Striking Images of 2012

Photo round-ups tend to go for larger-than life visuals. And many wind up featuring the same shots—because even in a 24/7 world, there are only<br /><br /><br /><br />so many iconic events. We chose, ...

Dec 28, 2012, 10:36 IST5 min
1/25
A student runs for cover as riot police try to quash a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain. Student associations had called upon 120,000 pupils to strike in protest against education cuts rec...
Image by David Ramos/Getty Images
2/25
A man rides a horse through a bonfire in the small Spanish village of San Bartolome. In honour of San Anton, the patron saint of animals, horses are ridden through bonfires on the night bef...
Image by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
3/25
Two horses tear ahead of the pack into the second turn of the Grand Prix Prestige race at the White Turf horse racing meeting held on the frozen Lake St Moritz in St Moritz, Switzerland 
Image by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
4/25
Relatives of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy killed in an Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza strip grieve during his funeral 
Image by Getty Images
5/25
Israeli border police officers use pepper spray as they detain an injured Palestinian protester during clashes on Land Day in Jerusalem&rsquos Old City. Israeli security forces fired rubber...
Image by Ammar Awad / Reuters
6/25
A member of the Free Syrian Army, formed to bring down the dictatorial regime of President Bashar Assad, fires his sniper rifle in Aleppo
Image by Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
7/25
The peloton make their way through the French countryside during stage six of the 2012 Tour de France from Epernay to Metz 
Image by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
8/25
US President Barack Obama takes to the stage with his family after his victory in the 2012 US presidential polls, in Chicago. Obama beat Republican candidate Mitt Romney, defying the draggi...
Image by Getty Images
9/25
China's new Politburo Standing Committee members (from left to right) Zhang Gaoli, Liu Yunshan, Zhang Dejiang, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Yu Zhengsheng and Wang Qishan, line up as they meet wi...
Image by Carlos Barria / Reuters
10/25
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, finally released from her long house arrest, returns after giving a speech to her supporters during the election campaign at Kawhmu Township ...
Image by Reuters
11/25
Supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood&rsquos presidential candidate, protest against Egypt&rsquos military rulers at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Morsi won the polls marred by char...
Image by Daniel Berehulak /Getty Images
12/25
A child looks at clownfish at the Pets Festival in Lisbon
Image by Rafael Marchante / Reuters
13/25
Same-sex couples take their vows during a group wedding at the First Baptist Church at Seattle in Washington. Washington recently made history by joining Maryland and Maine as the three US ...
Image by Jordan Stead / Reuters
14/25
Rescuers and relatives stop a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a building in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China. The woman was trying to kill herself after murdering her nephe...
Image by Reuters
15/25
Police dogs attack a man found stealing from ethnic Somali homes during the second day of skirmishes in the Eastleigh neighbourhood of Kenya&rsquos capital Nairobi. Police fired tear gas to...
Image by Thomas Mukoya / Reuters
16/25
A woman reacts as she sees a part of her house being demolished as part of China&rsquos relentless march of progress, at Yangji village in central Guangzhou city, Guangdong province  ...
Image by Reuters
17/25
Thousands continue to visit the makeshift memorial for the 12 movie goers who were killed in a shooting rampage by a 24-year-old during the screening of The Dark Knight Rises, in Aurora, Co...
Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
18/25
Family members and friends grieve for the shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On December 14, a gunman opened fire on the schoolchildren and staff kill...
Image by Adrees Latif / Reuters
19/25
Ewan Donnachie of Australia competes in the 2012 Shark Island Challenge Final at Shark Island near Cronulla in Sydney 
Image by Matt King/Getty Images
20/25
Residents look over the remains of burnt homes in the Rockaways section of New York after Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast, shutting down transportation and businesses, and leaving h...
Image by Keith Bedford / Reuters
21/25
A US army soldier takes cover during a controlled detonation to clear an area for setting up a check point in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan ...
Image by Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
22/25
Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the US side to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada 
Image by Mark Blinch / Reuters
23/25
Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after ascending to sporting immortality, winning the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay golds in the 2012 London Olympics 
Image by Michael Steele/Getty Images
24/25
Marking the end of an era in the space story, Space shuttle Enterprise mounted atop a NASA shuttle carrier aircraft, does a fly-by near the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (its new home)...
Image by Reuters
25/25
A riot of colours from exploding fireworks brings to an end the London Olympics 
Image by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

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