BEST PICTURE GALLERIES OF 2016

IBTimes UK looks back at key events in the life of Fidel Castro and the relationship between the former Cold War foes.

Ten percent of the world's population do not have access to safe water, putting them at risk of infectious diseases and premature death.

AFP photojournalist Olivier Morin spent 10 days photographing surfers in the freezing water off the Lofoten archipelago, and was rewarded with several sightings of the northern lights (aurora borealis).

Hundreds have drowned trying to make it across the narrow stretch of the Aegean separating the island from Turkey.

Launched in 1959 by entrepreneur and inventor Ruth Handler, Barbie became one of the most iconic children's dolls of the 20th century.

A museum in the French capital is staging a huge exhibition paying tribute to an American style icon who has been at the forefront of fashion for nearly six decades: Barbie.

In this IBTimes UK gallery, AFP photographer Fred Dufour peers behind the curtain into the shadowy world of Chinese politics.

At 2.46pm on 11 March 2011, Japan was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 – the biggest in the nation's recorded history and one of the five most powerful recorded ever around the world.

When it comes to the city with the world's most beautiful metro system, there's a clear winner: Moscow.

Tight border patrols and tough new Hungarian laws punishing illegal entry and border fence vandalism slowed down the amount of refugees allowed through the borders.

Josef Schulz, a Polish-born photographer based in Germany, travelled around Europe to document disused border posts and checkpoints.

Homes have enormous holes blasted into their walls, ceilings have collapsed, windows are shattered and doors are hanging on their hinges.

The billionaire tycoon's chances of clinching the US Republican presidential nomination are looking more likely than ever.

Richard Tuschman's series Once Upon a Time In Kazimierz depicts a fictional Jewish family living in 1930s Poland.

The Syrian conflict has been going on for five years, killing more than 250,000 people and displacing millions.

Guantanamo Bay was opened with the intention to detain extraordinary, dangerous people, to integrate them in an optimal setting and to prosecute them for war crimes.

A river of rubbish snakes through Beirut's northern suburbs, and vast mountains of trash surround the Lebanese capital.

A moonlit image of refugees crossing the border from Serbia into Hungary has been selected as the World Press photo of the year.

The fierce battle to topple Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi began with anti-government protests in the eastern city of Benghazi, and a "day of rage" on 17 February 2011.

Photographer David Ramos travelled around Sweden to document the daily lives of people stuck in no-man's land during the cold Scandinavian winter.

The dolls are thought to invite benevolent spirits to possess them, with the hope that they will bring good luck, wealth and protection from harm.