In pictures: Eyewitness

Xi'an, China, Zimbabwe: December 20 2008: Doctors perform eye surgery on a giant panda named Xiaoming in Shaanxi province. It took 14 doctors 40 minutes to complete the operation Photograph: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Harare, Zimbabwe: December 17 2008: At Granville cemetary, Harare, gravediggers in one section used to dig 45 new graves a fortnight. It has risen to 300 every two weeks since November Photograph: Robin Hammond/Oxfam/PA

Berlin, Germany: December 16 2008: A baby hippopotamus swims with her mother on her first day in the public eye at Berlin Zoo. She was born on November 29
Photograph: Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images

London, UK, December 10 2008: Bono plays the piano and Adam Clayton the bass at Olympic Studios in London. The 'live room' has been home to the band for the past month as they put the finishing touches to their 12th studio album, due out early next year
Photograph: /Kevin Davies

Athens, Greece, December 9 2008:Students clash with police outside parliament in Athens. Running battles were fought after the funeral of a teenager whose fatal shooting prompted recent rioting Photograph: Simela Pantzartzi/EPA

Bristol, UK: The restoration by Bristol Museum of three early 18th century frescoes believed to have been painted by Antonio Verrio Photograph: Adrian Sherratt

New York, USA, November 30 2008: New Yorkers on a vintage subway carriage at 2nd Avenue station. The city is running carriages from the 30s to the 70s, with wicker seats and ceiling fans, on its V line to Queens each weekend this month Photograph: Preston Rescigno/Getty

London, UK, December 3 2008: Queen Elizabeth II delivers her speech during the state opening of parliament Photograph: Jamie Wiseman/AFP/Getty Images

London, UK, December 2 2008: Shoppers and buses traverse a Christmas light-festooned Oxford Street. But retailers are taking a darker view of the festive period predicting falling sales, says the CBI Photograph: David Levene

Venice, Italy, December 1 2008: A woman surveys St Mark's Square after a high tide driven by strong winds surged into Venice. At its peak, the lagoon was 156cm above normal - the highest level in 22 years Photograph: Andrea Pattaro/AFP/Getty Images

November 22 2008: Astronaut Steve Bowen tries to unjam a joint on a power-generating solar wing at the International Space Station 220 miles above Earth. Astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour have been trying to repair the solar wings, install video cameras and fix a urine processor. They are due to return to Earth on Sunday Photograph: Nasa/AP Photograph: AP

Nairn, Scotland, November 11 2008: A statue of James Clerk Maxwell, Scottish mathematician and physicist, by the sculptor Alexander Stoddart at the Black Isle bronze foundry at Nairn in the Highlands
Photograph: Murdo Macleod

Strasbourg, France, November 8 2008: MEPs discuss the EU response to the world fi nancial crisis and the G20 summit Photograph: Vincent Kessler/Reuters

Karachi, Pakistan, November 17 2008: Children play in a slum area Photograph: Athar Hussain/Reuters

Sylmar, US, November 16 2008:The remains of Oakridge mobile home park, which had 600-800 homes before the fire on Saturday left the area in ruins Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images

London, UK, November 11 2008: British first world war veterans Bill Stone, 108, Henry Allingham, 112, and Harry Patch, 110, at No 10 after laying wreaths at the Cenotaph on the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AFP/Getty Images

London, UK:Air traffic controllers in Heathrow’s control tower manage the flights at the world’s busiest international airport
Photograph: David Levene

China, October 29 2008: Climbers abseil down one of the world's deepest shafts. The Miao Keng, in south-west China. takes two hours to descend and connects with the Dong Ba network of caves Photograph: Robert Shone/Barcroft Media

London, UK, October 28 2008: Thatchers enjoy a few dry hours as they repair the ridge of Shakespeare's Globe theatre using hazel spars and Norfolk Broads sedge. In 1996, when it was built, the Bankside theatre became the first thatched building to go up in London since 1666. The original Globe burned down before the Great Fire, in 1613; the modern replica is protected with 600 litres of fire retardant chemicals and sprinklers
Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi

Kibumba, Congo, October 27 2008: Congolese refugees loaded with belongings leave the Kibumba internally displaced persons camp 21 miles north of Goma in eastern Congo yesterday, after violence between rival factions escalated. At least 200,000 people have left their homes in the region Photograph: Walter Astrada/AFP

Berlin, Germany, October 24 2008: The finishing touches are put to Balloon Dog, a sculpture by Jeff Koons at the Neue Nationalgalerie museum in preparation for an exhibition of works by the US artist
Photograph: Michael Gottschalk/ AFP

Kunar, Afghanistan, October 22 2008:: Members of Charlie Battery, 3rd Battalion of the 321 Field artillery, fire at a Taliban position in Kunar, eastern Afghanistan. Theirs is the busiest artillery unit in the US army
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

Hong Kong, October 21 2008: Workers cut fish at a market. Non-dairy products will be subject to melamine tests, say authorities, after contamination of milk products in China Photograph: Philippe Lopez/AFP

Wat Lan Khuad, Thailand, October 17 2008: A Buddhist monk stands at the window of Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, the temple better known as Wat Lan Khuad in Si Sa Ket province, which is built from a million glass bottles Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

Missouri, USA, October 18 2008: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama gives a speech at the Gateway Arch in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to a crowd of more than 100,000 people
Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

London, UK, October 16 2008: Amid a cloud of red, white and blue ticker tape, thousands of people brandishing union flags greet Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes at a rally in Trafalgar Square after a parade through central London
Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

London, UK, October 14 2008: After several days spent wrestling with the banking crisis, Gordon Brown got back to more routine matters when he chaired a cabinet meeting at No 10
Photograph: Martin Argles

Washington DC, USA, October 13 2008: The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps perform in front of the White House for George Bush and Silvio Berlusconi at the start of the Italian prime minister’s visit
Photograph: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

Dakar, Senegal, October 11 2008: Football supporters watch Senegal draw 1-1 with Gambia in a World Cup qualifying match in Dakar. South Africa are the hosts for the 2010 finals
Photograph: Georges Gobet/Getty Images

Spain, October 15 2008: Spanish artist and photographer Eugenio Recuenco has recreated Greek sculptures using real human models. He has used influences from Greek mythology and the sculptures of the Parthenon pediments for the striking example of tableau vivant. The work depicts scenes of battle with visual references to the Olympians, Atlas and Perseus killing Medusa Photograph: Eugenio Recuenco/Rex Features

Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, October 4 2008: More than 370 Magellanic penguins, which were found stranded in the warm waters of north-eastern Brazil, are released on Cassino beach, on the country’s southern coast, after being airlifted more than 1,000 miles in a Hercules airplane. It is thought they may have been carried out of their usual cold waters by warm currents
Photograph: IFAW/AP

Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 4 2008: Balloonists getting ready for flight at this year's 37th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The event has attracted more than 600 hot air balloons from 24 countries
Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

London, UK, October 1 2008: Leaves beginning to change colour at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew this week. Kew has just been voted Britain’s best public garden in an online poll
Photograph: Felix Clay

London, UK, September 30 2008: Ron Mueck’s Mask II is installed at the Wellcome Trust gallery at the British Museum as part of the Statuephilia show of contemporary British sculptors
Photograph: Linda Nylind

Kabul, Afghanistan, September 29 2008: A boy counts his sales as he waits for customers to buy discs of Bollywood movies from his roadside shop. The movies are popular in Afghanistan, but were banned by the Taliban Photograph: Rafiq Maqbool/AP

Chisinau, Moldova, September 28 2008: Zebras are among the animals kept at Chisinau Zoo, where visitors can approach and touch the exhibits. Each zebra’s stripes are as unique as fingerprints, no two are the same Photograph: John McConnico/AP

Liverpool, UK, September 25 2008:Tracey Emin’s latest piece, For You, a neon sign in her handwriting that reads: ‘I felt you and I knew you loved me’, is on display at the entrance of Liverpool cathedral
Photograph: Christopher Thomond

Singapore, September 24 2008: The Ferrari formula one team practice pit stops. The roles performed by each pit team member are as follows: 1) Wheel off (removes used tyres) 2) Air hammer (takes wheels off) 3) Wheel on (positions new wheels) 4)Wing adjuster (adjusts front wing under instruction from the driver) 5) Front jack (raises front end of the car) 6) Refueller (connects fuel hose) 7) Hose support (steadies hose to prevent fuel spill) Photograph: Vivek Prakash /Reuters

Indiana, USA, September 20 2008: John Richmond shoots a watermelon on top his brother, Ken's head. A deviation of just 1/4" in the marksman's aim will mean certain death. From the book, "Incredible Stunts" by photojournalist Jeffrey R. Werner Photograph: Jeffrey R. Werner/ Incredible Features/Barcroft Media

Jiuquan, China, September 22 2008: The Shenzhou-7 manned spaceship, the Long-March II-F rocket and the escape tower are transferred to the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province Photograph: Reuters

Minak, UK, September 19 2008: Cambridge University Gilbert and Sullivan Society perform the opera The Yeoman of the Guard, at the Minack open air theatre, Cornwall, on the final weekend of the season.
Photograph: Felix Clay

New York, USA, June 12 2007: The crowd reacts to a three-run home run by Bobby Abreu of the New York Yankees. Yankee Stadium hosted it's last ever Major League Baseball game on September 20 2008 Photograph: Al Bello /Getty

Las Vegas, USA, September 17 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrives via the dugout for a rally at the Cashman Centre baseball stadium in Las Vegas
Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/Getty images

London, UK, September 17 2008 Simon Johnson plays the new mobile organ console of the Grand Organ in St Paul Cathedral, London. The restoration of the 7,256-pipe organ has cost £1m
Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

London, UK, September 16 2008: The running order for the Nicole Farhi spring/summer 2009 collection at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, yesterday as part of London Fashion Week
Photograph: David Levene

Texas, USA, September 14 2008: Oil and water surround a pump jack at High Island on the eastern side of Galveston Bay, close to where Hurricane Ike made landfall on the Gulf coast on Sunday morning
Photograph: Smiley N. Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Bristol, UK, September 9 2008: Head of Animation Loyd Price works on the Wallace and Gromit film A Matter of Loaf and Death at Aardman's studios
Photograph: Graeme Robertson

Baghdad, Iraq, June1 2008: Guardian photographer Sean Smith spent two months with Charlie Company, 101st Airborne, in Iraq. Soldiers from a Sunni militia working alongside the Americans receive medical treatment after being injured by a roadside bomb
Sean Smith

New York, USA, September 8 2008: The World Trade Centre site, is under construction. Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are scheduled to attend a ceremony at the site on Thursday, September 11 to mark the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

Moscow, Russia, August 22 2008: A replica of the Mir space station stands on a platform above the now-drained pool used for practising weightless space walks at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City
Linda Nylind

Derby, UK: September 4 2008: The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire view Marc Quinn’s sculpture of a baby, entitled Planet, in the gardens of their home, Chatsworth House, in the Peak District. It is part of Beyond Limits, an exhibition of modern sculpture organised in association with Sotheby’s
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Gonaives, Haiti, September 3 2008: Tropical Storm Hanna swirled over Haiti for four days. Devastation wreaked by tropical storms overwhelmed rescue efforts and left thousands of people stranded with no food or drinking water as another hurricane approached. Hanna was the third storm to hit the impoverished country in three weeks Photograph: Marco Dormino/AP

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 15 2008: The Burj Dubai skyscraper under construction. It reached 688m (2,257ft) this month to become the tallest man-made structure in the world. Its final height will be 818m Photograph: David Hobcote/Rex features

Kuwait, September 1 2008: Kuwaitis walk past a stall selling dates on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims around the world fast between sunrise and sunset Photograph: Yasser al-Zayyat/AFP

Tbilisi, Georgia, August 30 2008: Georgian soldiers throw dirt into a mass grave during military funerals for unknown comrades killed in the South Ossetia conflict Photograph: Olivier Laban-Mattei/AFP

Venice, Italy, August 27 2008: George Clooney greets fans before the premiere of Burn after Reading, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, which opened the Venice film festival Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Tskhinvali, South Ossetia, August 25 2008: Residents stand and play on a defunct Georgian tank, as Russian MPs voted to recognise two breakaway regions’ independence Photograph: Vicktor Drachev/AFP

Beijing, China, August 16 2008: Womens 800m freestyle final. Rebecca Adlington on her way to victory and her 2nd gold medal of the games at The Water Cube, Olympic Green. She won the 400m and 800m freestyle events Gold Days 3 & 8
Tom Jenkins

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 15 2008: Images of women who have lost relatives in Rio de Janeiro’s drug gang violence adorn homes in the Providencia favela as part of an exhibition by the photographer ‘JR’ Photograph: Ricardo Moraes/AP

Birmingham, UK, August 11 2008: It is not the most picturesque setting for anglers but the lake at Salford Park by Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham is fabled for its carp, prompting many to camp for days
David Sillitoe

Jakarta, Indonesia, August 17 2008: Pole position contestants race their way up a greased pole to claim prizes ranging from buckets to bicycles. Indonesia is celebrating its 63rd year of independence from the Dutch Photograph: Tatan Syuflana/AP

Newquay, Cornwall, August 10 2008: Glimpse of summer surfers seize some late afternoon sun on Great Western Beach in Newquay. Holidaymakers in the region can look forward to another mixed week of rain and sunshine
Linda Nylind

London, UK, August 12 2008: The rarely photographed Grand Hall of London’s Central Criminal Court, with murals and glass by Gerald Moira. Opened in 1907, the court has seen the trials of Dr Crippen, the Krays and the Yorkshire Ripper
Graeme Robertson

Gori, Georgia, August 10 2008: A Georgian woman at her destroyed home in Gori. The town, 50 miles from Tbilisi, came under sustained Russian bombing, leaving bodies in the street Photograph: David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters

Beijing, China, August 8 2008: Drummers perform during the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the National Stadium
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Baghdad, Iraq, August 6 2008: A painter decorates a security wall sealing off the southern section of the Shia enclave of Sadr City Photograph: Karim Kadim/AP

Moscow, Russia, August 5 2008: Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s sons and widow pay their respects to the Nobel prize-winning writer who was lying in state yesterday at the Russian Academy of Sciences Photograph: Misha Japaridze/AP

Weymouth, UK, July 24 2008: Families gather on the beach to watch a Punch and Judy show. More people are opting to holiday in Britain this year due to the credit crunch
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Beijing, China, July 21 2008: A man takes a nap outside a shop in the city’s Nanluoguxiang hutong
Dan Chung

Saut d'Eau, Haiti, July 16 2008: Voodoo and Catholic followers bathe in the waterfall at Saut d'Eau in an act of spiritual cleansing. Thousands of pilgrims flock each year to the town to celebrate the voodoo spirit of love and romance, Erzulie Freda, and the catholic patron saint Our Lady of Mount Carmel
David Levene

Jezero Crater, Mars, July 17 2008: Colour-enhanced image of the delta in Jezero Crater, which once held a lake. Two studies based on data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that the Red Planet once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life Photograph: NASA/AP

Sydney, Australia, July 14 2008: Pope Benedict listens to a quartet at the Kenthurst Study Centre in Sydney in advance of World youth Day, a six-day catholic festival Photograph: Francesco Sforza/AFP

London, UK: A Zeppelin airship takes touists on a sightseeing trip over London
Graeme Robertson

July 7, 2008, Helmand Province, Afghanistan : A British paratrooper from the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment relaxes in his quarters at Gibraltar Froward Operating Base in Upper Gereshk Valley
Marco di Lauro/Getty Images

Logar province, Afghanistan, July 4 2007: US soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division approach a village in Kharwar district, Logar province, as part of a joint US-Afghan operation against the Taliban Photograph: John D McHugh

July 9, 2008, London, UK : Floral tributes continue to be added at the site in a north London street where 16-year-old Ben Kinsella was stabbed to death
Graeme Robertson

July 4, 2008 Hawaii : Lava from the Pu'u O'o vent of the Kilauea volcano pours out of the Walkupanaha ocean entry Photograph: Bruce Omori/EPA

July 4, 2008, London, UK : The English National Ballet returns to the Royal Festival Hall for the first time in over 10 years.
David Levene

May 5, 2008, Hong Kong : A worker sleeps on the roof of one Hong Kong's restaurants. The densely populated former colony has thousands of restaurants.
Dan Chung

June 27, 2008, Seoul, Korea : Demonstrators hold a vigil as part of continuing protests over US beef imports, originally prompted by health fears. Police have detained 148 protesters so far. Photograph: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP

June 27, 2008, Glastonbury, UK : Festival goers turned out in force to listen to Kate Nash yesterday. It was believed to be the biggest audience for an opening act at Glastonbury.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

June 26, 2008, Chaiten, Chile : A man leaves via a window of his flooded house in a deserted town in southern Chile. Residents returned to their homes this week after being kept out since Chaiten volcano erupted for the first time in 9,400 years on May 2. Photograph: Ivan Alvarado/Reuters

June 25, 2008, Berlin, Germany : Turkish flags hang from balconies in Berlin apartment blocks. Germany and Turkey were meeting in the semi-finals of Euro 2008. Photograph: Herbert Knosowski/AP

June 20 2008, London, UK: The Henry Cole Wing, Victoria and Albert Museum. The six storeys of Cadeby stone staircases are no longer on public view as this wing of the west London museum houses offices, reserve collections of paintings and archives. The wing was originally built as the Science Schools between 1867 and 1871 Photograph: Alan Williams/PR

The home of Edith Macefield in Seattle, surrounded by a building site. Macefield, 86, who died on Sunday, became a local hero after refusing to sell up to developers Photograph: Joshua Trujillo/AP

US soldiers remove mortars and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) disguised as concrete blocks from a Mahdi army cache uncovered with the Iraqi army
Sean Smith

Football supporters at the Tivoli Neu stadium in Innsbruck, Austria, watch the match between Spain and Sweden. The Spanish scored in injury time to win 2-1 and top Group D at Euro 2008 Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action Images

A Chadian teenager in a camp near Sudan's border for people displaced by violence in Darfur has her lips coated in charcoal as a rite of passage. Photograph: Finbarr O'Reilley/Reuters Photograph: Finbarr O'Reilley/Reuters

June 11, 2008, Brussels, Belgium : The front of the Musee Rene Magritte is covered with a hoarding as it is prepared for opening in a neo-classical building known as the Altenloh Hotel, part of the Museum of Modern Art complex on the Place Royale in Brussels
Graeme Robertson

June 10 2008, Afghanistan : White House staff, press and Secret Service personnel sit outside a luxury trailer where U.S. first lady Laura Bush flies in privacy inside a military aircraft after a surprise visit to Afghanistan Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters

June 7 2008, Nottinghamshire, UK : The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu (centre) with Lance Corporal Lee Read of the Red Devils and other Red Devil members taking part in a sponsored parachute jump over Langar Airfield Photograph: John Giles/PA

Delhi, India: This woman visits the Ghazipur landfill site every day to sift through freshly dumped rubbish for metal, plastic, human hair, bone and paper to sell. Brijesh Patel is the winner of last year's Joan Wakelin Photographic Bursary
Brijesh Patel

May 31 2008, New York, USA : Jamaica's Usain Bolt, center, breaks the tape for a world record time of 9.72 seconds in the men's 100 meter sprint at the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meet Photograph: Bill Kostroun/AP

May 29 2008, Baghdad, Iraq : Troops from the US army's 101st Airborne Division distribute humanitarian aid to civilians in Shulla, Baghdad
Sean Smith

May 28 2008, Hampton Court, UK : World Number 5 Nick Wood plays Real tennis with a friend at Hampton Court Palace. Tennis was played on this site by Henry VIII from 1528, and the court is the oldest tennis court in use in the world
Graeme Robertson

May 26 2008, London, UK: : A man rows across an installation by Austrian art collective Gelitlin for the Psycho Buildings exhibition at the Haywood Gallery
David Levene

May 25 2008, Greenwich, UK : Work continues on the Cutty Sark, a year after a fire swept through the vessel during a £25m restoration
Graeme Robertson

May 21 2008, Bass Rock, Scotland: Gannets join gulls in the Firth of Forth swooping past Bass Rock, site of the world's biggest single-island gannet colony. The Scottish Seabird Centre runs boat trips around the isle Photograph: David Cheskin/PA

May 20 2008, Reiger Park, Johannesburg: Police fire rounds of plastic bullets to disperse a 400-strong mob wielding machetes and sticks in Reiger Park, Johannesburg, the scene of violent attacks on refugees Photograph: Themba Hadebe/AP

May 19 2008, London, UK: Bucking this year's trend of greys and whites, two members of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies work on the association's display at Chelsea
Martin Argles

May 19 2008, Windsor, UK: Peter Phillips, son of the Princess Royal and Autumn Kelly are seen off by family members and guests after their wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor
Sang Tan

May 16 2008, Beichuan, China: Rescue workers pulls a survivor from the rubble at the Beichuan middle school, which collapsed in the earthquake that struck China on Monday, trapping pupils
Dan Chung

May 15 2008, Sichuan province, China: An elderly man with an injured leg takes refuge at a Shuangyan village refugee camp, near Chenjiaba town, in China's earthquake-hit Sichuan province
Dan Chung

May 14 2008, Moscow, Russia: May Traditional Russian matrioshka dolls and a couple of modern ones depicting president Dmitry Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin on display at Izmailovo Vernisazh market in Moscow, Russia
Linda Nylind

May 13 2008, Baghdad, Iraq: Soldiers of 2nd Brigade Strykers unit relax and play dominoes with Iraqi army soldiers in the disused chicken sheds north of Baghdad
Sean Smith

May 12 2008, Gaza City, Gaza: Ahmad abu Me'tiq whose wife and four of his children were killed in an explosion at the door to his home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza
Martin Godwin

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren acts a scene from Troy produced by Mustafa Erdogan Photograph: Crispin Thurston/Action Images

Cyclone affected families waiting for the relief goods outside their destroyed homes in Haing Gyi Island, in the Irrawaddy division of southwest Burma
AFP/Getty Images

The hands of John and Sarah Ormond at their home in Brighton. John is a postman and Sarah is a tattooist who regularly practices on John. They are both tattooed from neck to feet and regard themselves as works in progress.
Roger Bamber

Westminster Abbey's head conservationist, Vanessa Simeoni, and colleague Ned Scharer work on the Cosmati pavement, recording the location and condition of every fragment of stone
Graham Turner

April 23 2008, Aalsmeer, Netherlands: Crates of roses at the Aalsmeer flower auction house, said to be the largest commercial building in the world
Linda Nylind

Pakistani boys play pool in Khashi Kaluni, the Christian quarter of Islamabad Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP

Apr 18 2008, Orgreave, UK: A face off between an NUM picket and lines of police, who have removed their numbers from their coat shoulders, in what became known as the Battle of Orgreave
Don McPhee

April 17 2008, Havana, Cuba: Cubans ride in a classic old American car Photograph: Ramon Espinosa/AP

April 15 2008, Outer Space: This computer-generated image shows trackable objects in Low Earth Orbit around Earth. There are now more than 12,000 objects that are monitored in orbit
European Space Agency

April 14 2008, Edinburgh, UK: Standing at four feet two, chimney sweep Albert Boat, 48, has been a circus clown and appeared as a Jawa in Star Wars. These days he works as a sweep with an Edinburgh company, Auld Reekie. Albert is joined on the rooftop by Kirk McLenaghan, 37, who owns the company, and Sid Mutch, 40
Murdo Macleod

April 10 2008, London, UK: The Loam foundry room at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. It was in this room that, 150 years ago, the 'Big Ben' bell was moulded and cast
David Levene

April 7 2008, Polmont, UK: Skiers descend Polmont artificial ski slope run by Falkirk District Council against a back drop of BP's Grangemouth oil refinery
Murdo Macleod

April 5 2008, London, UK: Howard Hodgkin poses in front of his new oil on wood painting "Where Seldom is Heard a Discouraging Word" at the Gagosian Gallery
Martin Argles

April 4 2008, New Al Muthana Air Base, Iraq: Iraqi army soldiers sit in a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The soldiers are being transported to Basra to support operations in the area
Jeffrey Allen/AFP/Getty Images

April 3 2008, Chittagong, Bangladesh: Since March this ship has been cut up and dismantled for recycling. The metal rope is attached to large sections that have been cut from the main hull then dragged closer to the shore. Workers wear little protection. They are exposed to toxic waste and oil residue as they break up the sheet metal into pieces
Sean Smith

April 1 2008, London, UK: The Red Arrows and four Typhoon fighters fly by the glass skyscrapers of the City of London to help mark the RAF's 90th anniversary
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

March 31, 2008, Parma, Italy: Parma hams at the Pio Tosini storehouse Photograph: Marco Vasini/AP

March 28 2008, London, UK: About 600 police officers congregate in Finsbury Park, before a raid on Blackstock Road, where up to 19 businesses allegedly deal in drugs, fraud and theft Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

March 27 2008, Chimalhuacan, Mexico: Salvador Barberan, a Spanish professional bullfighter, performs during a bullfight Photograph: Alexandre Meneghini/AP

March 26 2008, Guizhou region, China: Rapeseed plants bloom in the valley of Liupanshui
AFP/Getty Images

March 22 2008, Kingston, Jamaica: Women sort through coffee beans to identify and remove any below standard beans at the Jablum Coffee Plantation and factory in the Blue Mountains
David Levene

March 20 2008, Hebrides, UK: Men at the Caol Ila scotch whisky distillery pause to take in the view. Caol Ila was founded in 1846. The stills are of traditional shape, the three wash stills of 20,000 litres each and the three spirit stills of 14,000 each.
Murdo Macleod

March 19 2008, Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan: Members of Kazakh (green) and Kyrgyz (blue) teams squaring-off in the traditonal central Asian sport of Kok-Boru. The players on horseback compete for points by throwing a stuffed sheepskin into a well Photograph: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP

March 18 2008, London, UK: A new artwork by Cornelia Parker is installed at Tate Modern Photograph: David Levene/Freelance

March 15 2008,Congo, Africa: A child wearing a blanket in a camp in Kitchanga, Congo. Families are living in basic conditions after being displaced by months of fighting between militias Photograph: Susan Schulman/Freelance

March 11 2008, UK: Wellcome Image Awards 2008. Spike Walker This light microscope, darkfield image was a special winner in the awards. It shows dehydroascorbic acid, which is the result of a reaction of vitamin C with oxygen
Spike Walker

March 6 2008, Birmingham, UK: Akita dogs rest in their stalls at Crufts dog show, NEC Birmingham
Martin Godwin

March 5 2008, Budapest, Hungary: Pieces of a giant statue of Lenin travel by barge under the Chain Bridge during the filming of a movie named after the Hungarian capital. Budapest, from the novel by Brazilian Chico Buarque, is the story of a ghostwriter stranded in the city Photograph: Imre Foeldi/EPA

March 5 2008, Kathmandu, Nepal: Scores of people gather near the wreckage of a UN helicopter that crashed in poor weather on a hillside. At least 10 people were killed in the crash Photograph: Prakash Mathema/AFP

February 28 2008, Nablus, West Bank: Children in the Balata refugee camp lean on posters of Palestinian victims of conflict as they wait for the funeral of a Popular Front militant killed by Israeli troops this week Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

February 25 2008, Longyearbyen, Norway: Doomsday Vault. The Global Seed Vault is inaugurated today in Longyearbyen, on Spitsbergen. Built inside a mountain, it will preserve 4.5m agricultural seeds in case of war, climate change, natural disaster and failing biodiversity. It was built on the Svalbard archipelago because of its icy temperatures and isolation Photograph: John McConnico/AP

February 21 2008, Sonapur, India: At least 18 people were killed when when a bus veered off the road and into a river in Sonapur, north-east India. Hundreds gathered to watched as the wreckage was retrieved Photograph: Anupam Nath/AP

February 21 2008, Seattle, USA: Towan, an orang-utan at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, and his twin sister Chinta, celebrate their 40th birthdays today. Orang-utans can survive for 35-40 years in the wild, and more than 50 years in captivity Photograph: Andy Rogers/AP

May 27 2007, Baghdad, Iraq: Iraq Apache Company: American soldiers attached to Stryker units in Amiriya, a Sunni neighbourhood in west Baghdad, question a man. A sniper had been shooting at them very close to his house
Sean Smith

February 19 2008, Birmingham, UK: Sounds of the farm. Stars from The Archers, the Radio 4 soap which has been running for 57 years, are pictured during recording. Various items on floor are used to recreate the sounds on the farm
David Levene

February 16 2008, Florida, USA: Joe Egan launches himself off a 25-metre-high platform for the finale of a diving show entitled Sinbad: In Search of the Golden Pineapple at the Martin County fair Photograph: Alex Boerner/AP

February 18 2008, Peshawar, Pakistan: A policeman stands guard outside a polling station as the Pakistan election got under way amid outbreaks of violence and fears of vote rigging Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP

February 12 2008, London, UK: The National Gallery’s artist in residence, Alison Watt, prepares for her exhibition, Phantom, in her studio. The exhibition opens on March 12
Colin Harvey

February 14 2008, Beirut, Lebanon: Militants carry the coffin of the Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh past posters of other leaders said by Hizbullah to have been killed by Israel
Mazen Akl/Getty Images

February 6 2008, Manchester, UK: Laced with memories. John Sheasby in his Rochdale cobbler’s shop. Apprenticed at 14, his seven decades in the trade have been interrupted only by the second world war Photograph: Mark Waugh/MEN

February 13 2008, Naivasha, Kenya: Workers package roses for export in Kenya. Growers are pushing to keep exports up for Valentine's Day despite the recent ethnic violence Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP

February 4 2008, Gateshead, UK: Cameroon-born artist Barthélémy Toguo and students from Northumbria University took pages from the Guardian and blacked out the words to leave only the pictures, allowing the news to be read in a different way. It is part of Toguo’s exhibition Heart Beat, which runs at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead until April 13
Christopher Thomond

February 4 2008, Manchester, UK: Manchester United and Manchester City fans observe a minute’s silence in memory of the 1958 Munich air disaster victims before the local derby at Old Trafford yesterday Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

February 4 2008, Bukima, Congo: Anti-poaching rangers and locals removing the body of one of four mountain gorillas killed in Virunga national park in July 2007 has won first prize in the World Press Photo 2007 contemporary issues singles category
Brent Stirton/Getty Images

February 4 2008, Inverness, UK: Mary Finlayson at work as the postmistress at Poyntzfield post office, Jemimaville. Her other branch at nearby Duncanston is earmarked for closure
Jeff Mitchell/Getty Images

February 6 2008, Ashbourne, UK: Players in the shrovetide football match, which takes place over two days on a pitch three miles long, take part in a huge scrum known as the 'hug'
Christopher Thomond

February 3 2008, Ludwigshafen Germany: A baby is dropped from the fourth floor of an apartment building that has caught fire. The child survived the drop. Nine people died in the fire, five of them children, after the wooden staircase collapsed
Rene Werse/AFP/Getty Images

February 6 2008, Rio, Brazil: São Paulo Sambadrome. The Vai-Vai samba school performs on a float
Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images

January 28 2008, Beijing, China: As the National Aquatics Centre opened this week, Beijing said six people had died during construction of Olympic venues. A Sunday Times report said at least 10 died at the main stadium alone Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian

January 23 2008: Palestinians cross the Rafah border into Egypt after militants blew up the barrier. Tens of thousands poured into Egypt to buy goods in short supply due to an Israeli blockade
Abid Katib/Getty Images

January 22 2008, Paris, France: Models present creations by John Galliano for Christian Dior during his Spring/Summer 2008 Haute Couture collection show
Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images

January 16 2008, San Bartolomé de Pinares: A man rides a horse through a bonfire in the Spanish village of San Bartolomé de Pinares to honour St Anthony the Abbot, patron saint of animals, on the eve of his feast day
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

January 14 2008, Hwacheon, South Korea: Anglers cast lines through holes in the frozen river during a contest at the weekend to catch mountain trout at the ice festival in Hwacheon, near the border with North Korea. The festival attracts up to a million visitors each year
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

January 13 2008, Vatican City, Rome, Italy: Pope Benedict XVI celebrates baptisms in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil: Bird's eye view: Technicians at the Embraer aircraft factory work on the company's production line. The firm delivered 169 planes in 2007, an increase of 30% on 2006
Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images

January 10 2008, London, England: The annual stocktake at London Zoo involves a complete headcount by keepers of each of the 600 species. Included in this year's figures are the new additions born in the zoo last year: seven baby penguins, gentle lemur triplets, red river hog twins, two tawny frogmouths, a baby silvery back marmoset and a group of endangered utila iguanas
Martin Godwin

January 8 2008, London, UK: First night: Members of the English National Ballet company wait in the wings during a rehearsal of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake
Sarah Lee

January 7 2008, Shamali Plains, Afghanistan: Cold warriors: An Afghan villager passes French soldiers from the Nato International Security Assistance Force on the Shamali Plains, 20 miles north of Kabul, during the opening ceremony for a new bridge
Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

January 6 2008, Nairobi, Kenya: The residents of Mathare scramble for food being distributed by the Red Cross. Several bags of flour burst as the crowds reached for them. A total of 250,000 Kenyans are thought to have fled their homes since the election Photograph: Boniface Mwangi/EPA

January 2 2008, Upratsberg, Germany: Musher Oliver Kurpas and his sled team of eight Alaskan huskies practise in for forthcoming races Photograph: Rainer Jensen/EPA

December 25 2007, London, UK: Members of the Serpentine swimming club line up for the start of the traditional Christmas day swimming race in Hyde Park's Serpentine lake Photograph: David Azia/AP

Savannah, US: A water treatment plant. The wastewater is treated and purified for reuse rather than being discharged into a river or sea
Jason Hawkes/Getty Images

December 16 2007, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: Millions of pilgrims gather round the Ka'ba for prayers in the Grand Mosque. Muslims worldwide use the Ka'ba as a focal point for prayer Photograph: Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP

December 11 2007, Algiers, Algeria: Rescuers search through rubble near UN offices, targeted in one of two bomb attacks - up to 67 were killed and scored injured
Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

December 8 2007, Southampton, England: Captain Paul Wright with The Queen Victoria, Cunard's brand new £300 million cruise ship moored in Southampton for its official naming
Graeme Robertson

December 4 2007, Bristol, England: Multi-coloured lights and Christmas decorations adorn the front and roof of a house, at the start of the festive season
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

December 3 2007, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Pakistani construction workers take a break from work. South Asian immigrants have provided the muscle for the city's building boom, but often live in grim labour camps
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

December 3, 2007, Baghdad, Iraq: Tailor Kader Nasser Sadek at his workshop, where for 50 years he has decorated the walls with mementoes of Iraq's turbulent history. Now he has run out of space
Sabah Arar/AFP/Getty Images

November 30 2007, Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh gets ready for Christmas and new year celebrations with a ferris wheel and an ice rink overlooked by Edinburgh castle
Murdo Macleod

London, England, November 29 2007: Take That perform at the O2 arena as part of their Beautiful World tour Photograph: Linda Nylind/Freelance

November 27 2007, Patrol Base Dragon, Iraq: US soldiers from 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne watch cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins football team perform at Patrol Base Dragon, 12 miles south of Baghdad Photograph: Petr David Josek/AP

November 12 2007, London, England: Sir John Soane's museum, which houses the architect's collection of drawings, paintings and antiquities. It holds a candlelit evening on the first Tuesday of every month
Linda Nylind

A US soldier from the 101st Airborne Division holds a baby while the mother collects food distributed by US troops in Shulla, north-west Baghdad
Sean Smith

Men and boys wash in the waters of the Ganges at the queen Ahilya Bai’s Ghat (steps) in Varanasi in northern India. Varanasi, also known as Benares, is one of the holiest cities in India. Pilgrims come from all over the country to take a dip in the waters and off er prayers Photograph: David Levene

Music by Elgar, Beethoven and Walton launches the First Night of the Proms, as seen from the roof of the Royal Albert Hall on Friday night. The circles in the foreground are acoustic diff users, installed in the late 1960s Photograph: Graeme Robertson