A woman holds a wounded relative during protests against president Saleh, Sanaa, Yemen, 15 October © Samuel Aranda, Spain, for The New York Times

Dakar, Senegal, 9 July A model poses in front of tailor stalls in the center of Dakar, Senegal. She wears the creation of a designer, Yolande Mancini, participating in the 9th edition of Dakar Fashion Week © Vincent Boisot, France, Riva Press for Le Figaro Magazine

The Sochi Project: Sochi Singers, Marika Bajur sings 'Kuriu' in the restaurant Eurasia. The southern Russian city of Sochi lies on the Black Sea and attracts predominantly Russian holidaymakers who come for a mix of sun, sea, sand and nightlife. Restaurants are plentiful and competition is fierce, with every restaurant employing a regular live musician blasting Russian chansons and popsa © Rob Hornstra, The Netherlands, Institute for Artist Management

Kryvyi Rig, Ukraine, 31 August Maria, a drug addict and sex worker, in between clients in a room she rents in Kryvyi Rig, Ukraine. Maria injects drugs on a daily basis and sees many men every week but claims she remains HIV negative. She says she need the money to support herself, her drug habit and her nine-year-old daughter © Brent Stirton, South Africa, Reportage by Getty Images for Kiev Independent

Hajjah, Yemen, 10 June 2010, Tahani (in pink), who married her husband Majed when she was 6 and he was 25, poses for this portrait with former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, outside their mountain home in Hajjah. Nearly half of all women in Yemen were married as children. Child marriage is outlawed in many countries and international agreements forbid the practice yet this tradition still spans continents, language, religion and caste © Stephanie Sinclair, USA, VII Photo Agency for National Geographic magazine

Pyongyang, North Korea, 5 October A picture of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, decorates a building in the capital Pyongyang © Damir Sagolj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Reuters

“Never Let You Go” Marcos leads Monica from their room to the living room. Although at times he grumbles about the time devoted to her care, Marcos did not see any other possibility. “Tell me where she is going to be better than here. I treat her like a princess, here she has everything.” Marcos, 89, and Monica, 87, have been married and living in their apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 65 years. In 2007, Monica was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Since that moment, her husband devoted all his time to take care of her. The disease is considered a future epidemic because it mainly affects older people, and as life expectancy is annually increasing in global population, the disease is becoming increasingly common © Alejandro Kirchuk, Argentina

Protesters cry, chant and scream in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, after listening to the speech in which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he would not give up power. Cairo, Egypt, 10 February © Alex Majoli, Italy, Magnum Photos for Newsweek

Tsunami aftermath, Japan, 14 April, The devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the northeast coast of Japan triggered hugely destructive tsunami waves of up to 38 meters that struck Japan traveling up to ten kilometers inland. More than 28,000 people are dead or missing and more than 125,000 buildings destroyed or severely damaged © Paolo Pellegrin, Italy, Magnum Photos for Zeit Magazin

Novaya Zemlya, Russia, 30 June, A male polar bear climbs precariously on the face of a cliff above the ocean at Ostrova Oranskie in northern Novaya Zemlya, attempting to feed on seabird eggs. This bear was marooned on land and unable to feed on seals--its normal prey--because sea ice had melted throughout the region and receded far to the north as a result of climate change © Jenny E. Ross, USA

“Rhino Wars”, Tugela Private Game Reserve, Colenso, Natal, South Africa, 9 November 2010, A female rhino in Natal, South Africa, that four months earlier survived a brutal dehorning by poachers who used a chainsaw to remove her horns and a large section of bone in this area of her skull. The female rhino survived the dehorning and has joined up with a male bull who now accompanies her. Rhino horn is now worth more than gold on the international market. South Africa alone has lost more than 400 rhino to illegal poaching incidents in 2011. The demand for Rhino horn is fueled by a wealthy Asian middle and upper class and used overwhelmingly as medication © Brent Stirton, South Africa, Reportage by Getty Images for National Geographic magazine

Arrest of protesters in Harlem, New York City, during a demonstration against police tactics and income inequality. New York, USA, 25 October © Tomasz Lazar, Poland

Aftermath of the tsunami, Japan, 3 April, Chieko Matsukawa shows her daughter’s graduation certificate as she finds it in the debris in Higashimatsushima city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan © Yasuyoshi Chiba, Japan, Agence France-Presse

Iranian-born Danish actress Mellica Mehraban, Copenhage, 4 May The 27-year-old Iranian-born actress Mellica Mehraban grew up in Denmark, but debuted as an actor in Iran in 2011. Taking the leading role as a villain in the spy drama 'Fox Hunting', she learned firsthand about the culture of her native country: following a regime-approved script, she was required to wear a head scarf in all scenes, forbidden from swearing, and learned to show that she was in love with a man without telling him or touching him © Laerke Posselt, Denmark

Recruit at a police training center, Kunduz, Afghanistan, 28 September, New Afghan police recruits at the German police training centre in Kunduz, Afghanistan. All are illiterate; they are farmer sons from rural areas who never had any education and are joining the police for economic reasons. Their loyalty to the government is thin. A police officer earns around $170 per month, and due to harsh living and working conditions and as well the high risk for being killed by the Taliban, many decide to leave the police force before their contract ends © Ton Koene, The Netherlands

Rebels in Ras Lanuf, Libya, 11 March. For weeks, rebels held out against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with the hope that the world would come to their aid. Defiance faded as the dictator's planes and tanks began to retake what had been dubbed Free Libya © Yuri Kozyrev, Russia, Noor Images for Time

Utøya, Norway, 22 July, Trying to avoid the killer’s bullets, many people jumped into the cold water. Anders Behring Breivik killed 69 people on 22 July on the small island of Utøya outside Oslo in Norway © Niclas Hammarström, Sweden, for Aftonbladet

Scrum half, Old Belvedere vs. Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland, 5 February Action from a rugby match between Old Belvedere and Blackrock played in heavy rain in Dublin, Ireland © Ray McManus, Ireland, Sportsfile

Divers practice during the 14th FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China, 17 July © Adam Pretty, Australia, Getty Images