The second collection of images from 2011 once again brought us nature at its full force with floods, drought, wild fires, tornadoes and spectacular images of volcanic eruptions. The death of Osama bin Laden, the attack on an island in Norway by a lone gunman, continued fighting in Libya, and protests around the globe were a few of the news events dominating the headlines. –Lloyd Young (Via Boston Globe)
A leopard attacks a forest guard July 19 at Prakash Nagar village near Salugara, on the outskirts of Siliguri, India. The leopard strayed into the village area and mauled several villagers, including three guards, before being caught by forest officials. The leopard, which suffered injuries caused by knives and batons, died later in the evening at a veterinary center. The forest guard being attacked was injured. (Associated Press)
A cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, on June 5. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4, 2011, prompting evacuations for 3,500 people as it sent a cloud of ash that reached Argentina. The National Service of Geology and Mining said the explosion that sparked the eruption also produced a column of gas 10 kilometers (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area. (Claudio Santana/AFP/Getty Images)
People react to the death of Osama bin Laden in Times Square in New York early May 2. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan on Sunday, President Barack Obama announced, ending a nearly 10-year worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. (Eric Thayer/Reuters)
People gather outside Oslo City Hall July 25 to participate in a “rose march” in memory of the victims of a bomb attack and shooting massacre in Norway. (Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press)
Protesters clash with riot police during a 48-hour general strike on June 28 in Athens. Greece is set to come to a halt on Tuesday as protesters launch a 48-hour general strike against the bankruptcy-threatened government which is desperately trying to push through sweeping austerity cuts. As parliament votes on the drastic belt-tightening measures to unlock 12 billion euros ($17 billion) of blocked funds from the EU and IMF, unions have called on Greeks facing hefty tax hikes to stage mass demonstrations. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
Cars stand submerged in overflow water from the Wolf River on McMiller Road in Memphis, Tenn. May 10, 2011. After weeks of rising to historic levels the Mississippi River reached a crest just shy of the forecast 48 feet at the Memphis gauge. “It’s going to meander around that level for the next 24 to 36 hours,” meteorologist Bill Borghoff said. “We’re going to pretty much hold onto the crest for a while.” (Mike Brown/Associated Press/The Commercial Appeal)
Riot police walk in the street as a couple kisses on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Rich Lam/Getty Images)
The leading man, Spain’s three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (center) punches a fan dressed up as a doctor as he climbs Alpe d’Huez (1850 m) in the109,5 km and nineteenth stage of the 2011 Tour de France cycling race run between Modane Valfrejus and Alpe d’Huez ski resort, southeastern France, on July 22. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images)
On July 5th a historic dust storm, or haboob, approaches downtown Phoenix, AZ. The wall of dust, which was estimated to be 70 miles long and over a mile high, moved at speeds of 35mph and had gusts up to 60mph. (Mike Olbinski Photography)
Lightning strikes June 6th over the Puyehue volcano, over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile. (Francisco Negroni/Associated Press/AgenciaUno)
Police spray Ugandan opposition party leaders with coloured water during demonstrations in Kampala May 10. President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to crush the protests and blamed rising food and fuel costs on drought and global increases in oil prices. (James Akena/Reuters)
A Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier stands at attention during an Independence Day rehearsal in Juba July 5. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
Refugee children who fled unrest in Libya play on a tent at a refugee camp near the southern Libyan and Tunisian border crossing of Dehiba May 8. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)
Pro-Palestinians protesters run from tear gas June 5 shot by Israeli troops, not seen, next to the border between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. Israeli troops battled hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters who tried to burst across Syria’s frontier with the Golan Heights, killing a reported 20 people and wounding scores more in the second outbreak of deadly violence in the border area in less than a month. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press)
Policemen and residents run as waves from a tidal bore surge past a barrier on the banks of the Qiantang River in Haining, Zhejiang province Aug. 31. (China Daily/Reuters)
