Photos by RFE/RL, AFP, epa, InterPressNews, Itar-Tass, Ukrinform, ISNA, PAJHWOK Afghan News, Photolur, Rifo Dobra, NASA
The Year In Photos
51
Kyrgyz author and former diplomat Chingiz Aitmatov dies. - Kyrgyz author and former diplomat Chingiz Aitmatov, whose mythical novels and stories were widely acclaimed in the former Soviet Union, died at a clinic in Nuremberg in southern Germany. He was 79. Funeral service for Aitmatov at in the Ata-Beyit memorial cemetery on June 14, 2008.
52
Iranian police launch a new crackdown on un-Islamic dress. - Police inspecting clothes in a store in Tehran in a new crackdown aimed at forcing women to adhere to Islamic codes more strictly, 14 June 2008.
53
Spain wins Euro 2008. - Spanish players hold the trophy as they celebrate winning after the Euro 2008 championships final soccer match versus Germany, Vienna, 29 June 2008
54
Improving security in Iraq - Weapons seized by Iraqi security forces during recent operations in the Shi'ite enclave of Sadr City are on display at the 9th Iraqi Army Division headquarters in southeastern Baghdad, Iraq on Wednesday, 18 June 2008
55
Russian Patriarch Aleksy II speaks at the Archbishops Congress in Moscow. - The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II (C) speaks during the Archbishops congress in Moscow, Russia 24 June 2008. The congress is devoted to the improvement of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church.
56
North Korea destoys the cooling tower in Yongbyun nuclear plant. - A TV grab taken from the South Korea's MBC broadcasting station as it announced the destruction of the cooling tower in Yongbyun in of North Korea, 27 2008. South Korea's political parties welcomed North Korea's destruction of its nuclear cooling tower, urging the communist regime to completely denuclearize to secure peace on the Korean Peninsula.
57
France takes over European Union presidency - Picture taken on June 30, 2008 in Paris of the new blue lighting of the Eiffel tower to mark the French European Union presidency. France takes the helm of the European Union on July 1, with President Nicolas Sarkozy still hoping to push through ambitious projects despite Ireland's rejection of the bloc's reform treaty.
58
French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt , three U.S. nationals, and 11 soldiers rescued from Colombia's FARC - French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt waves upon her arrival at the Catam air base in Bogota on July 2, 2008. Betancourt along with three US nationals and 11 other FARC hostages were released from their captivity by the Colombian Army.
59
Bombing of Indian Embassy in Afghanistan - Afghan security forces and medical personnel assist survivors at the scene of a suicide bombing outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul, 07July 2008
60
Czech Republic and Poland agree to host U.S. missile-defense system. - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and her Czech counterpart Karel Schwarzenberg toast after signing the missile defense deal at Cerninsky palace in Prague, on July 08, 2008 describing it as a step forward for global security despite staunch Russian opposition. The accord permits the siting of a radar station on Czech soil as part of an extended US missile shield that Washington says is necessary to ward off potential attacks by so-called "rogue" states such as Iran. Russia has denounced the plan as a provocative threat to its own security, despite repeated US assurances.
61
Iran tests-fires new medium-range missiles. Or do they? - A combo of two handout pictures released by the news website and public relations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Sepah News, shows two different versions of the same photograph during a test-firing in an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert on July 9, 2008. One picture (top) shows three missiles taking off from a desert launchpad while a fourth remains in the launcher while an apparently digitally altered picture shows all four missiles rising into the air. A defence analyst said on July 10 that Iran had apparently doctored the photographs with one missile apparently added using elements from the smoke trail and dust clouds from two of the other missiles.
62
War crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic was captured. - Photo released July 22, 2008, of top war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic (R) at undisclosed location, before his arrest on July 21, 2008.
63
Radovan Karadzic faces trial at the UN tribunal in The Hague. - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic facing the United Nations (UN) court in The Hague, Netherlands on 29 August 2008
64
Food prices rise, pushing millions into hunger. - Afghan women try to get food donation from the World Food Program (WFP) in Kabul on July 21, 2008. Afghanistan's government and the United Nations launched a $404 million appeal on July 9 to help feed 4.5 million vulnerable Afghans.
65
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dies. - Candles throw light at the coffin with the body of the famous Russian author, Soviet dissident and Nobel literature prize winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn during the funeral ceremony at the cemetery of Donskoi Monastery in Moscow, Russia, 06 August 2008. Alexander Solzhenitsyn died of heart failure late 3 August at the age of 89.
66
Russia-Georgia war - Russian tanks move along a street as children play with a toy truck in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, 30 August 2008.
67
Russia-Georgia war - A Georgian elderly couple who fled from the village of Korta and walked for four days are pictured outside the Georgian town of Gori, Georgia, on 15 August 2008. Russian troops on 15 August allowed some humanitarian supplies into the city of Gori but continued their blockade of the strategically located city, raising doubts about Russia's intentions in the war-battered country.
68
Russia-Georgia war - Russia's air force bombed Gori for the third time, 09 August 2008.
69
Russia-Georgia war - An Abkhaz soldier shows victory sign in the remote Kodori Gorge of Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region outside the town of Chkhalta on August 14, 2008. The leaders of the rebel Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia vowed Thursday to push ahead with independence from Georgia, following talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. A top US official accused Russian troops of taking part in an attack that led Georgian troops to withdraw from the last part of the breakaway province of Abkhazia controlled by Tbilisi.
70
Russia-Georgia war - Destoyed aparment building and a man with his belongings after Russian planes bombed Gori for the third time, 09 August 2008
71
China hosts Summer Olympics. - Fireworks light the night sky above the National Stadium or 'Birds Nest' during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing. 24 August 2008
72
Afghan wins country's first-ever bronze medal, in taekwondo. - Afghan Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist Rohullah Nikpai is carried by the crowd during a procession for his homecoming from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on 28 August 2008 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan's first Olympic medalist was hailed as 'Pride of the Nation'.
73
Security at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games - Paramilitary policemen take part in a rally to ensure the safety of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games outside theNational Stadium, also known as the 'Bird's Nest', in Beijing, China, 23 July 2008. The Olympics starts on 08 August 2008.
74
U.S.swimmer Michael Phelps becomes the most successful Olympian in history. - Michael Phelps of the U.S. butterflys to become the most successful Olympian in history during his world record breaking win in 1 52.03 in the mens 200m butterfly final at the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, 13 August 2008
75
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigns. - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf salutes as he leaves the Presidency following his resignation in Islamabad, Pakistan, 18 August 2008. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on 18 August, that he was resigning from his post in 'the best interest of the country' in a bid to avoid facing an impeachment planned by the ruling coalition in the parliament.