From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series, rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
PART I: The moments that defined 2014
Now check out the second set of photos below:
US President Barack Obama acts out the line "gnashed their terrible teeth" from the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" during the 136th annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington April 21, 2014. Photograph: Reuters
An explosion is seen during a car bomb attack at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Baghdad, April 25, 2014. A series of explosions killed 18 people at a Shi'ite political organisation's rally in Iraq. Three bombs exploded in succession as people were leaving, Reuters reporters at the scene said. Photograph: Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters
Scottish country dancer Mairie McGillivray,16, dances on the beach at Bridgend as she poses for a photograph on the Hebridean island of Islay, March 11, 2014. Mairie voted "yes" in the referendum and said, "I believe that Scotland isn't governed by democratic means due to our lack of representation in Westminster and that we would be better off as an independent nation, both culturally and financially." Photograph: Paul Hackett/Reuters
US singer Miley Cyrus performs at the O2 Arena in central London May 6, 2014. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters
Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad play football at al-Hamdeya neighborhood in Homs city May 9,2014. Photograph: Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters
A South Sudanese child displaced by the fighting in Malakal, and suffering from malnutrition, cries as he is washed by a nurse at a feeding centre run by Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF) in Kodok, Fashoda county, May 28, 2014. Photograph: Andreea Campeanu/Reuters
Sikhs wield swords during their clash inside the complex of the holy Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple, in Amritsar June 6, 2014. Sikhs wielding swords clashed inside the compound of their religion's holiest shrine on the 30th anniversary of a controversial raid by Indian security forces that flushed out separatist militants holed up in the temple. Photograph: Munish Sharma/Reuters
A man mourns the death of his relative, killed in Sunday's Taliban attack on Jinnah International Airport, outside a hospital morgue in Karachi June 10, 2014. Taliban militants disguised as security forces stormed into Pakistan's busiest airport, triggering an all-night battle in which at least 27 people were killed. Photograph: Athar Hussain/Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks through a periscope of a submarine during his inspection of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Naval Unit 167 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang June 16, 2014. Photograph: KCNA/Reuters
Militant Islamist fighters hold a parade in Syria's northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, on June 30. Photograph: Reuters
A girl from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, rests at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in Fishkhabour, Dohuk province August 13, 2014. Photograph: Youssef Boudlal/Reuters
Visitors run away as waves caused by a tidal bore surge past a barrier on the banks of Qiantang River, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province August 13, 2014. Photograph: Reuters
Palestinian children hold guns as they celebrate with others what they said was a victory over Israel, following a ceasefire in Gaza City August 26, 2014. Photograph: Suhaib Salem/Reuters
A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit by an eye irritant from security forces trying to disperse demonstrators protesting against the shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 20, 2014. Police in riot gear ordered dozens of lingering demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, to disperse and charged into the crowd to make arrests as relative calm dissolved amid protests over the police shooting death of Brown in the St Louis suburb. Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
A flamingo and flamingo chicks are seen in a corral before being tagged at dawn at the Fuente de Piedra natural reserve, near Malaga, southern Spain, July 19, 2014. Around 600 flamingos were tagged and measured before being placed in the lagoon, one of the largest colonies of flamingos in Europe. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters
A US flag sticks out the window of a damaged hot rod car in a suburban area after a tornado near Vilonia, Arkansas April 28, 2014. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters
