Looking back at 2011

A compilation of striking photos of the year 2011 by AFP.

Universidad de Chile fans cheer for their team before the Copa Sudamericana 2011 second leg final football match against Ecuador´s Liga de Quito at the National stadium in Santiago, Chile, on December 14, 2011.

Aurora borealis, or northern lights, fill the sky on March 13, 2011 over Finnmark during the 1,000 kms Finnmarksloepet, the world’s northernmost sled dog race, in Finnmark county in northern Norway.

Bono of U2 performs in the rain on the Pyramid stage during the Glastonbury festival near Glastonbury, Somerset on June 24, 2011.

Turkish Muslims burn a picture of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on January 30, 2011 during a protest against his regime in front of the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul. Embattled President Hosni Mubarak called out the army and tasked them specifically with helping police quell deadly protests in which around 50 people have been killed.

Fireworks burst over the Eiffel Tower during traditional Bastille Day celebrations on July 14, 2011 in Paris. France held its annual military parade on the Bastille Day national holiday, haunted by the killing within the last 24 hours of six of its soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

A cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, on June 5, 2011. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in half a century on June 4, 2011, prompting evacuations for 3,500 people as it sent a cloud of ash that reached Argentina. The National Service of Geology and Mining said the explosion that sparked the eruption also produced a column of gas 10 kilometers (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area.

A Libyan rebel fighter mans a check point in the stronghold oil town of Ras Lanuf on March 5, 2011 where up to 10 people were killed and more than 20 wounded in clashes between opposition and loyalists of Moamer Kadhafi forces.

Red Bull Racing's German driver Sebastian Vettel drives at the Circuit de Monaco on May 29, 2011 in Monte Carlo during the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix.

A crane lifts workers up to inspect the damaged Christchurch Cathedral in Christchurch on February 24, 2011, two days after a deadly earthquake rocked New Zealand's second city killing at least 76 people and leaving hundreds missing. A 'miracle' was required to find more survivors amid the wreckage of earthquake-hit Christchurch, Prime Minister John Key said on February 24, as the focus turned to recovering bodies.

Nozomi Sabanai (L) together with her sister looks at catamaran sightseeing boat that was thrown by the tsunami onto a two story building, at Otsuchi town, Iwate prefecture on April 16, 2011. Japan is considering issuing special bonds to fund reconstruction following last month's massive earthquake and tsunami, and imposing a new tax to repay the debt, a report said.

Luxury houses teeter on the edge after landslides in Redcliffs near Christchurch on February 27, 2011, after a 6.3 earthquake devastated New Zealand's second city and surrounding towns on February 22. The quake caused more damage than the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit the city on September 4, 2010 and has killed at least 146 people

Armed Yemeni tribesmen loyal to dissident tribal leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar inspect damage at his house in Sanaa on June 7, 2011 while anti-government protesters demanded a swift transfer of power from Ali Abdullah Saleh as his deputy said the veteran Yemeni president would return within days after surgery in Riyadh for blast injuries.