It's been an incredible year for pictures - we've seen some truly powerful images during the past 12 months.
The world has witnessed riots across the globe, from Ukraine's Independence Square to Ferguson, a small town in the US that gained the world's attention after a white police officer fatally shot unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board, Occupy Hong Kong protesters have been camping out for months and continue to clash with police and Scotland rejected the Yes vote in September causing an emotional Alex Salmond to stand down as First Minister of Scotland.
The Huffington Post UK's own picture editors have searched through thousands of images and have hand-picked the 34 pictures that defined 2014.
pics of the year
(01 of35)
Monuments to Kiev's founders burn as anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014. Thousands of police armed with stun grenades and water cannons attacked the large opposition camp in Ukraine's capital on Tuesday that has been the center of nearly three months of anti-government protests after at least nine people were killed in street clashes. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(02 of35)
Pro-European Union activists gather during a rally in Independence Square and Kreshchatik, the main street of Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. The third week of protests continue Sunday with an estimated 200,000 Ukrainians occupying central Kiev to denounce President Viktor Yanukovychâs decision to turn away from Europe and align this ex-Soviet republic with Russia. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(03 of35)
Jennifer Lawrence holds her trophy after winning best supporting actress in a movie for her role in the crime caper 'American Hustle' in the press room during the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, January 12, 2014. (credit:ROBYN BECK via Getty Images)
(04 of35)
Worker's continue to build flood defences around Moorland resident Sam Notaro's house in the flooded village of Moorland near Bridgwater on the Somerset Levels on February 10, 2014 in Somerset, England. Thousands of acres of the Somerset Levels have been under water for weeks, yet flood levels are still rising and worryingly, more rain is forecast for later this week. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) (credit:Matt Cardy via Getty Images)
(05 of35)
An airplane passes the full moon, known in the Farmers' Almanac as the "Wolf Moon," on its final approach to Los Angeles International Airport over Whittier, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(06 of35)
A view of the Niagara Falls frozen over due to the extreme cold weather, Canada, North America, on March 10, 2014. The Polar Vortex brought record cold temperatures from Kansas to Maine. The views attract attention by many photographers and tourists. (Photo by Seyit Aydogan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(07 of35)
US actor Shia LaBeouf arrives on the red carpet for the screening of the film 'Nymphomaniac Volume I (Long Version)' at the 64th Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin on February 9, 2014. The 64th Berlinale, the first major European film festival of the year, with 24 international productions screening in the main showcase takes place until Febuary 16, 2014. (credit:JOHANNES EISELE via Getty Images)
(08 of35)
Nowa Paye, 9, is taken to an ambulance after showing signs of the Ebola infection in the village of Freeman Reserve, about 30 miles north of Monrovia, Liberia. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(09 of35)
Teresa Romero, third right, celebrates sitting on a wheelchair with medical workers in the Carlos III hospital in Madrid, Spain. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(10 of35)
A family member of a passenger from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts at Lido Hotel on March 24, 2014 in Beijing, China. (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
(11 of35)
An explosion rocks Syrian city of Kobani during a reported suicide car bomb attack by the militants of Islamic State (ISIS) group on a People's Protection Unit (YPG) position in the city center of Kobani, as seen from the outskirts of Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. (credit:Gokhan Sahin via Getty Images)
(12 of35)
Luis Suarez of Uruguay and Giorgio Chiellini of Italy react after a clash during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group D match between Italy and Uruguay at Estadio das Dunas on June 24, 2014 in Natal, Brazil. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) (credit:Julian Finney via Getty Images)
(13 of35)
Brazilian fans visibly upset after Brazil are knocked out of the World Cup. (credit:Rex)
(14 of35)
People stand, on July 17, 2014, amongst the wreckages of the malaysian airliner carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur after it crashed, near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine. (credit:DOMINIQUE FAGET via Getty Images)
(15 of35)
A convoy of hearses carry the remains of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane crash from an airbase in Eindhoven to Hilversum, The Netherlands, drives through Waardenburg on July 24, 2014. (credit:REMKO DE WAAL via Getty Images)
(16 of35)
Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, watch their son Prince George looking at an Australian animal, called Bilby, which has been named after the young Prince, during a visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo Sunday, April 20, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(17 of35)
Children play around a man disguised as Batman at the Favela do Metro slum, area just near the Maracana stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 9, 2014. (credit:YASUYOSHI CHIBA via Getty Images)
(18 of35)
Protesters pose with a police shield outside the parliament in Ouagadougou on October 30, 2014 as cars and documents burn outside. (credit:ISSOUF SANOGO via Getty Images)
(19 of35)
People cool off in a waterpark in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan province. (credit:STR via Getty Images)
(20 of35)
A Palestinian woman pauses amid destroyed buildings in the northern district of Beit Hanun in the Gaza Strip during an humanitarian truce on July 26, 2014. (credit:MOHAMMED ABED via Getty Images)
(21 of35)
Pro-union supporters celebrate during a 'Better Together' referendum celebration event in Glasgow, Scotland, on September 19, 2014. (credit:ANDY BUCHANAN via Getty Images)
(22 of35)
First Minister Alex Salmond First Minister Alex Salmond delivers a speech to supporters at Our Dynamic Earth on September 19, 2014 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (credit:Matt Cardy via Getty Images)
(23 of35)
Frog appears to be doing pull-ups on a plant stem, Sambas, Indonesia. (credit:Rex)
(24 of35)
A lightning strike is seen over skyscrapers as demonstrators gather outside the central government complex as they protest during a heavy rain storm in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Oscar Pistorius weeps as he listens to evidence by a pathologist in court in Pretoria, South Africa, Monday, April 7, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Kim Jong-un gives field guidance to the flight drill of female pilots of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Air and Anti-Air Force, Pyongyang, North Korea. (credit:Rex)
(27 of35)
Policemen rest following pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong on September 29, 2014. (credit:XAUME OLLEROS via Getty Images)
(28 of35)
Protesters ride around after the announcement of the grand jury decision Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, in Ferguson. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A police car burns after being set on fire during clashes between police and protesters over decision in the shooting death 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. (credit:JEWEL SAMAD via Getty Images)
(30 of35)
Taylor Swift performs as model Karlie Kloss walks the runway during the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre on December 2, 2014 in London. (credit:Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images)
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Shoppers argue over cut price televisions at an ASDA stores in Wembley during Black Friday. (credit:WENN)
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Michael Palmer and Carin Schultz work to clear her car of snow and remove it from Union street on November 20, 2014 in the suburb of Hamburg, Buffalo, New York. (credit:John Normile via Getty Images)
(33 of35)
Sir Richard Dannatt (C) stands with Military cadet, Harry Alexander Hayes (4thR) and artists Tom Piper (2ndL) and Paul Cummins (2ndR) after the last ceramic poppy was placed in the moat of Tower of London to mark Armistice Day, on November 11, 2014 in London (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
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Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke pays his respect to Phillip Hughes during the Funeral Service for Phillip Hughes on December 3, 2014 in Macksville, Australia. (credit:Cameron Spencer via Getty Images)
(35 of35)
A hostage runs to armed tactical response police officers for safety after she escaped from a cafe under siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. New South Wales state police would not say what was happening inside the cafe or whether hostages were being held. But television footage shot through the cafe's windows showed several people with their arms in the air. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)