A man takes a photograph of fireworks during the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Games went on in Sochi despite security fears and a global condemnation of Russia's anti-gay crackdown.
A pro-Russian separatist guards a road checkpoint in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. A cease-fire in Ukraine was thrown into peril by a helicopter attack. The policies of UKranian President Viktor Yanukovych and military intervention from Russia caused violent protests in and around Kiev with Yanukovych fleeing the capital in February.
A relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries as she talks on her mobile phone at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. The Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew lost contact with air traffic controllers early March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Flight MH 370 departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:21 a.m. and had been expected to land in the Chinese capital at 6:30 a.m. Aviation experts have admitted it could take years to find the final resting place of the plane and the 239 people on board. Reuters
Russian soldiers walk inside the Belbek airbase, outside Sevastopol, Crimea. Russian forces used at least four armored vehicles to break into an air base, seizing control of one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea. After an hours-long tense standoff between Russian and Ukrainian forces, gunfire and explosions could be heard as the vehicles broke down the gate at the air base located just outside Sevastopol.
South Korean rescue team boats and fishing boats try to rescue passengers of the sinking Sewol ferry, off South Korea's southern coast, near Jindo, south of Seoul on April 16. Passengers were told to stay in their rooms and some 300 people were missing or dead when the ferry sank. Captain Joon-seok was sentenced to 36 years in prison for gross negligence.
An American flag stands limp in front of a gas station-convenience store that had its roof mangled by a tornado on April 28 in Tupelo, Miss. Several parts of the southern U.S. were hammered by a series of seven deadly tornadoes. Thirty-six people died.
South Africans protest in solidarity on May 8 against the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria by the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram and what protesters said was the failure of the Nigerian government and international community to rescue them. The kidnapping ignited a viral social media campaign that brought renewed attention to Boko Haram's campaign of violence, and protests around the world.
Miners carry a rescued miner after an explosion and fire at a coal mine in Soma, in western Turkey on May 13. In the worst mining accident in Turkey's history, 301 men died after being trapped underground.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was released by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan on May 31. After five years as a captive he was swapped for five high-ranking Taliban prisoners.
Former Afghan foreign minister and presidential election candidate Abdullah Abdullah addresses a news conference at his residence in Kabul, Afghanistan. The presidential vote was a pivotal moment in Afghanistan's history, its outcome seen as make-or-break for the country's future and key to the level of foreign involvement here after nearly 13 years of war. Amid claims of fraud the July 22 result was delayed until September when Ashraf Ghani was named president.
Crowds of people gather and wave republican flags around the monument of Charles III, King of Spain, in the main square of Madrid after the announcement of the planned abdication of Spain's King Juan Carlos on June 2. His son Prince Felipe took over the Royal Palace in Madrid. The Associated Press
Andy Coulson, former News of the World editor and former aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron, arrives at the Central Criminal Court in London. Coulson was found guilty of conspiracy to hack phones, the illegal technique that for years helped the tabloid get juicy stories about celebrities, politicians and royalty. The newspaper closed in 2011.
Fighters from the Islamic State march in Raqqa, Syria. The U.S. began air strikes against Islamic State in August. By October aircraft from Australia, Great Britain, France and Canada joined in attacking ISIS positions.
Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, left in suit, leads some 200 people in the ice bucket challenge at Boston's Copley Square on Aug. 7 to raise funds and awareness for ALS. The challenge saw celebrities, sports heroes and former presidents dump buckets of ice water over their heads for the cause, bringing in millions of dollars to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
A KLM stewardess signs a condolence register at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. An attack on a Malaysian jetliner shot down over Ukraine July 17 killed 298 people from nearly a dozen nations, more than half being Dutch. Worshippers at church services across the Netherlands prayed for the victims of the Ukraine air disaster and their next of kin, as anger built over the separatist rebels' hindering of the investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
Khieu Samphan, second from right, former Khmer Rouge head of state, and Noun Chea, left, who was the Khmer Rouge's chief ideologist and No. 2 leader, are seen on a screen at the court's press center of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Aug. 7. Three and a half decades after the genocidal rule of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge ended, the tribunal sentenced two top leaders of the former regime to life in prison on war crimes charges for their roles during the country's 1970s terror.
Protesters carry a sign through the streets of St. Louis to protest the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. A grand jury chose not to indict officer Darren Wilson on Nov. 24, triggering protests across the country.
Oscar Pistorius cries in the dock in Pretoria as Judge Thokozile Masipa reads notes on her verdict in Pistorius’ murder trial. The former Olympic athlete on Sept. 12 was found guilty of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
A woman waves a flag as members of the Orange Order march past during a pro-Union rally in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scots voted on Sept. 18 to reject independence and remain part of the United Kingdom.
Jack Ma, center, founder of Alibaba, raises a ceremonial mallet before striking a bell during the company's IPO at the New York Stock Exchange. The company raised a record-breaking $25 billion to take the title of the world's biggest IPO. The Associated Press
Armed RCMP officers approach Centre Block on Parliament Hilll following a shooting incident in Ottawa on Oct. 22. After shooting and killing soldier Nathan Cirillo, Canadian Michael Zehaf-Bibeau charged int the Parliament building and exchanged gunfire with security forces. Zehaf-Bibeau was shot and killed.
U.S. Gen. John Campbell, left, opens the “Resolute Support” flag Sunday in Kabul. The flag symbolizes the transition in international security force duties from leading the mission against the Taliban to serving as support for the Afghan military. Oct. 26 marked the official end of combat operations in Afghanistan for U.S. and British forces.
Law enforcement officers take a closer look at the wreckage near the site where Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism rocket, SpaceShipTwo, exploded and crashed in Mojave, Calif. The Oct. 31 crash on a test flight killed one pilot and seriously injured another.
One World Trade Center stands between the transportation hub, left, still under construction, and 7 World Trade Center. The $3.9 billion building opened Nov. 3, more than 13 years after the terrorist attacks. The Associated Press
This composite image released by the European Space Agency shows Rosetta's lander Philae on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta made history Nov. 12 by landing on the comet.
Tom Wilczak shovels snow from the roof of his home in Buffalo. A Polar Vortex plunged all 50 states to below freezing temperatures in mid-November and buried sections of upstate New York.
Protesters carry signs in Times Square on Dec. 3 in reaction to a grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner in New York. Garner died after being put in a chokehold by officer Daniel Pantaleo.
CIA Director John Brennan, speaking at news conference at CIA headquarters, said it's “unknown and unknowable” whether harsh treatment of detainees yielded crucial intelligence that could have been gained in any other way. The CIA's "torture" report was released Dec. 9. The Associated Press
Adama Tarawallie reacts near her husband Ibrahim, 31, a suspected Ebola victim, as they wait to be transported from Devils Hole North, west of Freetown, Sierra Leone on Dec. 17. The death toll in the Ebola epidemic had risen to 6,915 out of 18,603 cases as of Dec. 14, the World Health Organization said.
A phalanx of New York City police officers salutes as the hearse of Officer Rafael Ramos drives along his funeral procession route in the Glendale section of Queens. Ramos and his partner, Officer Wenjian Liu, were gunned down Dec. 20 as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street.
Indonesian Air Force personnel carry airplane parts recovered from the water near the site where AirAsia Flight 8501 disappeared, at the airbase in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia. The plane crashed into the sea Dec. 28 with 162 people on board.
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