A Tunisian protester holding a baguette talks to riot policemen during a demonstration in Tunis on January 18, 2011. Riot police fired tear gas and clashed with protesters on January 18 at a small protest rally against Tunisia's new government in the centre of the capital, AFP reporters on the ground saw. Around 100 protesters chanted slogans against the RCD party of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "We can live on bread and water alone but not with the RCD," they said. Riot police dispersed the rally -- one of several expected on Tuesday. AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU
An Egyptian protester waves his national flag as tens of thousands gather for a demonstration at Cairo's Tahrir Square on April 8, 2011, two months after president Hosni Mubarak was ousted, to demand that former regime officials including the veteran strongman be purged and tried. AFP PHOTO/ MISAM SALEH
Whirlpools are seen following a tsunami and earthquake in Iwaki city, Fukushima Prefecture, in this March 11, 2011 Yomiuri file photo. Japan marked a month on Monday since the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and created an ongoing nuclear crisis. REUTERS/YOMIURI/
This official White House photograph made available May 2, 2011 shows US President Barack Obama (2nd L) and Vice President Joe Biden (L), US Secretray of Defense Robert Gates (R) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R) along with members of the national security team, as they receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, in Washington, DC on May 1, 2011. AFP PHOTO/ Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
This May 24, 2011 file photo shows the path of a powerful tornado in Joplin, Mo. Nature is pummelling the United States in 2011 with extremes. There have been more than 700 U.S. disaster and weather deaths. What's happening, say experts, is mostly random chance or the bad luck of getting the wrong roll of the dice. However, there is something more to it, many of them say. Man-made global warming is loading the dice to increase our odds of getting the bad roll. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
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 kilometres (six miles) high, hours after warning of strong seismic activity in the area. AFP PHOTO/CLAUDIO SANTANA
MISURATA, LIBYA - APRIL 20: Rebel fighters carefully move into a building where they had trapped government loyalist troops during street fighting on Tripoli Street in downtown Misurata April 20, 2011 in Misurata, Libya. Rebel forces assaulted the downtown positions of troops loyal to Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi April 20, briefly forcing them back over a key bridge and trapping several in a building that rebel troops surrounded, firing on the rebels from upper-floor positions instead of surrendering. Fighting continues between Libyan government forces that have surrounded the city and anti-government rebels ensconced there. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
Anti-government Bahrain women take part in a rally organised by
al-Wefaq opposition group to protest for reforms in the village
of Sitra, east of Manama, June 17, 2011.Thousand of Shi'ites Bahrainis took part in the rally which was the second rally held since the mid-March crackdown by the government. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Somali refugees who recently crossed the border from Somalia into southern Ethiopia cluster between two food tents as they wait to be called to collect food aid at the Kobe refugee camp on July 19, 2011. Ethiopian authorities and non-governmental organizations have accommodated almost 25,000 refugees at the camp since it was set up less then three weeks ago. Thousands of Somalis have fled in recent months to neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya in search of food and water, with many dying along the way, as the region suffers what the UN has described as the worst drought in decades. AFP PHOTO/ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Flowers, pictures and messages are left in tribute to late soul music and pop star Amy Winehouse, near the house in north London where her body was found the previous day, on July 24, 2011. Soon after the 27-year-old songstress's death was announced on July 23, fans started gathering in Camden Square, north London, to bid farewell to a star whose songs often reflected her tempestuous lifestyle. AFP PHOTO/CARL COURT
A property is on fire near Reeves Corner in Croydon, south London, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. A wave of violence and looting raged across London and spread to three other major British cities on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s. (AP Photo/PA, Lewis Whyld)
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare gestures to supporters as he walks on-stage to break his fast on the 13th day of his hunger strike at the Ram Lila grounds in New Delhi, on August 28, 2011. Indian hunger-striker Anna Hazare, who has led a campaign for a new anti-corruption law, ended his nearly two-week fast August 28 after forcing a weakened government to agree to his demands. AFP PHOTO/Sajjad HUSSAIN
In this file picture taken on October 12, 2011 Occupy Wall Street members stage a protest march near Wall Street in New York. The “Occupy Wall Street” movement's momentum has reached many similar protests across the US and the world. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand
Survivors of the Utoeya shooting massacre arrive to board boats to go to Utoeya island, 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Oslo August 20, 2011. Some 1,000 people are expected to visit the island on Saturday when survivors and their relatives go back ahead of a national day of remembrance on Sunday. Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik has admitted killing 77 people last month, including eight in a bombing in central Oslo. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
A woman cries while looking at the names inscribed at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial during tenth anniversary ceremonies at the site of the World Trade Center September 11, 2011, in New York, USA. EPA/JUSTIN LANE / POOL
Steve Jobs, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., died after a long battle with cancer on October 5th 2011. In this photo he waves to the audience before unveiling the iCloud storage system at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, June 6, 2011. Apple is using iCloud to retain its dominance in the smartphone and tablet markets amid fresh competition from devices powered by Google Inc.'s Android software. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
People wade through floodwaters during an evacuation from a flooded market in Bangkok October 24, 2011. More districts of Thailand's capital were on high alert on Monday with floods bearing down from northern Bangkok and authorities faced a race against time to pump water towards the sea and defend the business district. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang
Protesting Yemeni women burn their veils during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
In this Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 file photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy chat during a joint news conference at the G20 in Cannes, France. This photo is one of a series of ten selected Associated Press photos taken over the last several months depicting the close working relationship Merkel and Sarkozy have forged during the European Financial Crisis. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere,
Shadows of Syrians are reflected on a giant poster showing President Bashar Assad, during a supporting rally in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. Syrian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters after Friday prayers at several locations around the country, while the army sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)
In this Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 photo released by the Korean Central News Agency and distributed in Tokyo by the Korea News Service, thousands take part in a national memorial service for late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in Kim Il Sung Square, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea declared Kim Jong Il's son and successor "supreme leader" of the ruling party, military and the people during a memorial Thursday for his father in the government's first public endorsement of Kim Jong Un's leadership. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)
2011 has been a year of revolutions, protests and natural disasters; the world witnessed the deaths of infamous tyrants and revered celebrities. The National looks at the year through its most notable images.