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2016: The Year In Photos

Updated

Violence shook the Middle East, migrants made dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and Europe, and voting in the United Kingdom and the United States produced shock results. These photographs tell some of the stories that defined 2016. (44 PHOTOS)

A boy looks through an icy bus window in Minsk, Belarus, on January 5, 2016. (AFP/Sergei Gapon)
1 A boy looks through an icy bus window in Minsk, Belarus, on January 5, 2016. (AFP/Sergei Gapon)
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Russian activist art group Pussy Riot, performs during the filming of their new music video in Moscow on January 13. The song, "Chaika," makes reference to Yury Chaika, Russia's prosecutor general. (epa/Denis Sinyakov)
2 Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a member of the Russian activist art group Pussy Riot, performs during the filming of their new music video in Moscow on January 13. The song, "Chaika," makes reference to Yury Chaika, Russia's prosecutor general. (epa/Denis Sinyakov)
A picture of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hangs outside a house in West Des Moines, Iowa, on January 15. (Reuters/Jim Young)
3 A picture of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hangs outside a house in West Des Moines, Iowa, on January 15. (Reuters/Jim Young)
A woman and her children stand in the ruins of a battle-damaged house in the Kurdish town of Silopi, southeastern Turkey, near the border with Iraq on January 19. (AFP/Ilyas Akengin)
4 A woman and her children stand in the ruins of a battle-damaged house in the Kurdish town of Silopi, southeastern Turkey, near the border with Iraq on January 19. (AFP/Ilyas Akengin)
Geovane Silva holds his son Gustavo Henrique, who has microcephaly, at a hospital in Recife, Brazil, on January 26. Health authorities in Brazil reported an alarming surge this year in cases of microcephaly, a developmental problem characterized by small head size. The condition has been linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus. (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)
5 Geovane Silva holds his son Gustavo Henrique, who has microcephaly, at a hospital in Recife, Brazil, on January 26. Health authorities in Brazil reported an alarming surge this year in cases of microcephaly, a developmental problem characterized by small head size. The condition has been linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus. (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)
Police officers wearing gas masks inspect Kosovo's parliament after opposition lawmakers released tear gas in the chamber on Pristina on February 19. (AFP/Armend Nimani)
6 Police officers wearing gas masks inspect Kosovo's parliament after opposition lawmakers released tear gas in the chamber on Pristina on February 19. (AFP/Armend Nimani)
Members of the non-profit Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI) gesture to a boat carrying migrants as it arrives in Mytilene on the northern Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 22. (AFP/Aris Messinis)
7 Members of the non-profit Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI) gesture to a boat carrying migrants as it arrives in Mytilene on the northern Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 22. (AFP/Aris Messinis)
An eagle catches a drone during a police exercise in Katwijk, the Netherlands, on March 7. The eagle was trained by the Guard From Above security company, which advertises its services as "using birds of prey to intercept hostile drones." (AFP/ANP/Koen van Weel)
8 An eagle catches a drone during a police exercise in Katwijk, the Netherlands, on March 7. The eagle was trained by the Guard From Above security company, which advertises its services as "using birds of prey to intercept hostile drones." (AFP/ANP/Koen van Weel)
A girl walks through the mud at a refugee and migrant camp near Idomeni, Greece, close to the border with Macedonia, on March 10. (epa/Valdrin Zhemaj)
9 A girl walks through the mud at a refugee and migrant camp near Idomeni, Greece, close to the border with Macedonia, on March 10. (epa/Valdrin Zhemaj)
A woman watches Russian police officers during a March 18 concert in Moscow's Red Square marking the second anniversary of Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)
10 A woman watches Russian police officers during a March 18 concert in Moscow's Red Square marking the second anniversary of Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)
Thousands of people hold a moment of silence in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24 to pay tribute to the victims of multiple terrorist attacks in the city two days earlier. (epa/Christophe Petit Tesson)
11 Thousands of people hold a moment of silence in Brussels, Belgium, on March 24 to pay tribute to the victims of multiple terrorist attacks in the city two days earlier. (epa/Christophe Petit Tesson)
A Syrian boy walks past the collapsed minaret of a mosque in the rebel-held city of Douma, outside Damascus, on March 31. (epa/Mohammed Badra)
12 A Syrian boy walks past the collapsed minaret of a mosque in the rebel-held city of Douma, outside Damascus, on March 31. (epa/Mohammed Badra)
A Russian army sapper searches for land mines in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on April 7. Syrian troops recaptured Palmyra from Islamic State fighters on March 27, but the militants retook part of the city in mid-December. (epa/Vadim Savitsky)
13 A Russian army sapper searches for land mines in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on April 7. Syrian troops recaptured Palmyra from Islamic State fighters on March 27, but the militants retook part of the city in mid-December. (epa/Vadim Savitsky)
Afghan protesters chant antigovernment slogans during a demonstration in Kabul on May 16. Thousands protested against a decision to reroute a major power transmission line linking Afghanistan to Central Asia. Many saw the decision to bypass a region dominated by Shi'ite Hazaras as undermining the economic interests of the minority group. (AFP/Wakil Kohsar)
14 Afghan protesters chant antigovernment slogans during a demonstration in Kabul on May 16. Thousands protested against a decision to reroute a major power transmission line linking Afghanistan to Central Asia. Many saw the decision to bypass a region dominated by Shi'ite Hazaras as undermining the economic interests of the minority group. (AFP/Wakil Kohsar)
Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, an RFE/RL contributor, speaks to reporters after her release from police custody in Baku on May 25. Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 on charges widely seen as retaliation for her investigative reporting on corruption in Azerbaijan. (RFE/RL/Aziz Karimov)
15 Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, an RFE/RL contributor, speaks to reporters after her release from police custody in Baku on May 25. Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 on charges widely seen as retaliation for her investigative reporting on corruption in Azerbaijan. (RFE/RL/Aziz Karimov)
Ukrainian servicewoman Nadia Savchenko speaks to the media at Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv on May 25. Savchenko was captured in eastern Ukraine in June 2014 and transferred to Russia, where she was charged with aiding in the killing of two Russian journalists. She was released in a prisoner swap for two Russian detainees. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
16 Ukrainian servicewoman Nadia Savchenko speaks to the media at Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv on May 25. Savchenko was captured in eastern Ukraine in June 2014 and transferred to Russia, where she was charged with aiding in the killing of two Russian journalists. She was released in a prisoner swap for two Russian detainees. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
Protesters hold flares after spray-painting the facade of the Ministry of Justice in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, on May 31. Participants in the long-running antigovernment protests dubbed their movement the Colorful Revolution. (epa/Georgi Licovski)
17 Protesters hold flares after spray-painting the facade of the Ministry of Justice in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, on May 31. Participants in the long-running antigovernment protests dubbed their movement the Colorful Revolution. (epa/Georgi Licovski)
Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and their supporters attend a candlelight vigil outside the White House in Washington to honor the victims of a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12. A gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 before he was shot dead by police. (epa/Jim Lo Scalzo)
18 Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and their supporters attend a candlelight vigil outside the White House in Washington to honor the victims of a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12. A gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 before he was shot dead by police. (epa/Jim Lo Scalzo)
Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), celebrates in London after British voters cast their ballots in favor of leaving the EU in the Brexit referendum on June 23. (epa/Hannah McKay)
19 Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), celebrates in London after British voters cast their ballots in favor of leaving the EU in the Brexit referendum on June 23. (epa/Hannah McKay)
A woman mourns on July 11 at the Potocari memorial for victims of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, the United Nations set aside Srebrenica as a safe haven for civilians. But on July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb troops overran the town and killed about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the days that followed. (RFE/RL/Midhat Poturovic)
20 A woman mourns on July 11 at the Potocari memorial for victims of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, the United Nations set aside Srebrenica as a safe haven for civilians. But on July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb troops overran the town and killed about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the days that followed. (RFE/RL/Midhat Poturovic)
People watch the flooded Jinsha River from a sightseeing platform in the Tiger Leaping Gorge in China's Yunnan Province on July 15. (Reuters)
21 People watch the flooded Jinsha River from a sightseeing platform in the Tiger Leaping Gorge in China's Yunnan Province on July 15. (Reuters)
Black ribbons are draped on a monument in Nice, France, on July 18, after residents held a moment of silence in honor of the victims of a terrorist attack. Eighty-four people were killed in the attack during Bastille Day celebrations on July 14. (epa/Olivier Anrigo)
22 Black ribbons are draped on a monument in Nice, France, on July 18, after residents held a moment of silence in honor of the victims of a terrorist attack. Eighty-four people were killed in the attack during Bastille Day celebrations on July 14. (epa/Olivier Anrigo)
Turkish national flags and a portrait of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hang in Istanbul's Taksim Square on July 23 during a rally against an attempted military coup that was crushed on July 15-16. (Petr Shelomovskiy)
23 Turkish national flags and a portrait of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hang in Istanbul's Taksim Square on July 23 during a rally against an attempted military coup that was crushed on July 15-16. (Petr Shelomovskiy)
Ukrainian women examine their destroyed apartment after fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops in the town of Yasinovataya in the eastern Donetsk region on August 1. (epa/Alexander Ermochenko)
24 Ukrainian women examine their destroyed apartment after fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops in the town of Yasinovataya in the eastern Donetsk region on August 1. (epa/Alexander Ermochenko)
Residents of the Mangueira favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, watch the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics on August 5. (Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)
25 Residents of the Mangueira favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, watch the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics on August 5. (Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

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