AFP BEST OFFBEAT PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2016 (163)
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US President Barack Obama stands with his nephews Austin and Aaron Robinson as he pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 23, 2016. The President pardoned Tater and its alternate Tot, both 18-week old, 40-pound turkeys. As part of the naming process, Iowa school children submitted pairs of names for this year's turkeys. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM
US President Barack Obama addresses a press conference with the German Chancellor after their meeting at the chancellery in Berlin on November 17, 2016. US President Barack Obama pays a farewell visit to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, seen by some as the new standard bearer of liberal democracy since the election of Donald Trump. / AFP PHOTO / TOBIAS SCHWARZ
The moon rises behind a car on the The Emirates Air Line (cable car) in London's Docklands on November 13, 2016. Tomorrow, the moon will orbit closer to the earth than at any time since 1948, named a 'supermoon', it is defined by a Full or New moon coinciding with the moon's closest approach to the Earth. / AFP PHOTO / Glyn KIRK
A commerical jet flies in front of the moon on its approach to Heathrow airport in west London on November 13, 2016. Tomorrow, the moon will orbit closer to the earth than at any time since 1948, named a 'supermoon', it is defined by a Full or New moon coinciding with the moon's closest approach to the Earth. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS
Manchester United's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic jumps and kicks the air as he celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the English Premier League football match between Swansea City and Manchester United at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea, south Wales on November 6, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Geoff CADDICK / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. /
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton addresses a campaign rally in Sanford, Florida, on November 1, 2016. With one week to go until election day, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were barnstorming battleground states, as the Democratic nominee tried to pivot away from attacks on her protection of US secrets. / AFP PHOTO / JEWEL SAMAD
Students perform a mass haka in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest haka at Memorial Park in Masterton on November 2, 2016. Some seven thousand schoolchildren from the Wairarapa area took part in the attempt to break the record, which is currently held by participants from France. / AFP PHOTO / Marty Melville
Radio City Rockette Lauren Renck is nudged by a camel right before Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, blesses the animals in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular November 1, 2016 in New York. The animals will take part in the "Living Nativity" scene in the annual production of 'The Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes', ahead of their rehearsals for the show before it opens November 11, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY
US President Barack Obama holds 10-month-old Brooks Breitwieser as he greets supporters after speaking to an overflow room during a Hillary for America campaign event for Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the Capital University Field House in Columbus, Ohio, November 1, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton smiles holding a mask onboard her campaign plane Erlanger, Kentucky, on October 31, 2016. Clinton campaigned Monday for a third straight day without close aide Huma Abedin, linked by media to the renewed FBI probe into the former secretary of state's use of a private email server. The Federal Bureau of Investigation jolted the US presidential race Friday with the announcement it was reviewing a new batch of emails that appeared to be pertinent to the Clinton case. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMAD
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally at the Dickerson Community Center in Daytona, Florida, on October 29, 2016. Clinton embarks this weekend on the frenetic final 10 days of her White House campaign, determined to shake off renewed controversy over the FBI probe into her private emails. The 69-year-old Democrat -- vying to become America's first female president -- is still the frontrunner to win the November 8 election over her Republican rival Donald Trump. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMAD
People sit on the top of a truck heavily piled with corn-stalks plies as they head for Mogadishu from Afgooye on October 19, 2016. At least four police officers were killed on October 18 when a suicide bomb attacker rammed an explosives-packed car into a police station before fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group subsequently stormed the area killing at least 10 people, including soldiers and civilians. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB
A passenger aircraft passes over a residential house as it prepares to land at London Heathrow Airport in west London on October 17, 2016. Britain's government is considering whether to approve a third runway at Heathrow or expand air capacity in southeast England at another airport such as London Gatwick. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel Leal-Olivas
A couple of dragonflies are seen at a water reservoir in Mishmar HaSharon north of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on October 13, 2016. Thousands of migrant Pelicans pass though Israel on their way to Africa then again when they return to Europe in the summer. Local farmers feed the birds in order to avoid damage to the commercial fish pools. / AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods is seen with multiple skewers pierced through his mouth during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in the southern province of Phuket on October 3, 2016. Southern Thailand's gruesome vegetarian festival got under way on October 2 and devotees throughout the week will show their religious devotion through ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials, including running over hot coals and piercing their bodies with an astonishing -- and stomach-turning -- variety of objects. / AFP PHOTO / LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods parades through the town of Phuket with a bicycle attached to his cheek during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in the southern province of Phuket on October 3, 2016. Southern Thailand's gruesome vegetarian festival got under way on October 2 and devotees throughout the week will show their religious devotion through ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials, including running over hot coals and piercing their bodies with an astonishing -- and stomach-turning -- variety of objects. / AFP PHOTO / LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA
Members of the "Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls" human tower team form a "castell" (human tower) during the XXVI human towers, or 'castells', competetion in Tarragona on October 2, 2016. These human towers, built traditionally in festivals within Catalonia, gather several teams that attempt to build and dismantle a human tower structure. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE
(L-R) Former US First Lady Laura Bush, former US President George W. Bush, First Lady Michelle Obama, and President Barack Obama attend the opening ceremony for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016 in Washington, D.C. / AFP PHOTO / ZACH GIBSON
People attend a projection of the movie "Jaws" in the swimming-pool of the city's public bath of the eastern French city of Strasbourg on September 18, 2016, within the framework of the 9th edition of the European Fantastic Film festival, which runs from September 16 to 25. / AFP PHOTO / FREDERICK FLORIN
Outgoinng leader Nigel Farage (L) embraces new leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Diane James (R) as she is introduced at the UKIP Autumn Conference in Bournemouth, on the southern coast of England, on September 16, 2016. Diane James was announced as UKIP's new leader on September 16 to replace charismatic figurehead Nigel Farage. Farage made the shock decision to quit as leader of the UK Independence Party following victory in the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union. / AFP PHOTO / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS
Press photographers take pictures of the podium of the winning onions in the Heaviest Onion Competition on the first day of the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show held at the Great Yorkshire Showground, in Harrogate, northern England, on September 16, 2016. The show is set to run from September 16-18. / AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF
A trained young eagle attempts to catch a drone during a demonstration organized by the Dutch police as part of a program to train birds of prey to catch drones flying over sensitive or restricted areas, at the Dutch Police Academy in Ossendrecht, on September 12, 2016. Dutch police are adopting a centuries-old pursuit to resolve the modern-day problem of increasing numbers of drones in the skies, becoming the world's first force to employ eagles as winged warriors. / AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNAND
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a press conference after the closing of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016. New British leader Theresa May sought September 5 to start shaping her country's post-EU access to world markets, but faced a Japanese warning over the fallout from Brexit while the US said London was not its priority. / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER
A dog investigates a bear-skin rug, which has been seized by police, and is displayed on the 'Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime' stand at the Chatsworth Country Fair in the grounds of Chatsworth House, near Bakewell in northern England on September 2, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF
A reveller is pelted with tomato pulp during the annual "tomatina" festivities in the village of Bunol, near Valencia on August 31, 2016. Today at the annual Tomatina fiesta 160 tonnes of ripe tomatoes were offloaded from trucks into a crowd of 22,000 half-naked revellers who packed the streets of Bunol for an hour-long battle. / AFP PHOTO / BIEL ALINO
Revellers covered in tomato pulp participate in the annual "tomatina" festivities in the village of Bunol, near Valencia on August 31, 2016. Today at the annual Tomatina fiesta 160 tonnes of ripe tomatoes were offloaded from trucks into a crowd of 22,000 half-naked revellers who packed the streets of Bunol for an hour-long battle. / AFP PHOTO / BIEL ALINO
In this photograph taken on August 23, 2016, two men take a series of selfies as they sit on the ledge of a high-rise building in an activity called "rooftopping" in Hong Kong. / AFP PHOTO / Romeo GACAD / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by ROMEO GACAD has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: corrects byline spelling to [ROMEO GACAD] instead of [ROMMEO GACAD]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require."
One-year-old female giant panda cub Nuan Nuan reacts inside her enclosure during joint birthday celebrations for the panda and its ten-year-old mother Liang Liang at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur on August 23, 2016. Giant pandas Liang Liang, aged 10, and her Malaysian-born cub Nuan Nuan, 1, were born on August 23, 2006 and August 18, 2015 respectivetly. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN
Brazilian suspended President Dilma Rousseff gestures during a rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 23, 2016. Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff enters her final battle to win back power on Thursday, when senators open an impeachment trial expected to remove her from office for good. / AFP PHOTO / Miguel Schincariol
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MYRIAM CHAPLIN RIOU Pierre Thivillon (R), director of the zoological park of Saint-Martin-La-Plaine and his wife Eliane look at Digit, an 18-year-old female gorilla, on August 19, 2016, in Saint-Martin-La-Plaine between Lyon and Saint-Etienne, southeastern France. The zoological park of Saint-Martin-La-Plaine is a shelter for beasts seized by the justice. / AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE DESMAZES / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY MYRIAM CHAPLIN RIOU
An Indian visitor poses for a photograph in front of a picture of a tiger displayed on the last day of the 'Bharat Parav' festival at the India Gate lawns in New Delhi on August 18, 2016. The Bharat Parv festival, organised as a part of celebrations of Independence Day, runs from 12 - 18 August in New Delhi. / AFP PHOTO / SAJJAD HUSSAIN
The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10 hybrid airship is seen in the air over a road on its maiden flight from Cardington Airfield near Bedford, north of London, on August 17, 2016. The Hybrid Air Vehicles 92-metre long, 43.5-metre wide Airlander 10, billed as the world's longest aircraft, lifted off for the first time from an airfield north of London. The Airlander 10 has a large helium-filled fabric hull and is propelled by four turbocharged diesel engines. According to the company it can stay airborne for up to five days at a time if manned, and for over 2 weeks unmanned with a cruising speed of just under 150 km per hour and a payload capacity of up to 10,000 kg. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS
Hostesses take pictures during a break at the bivouac of the Silkway rally in Inner Mongolia's Gobi Desert, near the town of Wuhai on July 22, 2016. 130 competitors are racing over 10,734 kilometres crossing three countries and two continents from Moscow to Beijing. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICK BAZ
People watch as a traditional bull charmer belonging to the Kole Basava community balances a fully grown bull on his thighs for a performance during a protest against the Karnataka state government in Bangalore on July 18, 2016. Members of the Kole Basava community are demanding housing and basic amenities from the state government. Kole Basavas are a part of local tradition and folklore, with trained and heavily decorated bulls asked questions about the future and offerings of money and food provided to the bulls in return for a nod of its head in response. / AFP PHOTO / MANJUNATH KIRAN
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, 2016. Over a period of 20 years, the New York based artist has created over 90 art installations in some of the most culturally significant places and landmarks around the world including the Sydney Opera House, Place des Arts in Montreal, Mexico City, Ernest Happel Stadium in Vienna and Munich in Germany. / AFP PHOTO / JON SUPER / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION - NO CLOSE UP SHOTS TO BE REPRODUCED OF INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THE INSTALLATION
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, 2016. Over a period of 20 years, the New York based artist has created over 90 art installations in some of the most culturally significant places and landmarks around the world including the Sydney Opera House, Place des Arts in Montreal, Mexico City, Ernest Happel Stadium in Vienna and Munich in Germany. / AFP PHOTO / JON SUPER / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION - NO CLOSE UP SHOTS TO BE REPRODUCED OF INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THE INSTALLATION
Bubble Eye goldfish swim in a fishbowl during a press preview of the 2016 EDO Nihonbashi Art Aquarium exhibition in Tokyo on July 7, 2016. The 10th anniversary of the festival will start on July 8 and will continue until September 25, displaying some 8,000 goldfish in various special art exhibits. / AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA
Girls wearing traditional Ukrainian clothes jump over a bonfire during the Ivana Kupala night, an ancient heathen holiday, in the Pyrogove village near Kiev on July 6, 2016. During the celebrations, dating back to pagan times, people wear wreaths, jump over fires and bathe naked in rivers and lakes. / AFP PHOTO / SERGEI SUPINSKY
A presiding officer (L) and poll clerk (C) drink a cup of tea while waiting for early morning voters at a polling station set up in a launderette in Headington outside Oxford on June 23, 2016. Millions of Britons began voting today in a bitterly-fought, knife-edge referendum that could tear up the island nation's EU membership and spark the greatest emergency of the bloc's 60-year history. / AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
An Indian Hindu sadhu (holy man) dances in a religious procession on the eve of the annual Ambubachi festival at the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati on June 21, 2016. Thousands of Hindu devotees from all over India gather on the occasion of Ambubachi Mela, which is celebrated to mark the menstruation period of the goddess and during which occasion the sanctorum of the shrine remains closed to worshippers. The Ambubach Mela runs from June 22-26. / AFP PHOTO / Biju BORO
Russian gymnasts Margarita Mamun performs in the Senior individual all Around Final during the 32nd European Championships of Rhythmic Gymnastics 2016 at the Holon Toto Hall in the Israeli city of Holon, on June 18, 2016. Russia's Yana Kudryavtseva won the gold medal, while Russia's Margarita Mamun took the silver medal and Ukraine's Ganna Rizatdinova won the bronze. / AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX
This picture was taken on June 13, 2016 shows a male Black-naped Monarch, Hypothymis azurea oberholseri, feeding his babies at a nest in a park in Taipei. The adult male black-naped monarch is about 16 cm long and is mainly pale azure blue apart from a whitish lower belly. It has a black nape and a narrow black gorget. The female is duller and lacks the black markings. / AFP PHOTO / SAM YEH
UK Independence Party (UKIP) party leader Nigel Farage poses as he arrives to speak in central London on June 3, 2016. UKIP leader Nigel Farage today said he would head a flotilla up the Thames to campaign for Brexit after an audience put David Cameron on the spot in the referendum campaign's first television event. / AFP PHOTO / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS
Ng Sin Nee (L) and Lee Shin May (R) from Malaysia take pictures with the panoramic view of the city from the Sky Box at KL Tower, the world's seventh tallest telecommunications tower, in Kuala Lumpur on May 24, 2016. Officially opened on May 20, the Sky Box has been the latest attraction for tourists arriving to the Malaysian capital. It stands 300 metres above ground and can fit six people at any one time, and offers spectacular views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, including the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN
A volunteer stands to the entrance of the 5000 Poppies Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 23, 2016, the garden, created by Australians Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight is a tribute to their fathers who both fought in WWII. The Chelsea flower show, held annually in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, will run this year from May 24-28. Britain has a "lost generation" with no gardening skills, the Royal Horticultural Society warned on Monday, as its sprawling Chelsea Flower Show got under way with an inauguration by Queen Elizabeth II. / AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
Passengers wave from the decks as the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship sets sail from Southampton, southern England, on May 22, 2016. At 120,000-tonnes, and 66 metres (217 feet), Royal Caribbean's 'Harmony of the Seas' is the world's biggest-ever cruise ship. The widest cruise ship ever built, its 362-metre length makes it 50 metres longer than the height of the Eiffel Tower. The ship is headed for Southampton in southern England and is to embark on its official maiden voyage on May 22 to its new home port of Barcelona. / AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
People walk in front of the Louvre Pyramid covered with a giant photograph of the museum by French artist and photographer JR, on May 19, 2016 in Paris. Invited by the Louvre, the artist intends to tranform one of the Louvre's symbols, the Pyramid, 'with a surprising anamorphic image', according to the museum. The exhibition 'Contemporary art - JR at the Louvre' will run from May 25 to June 27, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / JOEL SAGET / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION
Indian father Mohinder Singh Gill, 79, and his wife Daljinder Kaur, 70, pose for a photograph as they hold their newborn baby boy Arman at their home in Amritsar on May 11, 2016. An Indian woman who gave birth at the age of 70 said May 10 she was not too old to become a first-time mother, adding that her life was now complete. Daljinder Kaur gave birth last month to a boy following two years of IVF treatment at a fertility clinic in the northern state of Haryana with her 79-year-old husband. / AFP PHOTO / NARINDER NANU
Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R) is hugged by Chewbacca as British actor John Boyega smiles during a tour of the Star Wars sets at Pinewood studios in Iver Heath, west of London on April 19, 2016. Prince William and Prince Harry are touring Pinewood to visit the production workshops and meet the creative teams working behind the scenes on the Star Wars films. / AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
Cheerleading candidates parade on stage during the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleading Final auditions at the Forum in Los Angeles, California on April 17, 2016. The St. Louis Rams, relocated to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, have chosen 30 new cheerleaders from the city. / AFP PHOTO / Mark Ralston
An Indian ascetic Muslim puts a sharp object into his eye as a demonstration of faith at the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti during the Urs festival in Ajmer in the western Indian state of Rajasthan in April 14, 2016. The Urs festival commemorates the death anniversary of Chishti, founder of the Chishtiya Sufi order in India. / AFP PHOTO / Shaukat Ahmed
People take part in water battles with elephants as part of celebrations of Songkhran - the Thai new year - in the city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, on April 11, 2016. The Songkhran Festival is marked throughout Thailand with water fights during the days around the new year on April 13. / AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT
Alister Shipman from Britain and Hannah Simpson from Northern Ireland, winners of a competition on the Airbnb accommodation site, look at a shark tank from an underwater bedroom at the Aquarium de Paris on April 11, 2016 in Paris. The winners were offered a free one night stay in an underwater bedroom surrounded by a shark tank at the French capital city aquarium. / AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE LOPEZ
Racegoers attend Ladies Day, the second day of the Grand National Festival horse race meeting, at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, northern England on April 8, 2016. The annual three day meeting culminates in the Grand National which is run over a distance of four miles and four furlongs (7,242 metres), and is the biggest betting race in the United Kingdom. / AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF
A Chinese honour guard's face covered by a red flag as he prepares for the arrival of Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chinese Premier Li during a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 7, 2016. Wickremesinghe is on a visit to China from April 6 to 9. / AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO
A general views shows pink flamingos standing on the mud flats at the Ras al-Khor Wildlife Sanctuary with the Dubai skyline in the background, on the outskirts of the city on April 5, 2016. The sanctuary which is Dubai's only desert wetland occupies about 2.4 square miles on the banks of Dubai Creek and comprises of mudflats, lagoons, pools, and mangroves. / AFP PHOTO / KARIM SAHIB
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama read Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" to children at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016. Some 35,000 guests have been invited to participate in the 138th annual Easter Egg roll. The theme of the day's event is Let's Celebrate! / AFP PHOTO / Nicholas Kamm
US President Barack Obama (L) and First Lady Michelle Obama (2nd R) dance tango with dancers during a state dinner at the Kirchner Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires on March 23, 2016. The United States and Argentina sealed a major trade deal on the eve -the first day of President Barack Obama's visit- bolstering the efforts of his counterpart to end a decade-and-a-half of international financial isolation. AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM
