Reuters News Pictures of the Year 2012

 Hindu woman reacts as she is smeared with "sindhur", or vermillion powder, as part of a ritual on the last day of the Durga Puja festival in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh October 24, 2012. In Hindu mythology, Durga symbolises power and the triumph of good over evil. The Durga Puja is the biggest religious festival of Bengali Hindus. REUTERS/Ajay Verma

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during clashes with Syrian Army in the Salaheddine neighbourhood of central Aleppo August 7, 2012. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

William Mulhall poses for a photograph in his old curiosity shop in the small seaside village of Ardglass in Co.Down January 15, 2012. Despite the tiny population the shop stays open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, to cater for the fishermen who work round the clock. Mulhall, who is an acclaimed local artist, paints in his shop which doubles as his studio. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughto

the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia is shown run aground off the coast of Giglio in this January 17, 2012 DigitalGlobe handout satellite photo obtained by Reuters January 18, 2012. Eleven people are confirmed dead and at least 23 are still missing from more than 4,200 passengers and crew after the Concordia ran aground two hours into a week-long cruise of the western Mediterranean REUTERS/DigitalGlobe/Handout

A Palestinian man reacts upon the arrival of the body of a man, killed by an Israeli strike, at a hospital in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip January 18, 2012. An Israeli aircraft and tank strike killed at least one Palestinian close to the border fence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medics said. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Protesters try to scale an apartment building to put out a fire that began when a tear gas canister was thrown into the building during clashes between police and protesters, near the Interior Ministry in Cairo, February 3, 2012. Egyptians incensed by the deaths of 74 people in soccer violence staged protests in central Cairo as the army-led government came under fire for failing to prevent the deadliest incident since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

The ancient Colosseum is seen during an heavy snowfall late in the night in Rome February 4, 2012. REUTERS/Gabriele Forzano

Pigeons fly over the Grand Mosque at Friday prayers during the annual haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca October 19, 2012. The Arafat Day, when millions of Muslim pilgrims will stand in prayer on the mount of Arafat near Mecca at the peak of the annual pilgrimage, will be held on October 25 and Eid al-Adha or the feast of sacrifice will be held on October 26, according to an official announcement on Tuesday. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Morning commuters are silhouetted as they walk through the main concourse of the Grand Central Terminal, also known as Grand Central Station, in New York March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

A child plays on the road near the bank of Yangon River March 18, 2012. REUTERS/Staff

A man drinks coffee in front of a mural near the coastal town of Kalamatta in the Messinia area of Greece March 23, 2012. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

A molotov cocktail is thrown during a clash between student protesters and the government against plans to raise fuel prices in Jakarta March 27, 2012. Protesters rallied across Indonesia on Tuesday against a government proposal to increase fuel prices by a third as parliament prepared to vote on a divisive subsidy that cost Southeast Asia's largest economy some $18 billion last year. REUTERS/Beawiharta

People push carts with donated items in them past buildings destroyed by a fire that took place during hurricane Sandy and through snow left on the ground after a nor'easter, also known as a northeaster storm, in the Queens borough neighborhood of Rockaway Park, New York, November 8, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Yamaha MotoGP world champion rider Jorge Lorenzo falls during the Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Ricardo Tormo racetrack in Cheste, near Valencia November 11, 2012. Lorenzo was denied a victorious season finale on home soil when he crashed out while leading an incident-packed Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday to hand victory to fellow-Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

A Free Syrian Army fighter reacts as he carries the body of a fellow fighter after he was killed by a sniper loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Khan al-Assal area November 10, 2012. Picture taken November 10, 2012. The headband on the fighter reads, "God is great". REUTERS/Zain Karam

A home that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, is seen in Union Beach, New Jersey November 12, 2012. At least 121 people perished in the storm, which caused an estimated $50 billion in property damage and economic losses and ranks as one of the most destructive natural disasters to hit the U.S. Northeast. REUTERS/Eric Thaye

The Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft is seen shortly after it landed with the International Space Station (ISS) crew of Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams near the town of Arkalyk in northern Kazakhstan November 19, 2012. REUTERS/Sergei Remezov

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) hugs Aung San Suu Kyi at the end of their remarks to the media at her residence in Yangon, November 19, 2012. President Obama became the first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar on Monday, trying during a whirlwind six-hour trip to strike a balance between praising the government's progress in shaking off military rule and pressing for more reform. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Israeli soldiers watch as an Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket near the southern city of Beersheba November 17, 2012. Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in Gaza on Saturday, including the prime minister's office, after Israel's cabinet authorised the mobilisation of up to 75,000 reservists, preparing for a possible ground invasion. REUTERS/Nir Elias

A devotee offers prayers to the rising sun during the "Chhat" festival in Kathmandu November 20, 2012. Hindus in Nepal are celebrating "Chhat", a four-day festival that honours the sun god, by praying at sunrise and sunset and giving offerings to seek blessings for their families. REUTERS/ Navesh Chitrakar

A soldier stands guard in front of the Unha-3 (Milky Way 3) rocket sitting on a launch pad at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site, during a guided media tour by North Korean authorities in the northwest of Pyongyang April 8, 2012. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Russian servicemen, dressed in historical uniform, take part in a military parade rehearsal in Red Square, with St. Basil's Cathedral seen in the background, in Moscow November 5, 2012. The parade will be held on November 7 to mark the anniversary of a historical parade in 1941 when Soviet soldiers marched through Red Square towards the front lines at World War Two. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Men use ropes to try and right a supply truck overloaded with wheat straw, used as animal feed, along a road in Dargai, in the Malakand district, about 165 km (100 miles) northwest of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, April 13, 2012. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed

Members of the 18th Street gang attend a mass at the prison of Izalco, about 65 km (40 miles) from San Salvador April 13, 2012. Rival gangs operating in El Salvador have called for a truce as the Central American country confronts a plague of violent crime, according to a statement issued by the gangs. The document, signed by representatives of the country's two most powerful gangs, Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gang (Mara 18), was delivered to the local media and has been endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador, according to local church leaders. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

A boy tries to cross a damaged suspension bridge, after a flash flood caused by an avalanche in the Annapurna mountain range on Saturday, in Kaski district May 6, 2012. At least 17 people, including three foreigners, are confirmed to have died during the flood in Pokhara and adjoining villages in Kaski district, according to Police inspector Ravindra Nath Poudel of Kaski District. REUTERS/Navesh Chitraka

U.S. model Lydia Hearst poses during the opening ceremony of the 20th Life Ball in Vienna May 19, 2012. Life Ball is Europe's largest annual AIDS charity event and takes place in Vienna's City Hall. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Jake Beaudoin, a U.S. Army Private of 508 BSTB, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, takes cover during a controlled detonation to clear an area for setting up a check point in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 31, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Supporters of deposed president Hosni Mubarak react after a court sentenced him to life in prison, outside the police academy where the court is located in Cairo June 2, 2012. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on Saturday for ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that swept him from power last year. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem