A gunman gestures after assassinating Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at a photo exhibition in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19. Burhan Ozbilici, an Associated Press photographer, was covering the exhibition when the shooting took place. "I was, of course, fearful and knew of the danger if the gunman turned toward me," he wrote on APNews.com. "But I advanced a little and photographed the man as he hectored his desperate, captive audience." Ozbilici's photos from the scene won first place in the Spot News category for stories. Burhan Ozbilici/AP

Ieshia Evans stands in the street July 9 as two police officers move in to arrest her near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana. Evans was one of hundreds of protesters who blocked a Baton Rouge roadway to decry police brutality. Jonathan Bachman/Thomson Reuters

Riot police clear protesters from a secondary road outside a Dakota Access Pipeline worker camp. The Dakota Access Pipeline is a $3.7 billion project that would cross four states and change the landscape of the US crude oil supply. But the Standing Rock Sioux tribe says the pipeline would affect its drinking-water supply and destroy its sacred sites. Amber Bracken

Najiba holds her 2-year-old nephew, Shabir, at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Shabir was injured in a bomb blast that killed his sister on March 29. Najiba had to stay with the children as their mother buried her daughter. Paula Bronstein/Pulitzer Center

Members of Cuba's Youth Labor Army wait for Fidel Castro's caravan to arrive in Santiago de Cuba on December 3. The longtime Cuban leader died in November. Tomas Munita/The New York Times

Children are photographed as Iraqi forces search a home in Mosul, Iraq, on November 2. An Iraqi-led coalition is underway to reclaim the largest region of Iraq under ISIS control. Laurent Van der Stockt/Getty Reportage/Le Monde

A crime-scene investigator works near a shooting victim in Manila, Philippines, on October 11. Romeo Joel Torres Fontanilla, 37, was killed by two unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles in the early morning hours. New Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte campaigned hard on a no-nonsense approach to crime, and on several occasions he has hinted openly that he doesn't oppose his police force or even citizens taking the lives of suspected criminals. Critics see the approach as a complete disregard of due process. Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

People escape from a fire at a house that was destroyed by an air attack in the Ukrainian village of Luhanskaya. Melnikov's photos show how civilians have been affected by the conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels. Valery Melnikov/Rossia Segodnya

A sea turtle entangled in a fishing net swims off the coast of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on June 8. Sea turtles are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Unattended fishing gear is responsible for many sea turtle deaths. Francis Pérez

A black rhino bull is seen dead, poached for its horns less than eight hours earlier at the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. It was suspected that the killers came from a nearby community, entering the park illegally and shooting the rhino with a silenced hunting rifle. The black rhinoceros is one of the most endangered rhino species. Brent Stirton/Getty Images/National Geographic Magazine

Maha, 5, lies on a dirty mattress at a refugee camp in Iraq. She and her family fled their village because of ISIS and a lack of food. "I do not dream, and I'm not afraid of anything anymore," Maha said quietly while her mother stroked her hair. Magnus Wennman/Aftonbladet

The port of Progreso, Mexico, is where Koreans first arrived in the Yucatan Peninsula. In 1905, more than 1,000 Koreans traveled to Mexico under the false promise of prosperity. Instead, they arrived at henequen plantations and were sold as indentured slaves to harvest agave, Kim said. His project includes stories told by the descendants of Korean henequen workers in Mexico and Cuba. Michael Vince Kim

Jockey Nina Carberry flies off her horse, Sir Des Champs, during the Grand National steeplechase in Liverpool, England, on April 9. Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Players from the Muddy York Rugby Football Club -- from left, Michael Smith, Devin McCarney and Jean Paul Markides -- rehearse for the team's annual drag show fundraiser November 5 in Toronto. Muddy York is Toronto's first gay rugby club. Giovanni Capriotti