CAPTAIN TAREK DREAM: EXCLUSIVE : 2013: The Year in Photos Full

December is here, and it's time for a look back at some of the most memorable events and images of 2013. Among the events covered in this essay (the first of a three-part photo summary of the year): President Barack Obama was inaugurated for a second term, a 13,000 ton meteor burned up in the sky over Russia, two young men detonated bombs at the Boston Marathon, and Dennis Rodman and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un enjoyed a basketball game together in Pyongyang. See also part 2 and part 3. The series comprises 120 images in all. Warning, some of the photos may contain graphic or objectionable content.

A truck is covered in ice as firefighters work to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse in Chicago, Illinois, on January 23, 2013. More than 200 firefighters battled the five-alarm fire as temperatures were in the single digits.

A soldier of the French foreign legion wearing a skeleton mask stands next to an armored vehicle in a street in Niono, Mali, on January 20, 2013. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the goal of France's military action in Mali was to retake control of the entire country from Islamist militants who have seized the north.

A white shelf cloud caps brownish dirt from a dust storm, or haboob, as it travels across the Indian Ocean near Onslow on the Western Australia coast in this handout image distributed by fishwrecked.com and taken January 9, 2013.

Edward Snowden speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA, and National Security Agency contractor revealed details of top-secret surveillance conducted by the United States' NSA to the press. Stories emerging from these documents were reported throughout the year, detailing widespread spying activity on both friends and enemies.

President Barack Obama is sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as First lady Michelle Obama and daughters, Sasha Obama and Malia Obama look on during the public ceremonial inauguration in Washington, D.C., on January 21, 2013.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama share a dance during the Commander-In-Chief Inaugural ball at the Washington Convention Center during the 57th Presidential Inauguration, on January 21, 2013, in Washington.

Lightning strikes the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, Expedition 34 flight engineer, watches a water bubble float freely between him and the camera, showing his image refracted, in the Unity node of the International Space Station, on January 21, 2013.

A group of local public school teachers use rubber training guns as they practice drills to disarm an attacker, during a teachers-only firearms training class offered for free at the Veritas Training Academy in Sarasota, Florida, on January 11, 2013. The December 14, 2012 tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 first-graders and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, sparked a national debate about whether to arm teachers, prompting passionate arguments on both sides.

Ghana's John Paintsil, after the end of time in Ghana's African Cup of Nations Group B soccer match against Congo at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on January 20, 2013. Congo tied Ghana 2-2.

Norway's Anders Bardal jumps during the official training session of the FIS Ski Flying World Cup in Vikersund, Norway, on January 25, 2013, while a full moon rises over the mountain.

Sixth grade students from the Park Maitland School in Maitland, Florida, watch as Marine One carrying U.S. President Barack Obama takes off from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington as he departs for Las Vegas, on January 29, 2013.

Wolf researcher Werner Freund lies on the ground next to Mongolian wolves as they devour a deer cadaver in an enclosure at Wolfspark Werner Freund, in Merzig in the German province of Saarland, on January 24, 2013. The park is home to 29 wolves -- six distinct packs hailing from Europe, Siberia, Canada, the Arctic, and Mongolia. Freund has taken to living closely with his wolves, behaving as an alpha male to earn their acceptance and respect.

Protesters flee from tear gas fired by riot police during clashes after protesters removed a concrete barrier at Qasr al-Aini Street near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on January 24, 2013.

During a time of dangerous levels of air pollution, a bright video screen shows images of blue sky on Tiananmen Square, on January 23, 2013 in Beijing, China.

A woman is rescued from flood waters by a resident standing on top of her car during heavy rain in Chalandri suburb north of Athens, Greece, on February 22, 2013.

Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. Syria's civil war raged hot and cold throughout 2013.

Cars sit buried in snow near Hamden, Connecticut, on February 10, 2013, in the aftermath of a storm that hit Connecticut and much of New England.

A meteor's trail over the Ural Mountains' city of Chelyabinsk, about 930 miles east of Moscow, Russia, on February 15, 2013. The 13,000 ton meteor hit Earth's atmosphere at 42,000 mph and exploded, smashing windows and causing hundreds of minor injuries.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former NBA star Dennis Rodman watch North Korean and U.S. players in an exhibition basketball game at an arena in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 28, 2013. Rodman arrived in Pyongyang on Monday with three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team to shoot an episode on North Korea for a new weekly HBO series.

Jennifer Lawrence gestures to photographers off-camera, holding her Oscar after winning the best actress award for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook" at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, on February 24, 2013. Lawrence was reacting to some photographers telling her to "watch her step" as she went onto the platform -- she had tripped earlier, while walking up stairs to receive her award on live television.

Volker Maiwald walks among rock formations during a simulated Mars walk in the Utah desert, on March 2, 2013. Maiwald is part of Crew 125 EuroMoonMars B mission, at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) outside Hanksville in the Utah desert, on March 2, 2013. The MDRS is built and operated by a space advocacy group called the Mars Society, investigating the feasibility of human exploration of Mars.

Pope Francis meets Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo, on March 23, 2013. Pope Francis had traveled to Castel Gandolfo to have lunch with his predecessor Benedict XVI in a historic and potentially problematic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the Catholic Church. The Vatican said the two popes embraced on the helipad. In the chapel where they prayed together, Benedict offered Francis the traditional kneeler used by the pope. Francis refused to take it alone, saying "We're brothers," and the two prayed together on the same one.

A March 13, 2013 view of Firdos Square, in Baghdad, Iraq, at the site of an Associated Press photograph taken by Jerome Delay ten years earlier, as the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down by U.S. forces and Iraqis on April 9, 2003. Today, the pedestal in central Baghdad stands empty. Bent iron beams sprout from the top, and posters of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in military fatigues are pasted on the sides.

Lesleigh Coyer, 25, of Saginaw, Michigan, lies down in front of the grave of her brother, Ryan Coyer, who served with the U.S. Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, on March 11, 2013. Coyer died of complications from an injury sustained in Afghanistan.

Stella Ferruzola, 3, poses with a Blue Morpho butterfly on her nose at the Sensational Butterflies Exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, on March 25, 2013.

The wrapped bodies of two dead people hang from an overpass as three more dead bodies lie on the ground in Saltillo, Mexico, on March 8, 2013. Three of the five male bodies were hanging from the overpass while two others were lying on the ground when they were found early Friday, according to local media. While drug-related violence in Mexico is slightly down from recent years, it remained high throughout 2013.

One morning last March, I happened to discover some apparent photo-doctoring by North Korea. This picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 26, 2013 appears to show evidence of digital manipulation, specifically the cloning of at least two hovercraft, to make it appear as if more vehicles were involved in a recent military exercise. The original caption: This picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 26, 2013 and taken on March 25, 2013 shows the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597 at an undisclosed location on North Korea's east coast.

A leopard trapped in a well looks up to forest officials on the premises of the Kamakhya temple in Gauhati, India, on April 4, 2013. The animal was later tranquilized and rescued.

An explosion erupts near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 15, 2013. Two simultaneous explosions ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 250 on a day when tens of thousands of people packed the streets to watch the world famous race.

An emergency responder and volunteers, including Carlos Arredondo in the cowboy hat, push Jeff Bauman in a wheel chair after he was badly injured in an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013. While recovering, Bauman was able to provide authorities with an eyewitness account to help in the ensuing manhunt.

19-year-old Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, bloody and disheveled with the red dot of a rifle laser sight on his forehead, raises his hand from inside a boat at the time of his capture by law enforcement authorities in Watertown, Massachusetts. According to State police spokesman David Procopio, Sgt. Sean Murphy, the state police photographer who released this photo and others of the bloodied Tsarnaev during his capture, retired November 1, 2013, days after internal charges against him were upheld for releasing the images.

The wreckage of a fertilizer plant burns after a massive explosion at the plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas early April 18, 2013. The deadly explosion ripped through the fertilizer plant late on Wednesday, killing 15, injuring more than 160 people, leveling dozens of homes and damaging other buildings including a school and nursing home.

An overhead view of guests attending the ceremonial funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at St Paul's Cathedral in London, on April 17, 2013.

North Korean soldiers patrol along the banks of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, on April 11, 2013.

At the site of a collapsed garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh, people gather in front of Rana Plaza building as rescue workers continue their operations on April 25, 2013. Survivors of collapse described a deafening bang and tremors before the eight-floor building crashed down around them. An estimated 1,129 people were killed in the collapse, the deadliest accidental structural failure ever recorded.

A victim's body lies amid rubble at the site of the collapsed garment factory in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 25, 2013.

Bangladeshi relatives of workers missing in the building that collapsed on Wednesday hold pictures of loved ones at a makeshift morgue in a schoolyard in Savar, on April 27, 2013.

A man kicks a topless Femen activist, as she raises her fist to protest against Islamists in front of the Great Mosque of Paris, on April 3, 2013.

A member of the Free Syrian Army sits on a sofa in the middle of a debris-strewn street in Deir al-Zor, Syria, on April 2, 2013.

In a natural color mosaic, Saturn eclipses the Sun as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on July 19, 2013. This image spans about 404,880 miles (651,591 km) across. Earth is barely visible as a single pixel just below the main rings, and to the right of the planet. At this point, Cassini was looking back from more than 898 million miles (1.5 billion km) away from Earth. More details and larger versions here.

Danielle Stephan holds boyfriend Thomas Layton as they pause between sifting through the remains of a family member's home one day after an EF5 tornado devastated the town of Moore, Oklahoma, on May 21, 2013.

An aerial photo of a neighborhood in Moore, Oklahoma, completely flattened by the massive tornado on May 20, 2013. In less than an hour, 25 were killed, 375 injured, 1,150 homes destroyed, damages adding up to more than $2 billion.

Surfers Garrett McNamara (left) and Mark Healey of the U.S. compete during a free session of surf tow in, in the southern Pacific ocean island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, on June 1, 2013 in Teahupoo.

Unknown anti-gay activist hits Russia's gay and LGBT rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev (center) during an unauthorized gay rights activist rally in Moscow, on May 25, 2013. Moscow city authorities on May 15 turned down demands for a gay rights rally, but Alexeyev said he would fight a ban in court.

This picture taken with a slow exposure shows seagulls flying in the sky over Rome on May 2, 2013.

Yuccas catch fire as the Powerhouse fire makes a fast run toward Lake Hughes on June 1, 2013 south of Lake Hughes, California. The 32,000-acre wildfire destroyed numerous homes. More than 2,000 firefighters worked in hot, dry conditions to establish containment lines around 60 percent of the fire as of June 4.

A series of images shows a mockup of a terrorist with a balloon for a head, as it is shot by members of the Brazilian Navy acting as snipers, during an exhibition showcasing their operational capacity to combat terrorist attacks and riots, ahead of the FIFA Confederations Cup and World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro May 27, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng waves before stepping out of the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft after it landed in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 26, 2013. Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday, touching down after a successful 15-day mission in which they docked with a space laboratory.

A Turkish riot policeman sprays tear gas as people protest against the destruction of trees in a park brought about by a pedestrian project, in Taksim Square in central Istanbul, Turkey, on May 28, 2013.

Erdem Gunduz (center) stands in a silent protest along with others, at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 17, 2013. Gunduz, a Turkish man, staged an eight-hour silent vigil on Istanbul's Taksim Square, scene of violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters, inspiring hundreds of others to follow his lead.

A protester waves the Turkish flag from a rooftop, during huge ongoing demonstrations at Taksim square on June 3, 2013 in Istanbul.

A protester tries to remain standing as police use a water cannon during clashes at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 11, 2013. Hundreds of police in riot gear forced their way through barricades in the square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, applauds as the members of the "Malala Day" Youth Assembly wish Malala Yousafzai, center, a happy birthday, on July 12, 2013 at United Nations headquarters. Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for promoting education for girls, celebrated her 16th birthday by addressing the U.N. The U.N. declared July 12 "Malala Day," to honor the teen who returned to school in March after medical treatment in Britain for injuries suffered in the October attack.

A radio-controlled Superman plane, flown by designer Otto Dieffenbach, passes in front of the moon during a test flight in San Diego, California, on June 27, 2013. Otto and business partner Ed Hanley are a small start-up company that creates flying radio-controlled planes, designed in the form of people, characters and objects, for commercial and promotional uses.

Syria in Ruins. A man walks along a damaged street filled with debris after years of warfare, in Deir al-Zor, Syria, on June 17, 2013.

A submerged idol of Hindu Lord Shiva stands in the flooded River Ganges in Rishikesh, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, on June 18, 2013. Torrential monsoon rains caused havoc in northern India, leading to flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides.

A garden with a swimming pool is inundated by the waters of the Elbe River during floods near Magdeburg in the state of Saxony Anhalt, on June 10, 2013. Tens of thousands of Germans, Hungarians and Czechs were evacuated from their homes as soldiers raced to pile up sandbags to hold back rising waters in the region's worst floods in a decade.

Smuggled bear paws, arranged on the ground at the China-Russia border in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on June 15, 2013. Two Russians were arrested for smuggling 213 bear paws into China at a China-Russia land border, according to the Chinese customs police's recent announcement. Bear paws reportedly are believed by some people in China to have high nutritional value.

Russian President Vladimir Putin submerges on board Sea Explorer 5 bathyscaphe off the island of Gogland 180 km (110 mi) west of St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 15, 2013. Putin rode the small submersible craft 60 meters (200 feet) down to see the remains of the naval frigate Oleg, which sank in 1869.

Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013. A large swath of Lac-Megantic was destroyed after a train carrying crude oil derailed, sparking several explosions, leveling at least 30 buildings, killing 47, and forcing the evacuation of up to 2,000 people.

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge hold baby George, Prince of Cambridge, as they pose for photographers outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London where the Duchess gave birth, on July 23, 2013.

Asiana Airlines flight attendants and rescued passengers rest on a San Francisco International Airport runway after their flight crash-landed, on July 6, 2013. Flight 214, a Boeing 777 aircraft, struck a seawall at the end of the runway, before slamming to the ground and sliding to a rough stop. Out of 307 people aboard, 3 were killed, and 181 injured.

A German tourist bathes in the Aegean sea in Arcadia prefecture on the east coast of Peloponnese south of Athens, Greece, on July 3, 2013.

Song Xuxia, 19, receives treatment at a hospital after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Minxian county, Dingxi, Gansu province, China, on July 23, 2013. More than 51,000 buildings collapsed and tens of thousands more were badly damaged. Song's leg, waist and face were injured during the earthquake when she was stuck in a collapsed house. Fortunately the villagers heard her cry and managed to pull her out from the debris in time, according to local media.

Millions attend as Pope Francis celebrates a huge mass at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 28, 2013.

A Yellow Scorpion eats his prey near Sde Boker in the Negev Desert, Israel, on August 5, 2013. Scorpions have chemicals in their cuticle that naturally fluoresce when viewed under black light.

Thai soldiers wearing biohazard suits pass a pail full of spilled crude oil during cleaning operations at Ao Prao Beach on Koh Samet, Rayong, Thailand, on July 31, 2013. An oil spill that blackened beaches at the Thai holiday island of Koh Samet hadg an extreme impact on tourism, officials and an environmental group said.

Anti-Morsi demonstrators gather for a mass rally to show support for the army at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on July 26, 2013. At least seven people were killed and hundreds wounded in scattered violence across Egypt during mass rallies on Friday for and against the army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was placed under investigation for murder.

A military helicopter is illuminated by green laser lights from below, as it flies above Tahrir Square while a huge crowd of protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shout slogans against him and Brotherhood members, in Cairo, on June 30, 2013. Egyptians poured onto the streets on Sunday, swelling crowds that numbered into the millions, calling on Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to resign.

After Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was ousted, his supporters took to the streets. A pro-Morsi demonstrator holds another as Egyptian security forces move in to clear a protest in the eastern Nasr City district of Cairo, Egypt, on August 14, 2013. Egyptian security forces, backed by armored cars and bulldozers, moved to clear two sit-in camps by supporters of Morsi, showering protesters with tear gas as the sound of gunfire rang out at both sites.

A police vehicle falls off of the 6th of October bridge close to the largest sit-in by supporters of ousted President Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, on August 14, 2013. The vehicle apparently fell while backing away from protesters, and was not pushed over, as was earlier reported.

A marionette version of Jamaica's Usain Bolt, on the track ahead of the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships Moscow 2013 at the Luzhniki Sports Complex on August 9, 2013 in Moscow, Russia.

A Smithsonian Institution staff holds a skull of an olinguito, a newly discovered species of Carnivore, during a news conference at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C., on August 15, 2013. It took Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and his team on a journey from museum cabinets in Chicago to cloud forests in South America to discover and confirm the new species of olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), which has been mistakenly identified for more than 100 years. It's also the first new carnivore species to be discovered in the American continents in 35 years.

A man holds the body of a dead child among bodies of people activists say were killed by nerve gas in the Ghouta region, in the Duma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on August 21, 2013. Syrian activists said at least 213 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday in a nerve gas attack by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on rebel-held districts of the Ghouta region east of Damascus. After UN weapons inspectors reported finding "clear and convincing evidence" that the nerve gas sarin was used, Western nations threatened retaliation. Russia stepped in to broker a compromise, where Syrian stockpiles of chemical weapons will now be destroyed, holding off threats of increased Western intervention in Syria's civil war.

A firefighter uses a hose to douse flames of the Rim Fire on a hillside, on August 24, 2013 near Groveland, California. The Rim Fire continues to burn out of control and threatens 4,500 homes outside of Yosemite National Park. Over 2,000 firefighters battled the blaze that has entered a section of Yosemite National Park.

In a provocative performance that echoed widely across news media and social media, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke perform "Blurred Lines" during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, on August 25, 2013.

A boy carries his dog through floodwaters brought by the monsoon rain, intensified by tropical storm Trami, in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines, on August 20, 2013. Heavy rains battered the Philippine capital and nearby provinces, causing government offices, schools and some businesses to suspend work, and sending residents to flee their homes.

An aerial view shows the Costa Concordia as it lies on its side next to Giglio Island taken from an Italian navy helicopter, on August 26, 2013. The wrecked cruise ship was successfully righted soon after, nearly two years after the liner capsized and killed at least 30 people off the Italian coast. The giant vessel, which has lain partly submerged in shallow waters off the Tuscan island of Giglio since the accident in January 2012, was rolled off the seabed and onto underwater platforms.

26 years of growth, showing Shanghai then and now. This animated combination picture shows the financial district of Pudong in 1987 and in 2013 with the nearly-complete Shanghai Tower, in the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, on July 31, 2013.

Miles Scott, dressed as Batkid, walks with Batman before saving a damsel in distress in San Francisco, on November 15, 2013. San Francisco turned into Gotham City on that day, as city officials helped fulfill Scott's wish to be "Batkid." Scott, a leukemia patient from Tulelake in Northern California, was called into service on Friday morning by San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr to help fight crime, The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation said.

A tractor sits partially submerged in a field after flooding along the South Platte River in Weld County, Colorado near Greeley, on September 14, 2013. A days-long rush of water from higher ground turned parts of Colorado's expansive eastern plains into muddy swamps.

An unfortunate frog is flung skyward during a launch of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on September 6, 2013.

A Syrian opposition fighter rests in a rebel camp in the Idlib Province countryside, on September 17, 2013.

Horticulturists work in a field of dyed heather on September 6, 2013 in the eastern French town of Bischoffsheim.

The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft carrying Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA, lands safely in a remote area of Kazakhstan, on September 11, 2013.

A member of the "Ansar Dimachk" Brigade, part of the Asood Allah Brigade which operates under the Free Syrian Army, uses an iPad during preparations to fire a homemade mortar at one of the battlefronts in Joubar, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, on September 15, 2013.

A Chinese boy sits on his father's shoulders to see an 18 meter high rubber duck at Beijing Garden Expo Park on September 6, 2013 in Beijing, China. After touring 13 cities in 10 countries, the giant rubber duck designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman floated first at Beijing Garden Expo Park and then at the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Philippine government troops continue their assault on members of the Muslim rebel Moro National Liberation Front in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, on September 12, 2013. Philippine troops battled Muslim rebels on two fronts Thursday, after extremists attacked a second city near the southern port where militants have been holding scores of residents hostage in a four-day standoff with government forces.

A vending machine, carried inland by the tsunami in March of 2011, stands in an abandoned rice field inside the exclusion zone near Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on September 21, 2013.

A child runs to safety as armed police hunt gunmen who went on a shooting spree at Westgate shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 21, 2013. The gunmen, reportedly associated with the Islamist group al-Shabaab, stormed the shopping mall, killing at least 72 people, and sending scores fleeing into shops, a cinema and onto the streets in search of safety. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

An injured woman cries for help after gunmen stormed the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 21, 2013. Gun battles raged in the mall for several days, ending with massive destruction of property, and reported looting by government forces. Kenyan authorities claim the gunmen were all killed, but a recent report by the New York Police Department suggests the shooters may have escaped.

A U.S. Park Police officer watches at left as a National Park Service employee posts a sign on a barricade closing access to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on October 1, 2013. Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown as a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama's health care law stalled a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job and suspending most non-essential federal programs and services.

A molotov cocktail explodes in front of riot police on September 25, 2013 during clashes with demonstrators in Athens, Greece. Police clashed with protesters in Athens at the end of a huge march sparked by the murder of an anti-fascist musician, allegedly at the hands of a self-confessed neo-Nazi. Protesters were seen hurling petrol bombs at riot police, who responded with tear gas a few hundred meters from the headquarters of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn.

In the town of Rjukan, Norway, people gather in front of the town hall, where sunlight is reflected by giant mirrors (top) erected on the mountainside, on October 18, 2013. Rjukan, a small industrial town 150 km west of Oslo, is situated in the bottom of a valley between steep mountains in Telemark County, and is cut off from direct sunlight for five to six months a year. Now, three giant mirrors mounted on a nearby mountainside will reflect winter sunlight into the valley.

Boston police officer Steve Horgan reacts as Torii Hunter of the Detroit Tigers tries to catch a grand slam hit by David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning of Game Two of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 13, 2013.

A burst of fireworks goes off near members of the so-called Black Bloc anarchist group during clashes with police after a march of striking teachers took place to mark National Teachers Day, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 15, 2013. A largely peaceful rally of teachers turned violent in Rio when small groups of masked protesters started hurling rocks and gasoline bombs and set fire to a passenger bus.

Brazilian big wave surfer Carlos Burle rides a huge wave in Nazare, central Portugal, on October 28, 2013.

Saw Min lies on a bed with weights on her eyes after receiving local anesthesia ahead of a cataract operation at a government hospital in Bago, Myanmar, on October 22, 2013. She waited with hundreds of Myanmar's poorest villagers to be prepped for the simple, free surgery she hopes will restore her sight. "My heart is racing," said the 38-year-old mother of five, who lost all vision in her left eye one year ago and, in the months that followed, all but 20 percent in her right.

Belgian riot police, covered with foam sprayed by Belgian firefighters during a protest for better work conditions in central Brussels, on October 7, 2013.

A person takes a photograph of a sculpture by artist Lucy Humphrey titled "horizon" on a rocky cliff which is part of the "Sculpture by the Sea" exhibition at Sydney's Tamarama Beach, on October 24, 2013. The free and temporary outdoor exhibition, now in its 17th year, stretches for two kilometers along the coastline between Bondi and Tamarama beaches.

An Iraqi boy cries at the scene of a car bomb attack, shortly after it exploded as worshippers left a Sunni mosque after prayers marking the start of the Eid al-Adha, in Kirkuk, Iraq, on October 15, 2013. Militants in Iraq carried out numerous attacks on both Sunni and Shiite mosques in 2013, raising fears of a return to the all-out sectarian conflict that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

Bipedal humanoid robot "Atlas", primarily developed by the American robotics company Boston Dynamics, is presented to the media during a news conference at the University of Hong Kong, on October 17, 2013. The 6-foot (1.83 m) tall, 330-pound (149.7 kg) robot is made of graded aluminum and titanium and costs HK$ 15 million ($1.93 million). It is capable of a variety of natural movements, including dynamic walking, calisthenics and user programmed behaviors, according to the University of Hong Kong's press release.

A three-month-old Sumatran tiger cub named Bandar reacts after being dunked in the tiger exhibit moat for a swimming test at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 2013. All cubs born at the zoo must take a swim test before being allowed to roam in the exhibit. Bandar passed his test.

Canadian rower Mylene Paquette celebrates as she arrives in Lorient, France, on November 12, 2013, after a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Paquette is the first North American woman to row solo across the North Atlantic. She left Halifax just over four months ago in a specially designed 7.3-meter boat propelled only by Paquette and the currents.

A suicide attacker lies on the ground after his vest was defused in Jalalabad province, Afghanistan, on June 30, 2013. Afghan security forces captured the would-be suicide attacker before he was able to blow himself up.

President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Honor to former Army Capt. William D. Swenson of Seattle, Washington, during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 15, 2013. Swenson was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in a lengthy battle against Taliban insurgents in the Ganjgal valley near the Pakistan border on September 8, 2009, which claimed the lives of five Americans, 10 Afghan army troops and an interpreter.

Kaden Bowden, son of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Bowden, looks at the casket for his father during burial services at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on September 27, 2013. Bowden was from Villa Rica, Georgia, and died on August 31, 2013, from injuries sustained while serving in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Matt Krumwiede of the U.S. Army takes a phone call as his hand is massaged by his mother Pam Krumwiede, after being admitted for an infection at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, on November 4, 2013. On June 12, 2012, Krumwiede was on patrol in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED, which tore away both his legs, damaged his left arm, and ripped open his abdominal cavity. The 22-year-old has since undergone around 40 surgeries and is learning to walk with prosthetic legs. He is keen to re-join the infantry as soon as his injuries allow.

A kitten sits on the roof of a house that is covered with volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Mardingding, North Sumatra, on November 6, 2013.

A demonstrator kisses a riot police officer during a protest in Susa, Italy, against the high-speed train (TAV in Italian) line between Lyon and Turin, on November 16, 2013. The link, expected to come into service in 2025, will see one million fewer trucks on the highways a year, and reduce train times between Paris and Milan from seven hours to just over four.

An aerial view shows the path of a tornado that hit the western Illinois town of Washington, on November 18, 2013. It was one of the worst-hit areas after intense storms and tornadoes swept through Illinois. The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Washington had a preliminary rating of EF-4, meaning wind speeds of 170 mph to 190 mph.

Donna Auchinvole with Duke and Lorraine Clark with Barron, Clydesdale Horses, attend a topping out ceremony at The Kelpies on November 27, 2013 in Falkirk, Scotland. Construction work has been completed on Andy Scott's Kelpies, the world's largest pair of equine sculptures and one of the UKs tallest pieces of public art.

A cargo ship washed ashore, four days after Super Typhoon Haiyan hit Anibong town, Tacloban city, Philippines, on November 11, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan was the strongest storm ever recorded at landfall, and was responsible for nearly 6,000 deaths, laying waste to cities and towns on Leyte and Samar islands.

Boys maneuver their boat, made from a broken refrigerator and bamboo, to the beach in Tanauan, in the province of Leyte, Philippines, on November 20, 2013. After losing their boats and houses in the Typhoon Haiyan, fishermen of a destroyed village in Tanauan started building two-seated boats made of abandoned refrigerators and some wood. The first boat was made by a fisherman, whose children gave him the idea as they wanted to play in it, and soon others followed. The Philippines and international armed forces and aid agencies are struggling to get help to devastated areas due to the extent of the destruction from Typhoon Haiyan.

Anti-government protesters give roses, through razor wire, to security personnel guarding the Defense Ministry as protesters gather outside it in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 28, 2013. Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra breezed through a no-confidence vote in parliament on Thursday as confusion emerged over the goals of an anti-government protest movement massing at government offices.

Fireworks light up during the inauguration of an 85 meter-high Christmas tree at Cantagalo park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 30, 2013. 3.1 million lights will illuminate the Christmas tree every night until the end of the year.

A rare total inversion was seen on November 29, 2013 by visitors to Grand Canyon National Park. This shot is of the Desert View Watchtower near Desert View Point on the South Rim. The Watchtower is located at Desert View, the eastern-most developed area on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Recognized as a National Historic Landmark, the tower was constructed in 1932.

Protesters try to break through police lines near the presidential administration building during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. Ukrainian opposition leaders called for President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign at a rally of about 350,000 people, the biggest protest in the capital Kiev since the "Orange Revolution" of nine years ago.

Flowers left by mourners surround a portrait of Nelson Mandela in the Sandton district of Johannesburg, on December 6, 2013. Mandela, the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and one of the towering political figures of the 20th century, died on December 5, aged 95.