These photographs tell some of the stories that defined 2016. (40 PHOTOS)
2016: The Year In Photos
Violence shook the Middle East, migrants made dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and Europe, and voting in the United Kingdom and the United States produced shock results. These photographs tell some of the stories.
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A Russian army sapper searches for land mines in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on April 7. Syrian troops recaptured Palmyra from Islamic State fighters on March 27, but the militants retook part of the city in mid-December. (epa/Vadim Savitsky)
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Afghan protesters chant antigovernment slogans during a demonstration in Kabul on May 16. Thousands protested against a decision to reroute a major power transmission line linking Afghanistan to Central Asia. Many saw the decision to bypass a region dominated by Shi'ite Hazaras as undermining the economic interests of the minority group. (AFP/Wakil Kohsar)
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Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, an RFE/RL contributor, speaks to reporters after her release from police custody in Baku on May 25. Ismayilova was arrested in December 2014 on charges widely seen as retaliation for her investigative reporting on corruption in Azerbaijan. (RFE/RL/Aziz Karimov)
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Ukrainian servicewoman Nadia Savchenko speaks to the media at Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv on May 25. Savchenko was captured in eastern Ukraine in June 2014 and transferred to Russia, where she was charged with aiding in the killing of two Russian journalists. She was released in a prisoner swap for two Russian detainees. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)