Mass protests were met with violence in several countries, Notre Dame Cathedral burned, a comic actor became president of Ukraine before getting embroiled in a U.S. domestic political dispute, while a teenager inspired action and sparked controversy with her warnings about climate change: Here are some of the images capturing the biggest stories of 2019.
2019: The Year In Photos

1
People demonstrate in front of the parliament building in Skopje on January 9. They were protesting a plan to rename the country as North Macedonia. The compromise with Greece, which took effect a month later, was seen as a key to the country's ambition to join NATO and the European Union. (EPA-EFE/Georgi Licovski)

2
A girl from Anapra, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, touches hands through the border fence with a person in the United States, as priests from both countries said prayers for migrants and people of the area on February 26. The fence is one of several reinforced border barriers that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump wants to extend to create a wall on the border. (AFP/Herika Martinez)

3
A police officer fires rubber bullets during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela on January 23. (Reuters/Manaure Quintero)

4
An Iranian woman takes selfies during a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, on February 11. (Tasnim News/Vahid Ahmadi)