BY CHRISTINA ASCANI AND NINA FRAZIER HANSEN
While there were several notable events that dominated the airwaves in 2013, photographers around the globe captured many beautiful and newsworthy photos that not only informed us(http://mashable.com), but also inspired us.
- People release balloons to celebrate the new year during an annual countdown ceremony produced by the Prince Park Tower Tokyo, flagship of the Prince hotel chain in Tokyo, on Jan. 1. Some 1,000 balloons were released in the air with the visitors wishes.IMAGE: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) arrives for a House Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss the legislation that will blunt the effects of the "fiscal cliff" before a rare New Year's Day session on Jan. 1 in Washington, DC.IMAGE: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
- An Aston Martin Vanquish is inspected by hand inside a light booth at the company headquarters and production plant on Jan. 10 in Gaydon, England. The iconic British brand celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013.IMAGE: CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES
- Hindu devotees bathe in the waters of the holy Ganges river during the auspicious royal bathing day of Makar Sankranti, at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela, on Jan. 14 in Allahabad, India. The Maha Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years and believed to be the largest religious gathering on Earth, attracting more than 100 million people who celebrated more than 55 days.IMAGE: DANIEL BEREHULAK/GETTY IMAGES
- Oprah Winfrey speaks with Lance Armstrong during an exclusive, no-holds barred interview regarding the controversy surrounding his cycling career on Jan. 14 in Austin, Texas.IMAGE: GEORGE BURNS/OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK VIA GETTY IMAGES
- U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walk the route as the presidential inaugural parade winds through the nation's capital on Jan. 21 in Washington, DC.IMAGE: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
- Supporters and activists of the Habayit Hayehudi party (The Jewish Home) react to the announcement of the first projections on the results of Israel's national elections at a post-election rally on Jan. 22 in Ramat Gan, Israel.
- A truck is covered in ice as firefighters help to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse on Jan. 23 in Chicago, Ill. More than 200 firefighters battled a five-alarm fire as temperatures were in the single digits.IMAGE: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
- A competitor dresses as the Hulk as he takes part in the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido on Jan. 26 in London, England.IMAGE: PETER MACDIARMID/GETTY IMAGES
- Children gather water as Syrian refugees go about their daily business in the Za’atari refugee camp on Jan. 29 in Mafraq, Jordan. Record numbers of refugees fled the violence and bombings in Syria to cross the borders to safety in northern Jordan, and overwhelmed the Za'atari camp.IMAGE: JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES
- A military regiment takes part in a morning exercise on Jan. 29 in the Heilongjiang Province of China. The temperature dipped to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit).IMAGE: CHINAFOTOPRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES
- Brooke Linsky knocks a snow-covered branch in Central Park after a major snowstorm blanketed New York City with more than one foot of snow on Feb. 9.IMAGE: JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
- Thousands of couples take part in a mass wedding ceremony at Cheongshim Peace World Center on Feb. 17 in Gapyeong-gun, South Korea. A total of 3,500 couples from 200 countries around the world exchanged wedding vows for the first time after the Unification Church founder Moon Sun-Myung passed away.IMAGE: CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES
- Female Marines learn night-fire techniques during a combat marksmanship course at Marine Combat Training on Feb. 20 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. About 6% of enlisted Marines are female.IMAGE: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
- Pope Benedict XVI waves to pilgrims, for the last time as head of the Catholic Church, from the window of Castel Gandolfo where he started his retirement on Feb. 28 in Rome, Italy.IMAGE: FRANCO ORIGLIA/GETTY IMAGES
- Debris sits on a still-closed beach area damaged by flooding from Hurricane Sandy near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge properties on Staten Island on March 1.IMAGE: MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES
- Mark Kelly leans his head on the shoulder of his wife and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords as they attend a news conference asking Congress and the Senate to provide stricter gun control in the United States on March 6 in Tucson, Arizona. Giffords and Kelly were joined by survivors of the Tucson shooting as they spoke outside the Safeway grocery store where the shooting happened two years ago that killed six people.IMAGE: JOSHUA LOTT/GETTY IMAGES
- A steelworker works at the plant of the Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter, central Germany, on March 13.IMAGE: JOCHEN LUEBKEE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Firefighters put out a celebration monument called a Falla during the last day of the Las Fallas Festival on March 20 in Valencia, Spain. The Fallas festival, which ran from March 15 until March 19, celebrated the arrival of spring with fireworks, fiestas and bonfires made by large puppets named Ninots.IMAGE: DAVID RAMOS/GETTY IMAGES
- Easter eggs hang in an apple tree, which pensioners Volker and Christa Kraft have decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs on March 24 in Saalfeld, Germany. The family started decorating an apple tree with painted hen eggs in their garden in 1965 as amusement for child and grandchildren. Now it is an attraction that draws thousands of visitors and tourists to the garden of the family.IMAGE: THOMAS LOHNES/GETTY IMAGES
- Aerial view of the Taim Ecological Station on fire, in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, on March 27. The fire that started in southern Brazil reached approximately 1,400 acres since there is no way to reach the place by water or land.IMAGE: LAURO ALVES/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Revelers take part in a giant pillow fight in Trafalgar Square on International Pillow Fight Day on April 6 in London, England. Mass public pillow fights have been arranged in numerous cities around the world as part of the Urban Playground Movement, which facilitates free, public non-commercial events.IMAGE: OLI SCARFF/GETTY IMAGES
- An activist of the Ukrainian women's rights group Femen attacks Russian President Vladimir Putin, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks on during their visit of the industrial exhibition "Hannover Messe" on April 8 in Hannover, Germany.IMAGE: SASHA MORDOVETS/GETTY IMAGES
- Emergency personnel responds to the scene after two explosions went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15.IMAGE: PHOTO BY DAVID L. RYAN/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES
- Police officers extinguish a flare as Western Sydney Wanderers fans walk to the stadium before the A-League 2013 Grand Final match between the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Central Coast Mariners at Allianz Stadium on April 21 in Sydney, Australia.IMAGE: BRENDON THORNE/GETTY IMAGES
- Bangladeshi volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations after an eight-story building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 25. The collapse killed 175 people.IMAGE: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Family, area residents and fellow firefighters attend a memorial service held at Baylor University April 25 in Waco, Texas following a fertilizer plant explosion that claimed the lives of volunteer firefighters.IMAGE: ERICH SCHLEGEL/GETTY IMAGES
- Visitors gather in the new 'Rain Room' installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan on May 15 in New York City. The 5,000 square-foot installation creates a field of falling water that stops in the area where people walk through, allowing them to remain dry. The piece, created by Random International, releases a 260-gallon per minute shower around visitors.IMAGE: MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES
- Israeli riot police stand guard as ultra-Orthodox demonstrators set trash bins on fire on May 16 in Jerusalem, Israel. Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis have clashed with police after gathering to protest against newly proposed government legislation that would see them drafted into the military.IMAGE: URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES)
- Midshipmen celebrate at the end of the U.S. Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning ceremonies on May 24 in Annapolis, Maryland.IMAGE: MOLLY RILEY-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
- A general view of a tornado-ravaged neighborhood in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of EF5 strength and two miles-wide touched down May 20, killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses.IMAGE: TOM PENNINGTON/GETTY IMAGES
- A child looks at jellyfish at the aquarium in Genoa on May 25.IMAGE: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Contestants chase a replica Double Gloucester Cheese down the steep gradient of Cooper's Hill during the annual Bank Holiday tradition of cheese-rolling on May 27 in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England.IMAGE: MATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGES
- Terraced fields of rice paddies are farmed on June 4 in Jinping County, Guizhou Province of China.IMAGE: CHINAFOTOPRESS/CHINAFOTOPRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES
- The swollen Danube river (right) and the Inn river (left) flood parts of the historical city of Passau on June 6 in Germany. Eastern and southern Germany suffered floods that, in some cases, are the worst in 400 years. At least four people died and tens of thousands evacuated their homes.IMAGE: JOERG KOCH/GETTY IMAGES
- Gabrielle Ortiz smokes an electronic cigarette at Vape New York, an electronic cigarette store on June 10 in New York City. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that vaporize a nicotine-laced liquid solution into an aerosol mist, which simulates the act of tobacco smoking.IMAGE: SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
- Lightning strikes the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in downtown Chicago, Ill., on June 12.IMAGE: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
- A man jumps over burning tires set on fire by people who also block access to Brasilia's Mane Garrincha, one of the six host stadiums for the upcoming Confederations Cup, to protest in part against the government's policy of the expenditure for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, on June 14. A police spokesman said the protest was organized by the Homeless Workers Movement which is campaigning to reduce Brazil's housing shortage by staging squatters' occupations in abandoned government buildings.IMAGE: YASUTOSHI CHIBA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Students invade a subway station during a protest calling for a public transport free pass in the Federal District, on June 19 in Brasilia, Brazil. Protests initially sparked by a hike in bus fares in Sao Paulo the week prior quickly spiraled into nationwide marches against corruption, fueled by anger that -- in a country with a wide rich-poor divide -- billions of dollars were being spent on the Confederations Cup and upcoming World Cup 2014, and far too little was earmarked for social programs. Unlike other cities, this protest was completely peaceful and ended without incidents.IMAGE: EVARISTO SA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- American University students Sharon Burk and Mollie Wagoner embrace after hearing that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court on June 26 in Washington, DC.IMAGE: MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
- Bijlee, the 58-year-old ailing elephant rescued by individuals and NGOs sometime back, died at Mulund on June 30 in Mumbai, India.IMAGE: PRAFUL GANGURDE/HINDUSTAN TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
- Activists of the organization Campact demonstrate in front of the German Chancellery in support of U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, on July 4 in Berlin, Germany.IMAGE: KAY NIETFELD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A Toro del Fuego (flaming bull) is run through the streets of Pamplona on the fourth day of the San Fermin Running of the Bulls festival, on July 9 in Pamplona, Spain.IMAGE: PABLO BLAZQUEZ DOMINGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES
- Rescuers work on the site of a train accident in the railway station of Bretigny-sur-Orge on July 12 near Paris. At least seven people died and dozens injured after a speeding train split in two and derailed at a station in the southern suburbs of Paris.IMAGE: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Kat Crowe and Melinda O'Neal comfort each other in front of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center after learning George Zimmerman had been found not guilty in the Murder of Trayvon Martin on July 13 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot and killed 17-year-old Martin after an altercation in February 2012.IMAGE: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
- About 25,000 people attend the boat procession of the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of fishermen, on July 16 at Puerto de la Cruz on Spain's Canary island of Tenerife.IMAGE: DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Children dance and celebrate as people wave a banner of Nelson Mandela to celebrate his 95th birthday outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital, where he was being treated on July 18 in Pretoria, South Africa.IMAGE: CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES
- A Syrian girl walks next to the debris of her house, after it was targeted by a missile, in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on July 18. More than 100,000 people died in the conflict that started in 2011, which morphed from a popular movement for change into an insurgency after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent.IMAGE: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, with their newborn son, speaking to the media before departing the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital on July 23 in London, England.IMAGE: DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
- Supporters release balloons during a pre-election rally for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, on July 26 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.IMAGE: NICOLAS AXELROD/GETTY IMAGES
- Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children play in a fountain at a park on July 31 outside Jerusalem's old city in Israel.IMAGE: URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES
- Ariel Castro pleads to Judge Michael Russo during his sentencing on Aug. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio. Castro was sentenced to life without parole, plus 1,000 years for abducting three women between 2002 and 2004 when they were between the ages of 14 and 21 years old. Castro told Judge Michael Russo, "I'm not a monster, I'm sick... I'm a happy person inside."IMAGE: ANGELO MERENDINO/GETTY IMAGES
- A balloon is inflated at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta at the Ashton Court estate on Aug. 9 in Bristol, England.IMAGE: MATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGES
- A long-exposure image shows a Perseid meteor streaking across the night sky over St. Loan Medieval Church near the village of Potsurnentsi, late on Aug. 12. The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year in August when the Earth passes through the debris and dust of the Swift-Tuttle comet.IMAGE: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Japan marks the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia as people release doves to pay their respects to the war dead during a ceremony at the Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15 in Tokyo, Japan.IMAGE: KEN ISHII/GETTY IMAGES
- South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria on Aug. 19. Pistorius appeared on charges of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14 -- Valentine's Day.IMAGE: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in Talhadas near Oliveira de Frades, central Portugal, on Aug. 26.IMAGE: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A man competes during the 10000 Volt obstacle during the Tough Viking race on Sept. 1 in Stockholm. The Tough Viking race consists of a 12-kilometer course filled with 15 brutal obstacles (barbed wire, mud, ice, water, tunnels, electricity, fire, climbing, etc.) designed by specialists in the Swedish Armed Forces.IMAGE: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Residents of Male, the capital of Maldives, use mopeds to drive past a popular night spot of the city on Sept. 4. The island city is home to about 120,000, and mopeds are the most popular mode of transportation in the streets of the very small, crowded city.IMAGE: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Residents of Olympic bid city Tokyo celebrate after the announcement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games host city at Komazawa Olympic Park in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 8.IMAGE: ADAM PRETTY/GETTY IMAGES
- A Sotheby's employee displays the Premier Blue Brilliant-Cut Internally Flawless Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond on Sept. 9 in London, England. The 7.59-Carat stone was offered for auction in Hong Kong at the Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite sale on Oct. 7, where it failed to sell. It was expected to raise $19 million.IMAGE: PETER MACDIARMID/GETTY IMAGES
- Indian police detain a Kashmiri government employee during a protest as riot police spray purple-dyed water cannons in Srinagar on Sept. 9. Indian police detained dozens of government employees, who have been demanding regularization of contractual jobs and an increase in retirement age.They also demanded an impartial probe into the killing of four people by Indian paramilitary soldiers on Sept. 7.IMAGE: ROUF BHAT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A homeless man sleeps under an American flag blanket on a park bench on Sept. 10 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. As of June 2013, New York City had an all-time record of 50,900 homeless people, including 12,100 homeless families and 21,300 homeless children.IMAGE: SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
- Residents celebrate Gibraltar's National Day on Casemates Square on Sept. 10. Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would "never agree to any transfer of sovereignty" of the British territory without the consent of its residents.IMAGE: MARCOS MORENO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man holds the chicken he is about to swing over his son's head during the Kaparot ceremony ahead of Yom Kippur in Jerusalem, on Sept. 11. The Jewish ritual is supposed to transfer the sins of the past year to the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, the most important day in the Jewish calendar, which fell on Sept. 14.IMAGE: MARCO LONGARI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A view over New York City and the "Tribute In Light" marking the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11. New York City and the nation commemorated the anniversary of the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people after two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and one crash landed in Shanksville, Penn.IMAGE: NOAM GALAI/GETTY IMAGES
- Runners take part in The Color Run presented by Dulux, known as the happiest 5K on the planet, on Sept. 14 in Brighton, England. Runners of all shapes, sizes and speeds start wearing white clothing that is a blank canvas for the kaleidoscope of colors they encounter around The Color Run course. At each kilometer, a different color of powder is thrown in the air with the runners becoming a constantly evolving artwork. At the end of the course, runners are greeted by the Color Festival, where the air is filled with music and stunning colored powder bursts, creating a vibrant party atmosphere.IMAGE: STEVE BARDENS/GETTY IMAGES FOR DULUX
- Members of the U.S. salvage company Titan and Italian firm Micoperi inspect the wreck of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship after emerging from water, near the harbor of Giglio Porto on Sept. 18. Salvage operators in Italy lifted the Costa Concordia cruise ship upright from its watery grave off the island of Giglio in the biggest-ever project of its kind. The ship was upright for the first time since the tragedy on Jan. 13, 2012, and led to applause and cheers in the port, in a dramatic climax to the massive salvage operation. Local residents and survivors spoke of an eerie feeling as the ship rose, saying the sight reminded them of the tragedy that claimed 32 lives.IMAGE: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Palestinian children play on the beach near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Sept. 20.IMAGE: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- U.S. President Barack Obama comforts families of the Washington Navy Yard shooting victims on Sept. 22 at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.IMAGE: OLIVIER DOULIERY-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
- Fourteen Panda cubs lie on a bed for members of the public to view at Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding on Sept. 23 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. In 2013, 20 Panda cubs were born, with 17 of those cubs surviving. The Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987 with six giant pandas rescued from the wild, and today has increased its captive population to more than 83 individuals.IMAGE: CHINAFOTOPRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES
- The hand of a landslide victim protrudes among debris during a retrieval operation on a mountain side at Barangay Balaybay, Olongapo City, Zambales, north of Manila, on Sept. 24. Monsoon rains worsened by Typhoon Usagi pounded the Philippines for the third day on Sept. 23, causing floods and landslides that left 18 people dead and others stranded on rooftops, officials said.IMAGE: NOEL CELIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Kenyans pray as they hold a church service for the victims of the Westgate Shopping Center attack on Sept. 29 in Nairobi, Kenya. Security forces began clearing and securing the Westgate shopping mall following the four-day siege that killed at least 67 civilians and police, and was claimed by the Somali militant group al Shabaab.IMAGE: URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES
- An attendee uses the popular "hadouken" meme to pose for a photo with a life-size replica of Iron Man on Sept. 31 during the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.IMAGE: SUHAIMI ABDULLAH/GETTY IMAGES
- U.S. President Barack Obama walks back to the Oval Office after delivering remarks about the launch of the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces and the first federal government shutdown in 17 years in the Rose Garden of the White House on Oct. 1 in Washington, DC. House Republicans and Senate Democrats volleyed legislation back and forth as they battled over a budget to keep the government running and delaying or defunding "Obamacare."IMAGE: WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
- A person walks by a new Banksy work on the side of a wall on Oct. 3 in New York City. New work by the mysterious British street artist Banksy appeared in New York after he announced a a month-long residency in the city. Several of his works were quickly vandalized by other graffiti.IMAGE: SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
- Bloodstains are seen on the ground on Ramsis Street in downtown Cairo on Oct. 6, following clashes between Egyptian riot police and Muslim Brotherhood supporters of Egypt's ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Police fired tear gas and shots in the air to disperse supporters of Morsi as they tried to reach Cairo's Tahrir Square, where anti-Morsi protesters rallied.IMAGE: KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Waves crash on the Saint Mark's banks during the first acqua alta ("high tide") of the season on Oct. 7 in Venice, Italy. The acqua alta is a natural event most commonly affecting the city during fall and winter months.IMAGE: MARCO SECCHI/GETTY IMAGES
- Journalist and presenter Evan Davies poses with a 3D-printed model of himself in the exhibition "3D: Printing the Future" in the Science Museum on Oct. 8 in London, England. Mr Davies' model features his arm in a sling due to him being scanned in August 2013 while recovering from a broken wrist. The exhibition, which runs through June 15, 2014, features more than 600 3D-printed objects, ranging from replacement organs, artwork, aircraft parts and a handgun.IMAGE: OLI SCARFF/GETTY IMAGES
- Demonstrators confront riot police in front of the Phnom Penh City Hall on Oct. 10 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Communities affected by land grabs, civil society, unions and grassroots organizations gathered at Wat Phnom in central Phnom Penh to deliver a petition to City Hall calling for formalization for residents affected by land issues, through titling and onsite upgrading.IMAGE: NICOLAS AXELROD/GETTY IMAGES
- Window cleaners wearing superhero costumes greet a patient at a children's hospital as part of the celebration of Children's Day in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Oct. 10. Children's Day is celebrated in Brazil on Oct. 12.IMAGE: NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Bhagwan, a coconut seller, reacts as he sits in front of his destroyed shop in Gopalpur on Oct. 13. Cyclone Phailin left a trail of destruction along India's east coast and up to seven people dead after the biggest evacuation in the country's history helped minimize casualties.IMAGE: MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Muslim pilgrims touch a rock as they pray on Mount Arafat, near the holy city of Mecca, ahead of the hajj main ritual on Oct. 14. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims thronged Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia from early morning for the climax of the annual hajj pilgrimage, arriving on foot, by train or in vehicles.IMAGE: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- An Israeli soldier sleeps in a bunker in a training area in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights during a brigade Armored Corps Exercise on Oct. 16. The Golan, seized by Israel from its Arab neighbor in the 1967 Six-Day War, has been mostly quiet since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Tension, however, has risen since the 2011 start of the conflict in Syria between rebels and regime forces.IMAGE: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Malala Yousafzai (center), the Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban after campaigning for girls' education, stands between British former prime minister Gordon Brown (left) and university Principal Professor Timothy O'Shea as she receives an honorary master's degree from the University of Edinburgh during the first Global Citizenship Commission meeting on Oct. 19.IMAGE: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A person dressed as a monster poses among graves at Frankenstein Castle in Darmstadt, Germany on Oct. 19. Grotesque monsters, howling werewolves, long-nosed witches and Frankenstein's monsters feature in the annual weekend event at the castle, which is now one of Europe's most popular Halloween events. The festival started in 1978 after American troops stationed at Rhein Mein Air Base decided to use the famous castle as a venue for Halloween celebrations.IMAGE: THOMAS LOHNES/GETTY IMAGES
- Members of the public watch as large waves, produced by gale-force winds, break against the harbor wall on Oct. 28 in Dover, England. Approximately 220,000 homes were without power and five deaths (in Britain alone) after much of southern England was affected by the severe storm. Transport links on road, rail, air and sea were severely disrupted by hurricane-force winds that reached almost 100 mph in places.IMAGE: OLI SCARFF/GETTY IMAGES
- An anti-government protester waves a Thai flag on Nov. 4 during a rally against a controversial Amnesty bill that passed in Parliament in late October in Bangkok, Thailand. Thousands attended various protests around the capital city organized by the opposition Democrat Party. The Senate ultimately killed the bill, but If the law had gone into effect, it would have whitewashed all crimes for which the billionaire former leader Thaksin Shinawatra was convicted, setting the stage for him to return to Thailand.IMAGE: PAULA BRONSTEIN/GETTY IMAGES
- Rebel fighters hold a position in a damaged building during clashes with Syrian government forces in the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor on Nov. 11. Syria's main opposition grouping said it was willing to attend peace talks on the condition that President Bashar al-Assad transfer power and be excluded from any transition process.IMAGE: AHMAD ABOUD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Residents walk past scenes of devastation in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan on Nov. 13 in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 mph, slammed into the southern Philippines and left a trail of destruction in multiple provinces, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and making travel by air and land to hard-hit provinces difficult. At the time of writing, the death toll topped 6,000 people, with 1,800 still missing.IMAGE: KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY IMAGES
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in City Hall on Nov. 14 in Toronto, Canada. Ford found himself in the middle of a substance abuse scandal, initially denying the claims. He ultimately admitted to using crack cocaine, but refused to resign.IMAGE: STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES
- Police officers escort 5-year-old leukemia survivor Miles, also known as Bat Kid, after they arrest the Riddler on Nov. 15 in San Francisco, Calif. Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area turned the city into Gotham City for Miles by creating a day-long event, bringing to life his wish to be a superhero.IMAGE: RAMIN TALAIE/GETTY IMAGES
- A man fans flames on a fire on Nov. 19 in Leyte, Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, which ripped through Philippines in November 2013, has been described as one of the most powerful typhoons ever to hit land, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Countries all over the world have pledged relief aid to help support those affected by the typhoon. However, damage to the airport and roads have made moving the aid into the most affected areas very difficult. With dead bodies left out in the open air and very limited food, water and shelter, health concerns became prevalent.IMAGE: DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
- Students with cardboard weapons participate in a performance during an anti-government protest in front of Bulgarian parliament in Sofia on Nov. 20. Shouts "Resignation" and "Victory" were also heard as a workers' rally merged with the daily protest of about 1,000 students outside parliament, who pressed for Oresharski to go and demanded new morals in politics, which they saw as corrupt and catering too much for big business interest.IMAGE: NINKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A man takes a picture with his phone as Mount Sinabung spews pyroclastic smoke seen from Tigapancur village on Nov. 24 in the Karo district, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Mount Sinabung, which has been intermittently erupting since September, erupted eight times in just a few hours overnight. Officials reported rocks raining down over a large area, forcing thousands to flee their homes. The Indonesian government called for people living within five kilometers (3.1 miles) of the volcano, on the northern tip of Sumatra Island, to evacuate their homes as the volcanology agency raised the alert level for the volcano to the highest point on a four-stage scale.IMAGE: ULET IFANSASTI/GETTY IMAGES
- Protesters use tear gas and throw stones during clashes with riot police in front of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine during a pro-Europe rally in Kiev on Nov. 24.IMAGE: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- Multicolored nets are set under olive trees to collect the olives de Nice on Nov. 27 in Castagniers, France.IMAGE: VALERY HACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- People pray at a religious monument overlooking Independence Square on Dec. 4 in Kiev, Ukraine. Thousands of people have been protesting against the government since a decision by Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to suspend a trade and partnership agreement with the European Union in favor of incentives from Russia.IMAGE: BRENDAN HOFFMAN/GETTY IMAGES
- Turkish riot police officers take cover as Kurdish protesters shoot fireworks at them during clashes in central Istanbul on Dec. 7. Two protesters were killed on Dec. 6 in armed clashes with Turkish police that erupted over claims that Kurdish rebel cemeteries had been destroyed, local media reported.IMAGE: BULENT KILIC/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
- A woman waves a Ukrainian national flag in front of a barricade set by pro-European activists at Kiev's Independence Square on Dec. 17. Ukraine's embattled president sought a multi-billion-dollar lifeline from Russia's president that could relieve a brewing economic crisis but also stoke huge pro-EU protests roiling Kiev streets.IMAGE: YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
