Year in review 2014: Pictures of the year

Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini shows teeth marks on his shoulder where he was bitten by Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, during their 2014 World Cup match at the Dunas arena in Natal in this June 24 photo. Tony Gentile / Reuters

Children play around a man disguised as Batman at the Favela do Metro slum area just near the Maracana stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 9. Families living in this shantytown within a stone’s throw of Rio’s mythical Maracana stadium refuse to have their homes demolished as part of a project to renovate the district before the Fifa World Cup. Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP

The mother, right, of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh, who was murdered in 2007, slaps Balal, who killed her son, during the execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr in Iran on April 15 just before she removed the noose around his neck with the help of her husband, sparing the life of her son’s convicted murderer. Arash Khamooshi / AFP

A man sharpens his machete as young people, who created a self-defence committee for their district Benz-vi, meet before leaving for a patrol in their district, on March 12 in Bangui. UN investigators left for the Central African Republic on March 10 to launch a probe into human right violations in the conflict-ravaged country amid fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Sia Kambou / AFP

A giant cloud of hot volcanic ash clouds engulfs villages in Karo district during the eruption of Mount Sinabung volcano located on Indonesia’s Sumatra island on February 1. Fourteen people, including four schoolchildren, were killed February 1 after they were engulfed by scorching ash clouds. Sutanta Aditya / AFP

This three image combo photo shows the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo rocket separating from the carrier aircraft, left, prior to it exploding in the air, right, during a test flight on Friday, October 31. The Virgin Galactic rocket that exploded during a test flight killed a pilot aboard and seriously injured another while scattering wreckage in Southern California’s Mojave Desert. Kenneth Brown / AP

A girl from the minority Yazidi sect rests after fleeing violence in Sinjar, in this August 13 file photo. Youssef Boudlal / Reuters

A fighter jet flies overhead as Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured personnel carrier in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine, in this April 16 file photo. Marko Djurica / Reuters

South Sudanese children from the Dinka ethnic group pose at cattle camp in the town of Yirol, in central South Sudan on February 12. UN leader Ban Ki-moon condemned on February 12 what he said was the use of cluster bombs in the war in South Sudan, a day after the opening of peace talks between South Sudan’s government and rebels. Troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and renegade soldiers who support his former vice president Riek Machar had been battling since mid-December. Fabio Bucciarelli / AFP

A golfer hits a tee shot as African migrants sit atop a border fence during an attempt to cross into Spanish territory, between Morocco and Spain’s north African enclave of Melilla, in this October 22 file photo. Jose Palazon / Reuters

Actor George Clooney and British lawyer Amal Alamuddin leave the palazzo Ca Farsetti on a taxi boat on September 29 in Venice, after a civil ceremony to officialise their wedding. Pierre Teyssot / AFP

Syrian refugees wait to cross into Turkey at the border September 22 near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. The Turkish deputy Prime Minister said some 60,000 Syrian had fled across the border as Islamic State militants shelled villages close to the border. On Friday Sept. 19, after permission was granted from Ankara, Turkey opened part of its border to Syria to the refugees. Getty Images

Oscar Pistorius reacts in the Pretoria High Court on September 11 in Pretoria, South Africa. South African Judge Thokosile Masipa had ruled out murder charges but had left it until the next day to announce whether Oscar Pistorius was guilty of culpable homicide as the six-month trial of the Olympic double-amputee sprinter came to an end. His defence maintained that Mr Pistorius mistook Ms Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder in his home when he fired several shots into his bathroom allegedly in self-defence but killing his girlfriend. Kim Ludbrook / EPA/Gallo Image/Getty Images

US Secretary of State John Kerry kicks around a soccer ball while talking on his mobile phone during an airplane refueling stop at Sal Island, Cape Verde, enroute to Washington, DC on May 5. Saul Loeb / AFP

In this photo taken on a smartphone on July 12, people run to shelter from a hailstorm on the beach at Ob River, the major river in western Siberia in Novosibirsk, Russia. The Investigative Committee said in a statement that two young girls aged three and four had died in the lakeside town of Bredsk, not far from the large Siberian city of Novosibirsk. The two girls died after sustaining traumatic brain injuries when a tree fell on their tent, where they were taking shelter from the storm along with their families. Nikita Dudnik / AP

A fisherman transports a dead whale shark after it was caught in fishermen’s nets, in Yangzhi county, Fujian province, in this August 1 file photo. Reuters

Senior soloist of the Joburg Ballet Kitty Phetla performs in a classroom at the Nka-Thuto Primary School in Soweto on October 16. Using ballet and dance to promote healthy and positive choices, Joburg Ballet provided lecture demonstrations to 20 schools in Soweto, raising awareness and informing students of the available free classes they provide together with the provincial department of education. Marco Longari / AFP

This image released by Ellen DeGeneres shows actors Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres, Bradley Cooper, Peter Nyong’o Jr., Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o and Angelina Jolie as they pose for a “selfie” during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on March 2 in Los Angeles. Ellen DeGeneres / AP

Tariq Khdeir is greeted by his mother after being released from jail in Jerusalem on July 6. The picture was taken outside the courthouse following the release of Khdeir, a 15-year-old American of Palestinian descent, whose beating by Israeli police during a violent protest in East Jerusalem drew US concern. Ronen Zvulun / Reuters

A hospital security guard helps a student injured in the shootout at a school under attack by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, December 16. Taliban gunmen stormed a military school in the northwestern Pakistani city, killing and wounding dozens, officials said, in the latest militant violence to hit the already troubled region. Mohammad Sajjad / AP

Women mourn as they surround the body of their relative Osama Taher, 15, a student who was killed during an attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School, at his house in Peshawar on December 16. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

A young girl is pictured after she was wounded during clashes between riot police and prostestors after the funeral of Berkin Elvan, the 15-year-old boy who died from injuries suffered during last year’s anti-government protests in Istanbul on March 12. Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at protestors in the capital Ankara, while in Istbanbul, crowds shouting anti-government slogans lit a huge fire as they made their way to a cemetery for the burial of Berkin Elvan. Bulent Kilic / AFP

Chelsea Pensioner Albert Willis plants a poppy at the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red evolving art installation at the Tower of London on October 9 in London. 888,246 poppies were planted in the moat by volunteers. Each poppy represents a British or Colonial fatality in the First World War. The poppies are for sale with 10 per cent plus all net proceeds going to six service charities. Chris Jackson / Getty Images

A masked pro-Russian protester sits on a chair as he poses for a picture inside a regional government building in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine in this April 25 file photo. Marko Djurica / Reuters

Mark Asquith