The Most Memorable Photos of 2013

This photo, of bodies of thsoe people reportedly killed by nerve gas in the Ghouta region, was taken in the Duma neighborhood of Damascus on Aug. 21, 2013. More than 1,400 people, including women and children, died in a chemical attack on rebel-held districts of the Ghouta region east of Damascus. Reuters /Bassam Khabieh

Pope Francis waves at his followers, as they stand along the beachfront in Rio de Janeiro awaiting mass on July 28, 2013. Evaristo Sa /AFP/Getty Images

Anti-government protesters rally at Independence Square on Dec. 7, 2013 in Kiev, Ukraine. Thousands of people have been protesting against the government since Nov. 21 after Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych suspended a trade and partnership agreement with the European Union in favor of incentives from Russia. Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

A demonstrator kisses a riot police officer on Nov. 16, 2013 during a protest in Susa against the high-speed train line between Lyon and Turin. Since then, Italian authorities have accused the demonstrator of "sexual violence and insulting a public official." The train, expected to come into service in 2025, will see one million fewer trucks on the highways a year, and reduce train times between Paris and Milan from seven hours to just over four. Arco Bertorello /AFP/Getty Images

Unknown anti-gay activist hits Russia's gay and LGBT rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev (center) during an unauthorized gay rights rally in central Moscow on May 25, 2013. Moscow city authorities had previously rejected requests for a gay rights rally, but Alexeyev said he would fight a ban in court. In June, President Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors." The furor, according to Democracy Lab's Prachi Vidwans, has prompted many politicians to avoid or boycott the 2014 Olympics, to be held in Sochi, Russia. Andrey Svitailo /AFP/Getty Images

The scene of the first explosion that went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Three people died and more than 260 were wounded when brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev set off two pressure cooker bombs during the marathon, an event that draws as many as 20,000 participants and 500,000 spectators every year. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

A garment worker reacts after being rescued following the Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar on April 24, 2013. A block populated with garment factories and shops collapsed in Bangladesh in April killing 1,127 people, according to a May report. Reuters /Andrew Biraj

A mother and her children hide from gunmen at Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi Sept. 21, 2013. Gunmen stormed the shopping mall in Nairobi killing 39 people, and injuring 150 others. Sporadic gun shots could be heard hours after the assault started, as soldiers surrounded the mall and police and soldiers combed the building, hunting down the attackers shop by shop. Somali militant group al-Shabab later claimed responsibility for the attack. Reuters /Siegfried Modola

A displaced Syrian child at a makeshift camp for Syrian refugees on Nov. 12, 2013 in Majdal Anjar, Lebanon. As the war in neighboring Syria drags on for a third year, Lebanon, a country of only 4 million people, is now home to the largest number of Syrian refugees. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Flames from the Rim Fire consumes trees on Aug. 24, 2013 near Groveland, California. The Rim Fire threatened 4,500 homes outside of Yosemite National Park. Over 2,000 firefighters battled the blaze. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Two veiled Egyptian women, supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsy, sit in front of police blocking access to the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo on July 8, 2013. Mahmud Hams /AFP/Getty Images

A man fans a fire on Nov. 19, 2013 in Leyte, Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan which ripped through the Philippines in October has been described as one of the most powerful typhoons ever to hit land, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A newly married couple walks up a hill with a view of the city of Antakya, on Aug. 29, 2013. Bulent Kilic /AFP/Getty Images

Two Palestinian women stand in front of the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosques compound in Jerusalem on Dec. 12, 2013. A bruising winter storm brought severe weather to the Middle East, forcing the closure of roads and schools and blanketing much of the high altitude areas with snow and ice. Ahmad Gharabli /AFP/Getty Images

A Xhosa woman poses on a rock overlooking Qunu, South Africa ahead of the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Dec. 12, 2013. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Members of the Rendile tribe and the Turkana tribe dance before total hybrid eclipse in Sibiloi National Park in Turkana on Nov. 3, 2013. Astronomy enthusiasts in Kenya caught a partial glimpse of a rare "Hybrid Total Eclipse" which hasn't been witnessed in Africa for over 40 years. Carl De Souza /AFP/Getty Images

Turkish riot police officers take cover as Kurdish protesters shoot fireworks at them during clashes in central Istanbul on Dec. 7, 2013. Bulent Kilic /AFP/Getty Images

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, show their newborn baby boy to the world's media outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London on July 23, 2013. Leon Neal /AFP/Getty Images

Chinese astronauts Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng, and Wang Yaping salute after getting out of the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou X spacecraft following its successful on June 26, 2013 in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The astronauts returned after a 15-day trip to a prototype space station. inaFotoPress/Getty Images

A horseman rides his horses through colored smoke during a practice session at the beach of Scheveningen on Sept. 16, 2013 in the Netherlands. Some 80 members of the Dutch cavalry practiced for any possible emergency during the Prinsjesdag ceremony, which marks the opening of the Dutch parliament. Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

View of the Costa Concordia on Jan. 14, 2012, after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio. Three people died and several were missing after the ship with more than 4,000 people on board ran aground sparking chaos as passengers scrambled to get off. Filippo Monteforte /AFP/Getty Images

Typhoon Haiyan. ‘It was two days after typhoon Haiyan and Tacloban had been devastated, with debris everywhere and scattered corpses on the streets. I saw Joshua Cator, 11 years old, scavenging in the ruins. I learned that he had lost most of his relatives, including his mother, Raquel, and sister, Jamyca, 6, and yet I saw resiliency in his face; his first instinct was survival, and to help others to survive. Now, he lives with his grandfather, in the same damaged house that trapped and killed so many of his family members. For me, his image is a portrait of strength". Dennis Sabangan/EPA

A sign from above. ‘It was difficult to tell the story of Pope Benedict’s resignation because there were no visible reactions at the Vatican – no one praying in the streets as they had when Pope John Paul II died. I noticed dark clouds, and thought that if a storm was to come, I could take a picture of St Peter’s with a thunderbolt behind it. After about 40 minutes I stopped for a moment to wipe the raindrops on the lens, and lighting struck, along with tremendous thunder, and a group of tourists next to me screamed with fear. As the storm raged I managed to capture the lightning striking the dome. Some people thought the picture was fake, and that hurt me. Others believed I had photographed the wrath of God.’ Alessandro Di Meo/EPA

Spain train crash. The train crash in Galicia on 24 July was one of the worst in Spanish history. This shot, a freeze frame from aerial video footage, shows carriages scattered across the tracks after the train derailed on a bend while travelling at twice the official speed limit. Of four crew and 218 passengers, 79 people were killed and more than 140 injured. Screengrab/AP

Williamsburg funerals. ‘This was a triple tragedy for the Satmar community in Williamsburg. A Jewish couple, both only 21, were killed in a hit and run. Their baby was delivered by cesarean at the hospital but died Monday morning. People gathered in thousands in front of the synagogue. The NYPD made it incredibly hard for us to find a vantage point, and it was already uncomfortable – this was a terrible and tragic incident, I don’t want to be the guy arguing with police in the middle of a grief- stricken neighbourhood. I ran across the street and found one building with a fire escape that took me to the roof. There was a brief moment when the light hit the rabbi, and I caught it. It was a sad, overwhelming moment.’ Robert Stolarik/Carters News Agency

Female fighter in Syria. ‘Her name is Fadwa. She’s 20 years old, a widow with three children. Every time I asked the women of the Free Syrian Army why they decided to fight, the answer was: “My husband died on the front lines, I will die on the front lines, may God help us.” This was taken in a secret location in Aleppo. I tried to make her feel at ease and make sure she didn’t see me as a threat. The pose was her choice. I had to take the pictures fast. Black and white is a safe bet when you are not in control of the light. I was focusing on their eyes and their clothes. Is it a cliche to say I can’t stop looking at the baby?’ Sebastiano Tomado/Rex

Family feud. Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of Kim Jong-un, is removed from a party meeting. He was later executed. Screengrab/Yonhap/Reuters

Firestorm. ‘My wife and I were looking after our five grandchildren when a bush fire storm swept through our small coastal town of Dunalley in Tasmania. As columns of fire came towards us from all sides, we ran to the sea and took refuge under the jetty for two hours. As the jetty caught fire, the air was smoky and intensely hot; the water was terribly cold. But the biggest problem was the lack of air. I took this photo with my wife’s iPhone, to text to our daughter so she could see we were all together. Eventually I found a dinghy and dragged the family to safety. I find it encouraging that the picture has been so widely used and that the response to it has been so strong. It is the record of the day we could have perished, and a reminder that we have much to be thankful for.’Tim Holmes/AP

Crashing the catwalk. Two activists from the Femen group protest during a show for Nina Ricci’s ready-to-wear spring/ summer 2014 fashion collection. Jacques Brinon/AP

Overcome. And the best actress Oscar goes to ... Jennifer Lawrence for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Aftermath. Passerby Ingrid Loyau-Kennett talks to Michael Adebowale, seen carrying a knife after stabbing Lee Rigby to death. Pixel8000/Twitter

Taksim Square protest. ‘I was in London when the protests began in Turkey. I told my desk in Frankfurt that I wanted to be there – I’m from Istanbul – this was my story. I was nervous on adrenaline, but you have to keep calm and not just shoot everything you see. I could see this guy resisting the police while the water cannon was coming and I knew I had to wait. He got away and wasn’t too badly hurt. But five people died and 15 lost their eyes.’ Kerim Okten/Camera Press

Selfie-obsessed?Cameron and Obama pose for a photo with Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt at the Mandela memorial.Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty

Francis speaks. Pope Francis’s first speech is recorded by seemingly the whole crowd as he speaks from St Peter’s Basilica. Michael Sohn/AP

Winter fire. A truck is covered in ice as firefighters battle a huge blaze in a warehouse in Chicago in January. Scott Olson/Getty

A violent anniversary. ‘The pictures team in Cairo and I were told that the Egyptian security forces would be building a barrier between the anti-Morsi protesters and themselves. So, I was in place from the night until the early morning. I took this photo at 5:30 am as the protesters in Tahrir Square marked the second anniversary of the “January 25 revolution” that overthrew President Mubarak.’ Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

Running to safety. A child flees after the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya is attacked by gunmen. At least 67 people died. Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

Flag waving. Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League (N) celebrate election results in front of their party office in Lahore. Daniel Berehulak/Getty

Pope Francis comforts a sick person in St Peter's Square, Vatican City, on 6 November. 'I regularly attend the pope's audiences, masses and Angelus prayers and on 6 November the photo agency ANSA sent me to St Peter's Square to cover the general audience of Pope Francis. I had noted the presence of a disfigured man as I was walking towards the photographers' stand before the start and I hoped to be able to shoot this specific image. At the end of the audience, the pope had gone to greet a group of sufferers and I moved position for a good viewpoint of the scene. Much to my luck nobody stood between me and the pope and I shot the photo. When the pope hugged the disfigured man, I couldn't believe my own eyes. It moves me every time I look at it. I believe it communicates love, gentleness and warmheartedness. I immediately understood that the photograph would have a great impact and I sent it straight away to the photo agency.'Photograph: Claudio Peri/ANSA/EPA

An Egyptian man walks through smoke and teargas during clashes between security forces and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted president Mohamed Morsi following a demonstration in Cairo on 29 November. 'There was a huge demonstration by supporters of the ousted President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The security forces started dispersing the demonstration, after a new law restricting public protests was signed by the interim president, Adly Mansour. Clashes were violent and lasted for more than an hour. While I was shooting the clashes a man appeared wearing a suit and stood in the middle of teargas, with no apparent concern for the bullets.' Mahmoud Khaled/AFP

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, a special exhibition brought together an array of dresses and uniforms from that event. The outfit worn by the two-year-old Princess Anne is seen here in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace in London on 24 January. 'This picture was produced at a photocall organised by the palace of the outfits worn by then two-year-old Princess Anne and four-year-old Prince Charles at the coronation of Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. In such photo-ops, everything is carefully orchestrated. Ethics are at the core of my photojournalistic practice, and I find it extremely frustrating sometimes as there are very limited opportunities to photograph something in a different way or at least natural and not set-up. After we photographed what we were supposed to, the outfit of Princess Anne was placed there and I immediately saw the symbolism. I used my wide-angle lens to show the grandeur of the throne room, and shot a few frames.' Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Oscar Pistorius awaits the start of court proceedings in Pretoria magistrates court on 19 February. 'The Oscar Pistorius murder trial is one of the biggest stories South Africa has ever had. Covering it was one of the most demanding and frustrating assignments. We were given strict orders by the court not to take photographs while the magistrate was in the courtroom. On his first court appearance he stood in the dock and looked straight at the magistrate whilst he read out the charge of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Oscar bowed his head and breathed heavily, struggling to contain his emotions. On the second day I sat in front of the dock but again we weren’t allowed to take photographs. Then the magistrate called for a short break and as he left the court I stood up as quickly as I could and took a few frames of Oscar standing and facing the direction of the magistrate.' Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

Graca Machel, the widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela, pays her respects at his coffin as he lies in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 11 December. 'I was to be among the first to photograph Mandela’s body lying in state. When the family members started to stream under the backlit canopy it was clear in my mind which pictures I had to look for: from my position, I had a clear view of the open casket but the view of the family members approaching the coffin was mostly blocked by a member of the South African Navy on a guard of honour duty. I saw Graca Machel, Mandela’s widow, approaching and then blending into the others lining up. And then she disappeared. That last, tender, touch to the glass cover of the open casket is a picture that formed in my viewfinder for a fraction of a second before becoming again a tangle of hands, faces, tears and solemn figures passing by.' Marco Longari/AFP

A woman walks behind Belgian riot policemen during clashes with Arcelor Mittal workers from several Liege steel plants demonstrating outside the Walloon Region parliament in Namur January 29, 2013. Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel producer, plans to shut a coke plant and six finishing lines at its site in Liege, Belgium, which will affect 1,300 employees, the group said. Yves Herman / Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter holds the head of a mannequin up to a hole in a wall of a Syrian Army base to attract and locate a sniper during heavy fighting in the Arabeen neighbourhood of Damascus February 3, 2013. Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter sews cloth in Aleppo February 24, 2013. Hamid Khatib / Reuters

The wrapped bodies of two dead people hang from an overpass as three more dead bodies lie on the ground in Saltillo March 8, 2013. Stringer / Mexico / Reuters

Marialena, a 42-year-old homeless AIDS sufferer and former drug addict who is on a methadone rehabilitation program, pushes away her boyfriend Dimitrios, who is trying to clean up her self-inflicted wounds, under a bridge in central Athens May 15, 2013. Dimitrios, 51, was a dancer for a famous Greek folk dancing troupe until he lost his job three years ago and became homeless. Since the debt crisis erupted in 2009, hundreds of thousands of Greeks have lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate in the country reached 26.8 percent in March, new figures show. Klimaka, a nongovernmental organisation, estimated there were around 20,000 homeless people in Greece in 2012. Yannis Behrakis / Reuters

A protester holding a shield attempts to block a jet of water from a police water cannon during clashes in Istanbul's Taksim Square June 11, 2013. Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters armed with rocks and fireworks as they tried to take back control of the central Istanbul Taksim Square at the heart of fierce anti-government demonstrations. Osman Orsal / Reuters

A runner gets gored by a bull on Estafeta Street during the sixth running of the bulls at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona July 12, 2013. The runner, a 31-year-old man from Castellon, Spain, identified by local media as Diego Miralles, was gored three times. Susana Vera / Reuters

Song Xuxia, 19, receives treatment at a hospital after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Minxian county, Dingxi, Gansu province July 23, 2013. The death toll from two earthquakes in China's western Gansu province has climbed to 95, with more than 1000 people injured, after around 51,800 buildings collapsed and tens of thousands more were badly damaged. Song's leg, waist and face were injured during the earthquake when she was stuck in a collapsed house. Fortunately the villagers heard her cry and managed to pull her out from the debris in time, according to local media. China Stringer Network / Reuters

Issa, 10 years old, carries a mortar shell in a weapons factory of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, September 7, 2013. Issa works with his father in the factory for ten hours every day except on Fridays. Hamid Khatib / Reuters

A man walks through the 9/11 Empty Sky memorial at sunrise across from New York's Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, September 11, 2013. Americans will commemorate the 12th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with solemn ceremonies and pledges to not forget the nearly 3,000 killed when hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. Gary Hershorn / Reuters

Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, signs a copy of her book before an event launching her memoir, I Am Malala, at the Southbank Centre in central London October 20, 2013. Olivia Harris / Reuters

Children play as they pass debris and damaged houses after super typhoon Haiyan battered Tacloban City, in central Philippines November 13, 2013. Philippine officials have been overwhelmed by Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons on record, which tore through the central Philippines and flattened Tacloban, coastal capital of Leyte province where officials had feared 10,000 people died, many drowning in a tsunami-like wall of seawater. Edgar Su / Reuters

A hibiscus flower is seen on an ash-covered plant at Mardingding village in Karo district, Indonesia's north Sumatra province November 19, 2013. The volcano continued to emit volcanic ash, throwing an 8,000m (26,247 ft)-high plume into the atmosphere, as thousands of residents fearful of more eruptions remained in temporary shelters, according to local media. Roni Bintang / Reuters

Female North Korean soldiers patrol along the banks of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, April 11, 2013. South Korea and the United States were on high alert for a North Korean missile launch as the hermit kingdom turned its attention to celebrating its ruling Kim dynasty and appeared to tone down rhetoric of impending war. Jacky Chen / Reuters

A Bangladeshi man holds on to a woman, both victims of a building collapse, in the debris of Rana Plaza garment factory in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 25, 2013. The collapse killed 1,129 people and caused President Obama to announce the suspension of U.S. trade privileges for Bangladesh because of concerns over labor rights and worker safety.Photo by Suman Paul/AP

Visitors watch water gushing from the section of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the Yellow River, during a sand-washing operation in Jiyuan, Henan province, China, July 7, 2013. Photo by China Daily Information Corp/Reuters

A boy holds his mother’s leg as he cries in front of their damaged house after a strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake at Longmen village, Lushan county in Ya’an, Sichuan province April 21, 2013. Rescuers poured into a remote corner of southwestern China on Sunday as the death toll from the country’s worst earthquake in three years climbed to 164 with more than 6,700 injured, state media said. Jason Lee/Reuters

A dog urinates on a new work by British graffiti artist Banksy on West 24th street in New York City, October 3, 2013. Mike Segar/Reuters

A masked protestor flashes a V-sign during the clashes near Taksim in Istanbul on June 3, 2013 during a demonstration against the demolition of the park. Turkish police on June 1 began pulling out of Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square, after a second day of violent clashes between protesters and police over a controversial development project. Thousands of demonstrators flooded the site as police lifted the barricades around the park and began withdrawing from the square. What started as an outcry against a local development project has snowballed into widespread anger against what critics say is the government’s increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda. Ozan Kose/Getty Images

A soldier of the French foreign legion wearing a skeleton mask stands next to an armored vehicule in a street in Niono, on January 20, 2013. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said today that the goal of France’s military action in Mali was to retake control of the entire country from Islamist militants who have seized the north. “The goal is the total reconquest of Mali. We will not leave any pockets” of resistance, Le Drian said on French television. Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images

An anti-balaka militiamen takes part in a training session on the outskirts of Bangui, Central African RepublicPhotograph: Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images

The knight and his steed: using its suction discs for a firm grip, a red-eyed tree frog clings to a hercules beetle. The image, shot by Nicolas Reusens, is one of the entries for the 2014 Sony world photography awards. Nicolas Reusens says: 'Although controlled, this shot was not prepared at all, I was performing a workshop with the Agalychnis callidryas treefrog from Costa Rica when the frog managed to jump to the branch where this huge titan was sleeping … I had my gear ready so I only had to change a few settings and shoot … the rest is history' Nicolas Reusens

An ultra-orthodox Jewish man lights candles on the sixth night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, in a religious neighbourhood of Jerusalem Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

December 29: The MV Akademik Shokalskiy is stranded in ice in Antarctica. An Antarctic blizzard has halted an Australian icebreaker's bid to reach the Russian ship trapped for a week with 74 people onboard, rescuers said on Monday. The Aurora Australis had to return to open waters about 18 nautical miles from the stranded Akademik Shokalskiy because of poor visibility. Andrew Peacock/Reuters

December 30: A boy sits in a bucket while waiting for his mother to fetch water from a nearby hand pump to bathe him in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Babu/Reuters

An Indian man jumps to cool off from a residential building partly submerged in the flooded River Ganges after heavy monsoon rains in Allahabad, India, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013. India's monsoon season, which runs from June through September, brings rains that are vital to agriculture but also cause floods and landslides.Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

Protesters use tear gas and throw stones during clashes with riot police in front of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine during a rally in Kiev on November 24, 2013. Thousands of pro-Europe protesters in Ukraine attempted to storm the government building in the capital of Kiev Sunday, clashing with police who fired tear gas to keep them back. Protesters tried to break through police ranks surrounding the building, with some throwing stones and hitting officers with the signs they were carrying, as police fought back with batons, an AFP correspondent reported Genya Savilov /AFP/Getty Images

Pope Francis meets Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, during celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the translation of the relics of St. Josaphat to the Vatican Basilica, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, Nov. 25, 2013. Andrew Medichini/AP

A Yemeni girl receives a polio vaccination during a polio immunization campaign at a health center in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Dec. 16, 2013. A three day anti-Polio immunization campaign to vaccinate more than four million children under five years old against polio began on Monday. (Hani Mohammed/AP)

Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, some of the holiest sites for for Jews and Muslims, are covered in snow in Jerusalem, Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Early snow has surprised many Israelis and Palestinians as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to parts of the Middle East. Dusan Vranic/AP

A family gather around a grave of a relative that was killed when Typhoon Haiyan struck their home on November 18, 2013 in Leyte, Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan which ripped through Philippines over the weekend has been described as on of the most powerful typhoons ever to hit land, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Countries all over the world have pledged relief aid to help support those affected by the typhoon however damage to the airport and roads have made moving the aid into the most affected areas very difficult. With dead bodies left out in the open air and very limited food, water and shelter, health concerns are growing. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Afghan schoolchildren take lessons in an open classroom at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Nangarhar province on December 1, 2013. Afghanistan has had only rare moments of peace over the past 30 years, its education system being undermined by the Soviet invasion of 1979, a civil war in the 1990s and five years of Taliban rule.

A passenger aircraft, with the full “Harvest Moon” seen behind, makes its final approach to landing at Heathrow Airport in west London, September 19, 2013. The Harvest Moon is a traditional name for the full moon that is closest to the autumn equinox, and at a traditional period where farmers would be harvesting crops. The moon’s rise time and angle of path give the illusion that the Harvest Moon is both closer, larger and brighter; though actually it is not. Toby Melville/Reuters

On July 19, 2013, in an event celebrated the world over, NASA's Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn's shadow and turned to image the planet, seven of its moons, its inner rings - and, in the background, our home planet, Earth.

In a natural color mosaic, Saturn eclipses the Sun as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on July 19, 2013. This image spans about 404,880 miles (651,591 km) across. Earth is barely visible as a single pixel just below the main rings, and to the right of the planet. At this point, Cassini was looking back from more than 898 million miles (1.5 billion km) away from Earth.

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