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2021 in pictures: Striking photojournalism from around the world

A selection of some of the most powerful pictures taken by news agency photographers around the world this year.

Win McNamee / Getty Images A pro-Donald Trump protester carries the lectern of US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, through the Rotunda of the Capitol BuildingWin McNamee / Getty Images
A pro-Donald Trump protester carries the lectern of US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, through the Rotunda of the Capitol Building. On 6 January, violent supporters of the former president surged past barricades and into the building while Congress was certifying Joe Biden's election win.
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ANDREW HARNIK / AFP Kamala Harris (L), standing next to her husband Douglas Emhoff,, is sworn in as US vice-president by Justice Sonia Sotomayor (R)ANDREW HARNIK / AFP
Kamala Harris becomes the US's first female, black and south Asian vice-president after being sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
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SAMUEL RAJKUMAR / Reuters Family members of Vijay Raju mourn before his cremation ain Bengaluru, IndiaSAMUEL RAJKUMAR / Reuters
Family members of Vijay Raju, who died as a result of coronavirus, mourn at a crematorium ground in Giddenahalli village on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, in May.
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Asif Hassan / AFP A child points to a balloon while sitting on a motorbike with an adultAsif Hassan / AFP
A child points out a balloon in Karachi, Pakistan, after Eid al-Fitr prayers, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan in May.
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Chandan Khanna / AFP Search and rescue teams work on the site of a collapsed 12-storey apartment complex in Surfside, near Miami in FloridaChandan Khanna / AFP
Search and rescue teams work on the site of a collapsed 12-storey apartment complex in Surfside, near Miami in Florida, where 98 people were killed on 24 June. One remaining section of the apartment block was demolished in early July over safety fears. The cause of the collapse is still being investigated.
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Brent Stirton / Getty Images Orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, lies in the arms of her caregiver, Andre Bauma, shortly before her death in a gorilla orphanage at Virunga in the Democratic Republic of CongoBrent Stirton / Getty Images
Orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, lies in the arms of her caregiver, Andre Bauma, shortly before her death in September at a gorilla orphanage at Virunga - Africa's oldest national park - in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr Bauma rescued Ndakasi as a two-month-old in 2007 after poachers killed her parents. With no relatives, rangers decided it was too unsafe to let Ndakasi back out into the wild, and so raised her at the gorilla orphanage.
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Sean Gallup / Getty Images Fargradalsfjall volcano spews molten lava near Iceland's capital ReykjavikSean Gallup / Getty Images
Fargradalsfjall volcano spews molten lava near Iceland's capital Reykjavik in August. The volcano started erupting in March for the first time in more than 800 years.
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WOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP Imam Aleksander Bazarewicz says a prayer during the funeral ceremony of a 19-year-old Syrian refugee AhmedWOJTEK RADWANSKI / AFP
Imam Aleksander Bazarewicz says a prayer during the funeral ceremony of a 19-year-old Syrian refugee, Ahmed, who drowned in the Bug River trying to get to Poland, in November. The ceremony took place at the local cemetery of a small Muslim Tatars community in Bohoniki.
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Carlos Barria / Reuters A person raises their arms after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, in front of Hennepin County Government Center, in Minneapolis, MinnesotaCarlos Barria / Reuters
Crowds celebrate the guilty verdict of white former police officer Derek Chauvin outside Hennepin County Government Center, in Minneapolis, US, in April. A jury found Chauvin guilty on three charges for the killing of George Floyd: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
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Sima Diab / Getty Images An installation entitled Together, by Lorenzo Quinn, is displayed next to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, EgyptSima Diab / Getty Images
An installation entitled Together, by Lorenzo Quinn, is displayed close to the Great Pyramid of Giza in Cairo in October. The exhibition, Forever Is Now, featured sculptures around the Giza plateau, with works by Egyptian and foreign contemporary artists.
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US Air Mobility Command Picture provided by the US Air Mobility Command appears to show hundreds of Afghans fleeing Kabul on board an American C-17 cargo planeUS Air Mobility Command
Hundreds of Afghans cram on board a US military cargo plane as they flee Kabul following the takeover of the country by the Taliban in August. US defence analysis website Defense One reported that a US official had said the crew had decided it was better to take off, than force people off the plane.
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PAUL RATJE / afp A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, TexasPAUL RATJE / afp
Photographs showing border agents on horseback stopping Haitian migrants from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas, in September, sparked an investigation in the US. The images of the horseback charge on mostly black migrants was condemned by lawmakers and sparked comparisons to America's slavery era.
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Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters Principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, USEvelyn Hockstein / Reuters
Principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre became the first black woman in 30 years to host a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, US, in May. "It's a real honour to be standing here," she said. "But I believe that being behind this podium, being in this building, is not about one person; it's about what we do on behalf of the American people."
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Piroschka van de Wouw / Reuters Eurovision participant Stefania of Greece is held up by someone in a green costume at the final of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands.Piroschka van de Wouw / Reuters
Singer Stefania of Greece performs Last Dance using green screen special effects at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in May. Italy won the competition with rock band Måneskin. The UK scored zero points with James Newman's entry Embers - the second time in history this has happened.
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Brian Ongoro / AFP A health worker vaccinates a woman in Siaya, KenyaBrian Ongoro / AFP
A medical health worker carrying out door-to-door visits injects a woman with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Siaya, Kenya, in May.
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NASA/JPL-Caltech An image of the surface of planet MarsNASA/JPL-Caltech
The surface of Mars seen below Mars Perseverance rover in February. Nasa shared hundreds of images of the planet as the rover began its mission to find signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for a possible return to Earth.
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He Haiyang / Getty Images Two giant panda cubs at Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, ChinaHe Haiyang / Getty Images
Giant panda Su Shan gave birth to cubs at Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China, in August.
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Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters Tokyo 2020 Olympics gold medallist Julio Cesar La Cruz of Cuba holds his medal up to his mouth, which has gold on his teethUeslei Marcelino / Reuters
In August, Julio Cesar La Cruz of Cuba posed for photos after winning the men's heavyweight boxing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images Claudia Castano touches the name of her brother German etched on a wall at the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attackRoberto Schmidt / Getty Images
Claudia Castano touches the name of her brother German, etched on a wall at the Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. In a video released on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack in New York City, President Biden paid tribute to the 2,977 people who lost their lives.
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Brandon Bell / Getty Images The inside of a tornado-damaged home in Mayfield, Kentucky, US, in December 2021Brandon Bell / Getty Images
The inside of a tornado-damaged home in Mayfield, Kentucky, US, in December. Tornadoes ripped through the state, with officials saying they were the most devastating in Kentucky's history. More than 70 people are known to have died.
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Noel Celis / AFP A bolt of lightning crosses the sky as people look at buildings displaying a light show on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party in BeijingNoel Celis / AFP
Lightning crosses the sky as people look at buildings displaying a light show on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing in June. China's President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to mark the event, warning that foreign powers will "get their heads bashed" if they attempt to bully or influence the country.
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Jouni Porsanger / AFP Mr Lordi, aka Tomi Petteri Putaansuu, of the Finnish hard rock band Lordi, gets the second jab of his Covid-19 vaccination from a nurse in Rovaniemi, Finland, while wearing his rock band costume depicting him as a devilJouni Porsanger / AFP
Mr Lordi, aka Tomi Petteri Putaansuu, of the Finnish hard rock band Lordi, gets the second jab of his Covid-19 vaccination from a nurse in Rovaniemi, Finland, in August.
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ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP Local volunteers gather in an open field and wait to support fire fighters during a wildfire next to the village of Kamatriades, Evia island, GreeceANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP
Local volunteers gather in an open field and wait to support fire fighters during a wildfire next to the village of Kamatriades, Evia island, Greece
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Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters Icebergs are seen at the at the mouth of the Jakobshavns ice fjord during sunset near Ilulissat, GreenlandHannibal Hanschke / Reuters
Icebergs are seen at the mouth of the Jakobshavns ice fjord at sunset near Ilulissat, Greenland, in September.
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Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP Matt Stutzman, of the US, competes in archery at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic GamesYasuyoshi Chiba / AFP
Matt Stutzman, of the US, known as the Armless Archer, competes against Slovakia's Marcel Pavlik in the men's archery individual compound open event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in August.
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Angela Weiss / AFP US rapper Lil Nas X arrives for the 2021 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on 13 SeptemberAngela Weiss / AFP
US rapper Lil Nas X at the 2021 Met Gala - one of fashion's biggest and starriest events - at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in September. The Gala returned after being cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jack Guez / AFP Two astronauts walk in spacesuits during a training mission for planet Mars at a site that simulates an off-site station at the Ramon Crater in Mitzpe Ramon in Israel's Negev desertJack Guez / AFP
Two astronauts in spacesuits take part in a mission at the Ramon Crater in Israel's Negev desert, designed to help prepare for a future landing on Mars, in October. The Austrian Space Forum and Israel Space Agency are collaborating on the three-week mission.
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