2013: The Year In Photos
Displaced children carry winter supplies distributed by aid workers on the outskirts of Kabul on January 1.
Shi'ite Muslims in the Iraqi city of Kerbala pray at the Imam Hussein shrine during the holy day of Arbain on January 2.
French actor Gerard Depardieu wears a local costume at a ceremony attended by Vladimir Volkov (left), the leader of the Russian republic of Mordovia, in the town of Saransk on January 6. Depardieu received Russian citizenship in February.
Boys slide behind a cart during Christmas caroling celebrations, known as koliady, in the Belarusian village of Kalachi on January 7, the date marked as Christmas by Orthodox Christians.
Supporters of Pakistani Islamic leader Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri take part in an antigovernment protest near Lahore on January 13 to demand reforms ahead of elections.
A skater glides past ice sculptures during an ice and snow sculpture festival near Almaty, Kazakhstan, on January 14.
Assistants help an Orthodox Christian boy take a dip in icy water in the village of Leninskoe, near the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on January 19. The ritual is part of the celebration of Epiphany, marking the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
A woman holds a picture of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko at a protest in front of the president's office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on January 21.
People flee from tear gas fired by riot police after protesters removed a concrete barrier near Tahrir Square in Cairo on January 24.
Supporters of detained opposition lawmakers demonstrate in front of a court in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, as the lawmakers stood trial on January 25 for their role in organizing a protest.
Fishermen gather to catch smelts through the ice on the Kursiai Lagoon near Klaipeda, Lithuania, on January 27.
The burned shell of a building is seen on January 29 after violent protests erupted in the town of Ismayili, Azerbaijan. The protesters were demanding the resignation of the local governor, Nizami Alekberov.
Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus on January 30.
Azerbaijani opposition supporters gather flags on January 31 while marking the anniversary of the birth of Mamed Emin Rasulzade, one of the founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918.
Women walk past a former mill that was a key stronghold in the Battle of Stalingrad, now named Volgograd. Russia on February 2 marked the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi forces in one of the major turning points of World War II.
Employees sort logs at a wood processing plant on a bank of the Yenisei River in the Russian town of Lesosibirsk on January 31.
Armenian presidential candidate Paruyr Hayrikian receives emergency treatment at a hospital in Yerevan on February 1. Hairikian was shot in the shoulder outside his home less than three weeks before Armenia's presidential election.
Iranian school girls listen to a speech by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad at a parliamentary session in Tehran on February 3.
A fitness coach and her young students pour cold water on themselves as outside temperatures sank to minus 23 degrees Celsius (minus 9 degrees Fahrenheit), in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on February 5.
A woman looks out of a window as protesters gather outside the National Library in Tbilisi on February 8. The protesters attempted to block President Mikheil Saakashvili from entering the library to deliver his last annual address to the nation.
A view of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, with Mount Ararat in the distance, on February 17, a day before the country's presidential elections
Pakistani Shi'ite Muslims gather around the coffins of bombing victims in Quetta on February 18. Mourners refused to bury the bodies of victims and thousands of people went on strike to demand protection for Shi'ite Muslims.
Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock during a break in court proceedings in Pretoria, South Africa, on February 20. Pistorius was freed on bail pending trial on charges of killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.
Yuzo Mihara (left) and his wife, Yuko, pose on a deserted street in the town of Namie, inside the nuclear exclusion zone near Fukushima, Japan, on February 22. Residents of the town were forced to abandon their homes after the 2011 nuclear disaster, and only return briefly to retrieve their belongings.
Men try to extinguish a burning truck set on fire by rioters after a bomb blast targeting Shi'ite Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 4.
A vehicle carries a coffin with the remains of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez through the streets of Caracas on March 6. Chavez died on March 5 at the age of 58.
Tons of dead fish float in the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 13.
The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, illuminate the sky over the Swedish towns of Are and Ostersund on March 17.
The Wadi Al-Salaam (Valley of Peace) cemetery in Najaf, seen here on April 1, is reputed to be the largest cemetery in the world.
Armenian police detain a supporter of opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian during a protest in Yerevan following the inauguration of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian for a second term on April 9.
Belarusian girls attend an honor guard ceremony, which is part of the state patriotic education program and preparations for the upcoming Victory Day celebrations, on Victory Square in Minsk on April 11.
A man pushes a bicycle behind a herd of livestock in the ethnic Kazakh Balikun county of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on April 18.
Muslim women stand in a cemetery before a mass funeral in the town of Vlasenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The remains of 11 Bosnian Muslims, killed by Serb forces during the country's 1992-1995 war, were exhumed from mass graves and reburied at the cemetery on April 20.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Pussy Riot activist group, gestures during a court hearing in the town of Zubova Polyana on April 26. Tolokonnikova served a part of a two-year sentence on charges of hooliganism and was released in December.
People carry candles in the Ukrainian city of Slavutych on April 26 at a memorial dedicated to firefighters and workers who died as a result of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
A member of Iraq's first female weightlifting team hoists a barbell at a gym in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood on April 28 while training for the Asian Championships in Qatar.
An aerial view of the Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque and the redeveloped center of Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya
The final piece of a spire, decorated with an American flag, is lifted to the top of One World Trade Center in New York on May 2 as the flagship building nears completion.
Supporters of Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) celebrate their party's victory in Lahore on May 12, a day after the country's general elections secured Sharif a third non-consecutive term as prime minister.
Iranians Mahjobeh Omrani (right) and Neda Shahsavari play against a U.S. team during a qualifying round at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Paris on May 14.
A crowd attacks a minibus carrying gay rights activists who had staged a rally marking the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 17.
Moldovan singer Aliona Moon performs during the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, on May 18.
American flags are displayed on Boston Common in Massachusetts during Memorial Day on May 23.
Children run from the site of an explosion in Kabul on May 24.
An Orthodox priest performs a blessing in front of a Soyuz spacecraft on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 27 before a mission to the International Space Station.
Antigovernment protesters clash with riot police near the prime minister's office in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 2. Demonstrations on Istanbul's Taksim Square that began as a protest against local development plans in May rapidly spread after a violent police crackdown.
Georgian honor guards carry the coffins of soldiers killed in Afghanistan at an airport near the capital, Tbilisi, on June 9.
A supporter of Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, a reformist presidential candidate, is surrounded by campaign materials after a rally in Tehran on June 10, ahead of the June 14 election that gave moderate candidate Hassan Rohani the presidency.
A protester runs from a petrol bomb explosion during a clash with Turkish riot police on Istanbul's Taksim Square on June 11 amid ongoing antigovernment demonstrations.
Leaders of the G8 countries pose for a photograph at a summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, on June 18.
A coffin holding the body of Ibragim Todashev, a suspect who was shot dead by U.S. security forces investigating the Boston Marathon bombings, stands at his home in Grozny, Chechnya, on June 20. Todashev was an acquaintance of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, another suspect who was killed in a shootout with police after the bombings.
A column of military vehicles rolls in front of the Flame Towers in the Azerbaijani capital Baku during a rehearsal of a military parade on June 21.
A man who was fixing explosives wires runs from the blaze as authorities destroyed 50 tons of seized drugs in Tehran on June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Chinese astronauts salute after landing safely in China's Inner Mongolia region on board a Shenzhou-10 spacecraft on June 26.
A stuntman performs at the opening ceremony of a yacht club at a Caspian Sea resort in western Turkmenistan on June 29. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is seeking to turn the resort area into a major tourist attraction.
A bull leaps over participants during the second running of the bulls during the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain, on July 8.
Two supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood face off with soldiers across a barbed wire fence in Cairo, Egypt, on July 8, amid continuing civil unrest five days after the military ousted former President Muhammad Morsi.
Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny embraces his wife Yulia after he was freed by the Kirov regional court on a suspended sentence on July 19. Navalny was convicted for financial crimes, charges he says are politically motivated.
Russia's team competes in a preliminary round of a world championship in synchronized swimming in Barcelona, Spain, on July 21.
Pope Francis greets crowds of believers from his "popemobile" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 22.
Vehicles travel on a precarious road near the site of a landslide after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck China's Gansu Province on July 23, killing scores of people.
A photo released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows the Khaled bin Walid mosque, a Sunni pilgrimage site in the city of Homs, said to have been damaged by army shelling on July 22.
A woman shields her face from the camera on August 5 at a provisional tent camp for illegal migrants who were detained during sweeping police raids on Moscow markets.
Volunteers take a break during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of an international athletics championship in Moscow on August 7.
An aerial view of a flooded village in the Amur Region in Russia's Far East on August 14. The floods were considered Russia's worst in 120 years.
A woman carries a tray of sweets prepared for the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood on August 8.
Women in the Iranian capital, Tehran, pray on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, marked by Shi'ite Muslims on August 9.
Viewers at a campground in Hagen-Vorhalle, Germany, watch a televised election debate between Chancellor Angela Merkel and challenger Peer Steinbrueck of the German Social Democratic Party on September 1.
Kazakh horsemen ride at the Asian Kokpar championship in Astana on September 12. Kokpar, also known as buzkashi, is a traditional Central Asian sport played between two teams of horsemen competing to throw a goat carcass into a scoring circle.
Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh hugs her son Nima at her home in Tehran on September 18 after her early release from prison. Sotoudeh was serving a six-year sentence on a number of charges, including acting against Iran's national security.
People gather near destroyed tankers of a NATO supply convoy on September 16 after an attack a day earlier in Hub, near Karachi, Pakistan.
The shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia is returned to an upright position after a salvage operation near Italy's Giglio Island on September 17. The ship had capsized in January 2012, killing dozens of people.
People take cover behind a counter at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, as gunmen storm the complex on September 21. More than 60 people died in the attack by militants of the Somalia-based Al-Shabab group, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.
A dancer prepares for a nightly cabaret show at Mayak, one of two gay clubs in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, on September 23. As Sochi prepares to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Russian government's crackdown on gay life has drawn international attention.
Pakistani Christians mourn on September 24 for a grandmother and her two grandchildren who were killed in twin suicide bombings that targeted the All Saints Church in Peshawar.
A woman mourns on September 27 at a monument in Tbilisi to Georgians killed in the Georgian-Abkhazian armed conflict of 1992-1993.
Actors stage a performance near the Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on September 28. The 16th-century bridge was destroyed in 1993 during Bosnia's war, and rebuilt from remaining stones in 2004.
A Tajik woman harvests cotton near the village of Yakhak on October 10.
The dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. is seen in a reflection above the Capitol Visitor Center on October 15 amid a 16-day government shutdown that brought many federal government services to a halt.
Muslims in Azerbaijan shop for sheep to slaughter on Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, on October 15.
Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at a market in Karachi, Pakistan, on October 16.
Pakistani teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, who recovered after being shot in the head by Taliban militants in 2012, signs a copy of her memoir "I Am Malala" in London on October 20.
A sculpture by Czech artist David Cerny floats in the Vltava River in Prague on October 21, shortly before the country's general elections. The giant purple middle finger is directed toward the Prague Castle, the seat of Czech President Milos Zeman.
Activists protest against the National Security Agency's surveillance programs near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on October 26.
A Kyrgyz falconer releases his golden eagle during a hunting festival in the village of Bokonbayevo on November 9.
Asylum seekers gather around a fire in a forest near the Serbian village of Bogovadja on November 13. Hundreds of migrants from Africa and the Middle East are living in makeshift camps in central Serbia because the country's two asylum centers are full.
Filipinos line up for food and water in Tacloban city in the central Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan on November 14, 2013. The typhoon left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Bulgarian students and other protesters carry fake guns during a demonstration in Sofia on November 20 against corruption, low incomes, and high unemployment.
People place candles at a memorial in Kyiv on November 23 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Ukraine's massive famine, the Holodomor, in which millions died.
Members of a local swimming club carry the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics torch in the Yenisei River in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on November 26.
Shi'ite women mourn during the funeral of a victim killed in a bombing outside a cafe in Baghdad's Sadriya district on November 26.
A long exposure shows Mount Sinabung spewing volcanic ash in North Sumatra, Indonesia, on November 28.
Afghan children attend outdoor classes at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province, on December 1.
Antigovernment protesters clash with police in front of the office of the president in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on December 1. Mass protests erupted after President Viktor Yanukovych rejected closer ties with the European Union.
A Buddhist monk puts on a gas mask as riot police use water cannon and tear gas against antigovernment protesters outside the Government House in Bangkok on December 2. The protesters were seeking the removal of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra from office.
A boy kisses a portrait of late South African President Nelson Mandela before a memorial ceremony for the antiapartheid leader in Johannesburg on December 10. Mandela died on December 5 at the age of 95.
Riot police storm barricades set up by antigovernment protesters on Independence Square in Kyiv on December 11. The demonstrators refused to leave the square, which they had been occupying for ten days.