In the USA, frustration with the economy came to a boil with the “occupy” movement. Here, a demonstrator in an Anonymous mask demonstrates at the West Front Lawn of the Capitol in Washington DC
 

A student runs for cover as riot police try to quash a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain. Student associations had called upon 120,000 pupils to strike in protest against education cuts recently announced by the Catalan government 

A man rides a horse through a bonfire in the small Spanish village of San Bartolome. In honour of San Anton, the patron saint of animals, horses are ridden through bonfires on the night before the official day of honouring animals in the country 

Two horses tear ahead of the pack into the second turn of the Grand Prix Prestige race at the White Turf horse racing meeting held on the frozen Lake St Moritz in St Moritz, Switzerland 

Relatives of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy killed in an Israeli air raid on the northern Gaza strip grieve during his funeral 

Israeli border police officers use pepper spray as they detain an injured Palestinian protester during clashes on Land Day in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to break up groups of Palestinian stone-throwers as the Land Day rallies, organised to commemorate the killing of six Arabs in 1976 during protests against government plans to confiscate land in northern Israel’s Galilee region, turned violent

A member of the Free Syrian Army, formed to bring down the dictatorial regime of President Bashar Assad, fires his sniper rifle in Aleppo

The peloton make their way through the French countryside during stage six of the 2012 Tour de France from Epernay to Metz 

US President Barack Obama takes to the stage with his family after his victory in the 2012 US presidential polls, in Chicago. Obama beat Republican candidate Mitt Romney, defying the dragging economic recovery and high unemployment that haunted his first term

China's new Politburo Standing Committee members (from left to right) Zhang Gaoli, Liu Yunshan, Zhang Dejiang, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Yu Zhengsheng and Wang Qishan, line up as they meet with the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China’s ruling Communist Party unveiled its new leadership line-up to steer the world’s second-largest economy for the next five years, with Vice President Xi Jinping taking over from outgoing President Hu Jintao as party chief

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, finally released from her long house arrest, returns after giving a speech to her supporters during the election campaign at Kawhmu Township

Supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, protest against Egypt’s military rulers at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Morsi won the polls marred by charges of electoral abuse, but his short stint has already turned the country restive over his attempts to grant himself unlimited powers 

A child looks at clownfish at the Pets Festival in Lisbon

Same-sex couples take their vows during a group wedding at the First Baptist Church at Seattle in Washington. Washington recently made history by joining Maryland and Maine as the three US states recognising gay nuptials
 

Rescuers and relatives stop a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a building in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China. The woman was trying to kill herself after murdering her nephew following a family disputex

Police dogs attack a man found stealing from ethnic Somali homes during the second day of skirmishes in the Eastleigh neighbourhood of Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Police fired tear gas to disperse Kenyans who threw stones and broke into the homes and shops of the ethnic Somalis in the Somali-dominated neighbourhood to protest against a bomb attack in the district.

A woman reacts as she sees a part of her house being demolished as part of China’s relentless march of progress, at Yangji village in central Guangzhou city, Guangdong province 

Thousands continue to visit the makeshift memorial for the 12 movie goers who were killed in a shooting rampage by a 24-year-old during the screening of The Dark Knight Rises, in Aurora, Colorado, in July 

Family members and friends grieve for the shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On December 14, a gunman opened fire on the schoolchildren and staff killing 28 people, including 20 children
   

Ewan Donnachie of Australia competes in the 2012 Shark Island Challenge Final at Shark Island near Cronulla in Sydney 

Residents look over the remains of burnt homes in the Rockaways section of New York after Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast, shutting down transportation and businesses, and leaving hundreds of thousands without power

A US army soldier takes cover during a controlled detonation to clear an area for setting up a check point in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan

Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the US side to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada 

Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after ascending to sporting immortality, winning the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m relay golds in the 2012 London Olympics 

Marking the end of an era in the space story, Space shuttle Enterprise mounted atop a NASA shuttle carrier aircraft, does a fly-by near the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (its new home), New York City
 

A riot of colours from exploding fireworks brings to an end the London Olympics