Anti-government protesters show their fingers painted in the colors of the flags of Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Egypt during a weekly Friday prayers to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa November 4, 2011. LOUAFI LARBI/RTR/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: rtrlfour888286
My favorite thing about New Year’s Eve isn’t the parties, the staying up late, or even pounding on pots and pans once the ball drops in Times Square. My favorite thing is reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the next year. At Newscom, we hope to give you the chance to do just that with our pictures of the year collections (beware, the link may take some time to load because there are a lot of pictures on the page, but it’s totally worth the wait).
Putting together these lightboxes has become my favorite tradition (see last year’s). We look back on all the stories that have made an impact on the world and have seemed to shift it just a bit (or a lot like the Arab Spring – even literally in the case of the Japan earthquake). Each year, as we review the stories that had import, it seems the stories get bigger and more important. Perhaps that just a sign of growing up and seeing more events as important, or perhaps the world is actually changing faster than it used to.
It’s rare that every part of the world sees one theme, but this year we definitely saw “protest” sweep all the nations of the world. Starting with the Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and Africa that toppled governments, to the brutal crackdowns in Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria to the mostly peaceful campers in the Occupy protests around the world.
The tsunami in Japan and the ensuing nuclear crisis had the whole world holding its breath for weeks, waiting to see if Japan would be ok.
Personally, I’ve been deeply touched watching the progress of Gabrielle Giffords as she went from being shot in the head by a lone gunman in Tucson, to a recovery that seems remarkable.
Did anyone else cry watching the royal wedding? Or saying goodbye to Oprah? I did.
We could also touch on some of the landmark trials that have happened this year. Casey Anthony nearly caused riots, Michale Jackson fans seemed to have found some justice with the verdict in the trial of Conrad Murray, and Amanda Knox was set free and seemed to be relieved to step out of the media spotlight that surrounded her trial in Italy.
Natural disasters also seemed to play a big role, and cost some major money. We all heard about the devastating tornadoes in Missouri, watched as the army corp of engineers tried to keep the Mississippi River from overrunning everything by blowing up several levees, held our breaths as Irene gave the East Coast a scare (and caused a pumpkin shortage for Halloween), and felt for Texas as it struggled to overcome the effects of a lasting drought and seemingly endless wildfires.
We could go on, there were so many stories, but we’re going to let the picture speak for themselves. Check out a small sample of our favorite photos here, but make sure you go back and relive the year in pictures at Newscom.
A protester stands in front of a burning barricade during a demonstration in Cairo January 28, 2011. Police and demonstrators fought running battles on the streets of Cairo on Friday in a fourth day of unprecedented protests by tens of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule. GORAN TOMASEVIC/RTR/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: rtrlfour387239
Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Pad 39A on Friday. Atlantis is embarking on her 33rd flight and the 135th and final flight of the Space Shuttle Program and will deliver the Rafaello Multi-purpose Logistics Module and Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier to the International Space Station. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: zumawireworldphotosfour513572
A demonstrator wears sunglasses with the words "99 Percent" written on them, at the Occupy LA encampment in front of Los Angeles City Hall October 25, 2011. Demonstrators at the encampment are protesting bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment. ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: afplivefour119292
The Royal Wedding of Prince William at Westminster Abbey.. .Pictured: Prince William and Kate Middleton. Allpix / Splash News/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: spnphotosthree458214
A layer of snow covers flowers left as part of a makeshift memorial on the East Front of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 12, 2011, in honor of the six people killed in the shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that also severely wounded Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords. US President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Tucson later today to attend a memorial service. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: afplivethree700160
US President Barack Obama touches the panels with the names of victims inscribed at the North Memorial Pool at Ground Zero during tenth anniversary ceremonies at the site of the World Trade Center September 11, 2011, in New York, USA. At right is First Lady Michelle Obama and former president George W. Bush. KRISTOFFER TRIPPLAAR / POOL/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: epaphotos120138
Flames engulf a road near Bastrop State Park as a wildfire burns out of control near Bastrop, Texas September 5, 2011. An estimated 1,000 homes are being threatened in Bastrop County, just east of Austin, as a 14,000-acre (5700-hectare) wildfire rages out of control, causing evacuations. MIKE STONE/RTR/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: rtrlfour768383
A rail line buckled by the shifting earth is pictured in Christchurch on February 23, 2011, a day after a deadly 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the city. Hundreds of rescuers swarmed over twisted and smoking buildings in a frantic search for survivors after New Zealand's catastrophic earthquake left nearly 400 dead or missing. MARTY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: afplivethree771435
US student Amanda Knox arrives at the Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, Washington, USA, a day after her release from prison in Italy, on 04 October 2011. Amanda Knox was acquitted of murder and sexual assault by an Italian appeals court after spending four years in custody over the killing of her British housemate Meredith Kercher. DAN LEVINE/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: epaphotos146993
A home is seen protected from encroaching floodwaters by a levee near Yazoo City, Mississippi May 18, 2011. Floodwater released from a key Mississippi River spillway surged through the Louisiana bayou on Tuesday, and levees protecting the state's two biggest cities held as river flows neared their peak. Weeks of heavy rains and runoff from an unusually snowy winter caused the Mississippi River to rise, flooding thousands of homes and 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of farmland in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas and evoking comparisons to historic floods in 1927 and 1937. ERIC THAYER/RTR/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: rtrlfour588496
USA, Arizona, Antelope Canyon. Sunbeam illuminates sandy floor and sandstone walls of a slot canyon. Jaynes Gallery (Bill Jaynes) Danita Delimont Photography/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: ddpphotos336585
Casey Anthony stands for the arrival of the jury at the start of the second day of jury deliberations in her murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse Orlando, Florida, Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Joe Burbank/MCT/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: krtphotoslive496902
A portrait of Steve Jobs, featured on the frontpage of the Apple website and seen an iPhone screen, is reflected on the back side of another iPhone in Berlin, Germany, 06 October 2011. Co-founder and long-standing head of Apple died on 05 October 2011 at the age of 56 in California. Jobs battled pancreatic cancer for many years. ARNO BURGI/EPA/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: epaphotos148457
Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks gets a clean look for two points in the third quarter during Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, Sunday, June 12, 2011. Robert Duyos/MCT/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: krtphotoslive492999
A child gets a radiation test in Nihommatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 15, 2011, amid an escalating crisis at a nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 killer quake and tsunami in the prefecture. Kyodo/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: kyodowc068051
A flooding sign is seen partially submerged in floodwaters in Rockhampton, Queensland, January 4, 2011. Floodwaters eased in Australia's major coal mining region on Tuesday, allowing some mines to slowly resume production although most remained idle, as devastating floods affect some 200,000 people and force towns to be evacuated. DANIEL MUNOZ/RTR/Newscom. Find it on Newscom: rtrlfour345094
You may be interested in some of these other blog posts:
Occupy Protests Hit Some Snags
Pictures of the Week: Home for the Holidays
Tags: amanda knox, arab spring, fire, giffords, mississippi, pictures of the year, tsunami