A Syrian girl walks next to the debris of her house, after it was targeted by a missile, in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on July 18. More than 100,000 people died in the conflict that started in 2011, which morphed from a popular movement for change into an insurgency after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, with their newborn son, speaking to the media before departing the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital on July 23 in London, England.
Supporters release balloons during a pre-election rally for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, on July 26 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children play in a fountain at a park on July 31 outside Jerusalem's old city in Israel.
Ariel Castro pleads to Judge Michael Russo during his sentencing on Aug. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio. Castro was sentenced to life without parole, plus 1,000 years for abducting three women between 2002 and 2004 when they were between the ages of 14 and 21 years old. Castro told Judge Michael Russo, "I'm not a monster, I'm sick... I'm a happy person inside."
A balloon is inflated at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta at the Ashton Court estate on Aug. 9 in Bristol, England.
A long-exposure image shows a Perseid meteor streaking across the night sky over St. Loan Medieval Church near the village of Potsurnentsi, late on Aug. 12. The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year in August when the Earth passes through the debris and dust of the Swift-Tuttle comet.
Japan marks the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia as people release doves to pay their respects to the war dead during a ceremony at the Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15 in Tokyo, Japan.
South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria on Aug. 19. Pistorius appeared on charges of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14 -- Valentine's Day.
A firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in Talhadas near Oliveira de Frades, central Portugal, on Aug. 26.
A man competes during the 10000 Volt obstacle during the Tough Viking race on Sept. 1 in Stockholm. The Tough Viking race consists of a 12-kilometer course filled with 15 brutal obstacles (barbed wire, mud, ice, water, tunnels, electricity, fire, climbing, etc.) designed by specialists in the Swedish Armed Forces.
Residents of Male, the capital of Maldives, use mopeds to drive past a popular night spot of the city on Sept. 4. The island city is home to about 120,000, and mopeds are the most popular mode of transportation in the streets of the very small, crowded city.
Residents of Olympic bid city Tokyo celebrate after the announcement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games host city at Komazawa Olympic Park in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 8.
Contestants chase a replica Double Gloucester Cheese down the steep gradient of Cooper's Hill during the annual Bank Holiday tradition of cheese-rolling on May 27 in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England.
Terraced fields of rice paddies are farmed on June 4 in Jinping County, Guizhou Province of China.
The swollen Danube river (right) and the Inn river (left) flood parts of the historical city of Passau on June 6 in Germany. Eastern and southern Germany suffered floods that, in some cases, are the worst in 400 years. At least four people died and tens of thousands evacuated their homes.
Gabrielle Ortiz smokes an electronic cigarette at Vape New York, an electronic cigarette store on June 10 in New York City. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that vaporize a nicotine-laced liquid solution into an aerosol mist, which simulates the act of tobacco smoking.
Lightning strikes the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in downtown Chicago, Ill., on June 12.
Students invade a subway station during a protest calling for a public transport free pass in the Federal District, on June 19 in Brasilia, Brazil. Protests initially sparked by a hike in bus fares in Sao Paulo the week prior quickly spiraled into nationwide marches against corruption, fueled by anger that -- in a country with a wide rich-poor divide -- billions of dollars were being spent on the Confederations Cup and upcoming World Cup 2014, and far too little was earmarked for social programs. Unlike other cities, this protest was completely peaceful and ended without incidents.
American University students Sharon Burk and Mollie Wagoner embrace after hearing that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional at the Supreme Court on June 26 in Washington, DC.
Bijlee, the 58-year-old ailing elephant rescued by individuals and NGOs sometime back, died at Mulund on June 30 in Mumbai, India.
Activists of the organization Campact demonstrate in front of the German Chancellery in support of U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, on July 4 in Berlin, Germany.
Rescuers work on the site of a train accident in the railway station of Bretigny-sur-Orge on July 12 near Paris. At least seven people died and dozens injured after a speeding train split in two and derailed at a station in the southern suburbs of Paris.
Kat Crowe and Melinda O'Neal comfort each other in front of the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center after learning George Zimmerman had been found not guilty in the Murder of Trayvon Martin on July 13 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot and killed 17-year-old Martin after an altercation in February 2012.
About 25,000 people attend the boat procession of the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of fishermen, on July 16 at Puerto de la Cruz on Spain's Canary island of Tenerife.
Children dance and celebrate as people wave a banner of Nelson Mandela to celebrate his 95th birthday outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital, where he was being treated on July 18 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Mark Kelly leans his head on the shoulder of his wife and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords as they attend a news conference asking Congress and the Senate to provide stricter gun control in the United States on March 6 in Tucson, Arizona. Giffords and Kelly were joined by survivors of the Tucson shooting as they spoke outside the Safeway grocery store where the shooting happened two years ago that killed six people.
Firefighters put out a celebration monument called a Falla during the last day of the Las Fallas Festival on March 20 in Valencia, Spain. The Fallas festival, which ran from March 15 until March 19, celebrated the arrival of spring with fireworks, fiestas and bonfires made by large puppets named Ninots.
Easter eggs hang in an apple tree, which pensioners Volker and Christa Kraft have decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs on March 24 in Saalfeld, Germany. The family started decorating an apple tree with painted hen eggs in their garden in 1965 as amusement for child and grandchildren. Now it is an attraction that draws thousands of visitors and tourists to the garden of the family.
Aerial view of the Taim Ecological Station on fire, in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, on March 27. The fire that started in southern Brazil reached approximately 1,400 acres since there is no way to reach the place by water or land.
Revelers take part in a giant pillow fight in Trafalgar Square on International Pillow Fight Day on April 6 in London, England. Mass public pillow fights have been arranged in numerous cities around the world as part of the Urban Playground Movement, which facilitates free, public non-commercial events.
An activist of the Ukrainian women's rights group Femen attacks Russian President Vladimir Putin, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks on during their visit of the industrial exhibition "Hannover Messe" on April 8 in Hannover, Germany
Emergency personnel responds to the scene after two explosions went off near the finish line of the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15.
Police officers extinguish a flare as Western Sydney Wanderers fans walk to the stadium before the A-League 2013 Grand Final match between the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Central Coast Mariners at Allianz Stadium on April 21 in Sydney, Australia.
Bangladeshi volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations after an eight-story building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 25. The collapse killed over 1,000 people and over 2,500 were injured.
Family, area residents and fellow firefighters attend a memorial service held at Baylor University April 25 in Waco, Texas following a fertilizer plant explosion that claimed the lives of volunteer firefighters.
Visitors gather in the new 'Rain Room' installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan on May 15 in New York City. The 5,000 square-foot installation creates a field of falling water that stops in the area where people walk through, allowing them to remain dry. The piece, created by Random International, releases a 260-gallon per minute shower around visitors.
Israeli riot police stand guard as ultra-Orthodox demonstrators set trash bins on fire on May 16 in Jerusalem, Israel. Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis have clashed with police after gathering to protest against newly proposed government legislation that would see them drafted into the military.
Midshipmen celebrate at the end of the U.S. Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning ceremonies on May 24 in Annapolis, Maryland
Hindu devotees bathe in the waters of the holy Ganges river during the auspicious royal bathing day of Makar Sankranti, at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela, on Jan. 14 in Allahabad, India. The Maha Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years and believed to be the largest religious gathering on Earth, attracting more than 100 million people who celebrated more than 55 days.
Oprah Winfrey speaks with Lance Armstrong during an exclusive, no-holds barred interview regarding the controversy surrounding his cycling career on Jan. 14 in Austin, Texas.
U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walk the route as the presidential inaugural parade winds through the nation's capital on Jan. 21 in Washington, DC.
Supporters and activists of the Habayit Hayehudi party (The Jewish Home) react to the announcement of the first projections on the results of Israel's national elections at a post-election rally on Jan. 22 in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Children gather water as Syrian refugees go about their daily business in the Za’atari refugee camp on Jan. 29 in Mafraq, Jordan. Record numbers of refugees fled the violence and bombings in Syria to cross the borders to safety in northern Jordan, and overwhelmed the Za'atari camp.
Brooke Linsky knocks a snow-covered branch in Central Park after a major snowstorm blanketed New York City with more than one foot of snow on Feb. 9.
Thousands of couples take part in a mass wedding ceremony at Cheongshim Peace World Center on Feb. 17 in Gapyeong-gun, South Korea. A total of 3,500 couples from 200 countries around the world exchanged wedding vows for the first time after the Unification Church founder Moon Sun-Myung passed away.
Female Marines learn night-fire techniques during a combat marksmanship course at Marine Combat Training on Feb. 20 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. About 6% of enlisted Marines are female.
Pope Benedict XVI waves to pilgrims, for the last time as head of the Catholic Church, from the window of Castel Gandolfo where he started his retirement on Feb. 28 in Rome, Italy.
Debris sits on a still-closed beach area damaged by flooding from Hurricane Sandy near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge properties on Staten Island on March 1.