In classic Living 360 style, our curators have looked at all the major happenings this year and hand selected the following photographs which (in our opinion) were the most dramatic and beautiful of 2013.
It’s been a great year for some and not so great for others. Let us all sit back and ponder on these images and say a prayer for those who need it the most – but also celebrate the small victories which were also evident this year.
GROVELAND, CA – AUGUST 24: Firefighters douse a spot fire as they battle the Rim Fire on August 24, 2013 in Groveland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
On November 19, 2013 in Leyte, Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan which ripped through Philippines over a week ago has been described as on of the most powerful typhoons ever to hit land, leaving thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
A newly married couple walks up a hill with a view of the city of Antakya, on August 29, 2013. (AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
A demonstrator kisses a riot police officer on November 16, 2013 during a protest in Susa against the high-speed train (TAV in Italian) line between Lyon and Turin. (Photo credit should read MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images)
Two veiled Egyptian women, supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi, sit in front police standing behind barbed wire fencing that blocks the access to the headquarters of the Republican Guard in Cairo on July 8, 2013. (Photo credit MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)
Members of the Rendile tribe and the Turkana tribe dance before total hybrid eclipse in Sibiloi national Park in Turkana on November 3, 2013. (Photo credit CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama listens during a memorial service at the Marine Barracks September 22, 2013 in Washington, DC, for victims of the September 16, 2013 shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that took 12 lives. (Photo credit BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
A garment worker reacts after being rescued by workers after the Rana Plaza building collapsed, in Savar, 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj
Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge show their new-born baby boy to the world’s media outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London on July 23, 2013. (Photo credit LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)
ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – NOVEMBER 04: Students from St Andrew’s University indulge in a tradition of covering themselves with foam to honor the ‘academic family’ on November 4, 2013, in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
QUNU, SOUTH AFRICA – DECEMBER 12: A Xhosa woman poses on a rock overlooking Qunu as preparations continue ahead of the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela on December 12, 2013 in Qunu, South Africa.
Bodies of people activists say were killed by nerve gas in the Ghouta region are seen in the Duma neighbourhood of Damascus August 21, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
Pope Francis waves at faithfuls standing along the beachfront in Rio de Janeiro as hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims attending World Youth Day (WYD) wait for him at Copacabana beach for the final mass on July 28, 2013. (Photo credit EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images)
Unknown anti-gay activist hits Russia’s gay and LGBT rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev (C) during unauthorized gay rights activists rally in cental Moscow on May 25, 2013. (Photo credit ANDREY SVITAILO/AFP/Getty Images)
Fourteen Panda cubs lie on a bed for members of the public to view at Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding on Sept. 23, 2013 in Chengdu, China.
BOSTON – APRIL 15: Victims are in shock and being treated at the scene of the first explosion that went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Two men and a dog wait at the site of a wildfire in Cualedro, near Ourense on August 24, 2013. (Photo credit PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images)
View of the Costa Concordia on January 14, 2012, after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio. (Photo credit FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
November 12, 2013 in Beirut, Lebanon. A little Syrian refugee migrates to Beirut to escape violence and bloodshed.
Turkish riot police officers take cover as Kurdish protesters shoot fireworks at them during clashes in central Istanbul on Dec. 7, 2013. BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images
A mother and her children hide from gunmen at Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi September 21, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola