وداعا 2012 - Goodbye 2012

 A Palestinian man reacts at the scene of an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City November 18, 2012. Ten Palestinian civilians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza, Palestinian medics said, the highest civilian death toll in a single incident during five days of fighting

 Laborers pull an iron rope before separating a portion of a ship into scrap metal at Gaddani ship breaking yard, about 60 km (37 miles) from Karachi November 25, 2011. Pakistan is full of dangers, with tens of thousands of victims of suicide bombings, sectarian violence and ethnic bloodshed which make big headlines across the world. There is another less dramatic, but dark, side of the South Asian nation that rarely captures attention -- the large number of impoverished people forced to endure horrible conditions at work to survive. Fifteen thousand of them risk their lives every day, tearing down ships at Gaddani beach on the Arabian Sea coast, a 10 km-long death trap. They earn as little as $4 a day. Picture taken November 25, 2011.

 This picture taken on July 6, 2012 shows visitors gathering to watch giant gushes of water being released from the Xiaolangdi dam to clear up the sediment-laden Yellow river and to prevent localized flooding, in Jiyuan, central China's Henan province. China is hit by big downpours every summer often causing fatalities as seen in 2010, which saw the nation's worst flooding in a decade leaving more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

 Jackie Nigro cheers as she waits for Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at a campaign stop at Pioneer Park in Dunedin, Fla., Monday, Jan. 30, 2012

 In this Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters carry a civilian away from the line-of-fire after he was shot twice, in his stomach and back, by a Syrian army sniper while walking near the frontline in the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria

 A tiger cub rests at a nursery room at the Shanghai Zoo in Shanghai, China, Thursday Oct. 4, 2012.

 During the last hour of hostilities, militants launch rockets from Gaza City as an Israeli bomb explodes on the horizon on November 21, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. An official ceasefire started at 9pm local time between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement after a week of conflict resulting in the deaths of 150 Palestinians and five Israelis and many hundreds injured

 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney listens in on conference call with advisors aboard his campaign bus en route to a campaign rally at Avon Lake High School on October 29, 2012 in Avon Lake, Ohio. Romney has canceled other campaign events on October 29 and 30 due to Hurricane Sandy

 Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky (2nd R) leaves the Centre County Courthouse after being sentenced in his child sex abuse case on October 9, 2012 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The 68-year-old Sandusky was sentenced to at least 30 years and not more that 60 years in prison for his conviction in June on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, including while he was the defensive coordinator for the Penn State college football team

 In this Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter sights a government position as rebel fighters belonging to the Liwa Al Tawhid group carry out a military operation at the Moaskar front line, one of the battlefields in Karmal Jabl neighborhood, in Aleppo, Syria

 In this Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 photo, a rebel sniper aims at a Syrian army position, seen with another rebel fighter reflected in a mirror, in a residential building in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria. Syrian fighter jets pounded rebel areas across the country on Monday with scores of airstrikes that anti-regime activists called the most widespread bombing in a single day since Syria's troubles started 19 months ago

 Severely malnourished two-year-old girl Rajni is weighed by health workers at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh February 1, 2012. India has failed to reduce its high prevalence of child malnutrition despite its economy doubling between 1990 and 2005 to become Asia's third largest. A government-supported survey last month said 42 percent of children under five are underweight - almost double that of sub-Saharan Africa - compared to 43 percent five years ago. The statistic - which means 3,000 children dying daily due to illnesses related to poor diets - forced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to admit last month that malnutrition was "a national shame" and was putting the health of the nation in jeopardy. Picture taken February 1, 2012

 Jersey shore residents carry their belongings after being let in to visit their damaged homes for a day on November 6, 2012 in Sea Bright, New Jersey. Sea Bright was devastated by Superstorm Sandy, and officials allowed residents to come home only for a day to salvage valuables from the debris

 President Barack Obama arrives on Air Force One in the rain at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, in Cleveland

 Hospital workers evacuate patient Deborah Dadlani from NYU Langone Medical Center during Hurricane Sandy the evening of October 29, 2012 in New York City. More than 200 patients were evacuated from the hospital after backup generators failed due to flooding following a power outage. The storm has claimed at least 16 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City

People receive dental treatment at the Care Harbor/LA free clinic in Los Angeles September 27, 2012. The clinic will give an estimated 4,800 patients free dental work, medical exams, screenings and immunizations over four days 

 An aerial view of New Yorkers taking in the sun on Manhattan rooftops on August 4, 2012 in New York City. The past year through June 2012 in the continental United States has been the hottest since modern record-keeping started in 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA also reports the ten warmest years since 1895 have occurred since 2000. A weather expert at the agency suggested climate change has a role in the high temperatures.

 In this photo provided by Red Bull, Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria is seen before his jump during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos on March 15, 2012 in Roswell, New Mexico. In this test he reach the altitude 21800 meters (71500 ft) and landed safely near Roswell. Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of the earths atmosphere, where upon reaching altitude of 120,000 feet by helium balloon, pilot and base jumper Felix Baumgartner will then free fall to the ground in an attempt to break the speed of sound.

 A woman reacts as she holds her daughter during an air strike by Syrian air force near her house in the Ahad neighbourhood of Aleppo on September 13, 2012. Syrian fighter jets and tanks pounded the northern city of Aleppo, an AFP journalist said, as witnesses reported rebels advancing into the key contested central Midan district

 Space Shuttle Enterprise is carried by barge underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on June 3, 2012 in New York City. Enterprise is on it's way to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, where it will put on permanent display.

Syrian rebels observe as a comrade prepares to throw a homemade grenade towards an army position in the Al-Amariya district of the northern city of Aleppo on October 20, 2012. International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pressed in Damascus for a truce to break the cycle of bloodshed in Syria, while the regime said a national dialogue free of foreign interference was the key 

 Leanne McCain (R), and her children of North Pole, Alaska embrace over her slain husband's grave at the National Cemetery on May 28, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. Her husband and father of four, Army SFC Johnathan McCain, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in November 2011. She brought her children this year to take part in a TAPS "Good Grief Camp". Five hundred military children and teens, many of whom had a parent that was killed in the Afghan and Iraq wars, attended the annual four-day "Good Grief Camp" in Arlington, VA and Washington, DC, which is run by TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors). The camp helped them learn coping skills and build relationships so they know they are not alone in the grief of their loved one. They met others of their own age group, learned together and shared their feelings, both through group activities and one-on-one mentors, who are all active duty or former military service members. Some 1,200 adults, most of whom are grieving parents and spouses, also attend the National Military Survival Seminar held concurrently with the children's camp. The TAPS slogan is "Remember the Love. Celebrate the Life. Share the Journey.

 A man walks under the wreckage of a fair ride after a tornado ripped through a fun fair in Gandia, near Valencia on September 29, 2012. Ten people, including a young girl and an elderly woman, have died in Spain as a result of floods brought on by downpours, regional officials said

 The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, in the midst of their ICESCAPE mission, retrieves supplies for some mid-mission fixes dropped by parachute from a C-130 in the Arctic Ocean in this July 12, 2011 NASA handout photo obtained by Reuters June 11, 2011. Scientists punched through the sea ice to find waters richer in phytoplankton than any other region on earth. Phytoplankton, the base component of the marine food chain, were thought to grow in the Arctic Ocean only after sea ice had retreated for the summer. Scientists now think that the thinning Arctic ice is allowing sunlight to reach the waters under the sea ice, catalyzing the plant blooms where they had never been observed

The Midtown skyline remains lit as Lower Manhattan remains mostly without power on November 1, 2012 in New York City. Millions of customers in New Jersey and New York remain without power following Superstorm Sandy as colder weather approaches. The storm has claimed at least 90 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the situation a "major disaster" for large areas of the U.S. east coast, including New York City 

 The carcass of the world's most well-preserved baby mammoth, named Lyuba, is displayed in Hong Kong on April 10, 2012. Lyuba, whose carcass is 42 thousand years old was found by a reindeer herder in Yamal Peninsula in Russia on 2007. She will be exhibited at IFC Mall in Hong Kong on April 12, 2012.

 U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama embrace during a campaign rally at the University of Iowa September 7, 2012 in Iowa City, Iowa. This is Obama and Biden's first day of campaigning after accepting the nomination for president yesterday at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 The family of a five year old Afghan girl, that was allegedly raped by a 22 year old man, looks on as she lies in a hospital bed in Kaldar district of Balk Province of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 12, 2012. The alleged rapist and neighbor was later detained by police. There is little sign that violence against women in Afghanistan is decreasing, despite billions of dollars of international aid which has poured into the country during the decade-long war. Some 87 percent of Afghan women report having experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage, according to figures quoted in an October report by the British charity Oxfam. 

 U.S. President Barack Obama sits aboard Marine One as it lands on the South Lawn of the White House October 23, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama was returning from campaign events in Florida and Ohio following last night's third and final final presidential debate

 Workers use combines to harvest soybeans in Tangara da Serra, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. Brazil is the world's second largest soy producer after the United States and the crop is one of the nation's principal exports.

 Indians feed birds from a boat on the River of Yamuna as it is enveloped by winter morning fog in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012

 Russian riot police disperse opposition protesters in downtown Moscow on Sunday, May 6, 2012. Riot police in Moscow have begun arresting protesters who were trying to reach the Kremlin in a demonstration on the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration as president.

 Relatives take cover during a rocket attack during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem, 49, one of the three people who died in a rocket attack on November 16, 2012 in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. Three people were killed in Israel November 15, after a building was hit by a rocket fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Palestinian rocket attacks followed a series aerial strikes on targets in Gaza launched by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) which killed a top military commander of Hamas

 Free Syria Army (FSA) fighters battle with regime loyalist soldiers to dislodge a sniper from its position overlooking the two main roads in the neighborhood of Askar in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on October 24, 2012.

Vice President Joe Biden's talks to customers during a stop at Cruisers Diner, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Seaman, Ohio 

 Spectators in cherry pickers take photos of the shuttle Endeavor makes its way Crenshaw Drive in Inglewood, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. Endeavor's 12-mile road trip kicked off shortly before midnight Thursday as it moved from its Los Angeles International Airport hangar en route to the California Science Center.

 Two Syrian rebels take sniper positions at the heavily contested neighborhood of Karmal Jabl in central Aleppo on October 18, 2012. Violence persisted on October 19 with rebels and loyalists of President Bashar al-Assad locked in battle for the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan on the Damascus-Aleppo highway linking Syria's two biggest cities.

 Veterans of the Korean War attend the commemoration of the 59th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice at Arlington National Cemetery July 27, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. Hundreds of Korean war veterans attended the commemoration of the armistice agreement that ended more than three years of fighting between the United Nations, the People's Republic of China, North Korea and South Korea

 A boy slides down in to a swimming pool as the sun shines in the northern German city of Hameln on May 22, 2012 as temperatures rose to up to 30 degrees Celsius.

The iconic Princess Cottage, built in 1855, remains standing after being ravaged by flooding on November 21, 2012 in Union Beach, New Jersey. Little more than half of the home remains and more than 200 homes were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in the town 

 Penn State students and others react to the sanctions the NCAA announced against Penn State in the HUB on the campus of Penn State on July 23, 2012 in State College, Pennsylvania. As an outcome of the university's mishandling of the allegations of child-sexual abuse by former coach Jerry Sandusky, Penn State was fined $60 million, was stripped of all its football wins from 1998 through 2011, barred from postseason games for four years, and lost 20 total scholarships annually for four seasons

 A young member of the Colla 'Vella de Valls' descends after bulding a human tower during the 24th Tarragona Castells Comptetion on October 7, 2012 in Tarragona, Spain. The 'Castellers' who build the human towers with precise techniques compete in groups, known as 'colles', at local festivals with aim to build the highest and most complex human tower. The Catalan tradition is believed to have originated from human towers built at the end of the 18th century by dance groups and is part of the Catalan culture

 Firefighters extinguish fire at the scene of an explosion in Ashrafieh, central Beirut October 19, 2012. A huge car bomb exploded in a street in central Beirut during rush hour on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding about 80, witnesses and officials said

 People walk by a destroyed section of the Rockaway boardwalk in the heavily damaged Rockaway section of Queens after the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy on October 31, 2012 in the Queens borough of New York City. With the death toll currently at 55 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the affects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by Hurricane Sandy. JFK airport in New York and Newark airport in New Jersey expect to resume flights on Wednesday morning and the New York Stock Exchange commenced trading after being closed for two days

 Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin, near Aleppo, on July 23, 2012, during fights between rebels and Syrian troops. Syrian rebels "liberated" several districts of the northern city of Aleppo on Monday, a Free Syrian Army spokesman in the country's commercial hub said.

 Men performance as they beg for charity in a street in Madrid, Spain, Monday, May 14, 2012. Spain got caught up in the uncertainty surrounding the European single currency and the electoral stalemate in Greece Monday as it saw its borrowing costs rise and stock prices fall at alarming rates

Eddie Liu uses a broom to clean up mud and water from extensive flooding in a laundromat due to superstorm Sandy in the Coney Island neighborhood of New York November 2, 2012. Four days after superstorm Sandy smashed into the U.S. Northeast, rescuers on Friday were still discovering the extent of the death and devastation in New York and the New Jersey shore, and anger mounted over gasoline shortages, power outages and waits for relief supplies 

 Surfers wait for waves as dolphins jump around at Bondi Beach in Sydney September 25, 2012. Dolphins are a common sight along Sydney's world famous beaches, as they venture close to shore in search of small fish

 View of the Costa Concordia taken on January 14, 2012, after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio, last night. Three people died and about 70 were missing Saturday after an Italian cruise ship with more than 4,000 people on board ran aground and keeled over, sparking scenes of panic. The Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it apparently hit a reef near the island of Giglio on Friday, only a few hours into its voyage, as passengers were sitting down for dinner.

 Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the U.S. side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, June 15, 2012

 An Aurora borealis is pictured near the city of Tromsoe, northern Norway, late on January 24, 2012.

 In this Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 photo, downed utility poles and wires lie along Bull Run Road in Hopewell Township, N.J, three days after Hurricane Sandy swept through the region, leaving many without power.

 Protesters gather after the verdict in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 2, 2012. Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison Saturday for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power last year. By dusk, thousands filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square, the heart of last year's uprising, in a demonstration called by revolutionary groups and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood to vent anger over the acquittals.

Smoke rises after an Israeli forces strike in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. The Israeli military widened its range of targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday to include the media operations of the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers, sending its aircraft to attack two buildings used by both Hamas and foreign media outlets 

 The son of Salafi Islamist Hisham al-Saedni mourns during his father's funeral in Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip October 14, 2012. Two Gaza militants killed by Israel on Saturday, one of them al-Saedni, were the most senior al Qaeda affiliates in the Palestinian enclave, with links to jihadi networks in Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, sources said on Sunday

 A rebel fighter is carried down a ladder from his position in a third story apartment after being critically wounded by a Syrian government tank shell during an intense battle between rebels and Syrian army forces at the al-arqub neighborhood of Aleppo, on September 26, 2012.

 Annie Blagojevich, daughter of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, watches as her father is surrounded by the media in front of their home Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in Chicago. The 55-year-old Democrat is due to report to a prison in Colorado on Thursday to begin serving a 14-year sentence, making him the second Illinois governor in a row to go to prison for corruption.

In this undated handout photo provided by Ufficio Stampa Gruppo Carabinieri Subaquei, Carabinieri frogmen dive on the cruise ship Costa Concordia, January, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy. The rescue operation to find 21 people still missing aboard the Costa Concordia has resumed on January 20, 2011 after being suspended for the third time, as conditions caused the vessel to shift on the rocks on which it is resting. 

 A portrait of a Free Syrian Army rebel mounted of his steed in Al-Shatouria village near to the Turkish border in northwestern Syria, on March 16, 2012, a year after a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted.

 Palestinians run for cover after an airstrike hit the northern Gaza City on November 16, 2012. Gaza militants targeted Tel Aviv on November 16, with another rocket, defying Israeli warnings of a possible ground assault to follow its aerial bombardment of the Hamas-run strip

 Syrian man cries while holding the body of his son near Dar El Shifa hospital in Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012.

 The view of storm damage over the Atlantic Coast from the helicopter behind Marine One with US President Barack Obama and Governor Christie as they view the Hurricane Sandy damage in New Jersey, on October 31, 2012. Americans sifted through the wreckage of superstorm Sandy on Wednesday as millions remained without power. The storm carved a trail of devastation across New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in several states, swamping miles of coastline, and throwing the tied-up White House race into disarray just days before the vote

 Brittany Brewer (C) fixes her gown as she prepares for the Owsley County High School prom next to a wood stove in the home where she lives with her grandmother on April 21, 2012 in Booneville, Kentucky. Daniel Boone once camped in the Appalachian mountain hamlet of Owsley County which remains mostly populated by descendants of settlers to this day. The 2010 U.S. Census listed Owsley County as having the lowest median household income in the country outside of Puerto Rico, with 41.5% of residents living below the poverty line. Familial and community bonds run deep, with a populace that shares a collective historical and cultural legacy uncommon in most parts of the country. However, the community of around 5,000 struggles with a lack of jobs due to the decline in coal, tobacco and lumber industries along with health issues including drug addiction without effective treatment.

Melanie Martinez pauses while salvaging items in her flooded home in Plaquemines Parish on September 3, 2012 in Braithwaite, Louisiana. Martinez, along with her husband and mother, was forced to ride out the storm in the home when their car broke down. The house quickly flooded and they were rescued by a neighbor who was able to break into their attic to save them. This is the fifth home Martinez has had destroyed due to hurricanes in Louisiana. Damage totals from the hurricane could top $2 billion and more than 125,000 customers are still without power six days after the storm made landfall. 

 Supporters listen to US Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a rally at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Marion, Ohio, October 28, 2012. 

 Members of the Al-Baraa bin Malek batallion, part of the Free Syria Army's Al-Fatah brigade, duck to the ground as they pull a man (R) who was shot by a sniper twice in the Bustan al-Basha district of the northern city of Aleppo on October 20, 2012. Due to the risk of being shot by the sniper, no one was able to rescue the man who eventually ran towards rebels, only to be shot by the sniper a second time. Rebels then pulled him and rushed him to a hospital, though it is not known if he survived. Three civilians were shot on this main road in the space of three hours by the same sniper

 U.S. soldier Nicholas Dickhut from 5-20 infantry Regiment attached to 82nd Airborne points his rifle at a doorway after coming under fire by the Taliban while on patrol in Zharay district in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan April 26, 2012.

 In this Friday, Nov. 02, 2012 photo, Syrian residents run for cover to an underground basement as an attack by Syrian army heavy artillery hits an apartment compound of rebel fighter's families in Aleppo, Syria. U.N. officials and human rights groups believe President Bashar Assad's regime is responsible for the bulk of suspected war crimes in Syria's 19-month-old conflict, which began as a largely peaceful uprising but has transformed into a brutal civil war. However a video that appears to show a unit of Syrian rebels kicking terrified, captured soldiers and then executing them with machine guns raised concerns Friday about rebel brutality at a time when the United States is making its strongest push yet to forge an opposition movement it can work with.

 US President Barack Obama during a rally at Cornell College October 17, 2012 in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Obama is traveling to Iowa and Ohio to attend campaign rallies in the two swing states

 Gary Hunt of Great Britain dives 29 meters from the rock monolith during the first round of the third stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series at Islet Vila Franca do Campo, Azores, Portugal. Kent De Mond of the USA leads after the first round with the remaining three rounds taking place tomorrow, July 21st.

 Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a blaze after an Israeli air strike on the Islamic National Bank building in Gaza City on November 20, 2012. Israeli leaders discussed an Egyptian plan for a truce with Gaza's ruling Hamas, reports said, before a mission by the UN chief to Jerusalem and as the toll from Israeli raids on Gaza rose over 100

 Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, walks away from the stage after a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012.

 This aerial photo shows the Breezy Point neighborhood, in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, where more than 50 homes were burned to the ground Monday night as a result of superstorm Sandy. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is seen through a damaged car window after a rocket fired from Gaza landed in the southern city of Ashdod November 16, 2012. Israel has started drafting 16,000 reserve troops, the military said on Friday, in a sign that violence could escalate further with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.  

 A view of Nueva Esperanza cemetery during the Day of the Dead celebrations in Villa Maria, Lima November 1, 2012. Each year people visit the cemetery, one of Latin America's largest, to honor the dead

The mother of 10-month-old Palestinian girl, Hanen Tafesh, killed the day before in an Israeli air strike, is comforted by her husband and relatives as she mourns before her funeral in Gaza City, on November 16, 2012. Israeli warplanes carried out multiple new air strikes on the Palestinian territory, including several hits on Gaza City, the third day of an intensive campaign which the military has said is aimed at stamping out rocket fire on southern Israel. 

 A humpback whales lunges out of the water to feed near a gathering of spectators just off a beach at San Luis Obispo, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012. The whale fed on a school of bait fish for more than an hour, often breaching close to nearby boats, kayakers and stand up paddle boarders.

 A Syrian man carries his wounded daughter outside a hospital in the northern city of Aleppo on September 18, 2012. Syrian troops shelled several districts in Aleppo and clashed with rebels, as Damascus ally Iran proposed a simultaneous halt to the violence and a peaceful solution to the conflict.

 US Army soldiers attached to 2nd platoon, C troop, 1st Squadron (Airborne), 91st U.S Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team operating under NATO sponsored International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) protect a wounded comrade from dust and smoke flares after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast during a patrol near Baraki Barak base in Logar Province on October 13, 2012. The soldier, 21 year-old Private Ryan Thomas from Oklahoma suffered soft tissue damage and after surgery in Afghanistan was scheduled to be evacuated to Germany. After 11 years of war, 2,135 US soldiers dead, their Afghan colleagues turning on them, and widespread predictions the conflict will end in failure, coalition forces could be forgiven for suffering a dip in morale. But commanders and soldiers on the ground insist the challenges are bringing them closer together, even if the outcome of the war is uncertain and the perception of what constitutes success has changed

 Former President Bill Clinton bows as President Barack Obama walks on stage after Clinton's address to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012.

 The balloon carrying Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria lifts off during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos on July 25, 2012 in Roswell, New Mexico.†Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of space to an altitude of 37.000 meters to break several records including the sound of speed in freefall

 A firefighter of Alcoy and Elda try to extinguish a fire in Torre de Macanes near Alicante, on August 13, 2012. One person was killed and three injured Sunday as firefighters battled wildfires across Spain, authorities said, the latest victims in a sweltering summer of forest blazes

 People are spun round on a fairground ride on the south bank of the River Thames in London, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012.

 In this Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 photo Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding of Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, Israel

 A crowd of North Korean military members look up to a stadium podium and applaud the country's leader Kim Jong Un and senior military and government officials during a meeting of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling party in Pyongyang on Saturday April 14, 2012. North Korea will mark the 100-year birth anniversary of the late leader Kim Il Sung on Sunday April 15.

 Participants run in front of Fuente Ymbro's bulls during the fifth San Fermin Festival bull run, on July 11, 2012, in Pamplona, northern Spain. The festival is a symbol of Spanish culture that attracts thousands of tourists to watch the bull runs despite heavy condemnation from animal rights groups.

 A Palestinian man carries the body of a child from the al-Dallu family out from the rubble after an Israeli missile struck a family home killing at least seven members of the same family in Gaza City on November 18, 2012.

 A damaged home is cordoned off along the beach in the Rockaway neighborhood, in Queens where a large section of the iconic boardwalk was washed away on November 2, 2012 in New York, United States. Limited public transit has returned to New York and most major bridges have reopened but will require three occupants in the vehicle to pass. With the death toll currently over 70 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy.

 Members of Congolese Women's Association, who have been widowed by conflict, are reflected in a window during their meeting in the town of Rutshuru in North Kivu, east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, May 23, 2012.

 Boats are strewn among buildings amid wreckage from Superstorm Sandy on October 31, 2012 in Sea Bright, New Jersey. At least 50 people were reportedly killed in the U.S. by Sandy with New Jersey suffering massive damage and power outages

 A wounded Syrian man lies on a boat as he is transferred to Turkey over the Orontes river on the Turkish-Syrian border near the village of Hacipasa in Hatay province October 10, 2012. Scores of Syrian civilians, many of them women with screaming children clinging to their necks, crossed Orontes, a narrow river marking the border with Turkey as they fled the fighting in Azmarin and surrounding villages. Residents from the Turkish village of Hacipasa, nestled among olive groves, helped pull them across in small metal boats

 In this aerial photo, sand covers the roads where several homes were destroyed or severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy in an area of Seaside Heights, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The photo was taken during a flight to document coastal changes by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after the storm moved through the area

 The shadow of Air Force One, with US President Barack Obama aboard, is seen as the plane prepares to land at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, on July 24, 2012. Obama is traveling to attend campaign events and fundraisers.

 A man walks past an ice covered car on the frozen waterside promenade at Lake Geneva in the city Versoix, near Geneva on early February 5, 2012. The death toll from the vicious cold snap across Europe has risen to more than 260, with the winter misery set to hit thousands of those seeking to escape it as air traffic was hit

 A Palestinian man kisses the hand of a dead relative in the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. President Barack Obama on Sunday defended Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, but he warned that escalating the offensive with Israeli ground troops could deepen the death toll and undermine any hope of a peace process with the Palestinians.

 In this handout image provided by NASA, the SDO satellite captures a ultra-high definition image of the Transit of Venus across the face of the sun at on June 5, 2012 from space. The last transit was in 2004 and the next pair of events will not happen again until the year 2117 and 2125.

 A roller coaster sits in the ocean after the Casino Pier collapsed when Superstorm Sandy hit, on November 25, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Mayor Bill Akers has asked the Coast Guard to find out whether the coaster is structurally stable, adding that it would make a great tourist attraction

 A rebel fighter is brought to the Dar al-Shifa hospital in the northern city of Aleppo to be treated for his wounds on October 1, 2012, as fighting in Syria's second largest city between rebel forces and government troops continues

 Four Air Force Black Hawk helicopters, one with Vice President Joe Biden onboard, approaches Seaside Park, N.J., Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. The Vice President is in New Jersey to tour the damage and thank first responders from Superstorm Sandy.

 A child jumps on the waste products that are used to make poultry feed as she plays in a tannery at Hazaribagh in Dhaka October 9, 2012. Luxury leather goods sold across the world are produced in a slum area of Bangladesh's capital where workers, including children, are exposed to hazardous chemicals and often injured in horrific accidents, according to a study released on Tuesday. None of the tanneries packed cheek by jowl into Dhaka's Hazaribagh neighborhood treat their waste water, which contains animal flesh, sulphuric acid, chromium and lead, leaving it to spew into open gutters and eventually the city's main river

 An Afghan refugee boy poses with a plastic rifle as he and other children celebrate the first day of the Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 20, 2012. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim calendar's ninth and holiest month during which followers are required to abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk.

 Malala Yousufzai is seen with her father Ziauddin and her two younger brothers Khushal Khan and Atal Khan (R), as she recuperates at the The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, in this photograph taken October 25, 2012 and released October 26, 2012. The father of a Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the the Taliban for advocating girls' education said on Friday his daughter was strong and would "rise again" to pursue her dreams after receiving treatment in a British hospital.

 A supporter of U.S. President Barack Obama cheers during a campaign stop on September 12, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Obama is focusing his speech on economic policies during his two days of campaign events in Nevada and Colorado

 A crowd gathers as President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Ohio University, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, in Athens, Ohio

 Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi shakes hands with supporters after giving a speech in Monywa November 30, 2012. Suu Kyi offered to mediate between company officials and those who are opposing a vast copper mining project after riot police fired water cannon and tear gas on Thursday to break up a three-month protest against the project run by the powerful Myanmar military and its partner, a subsidiary of a Chinese arms manufacturer. Activists said at least 50 people had been injured and 23 were in hospital, some suffering burns after incendiary devices were hurled into their camps by police

 A Palestinian man calls for help as he and others try to save a man trapped under his car just after an Israeli air raid on the area of Twaam in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia on November 15, 2012. Israeli air strikes have killed more than ten Gazans, including top Hamas commander Ahmed Jaabari, as three Israelis die when a rocket strikes a house, in the latest flareup of tit-for-tat fighting.

 Rising water, caused by Hurricane Sandy, rushes into a subterranian parking garage on October 29, 2012, in the Financial District of New York, United States. Hurricane Sandy, which threatens 50 million people in the eastern third of the U.S., is expected to bring days of rain, high winds and possibly heavy snow. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the closure of all New York City will bus, subway and commuter rail service as of Sunday evening

 Sea water floods the Ground Zero construction site, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in New York. Sandy continued on its path Monday, as the storm forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, sending coastal residents fleeing, and threatening a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rain

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - NOVEMBER 07: A South Korean woman carries a picture of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney after the U.S. Predential election watch event on November 7, 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreans and Americans have been paying close attention to the U.S. presidential race between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. According to network projections incumbent U.S. President Barack Obama has won a second term 

A parking lot full of yellow cabs is flooded as a result of superstorm Sandy on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 in Hoboken, NJ. 

A Syrian boy who was injured when a shell, released by regime forces, hit his house on August 24, 2012, waits to be treated at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo. Syrian forces blitzed areas in and around the Aleppo , activists said, as Western powers sought to tighten the screws on embattled President Bashar al-Assad.

TO BE CONTINUED........
Collected And Edited By: Pilot / Tarek Elagamy