From civil war and natural disasters to punk protests, space jumps, and Olympic triumphs, these photographs tell the stories that defined 2012. (113 PHOTOS)
2012: The Year In Photos
83
Competitors are seen through the Paralympic flame as they race in the women's 5000-meter heats at the Olympic Stadium on August 31 during the 2012 Paralympic Games. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
84
Children go to school on September 1, the first day of the new school year in the Chechen village of Dishny-Vedeno. (RFE/RL, North Causacus Service)
85
A U.S. flag is seen at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 12, a day after the consulate was attacked by gunmen and set on fire. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three embassy staff were killed in the attack as they tried to flee. (Reuters/Esam Al-Fetori)
86
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (center) is escorted out of his home by Los Angeles County police in Cerritos, California, on September 15. Nakoula is thought to be behind a controversial anti-Islamic film, "The Innocence of Muslims," that sparked violent protests in Muslim countries, but it was suspected bank fraud that led to his arrest. (Reuters/Bret Hartman)
87
Pakistani lawyers take cover as police stop them from reaching the U.S. Embassy during a protest against the controversial film "The Innocence of Muslims" in Islamabad on September 19. Up to 500 Pakistani lawyers managed to enter the heavily guarded diplomatic enclave in a fresh wave of protests denouncing the film. (AFP/ Aamir Qureshi)
88
Soldiers with painted faces march during a military exercise at the Marshal Bagramian training grounds in Armenia near the border with Turkey on September 19. Around 2,000 troops from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan held five days of exercises under the flag of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). (AFP/Karen Minasyan)
89
Iranian women attend a demonstration outside the French Embassy in Tehran on September 20 to denounce a French weekly's publication of a cartoon of a naked Prophet Mohammed. (AFP/Atta Kenare)
90
Chinese singer Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping, performs at the debut of the music and dance epic "Road to Revival" at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (AFP/Imaginechina)
91
An officer watches a candidate do push-ups during the selection process for a professional contract in the Russian army at a recruitment center in the southern city of Stavropol on September 25. (Reuters/Eduard Korniyenko)
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Chinese women pose in front of a painting on the Berlin Wall depicting Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev on October 3, the 22nd anniversary of Germany's reunification. (Reuters/Lisi Niesner)
93
A naked protester runs past the parliament in Syntagma Square in Athens during a violent protest against a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on October 9. Tens of thousands of demonstrators defied a ban on protests to voice their displeasure with the German leader, who many blame for forcing painful austerity measures on Greece. (Reuters/John Kolesidis)
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Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (left) approaches to shake hands with Georgian Dream coalition leader and incoming Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili at the Presidential Palace in Tbilisi on October 9. (Reuters/David Mdzinarishvili)
96
Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner leaps from a capsule at the edge of space more than 39 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Baumgartner reached a speed of 1,135 kilometers per hour, breaking the sound barrier, before he opened his parachute and landed in the New Mexico desert. (AFP/www.redbullcontentpool.com/Jay Nemeth)
97
A crowd watches workers take down the last bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, on October 14 after Mayor Bat-Uul Erdene denounced the communist leader as a "murderer." For decades, Vladimir Lenin was worshipped by Mongolian schoolchildren as Teacher Lenin. (AFP/Byambasuren Byamba-Ochir)
98
Former Taliban fighters display their weapons during a ceremony in Herat on October 22 after they joined the Afghan government forces. Afghanistan is bolstering its military in preparation for the withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. (AFP/Arif Karimi)
99
Muslim pilgrims wait for the start of prayers at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on October 22. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine)
100
South Korean singer Psy (right) shows UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the dance moves to Psy's worldwide pop hit "Gangnam Style" during a photo opportunity at the UN headquarters in New York on October 23. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
101
Men lead recently purchased camels by car and motorcycle ahead of Eid al-Adha celebrations in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 26. Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha at the end of the hajj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows, and camels to commemorate the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son at God's command. (Reuters/Mohsin Raza)
102
Women check a ballot in the village of Rusaki, some 110 kilometers from Kyiv, during Ukraine's parliamentary elections on October 28. (AFP/Viktor Drachev)
103
A statue stands among homes destroyed by fire and the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York City on October 30. The storm knocked out power to huge swathes of the East Coast, swamped New York's subway system, and submerged streets in Manhattan's financial district. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
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A Sudanese man points at the Iranian replenishment ship "Kharg" docked in the Red Sea town of Port Sudan on October 31. The visit of two Iranian naval ships to Sudan reflected strong ties between the countries. (AFP/Ashraf Shazly)
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U.S. President Barack Obama hugs his daughters Malia (right) and Sasha as First Lady Michelle Obama looks on during an election night victory rally in Chicago on November 6. (Reuters/Larry Downing)
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Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai reads a card as she recuperates at a hospital in Birmingham in northern England on November 8. Malala, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, was flown from Pakistan to Britain for specialist treatment after the October 9 attack. (Reuters/Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Handout)
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A woman stands on a bench above a flooded street in Venice, Italy, on November 11. The water level in the canal city rose to 149 centimeters above the normal level, according to a monitoring institute. (Reuters/Manuel Silvestri)
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Turkish soldiers stand guard in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar after Syrian aircraft bombed the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain, killing and wounding many people, on November 12. (AFP/Bulent Kilic)