2008 in pictures

This year's most memorable images, both familiar and new, sobering and inspiring, are snapshots of the stories that gripped us.

Violence continued in the Middle East, worsened in Congo and erupted between Russia and Georgia. Grief was widespread in China and Myanmar following natural disasters that left tens of thousands dead and many more homeless. A deepening financial crisis in America rippled across the world.

But there was also joy and achievement. A little French movie with a multiethnic cast of non-professional actors won the top prize at Cannes. Michael Phelps made gold medal history at the Beijing Olympics. And an unusually long and polarizing campaign season ended with the historic election of a 47-year-old black man as president of the United States.

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