in northern South Sudan on October 16

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump kisses a 'Women for Trump' placard during a rally at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida on October 12

Fighters from the Free Syrian Army take part in a battle against the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in the northern Syrian village of Yahmoul in the Marj Dabiq area north of the embattled city of Aleppo

A woman walks along a coastal road between Guantanamo and Baracoa, which was left covered in rocks and severely damaged after the passage of Hurricane Matthew through the eastern tip of Cuba, on October 5

Migrants gesture towards members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO as they wait to be rescued in the Mediterranean sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya on October 4

An Iraqi forces M109 self-propelled howitzer fires towards the village of Tall al-Tibah, some 30 kilometres south of Mosul, on October 19

Inmates sleep on the steps of a ladder inside the Quezon City jail at night in Manila on July 21. There are 3,800 inmates at the jail, which was built six decades ago, to house 800 and they engage in a relentless contest for space

Inmates sleep on the steps of a ladder inside the Quezon City jail at night in Manila on July 21. The jail hosts almost five times as many prisoners as it was originally built to hold

SMG team Wein Han and co-pilot Jean-Pierre Garcin compete in Inner Mongolia's Gobi desert, ending the 13th special stage of the Silkway rally, on July 22

People take a Turkish solder to Police at Taksim square in Istanbul on July 16. Turkish military opened fire on crowds gathered in Istanbul following a coup attempt

SMG team Wein Han and co-pilot Jean-Pierre Garcin compete in Inner Mongolia's Gobi desert, ending the 13th special stage of the Silkway rally, on July 22

People gather at a makeshift memorial on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, on July 17, in tribute to the victims of the Bastille Day attack that left 84 dead

People take over a tank near the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge during clashes with military forces in Istanbul on July 16

Pro-Erdogan supporters wave Turkish national flags during a rally at Taksim square in Istanbul on July 18 following the failed military coup of July 15

Women react during the funeral of a victim of the failed July 15 coup attempt in Istanbul on July 17. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to purge the 'virus' within state bodies during a speech at the funeral of the victims

Police officers stand near a van, with its windscreen riddled with bullets, that ploughed into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the French Riviera town of Nice on July 14

The dead body of an alleged drug dealer lies on the ground on a street in Manila on July 12. The Philippine government's top lawyer on July 11 called for police to kill more suspected drug criminals, defending President Rodrigo Duterte's 'purge'

A family speaks with with relatives through the US-Mexico border fence in Playas de Tijuana, in Tijuana, northwestern Mexico, on July 2

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, rides a horse as he parades with his entourage and musicians on the streets of Kano, northern Nigeria on July 6 during the Durbar Festival

The Radio City Rockettes perform 'Finale' in the 2016 New York Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in New York on July 6

This handout photo released by Solar Impulse 2 shows the solar powered plane, piloted by Swiss pioneer AndrÈ Borschberg, during the flyover of the pyramids of Giza on July 13

Portugal's captain and forward Cristiano Ronaldo holds up the winners' trophy in the Euro 2016 final football match between France and Portugal at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on July 10

England fans clash with police personnel as England fans gather in the city of Marseille, southern France, on June 11 ahead of the Euro 2016 football match between England and Russia

The lighted Eiffel Tower stands in front of the Seine river in Beaugrenelle in Paris on June 5. Parisians were urged to stay away from the Seine, which has spilled over its banks in places and on June 3 rose 6.07 metres (19ft 9ins) above its normal level

Baker Magadma, a member of Palestinian sports group Bar Palestine, performs on the street in Gaza City, on June 3

A man smokes a cigarette in a bar in Pyongyang on July 9

Passengers embrace outside Ataturk airport`s main entrance in Istanbul on June 2 after two explosions, followed by gunfire hit Turkey's largest airport, killed at least 10 people and injured 20

Performers take part in a mass dance on Kim Il-Sung Square following a parade to mark the end of the 7th Workers Party Congress in Pyongyang on May 10

A stack of elephant tusks, ivory figurines and rhinoceros horns at the Nairobi National Park was set on fire by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on April 30 after demanding a total ban on trade in tusks and horns to end 'murderous' trafficking

People walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 28

A tornado rips through a residential area after touching down south of Wynnewood, Oklahoma on May 9

A man is arrested during protests against new emergency powers decreed by President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on May 18

US actress Julia Roberts is welcomed on May 12 by the President of the Cannes Film Festival, President Pierre Lescure

A man holds a bouquet of flowers and a torch as he faces riot police during a demonstration against the government's planned labour reform on May 26 in Lyon, central eastern France

A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported airstrike on April 27

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton pauses while speaking during a fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Hotel on October 5 in Washington, DC

Migrants try to pull a child out of the water as they wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya, on October 4

Somali school girls play football during lunch break at the Howlwadag Primary School in Howlwadag District, south of Mogadishu, on October 5

Members of the 'Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls' human tower team form a 'castell', or human tower, during the XXVI human towers competition in Tarragona, Spain on October 2

As a grenade causes a flash, a University of Witwatersrand student jumps on a falling policeman while another policeman discharges his rubber bullet loaded rifle during a mass demonstration on October 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa

Migrants, some of whom are swimming or holding on to buoys off the overcrowded barge, wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya, on October 4

A Misrata's sniper shoots toward Islamic State group (IS) positions in Sirte, Libya, on September 21. The forces of Al-Bonyan Al-Marsous operation, supported by the international community, have been fighting to oust IS from its coastal bastion: Sirte

Children from the Suri tribe pose in Ethiopia's southern Omo Valley region near Kibbish on September 25. The Suri are a pastoralist Nilotic ethnic group in Ethiopia who are being impacted by the construction of the Gibe III dam

A student at the University of Witwatersrand offers flowers to South African anti-riot policemen during a running battle with the police forces on campus during a mass demonstration on October 4

A Syrian woman carries the body of her infant after he was retrieved from under the rubble of a building following a reported airstrike on September 23 on the al-Muasalat area in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo

A baby is lifted above an overcrowded barge as migrants wait to be rescued by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO in the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 nautical miles north of Libya, on October 4

Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla movement dance during a cultural event held at their encampment in Llanos del Yari, Caqueta department, Colombia, on September 21

A protester stares at riot police during a demonstration against police brutality in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 21 following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott the previous day

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 September 11

A French riot police officer is surrounded by flames during a demonstration against the controversial labour reforms of the French government in Paris on September 15

UN Secretary general Ban Ki-moon (left) and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (centre) look at Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (right) at the end of the signing ceremony of an historic peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Cartagena, Colombia, on September 26

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (centre) greets supporters on her arrival at the Canoas air force base on September 6 after leaving the governmental palace in Brasilia on her way home to Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state

Jamaica's Usain Bolt takes selfie photos as he celebrates with fans after winning the Men's 200m Final during the athletics event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 18

A fighter from the Jaish al-Islam, or Islam Army, runs to avoid sniper fire in the village of Tal al-Siwan, Syria, near the rebel-held stronghold of Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus, on September 5

Residents search for victims in the rubble after a strong earthquake hit Amatrice, Italy, on August 24. Central Italy was struck by a powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake which killed at least three people and devastated dozens of mountain villages

A supporter of Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping prays in front of security forces blocking a demonstration trying to reach the electoral commission in Libreville, Gabon,on August 31 as another protester lays on the ground in distress

British athlete Alistair Brownlee (left) helps his brother Jonathan Brownlee (right) before crossing the line in second and third place during the ITU World Triathlon Championships 2016 in Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico on September 18

Egypt's Ibrahim Hamadtou competes in table tennis at the Riocentro during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 9

A demonstrator with her face painted green sits on a traffic light as French riot police secure the area during a protest against the controversial labour reforms of the French government in Paris on September 15

A Gabonese woman takes cover protecting her mouth from the tear gas as supporters of opposition leader Jean Ping protest in Libreville on August 31

People watch from a terrace in the favela Mangueira as fireworks explode over the Maracana stadium during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 5

Michael Phelps, representing USA, competes in a Men's 100m Butterfly heat during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 11

Michael Phelps (left) kisses his son Boomer next to his partner Nicole Johnson (right) and mother Deborah (centre) after he won the Men's 200m Butterfly Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 9

A man runs with an exploding firework apparatus as part of the International Fireworks Fair in Michoacan State, Mexico, on April 2

A man wrapped in a Belgian flag holds a candle as people gather at a makeshift memorial in front of Brussels's Stock Exchange on Place de la Bourse on March 24, two days after a triple bomb attack on Brussels' airport and Maelbeek metro station killed 31 people and wounded 300 others

Men look at a destroyed building in the town of Portoviejo, Ecuador, on April 21, almost a week after a powerful earthquake hit the country which killed at least 570 people

Children gather around a campfire in the makeshift camp of the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on March 31 where over 11,000 of refugees and migrants were stranded by the Balkan border blockade

A photographer holds his picture of the Temple of Bel, taken on March 14, 2014, in front of the remains of the historic temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on March 31. It was destroyed by Islamic State jihadists in September 2015

Cuban President Raul Castro (right) raises US President Barack Obama's hand during a meeting at the Revolution Palace in Havana on March 21

A surfer looks at the Northern lights, or aurora borealis, illuminating the sky over the snow covered beach of Unstad, on Norway's Lofoten Islands, on March 14

A man runs after he tried to put himself on fire during a protest at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni on March 22

Refugees and migrants try to cross a river on their way to Macedonia from a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on March 14 after thousands were stranded by the Balkan border blockade

A private security guard helps a wounded women outside the Maalbeek-Maelbeek metro station in Brussels on March 22, after a terror attack claimed by the Islamic State

Policemen stand next to migrants, on roofs, as agents dismantle shacks on March 1, in the 'Jungle' migrant camp in the French northern port city of Calais

Displaced Iraqi families gather as they flee a military operation by Iraqi security personnel aimed at retaking areas from Islamic State group jihadists, in the desert west of the city of Samarra, Iraq, on March 3

A boy stands among tents during a foggy morning at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on March 8

A woman screams as migrants and refugees demonstrate behind a fence at the Greece-Macedonia border near Gevgelija on March 2. Macedonia allowed some 170 refugees to cross its border while 10,000 more were left waiting

Demonstrators take part in a protest to demand the resignation of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on March 13 on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo

Wrecked boats and thousands of life jackets used by refugees and migrants during their journey across the Aegean sea lie in a dump in Mithimna on February 19

A man evacuates a boy, while other migrants and refugees lay on the ground, after Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of Iraqi and Syrian migrants who tried to break through the Greek border fence in Idomeni on February 29

Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse on the south coast of England on February 8, as the latest storm hit the country



