16 Of The Most Remarkable News Images Of 2013

If it happened, Reuters was there to see it. Here are some of the best images their photographers took this year.

1. Visitors take pictures of tidal waves in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.

Chance Chan / Reuters

The huge waves were caused by Typhoon Usagi in September. China's National Meteorological Center issued its highest alert, warning that Usagi would bring gales and downpours to southern coastal areas.

2. "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius awaits the start of court proceedings in the Pretoria Magistrates court in February.

Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

Pistorius, a double amputee who became one of the biggest names in world athletics, was applying for bail after being charged in court with shooting dead his girlfriend, 30-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria house.

3. President Barack Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G8 Summit at Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

4. Farmer Donald O'Reilly searches for sheep or lambs trapped in a snow drift in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

In March, at least 140,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland were left without power over the weekend following heavy snowfall, causing snowdrifts of up to five metres.

5. A passenger aircraft, with the full "Harvest Moon" seen behind, makes its final approach to landing at Heathrow Airport in west London.

Toby Melville / Reuters

The Harvest Moon is a traditional name for the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, when farmers would traditionally harvest crops. It looks as if the moon is closer, larger and brighter, even though it isn't.

6. A man runs up the "gostra", a greased pole, during the religious feast of St Julian, near Valletta, Malta.

Darrin Zammit Lupi / Reuters

The "gostra" tradition stretches back to the Middle Ages. Young men, women and children have to make their way to the top and try to uproot one of the flags to win prizes as part of various religious festivals.

7. A couple dance at a private gay club in St. Petersburg.

Alexander Demianchuk / Reuters

Along with a planned new law banning the spread of gay "propaganda" among minors, President Vladimir Putin has also overseen a religious revival that aims to give more moral authority to the Orthodox Church, which has suggested that homosexuality is one of the main threats to Russia.

8. A child runs to safety as armed police hunt gunmen who went on a shooting spree at Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

Gunmen stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi in September killing at least 20 and sending scores fleeing into shops, a cinema and onto the streets in search of safety.

9. Dan McManus and his service dog Shadow hang glide together outside Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jim Urquhart / Reuters

McManus suffers from anxiety and Shadow's presence and companionship help him to manage the symptoms. The two have been flying together for about nine years with a specially made harness for Shadow.

10. Firefighters spray water towards a burning house near Banning, California.

David Mcnew / Reuters

The fire broke out in August near a back-country road south of Banning, about 90 miles outside Los Angeles in Riverside County, and within hours had blackened more than 5,000 acres.

11. North Korean soldiers patrol along the banks of Yalu River, near the town of Sinuiju.

Jacky Chen / Reuters

In April, South Korea and the United States were on high alert for a North Korean missile launch as the hermit kingdom turned its attention to celebrating its ruling Kim dynasty and appeared to tone down rhetoric of impending war.

12. A Balinese man kicks up fire during the "Perang Api" (Fire War) ritual ahead of Nyepi day.

Stringer/Indonesia / Reuters

Nyepi is a day of silence for self-reflection to celebrate the Balinese Hindu new year, where Hindus in Bali observe meditation and fasting, but are not allowed to work, cook, light lamps or conduct any other activities.

13. Belgian riot police are covered with foam sprayed by firefighters during a protest for better work conditions in Brussels in October.

Yves Herman / Reuters

14. Children play at a guest hotel in Mogadishu.

Feisal Omar / Reuters

Street lamps now brighten some of Mogadishu's battle-scarred roads and couples hold hands at the seaside next to bombed-out beachfront buildings, a scene that would have been unthinkable when the Islamist al Shabaab group held sway here. However, rebuilding a life many in the world take for granted is a slow process after more than 20 years of civil war and anarchy in Somalia.

15. Women sunbathe by the wall of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Alexander Demianchuk / Reuters

16. South Africa's Riaan Van Niekerk rides through sand during the 5th stage of the Dakar Rally 2013 from Arequipa in Peru to Arica in Chile.

Jacky Naegelen / Reuters