BEST PICTURE GALLERIES OF 2016

Children with blackened faces play in and around puddles of thick crude oil gushing from the breached wells.

Bands of Christian fighters travel across the desert in pickup trucks bearing large wooden crosses.

A new book of haunting photographs takes readers inside derelict and abandoned state hospitals, asylums, and psychiatric facilities.

This week has been designated as Orangutan Caring Week. Find out what you can do to help protect these critically endangered animals.

Helmed by Vogue Italia's editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani, the event showcases works by Vanessa Beecroft, Juno Calypso and Yelena Yumchuk.

From crying delegates to the ridiculous merchandise – here are the most memorable photos.

Paris Photo runs from 10-13 November at the Grand Palais in Paris.

The centre looks after 50 baby chimpanzees who were snatched from their families for the pet trade or orphaned when their mothers were killed for bushmeat.

Overall winner is Matthew Cattell with his shot of starlings over Brighton's derelict West Pier.

Fifty years on from the tragedy, we look back at one of the darkest days in modern Welsh history.

Tim Laman's vertigo-inducing shot of an orangutan high above the rainforest has won him Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016.

Drug use is often a symptom of social problems, not the cause. Where there is demand, there will be supply.

Help choose the best microscope images, from a centipede's fearsome poison fangs to dung-dwelling fungi.

Taking archive images, photographer Carl Court revisited the streets of Soho to show the changing face of this vibrant area.

The storm ripped through the Caribbean country on 4 October and has destroyed thousands of homes.

IBTimes UK presents some of the breathtaking images taken by photographer Tom Roe during his journey.

Located in southern Siberia, Lake Baikal is so large it is often mistaken for the sea.

South African police fired stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas at rock-throwing students.

The island of Foula is home to huge colonies of seabirds, hundreds of Shetland ponies and about 30 people.

The most dangerous job – climbing to the pinnacle of the tower before the whole thing collapses – is done by a girl as young as five.

These photos of daily in life in Pyongyang are remarkable for just how unremarkable everything seems – on the surface.