Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand, hugs a mosque-goer at the Kilbirnie mosque in Wellington, on March 17, 2019. Earlier that day, 51 people were killed and another 49 were injured in shooting attacks on two mosques in Christchurch—the worst mass shooting and terror attack in New Zealand's history. #

The spire of Notre-Dame collapses as the cathedral is engulfed in flames in central Paris on April 15, 2019. Much of the roof collapsed in the fire, which ignited during renovations. President Emmanuel Macron immediately indicated that the cathedral would be rebuilt, but the method and form of the reconstruction became a political battle, with one side favoring modern redesigns, and the other advocating for an exact replica of the previous structure. #

Spike Lee, winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay award for BlacKkKlansman, attends the 91st annual Academy Awards Governors Ball at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California, on February 24, 2019. Although Lee had been awarded an honorary Oscar in 2015, this was his first competitive Academy Award. #

People raise their hands during a mass opposition rally against President Nicolás Maduro, in which Venezuela's National Assembly head, Juan Guaidó, declared himself the country's "acting president" on the anniversary of a 1958 uprising that overthrew a military dictatorship, in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 23, 2019. The movement, sparked by disputed election results, led to a presidential crisis in Venezuela that continued throughout the year. #

President Donald Trump turns to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California as he delivers his State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Mike Pence watches, on February 5, 2019. #

People are evacuated by a member of security forces at the scene of a terror attack at the Dusit Hotel compound in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 15, 2019. The attack, carried out by members of the jihadist militant group Al-Shabaab, left 21 civilians dead. #

Dogs pull a sled on water-covered sea ice near Qaanaaq, Greenland, on June 13, 2019. The dogs were forced to wade after an abundance of water from a rapid summer melt had pooled on top of a wide swath of solid sea ice. #

A boy walks out of the sea while removing oil spilled on Itapuama beach, located in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho in Pernambuco state, Brazil, on October 21, 2019. Large blobs of oil staining more than 130 beaches in northeastern Brazil began appearing in early September and have now turned up along a 2,000-kilometer stretch of the Atlantic coastline. The source of the patches remains a mystery despite President Jair Bolsonaro's assertions they came from outside the country and were possibly the work of criminals. #

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters march on a street after leaving a rally in Victoria Park on August 18, 2019, in Hong Kong. Demonstrations have taken place on the streets of Hong Kong since June 9, beginning as a reaction to a controversial extradition bill, and evolving into broader demands for democracy and investigations into police brutality, challenging Beijing’s authority. #

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019, in this image provided by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). During the meeting, Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to cross the border and enter North Korea. #

Students take part in a march for the environment and the climate in Brussels, Belgium, on February 21, 2019. Environmental protests and strikes, most led by students, took place around the world multiple times throughout the year. #

Lety Perez, a Guatemalan migrant, embraces her son Anthony while praying to ask a member of the Mexican National Guard to let them cross into the United States, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on July 22, 2019. Perez and her 6-year-old son had traveled some 1,500 miles from their home country, only to be stopped mere feet from the United States. #

A long-exposure photograph shows a tree burning during the Kincade fire off Highway 128, east of Healdsburg, California, on October 29, 2019. This year's fire season in California, which lasts through December, has seen more than 6,400 reported fires, including the largest, the Kincade fire, which burned more than 77,000 acres alone. #

The United States forward Megan Rapinoe celebrates scoring her team's first goal during the Women's World Cup France 2019 quarter-final soccer match between France and the United States, on June 28, 2019, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. The U.S. advanced to the final and won the championship on July 7 in a match against the Netherlands. #

An aerial view of damage caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island on September 4, 2019, in Great Abaco, Bahamas. Dorian struck the islands as a Category 5 storm, and was responsible for at least 60 deaths and more than $3 billion in damages—the worst natural disaster to ever hit the Bahamas. #

A young Rohingya refugee is seen during a rainstorm at the Nayapara refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on August 21, 2019. Rohingya refugees said on August 21 that they did not want to return to Myanmar (also called Burma) without their rights and citizenship, with repatriation set to start on August 22. August 25 marked the second anniversary of the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh after Myanmar's military crackdown on the ethnic Muslim minority forced more than 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh from violence and torture. The United Nations has stated that it was a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. #

A huge plume of ash rises from Raikoke volcano in the Kuril Islands, as viewed from the International Space Station on June 22, 2019. The small, oval-shaped island most recently exploded in 1924, and before that in 1778. Astronauts shot this photograph of the eruption as the column of ash spread out in a part of the plume known as the umbrella region—the area where the density of the plume and the surrounding air equalize and the plume stops rising. The ring of clouds at the base of the column appears to be water vapor. #

A demonstrator wearing a Guy Fawkes mask gestures in front of others shining green lasers, during a protest against the government in Santiago, Chile, on November 18, 2019. Weeks of violent unrest have rocked Chile, leaving at least 22 people dead and more than 2,000 injured. Chileans are protesting social and economic inequality, and against an entrenched political elite. #

A riot-police officer reacts after a Molotov cocktail landed nearby, splashing fire onto several officers during a protest against Chile's government in Santiago, Chile, on November 4, 2019. #

Alaa Salah, 22, stands on a car leading chants during a protest demanding that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir step down, in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 8, 2019, in this still image taken from a social-media video obtained on April 9. Months of demonstrations and civil disobedience led up to the Sudanese Armed Forces staging a coup on April 11, removing the dictator Bashir from power after 30 years. #

A Syrian boy on his bicycle looks at a convoy of U.S. armored vehicles patrolling fields near the northeastern town of Qahtaniyah at the border with Turkey, on October 31, 2019. U.S. forces accompanied by Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) patrolled part of Syria's border with Turkey, in the first such move since Washington withdrew troops from the area earlier in October, an AFP correspondent reported. #

Democratic Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff awaits Bill Taylor, charge d'affaires at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, and George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, to testify during a hearing on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill, November 13, 2019. #

An Iraqi demonstrator takes part in ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad on November 1, 2019. Beginning in October, frustrated Iraqis took to the streets to voice their anger at years of government corruption, high rates of unemployment, poor services, and economic stagnation. The response from Iraqi authorities was particularly violent, resulting in more than 400 deaths. The demonstrations continue, despite the announced resignation of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. #