2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (2024)

  • Alan Taylor
  • December 8, 2011
  • 40 Photos
  • In Focus

2011 was a year of global tumult, marked by widespread social and political uprisings, economic crises, and a great deal more. We saw the fall of multiple dictators, welcomed a new country (South Sudan), witnessed our planet's population grow to 7 billion, and watched in horror as Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear disaster. From the Arab Spring to Los Indignados to Occupy Wall Street, citizens around the world took to the streets in massive numbers, protesting against governments and financial institutions, risking arrest, injury, and in some cases their lives. Collected here is Part 3 of a three-part photo summary of the last year, covering 2011's last months. Be sure to also see Part 1, and Part 2, totaling 120 images in all.

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (2)

    Occupy Wall Street protesters march and hold signs in New York City on September 17, 2011. Frustrated protesters had been speaking out against corporate greed and social inequality on and near Wall Street for the previous two weeks, further sparking a protest movement that spread across the world. Original here. #

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (3)

    A worker prepares rappelling lines at the top of the Washington Monument as inspections to the structure begin on September 27, 2011. Engineers planned to rappel down the 555-foot (170-meter) Washington Monument to assess damage from a rare 5.8-magnitude earthquake and storms that struck the U.S. capital in August. #

    Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (4)

    A P-51 Mustang airplane crashes into the edge of the grandstands at the Reno Air show on September 16, 2011, in Reno, Nevada. The World War II-era fighter plane flown by a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot Jimmy Leeward plunged Friday into the edge of the grandstands during the popular air race creating a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris. Eleven people were killed, including Leeward, and at least 74 were hurt. #

    AP Photo/Ward Howes

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (5)

    Spain's bullfighter Jose Tomas performs at the Monumental bullring in Barcelona, Spain, on September 25, 2011. On that day, Spain's powerful northeastern region of Catalonia bid farewell to the country's emblematic tradition of bullfighting with a final bash at the Barcelona bullring before a ban took effect. #

    AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (6)

    A Pakistani woman displaced by the floods walks along a flooded road holding an axe to cut wood, in Digri district near Hyderabad, Pakistan, on September 19, 2011. The United Nations appealed for $357 million Sunday to help millions of Pakistanis affected by floods that have damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and destroyed millions of acres of crops. #

    AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (7)

    A Russian Soyuz TMA-21 space capsule descends about 150 km south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on September 16, 2011. NASA Astronaut Ron Garan and Russian Cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyayev returned from more than five months onboard the International Space Station, where they served as members of the Expedition 27 and 28 crews. As the Space Shuttle program was shut down earlier in the year, NASA astronauts will now have to rely on Russian rockets to ferry them into orbit, until a new manned U.S. space program is ready, possibly by 2019. #

    AP Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky, pool

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (8)

    A woman walks into a spray of water to escape the heat during the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 1, 2011. #

    AP Photo/Felipe Dana

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (9)

    In San Francisco, Nick Galloro, of Berkeley, holds a sign during a rally against banking institutions as part of the Occupy Wall Street campaign in California, on September 29, 2011. #

    Reuters/Stephen Lam

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (10)

    The Tribute in Light shines above lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and One World Trade Center, left, on September 10, 2011 in New York, one day before the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. #

    AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (11)

    Robert Peraza, who lost his son Robert David Peraza, pauses at his son's name at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial during tenth anniversary ceremonies at the site of the World Trade Center in New York, on September 11, 2011. #

    Reuters/Justin Lane

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (12)

    U.S. Marine dog handler Sgt. Mark Behl, left, of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force K9 unit, and another Marine, perform first aid on U.S. Military working dog Drak, after he was wounded in a bomb attack, in Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan on September 8, 2011. Drak's own handler, Sgt Kenneth A. Fischer, was also wounded in the bomb attack, which also killed several civilians. Both Fischer and Drak were flown out of the country for surgery and recovery. Eventually, in line with military custom, Fischer will adopt Drak and take him home. #

    AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (13)

    Sgt. 1st Class Justin Hathaway braves a sandstorm after leaving the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Iraq and U.S. Forces-Iraq Provost Marshal Office at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on September 27, 2011. American troops are scheduled to completely withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year, after nearly nine years of occupation. #

    Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo/USAF

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (14)

    A seemingly intoxicated moose is discovered entangled in an apple tree in Goteborg, Sweden late Tuesday September 6 2011. Per Johansson, 45, says he heard a roar from his vacationing neighbor's garden in southwestern Sweden late Tuesday and went to have a look. There, he found a female moose kicking about in the tree. The animal was likely drunk from eating fermented apples. #

    AP Photo/Per Johansson

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (15)

    In this citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and provided by Shaam News Network, Anti-Syrian President Bashar Assad protesters, shout slogans as they protest at al-kessour area, in Homs province, Syria, on September 29, 2011. Angry supporters of President Bashar Assad's regime hurled tomatoes and eggs at the U.S. ambassador to Syria as he entered the office of a leading opposition figure and then tried to break into the building, trapping him inside for three hours. The Arab Spring reached Syria in March, but protesters met stiff resistance as Assad's troops launched deadly attacks, even using tanks to fire on residential areas. Broad restrictions on press coverage have made reporting from Syria extremely difficult throughout the year. #

    AP Photo/Shaam News Network

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (16)

    Anti-Qaddafi fighters fire a rocket launcher near Sirte, Libya, one of Muammar Qaddafi's last remaining strongholds, on September 24, 2011. Libyan provisional government forces backed by NATO warplanes swarmed into the city of Sirte on Saturday but weathered heavy sniper fire as they tried to win control of the city. #

    Reuters/Goran Tomasevic

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (17)

    Miami Heat's LeBron James holds his son, Bryce, during the second half of the South Florida All-Star Classic NBA basketball game, on October 8, 2011, in Miami. #

    AP Photo/J Pat Carter

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (18)

    A picture of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung decorates a building in the capital Pyongyang, early October 5, 2011. North Korea appeared to make small, tightly-controlled steps toward the West in 2011, including an agreement with the Associated Press to set up the first permanent text and photo bureau operated by a Western news organization in the capital of Pyongyang. #

    Reuters/Damir Sagolj

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (19)

    A businessman sticks his tongue out in jest as he walks past tents erected by protesters from the Occupy London Stock Exchange group, as they continue their demonstration that started on Saturday outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, on October 17, 2011. #

    AP Photo/Matt Dunham

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (20)

    A protester's face is cleaned after he was pepper-sprayed by police at the Occupy Denver camp on October 29, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Following a march by protesters, police tried to tear down some newly-erected tents at the encampment and and a melee ensued. Police detained about a half dozen people and pepper-sprayed others before calling for reinforcements. #

    John Moore/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (21)

    Rescue workers carry Azra Karaduman, a two-week-old baby girl, from a collapsed building in Ercis, near the eastern Turkish city of Van, on October 25, 2011. The baby was rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building on Tuesday, 46 hours after an earthquake struck southeast Turkey, a Reuters Television journalist said. Her mother, Semiha, who was also rescued, had been clasping her daughter to her chest. #

    Reuters/Stringer

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (22)

    A baby gestures minutes after he was born inside the pediatric unit at hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on October 21, 2011. The United Nations Population Fund estimated that the world's population reached 7 billion on on October 31, 2011. #

    Reuters/Edgard Garrido

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (23)

    Libya's new regime forces fire their weapons at fighters loyal to fugitive strongman Muammar Qaddafi as a comrade plays a guitar during a battle in Sirte on October 10, 2011, in a drive to control Qaddafi's hometown after a month-long siege. #

    Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (24)

    National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters take part in a street battle in the center of the city on October 14, 2011 in Sirte, Libya. #

    Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (25) This image may contain graphic or objectionable content. Click to view image

    Bloodied Former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is seen in this still image taken from video footage in Sirte, Libya, on October 20, 2011. Qaddafi was killed as Libya's new leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule, sparking wild celebrations that eight months of war was finally over. NATO aircraft had fired on a convoy of vehicles carrying Qaddafi and other loyalists, damaging and destroying several vehicles. Qaddafi escaped the airstrike, but was soon captured alive by rebel forces on the ground, who found him hiding in a drainage pipe. Multiple videos and photos showed the former dictator bleeding and being roughly handled. Shortly after, he was dead - the exact circ*mstance of his death remains uncertain. His body was put on display for the public to view in a freezer in Misrata for several days afterward. He was then buried in an undisclosed location in the desert. #

    Reuters/Esam Al-Fetori

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (26)

    Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo throws during the eighth inning of Game 1 of baseball's National League division series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on October 1, 2011, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. #

    AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (27)

    The race car of driver Will Power (left) goes airborne during a multiple-car crash at the IZOD IndyCar World Championship race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 16, 2011. The motor racing world was left reeling from the death of time-two Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed in the crash, as the season-ending celebration turned to disaster. #

    Reuters/Barry Ambrose

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (28)

    Following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on October 5th, Hong Kong design student Jonathan Mak poses with a symbol he designed in tribute, on October 6, 2011. Nineteen-year-old Mak's poignant tribute to Apple founder Steve Jobs became an internet hit with its minimalist, touching symbolism and brought a job offer and a flood of commemorative merchandise using his design. #

    Reuters/Bobby Yip

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (29)

    Scott Olsen, an Iraq War veteran, and part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, is carried away by fellow protesters after Olsen was hit by a tear gas canister shot by the Police, near the Oakland City Hall, on October 25, 2011 in California. After initially being listed in critical condition, Olsen was released in November, but is still recovering from a brain injury that has affected his speech. #

    Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (30)

    A mask-wearing protester uses his laptop computer in the Occupy LSX camp outside St Paul's Cathedral, ahead of a demonstration against higher tuition fees and privatization in universities on November 9, 2011 in London, England. Around 4,000 police officers were on duty and were allowed to deploy baton rounds if needed. #

    Oli Scarff/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (31)

    John Pike, a University of California Davis police officer, pepper-sprays students during their sit-in at an Occupy UCD demonstration in Davis, California, on November 18, 2011. UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi apologized to jeering students on November 21 for police use of pepper spray against campus protesters in a standoff captured by video and widely replayed on television and the Internet. Faculty and student critics of Friday's confrontation, some of whom demanded the chancellor's resignation, said it had damaged the school's image and the climate for free expression at the university. #

    Reuters/Brian Nguyen

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (32)

    Robotics student Gildo Andreoni interacts with a Dexmart robotic hand built at the University of Bologna in the Robotville exhibition at the Science Museum on November 29, 2011, in London, England. #

    Oli Scarff/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (33)

    Ocean waves stained red with blood crash ashore as inhabitants of the Faroe Islands catch and slaughter pilot whales (Globicephala melaena) during the traditional "Grindadrap" (whale hunting in Faroese) near the capital Torshavn, on November 22, 2011. The Faroese are descendents of Vikings, and pilot whales have been a central part of their diet for more than 1,000 years. They crowd the animals into a bay and kill them. "Grindadrap" whaling is not done for commercial purposes, the meat can not be sold and is divided evenly between members of the local community. #

    Reuters/Andrija Ilic

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (34)

    A multiple-exposure image of Novak Djokovic of Serbia, as he serves during the men's singles match against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London, England, on November 25, 2011. #

    Michael Regan/Getty Images for Barclays

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (35)

    A couple embraces as soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division are greeted by family, friends and loved ones at their redeployment ceremony at Wheeler Gulch, Wheeler Army Airfield in Wahiawa, Hawaii, on December 6, 2011. U.S. forces are withdrawing from Iraq after an eight year presence in the country and communities in Hawaii are welcoming soldiers home. #

    Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (36)

    Anti-government protesters wave Bahraini flags and gesture as they participate in a rally and march that drew tens of thousands to Maqsha, Bahrain, just outside the capital of Manama, on November 25, 2011. Participants in the rally, organized by several opposition societies, waved Bahraini flags along with those of Arab spring countries Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt, while calling for the fall of the Bahraini government, freedom for prisoners and democracy in the Gulf island kingdom. #

    AP Photo/Hasan Jamali

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (37)

    A Buddha head in the roots of a Bodhi tree is partially submerged by floodwaters in the ruins of Wat Mahathat temple in Thailand's ancient capital, Ayutthaya, on November 6, 2011. The floods in Thailand began in July and devastated large parts of the central Chao Phraya river basin, killed more than 650 people and disrupted the lives of millions. #

    Reuters/Adrees Latif

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (38)

    Vehicles are submerged at the Honda factory in Ayutthaya province, on November 14, 2011. Clean-up work was underway at four industrial estates in Thailand's central Ayutthaya province as water has receded after devastating floods, and some factories were already back at work, officials said. #

    Reuters/Damir Sagolj

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (39)

    A New York City police officer scuffles with Occupy Wall Street protesters after they were evicted from Zuccotti Park, on November 15, 2011, in New York City. #

    Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (40)

    A black rhino is transported by helicopter in South Africa. The seventh black rhino population established by the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project was released after an epic trip across the country. Nineteen of the critically endangered animals were moved from the Eastern Cape to a new location in Limpopo province. #

    AP Photo/Green Renaissance-World Wildlife Fund

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  • 2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (41)

    A protester carries stones to throw during clashes with Egyptian riot police near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on November 21, 2011, months after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. Security forces fired tear gas and clashed Monday with several thousand protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square in the third straight day of violence that has killed more than two dozen people and has turned into the most sustained challenge yet to the rule of Egypt's military. #

    AP Photo/Khalil Hamra

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    2011: The Year in Photos, Part 3 of 3 (2024)

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