The most powerful news photos of the year

London held its first New Year’s Eve fireworks display since it was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden was on his way to northern Kentucky to speak about his infrastructure investments and economic plan.

It took 15 votes to finally elect Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 pulled the balloon, which US officials said was a Chinese surveillance device, out of the waters of Myrtle Beach.

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 was followed by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake. The two quakes destroyed buildings in Turkey and Syria and killed over 40,000 people.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency due to winter storms in 13 counties, including Los Angeles County.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning “sexually oriented performances” in the presence of children into law in June. In September, a federal judge ruled that the ban was unconstitutional, CNN reported.

Over 1 million protesters demonstrated across France after the government pushed pension reform through parliament without a vote, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Trump became the first former US president to face criminal charges following an indictment by a grand jury that heard evidence on hush money paid to an adult film star before the 2016 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

Uganda criminalizes LGBTQ identities and sexual activity with sentences ranging from prison time to execution.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the national Take Your Child To Work Day.

They rode in the Gold State Coach, which has carried monarchs at every coronation since 1831.

Eight people were killed and 7 wounded in the attack.

The Title 42 border enforcement policy enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow the US to quickly expel migrants due to public health concerns ended in May, AP reported.

More than half of the Indian state of Maharashtra is experiencing drought, The Indian Express reported.

Smoke from the wildfires turned skies orange across the East Coast.

Trump was indicted on 37 felony counts after prosecutors alleged he broke federal law by taking documents with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago instead of leaving them with the National Archives.

Tens of thousands of tourists were forced to evacuate the area as wildfires swept across the south of the island of Rhodes.

After another freezing incident, Capitol physician Brian P. Monahan wrote that McConnell was fit to continue working, linking the episodes to a prior concussion.

Beijing’s heaviest rainfall in 140 years triggered flash flooding and landslides, forcing over 100,000 people to evacuate, Reuters reported.

The 11-day exercise, featuring drills including the handling of chemical and biological attacks, was held with US troops.

The earthquake hit villages in the High Atlas mountains south of Marrakesh.

Russian forces eventually captured Bakhmut in May, but Kyiv stopped them from moving deeper into eastern Ukraine by defending the city, Business Insider’s Jake Epstein reported.

Africa’s second-highest peak, Mount Kenya features 11 glaciers that have been shrinking due to climate change.

The writers’ strike lasted 148 days, while the actors’ strike was resolved after 118 days.

The August 8 wildfire on Maui killed at least 100 people and displaced thousands.

In the worst terror attack in Israel’s history, Hamas militants brutally killed around 1,200 people.

After the October 7 attacks, Israel declared war on Hamas, launching a counterattack in which at least 18,600 Palestinians have been killed.

Ukrainian forces fought to recapture Bakhmut from Russian control.