10 MOST ICONIC PHOTOS OF 2013

1.

Tony Appleton, a town crier, announces the birth of the royal baby, George, outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London, on July 22.

2.

A Bahraini anti-government protester is engulfed in flames after a shot fired by riot police hit the gasoline bomb in his hand that he was preparing to throw.

3.

Capt. Michael Potoczniak marries his partner Todd Saunders, in a ceremony in San Francisco on June 29.

4.

A military police pepper sprays a protester during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June. Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for demonstrations voicing disgruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the World Cup and Olympics.

5.

Authorities carry out the court-ordered amputation of the fingers of a convicted thief in a public square in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz. The 29-year-old man was convicted for being part of a 10-member gang that carried out burglaries in the city and on charges of having “illegal relations,” according to theMehr news agency. Iran's legal system, based on Shariah, provides for amputation of limbs for theft.

6.

Revelers throw colored powders in the air during the Holi Festival of Colors in Lisbon on Sept. 15 . 

The festival, which is mainly celebrated during the Hindu spring festival Holi in some regions of India and Nepal, has become popular among people in other communities.

7.

A sign of the times. Catholics take photos with their phones and tablets of the newly-elected Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

8.

An Egyptian soccer fan of Al-Ahly club displays scales to fans celebrating a court verdict that returned 21 death penalties in 2012's soccer violence, inside the club premises in Cairo, Egypt, in early January. Protests followed the ruling.

9.

A demonstrator with his face covered jumps over a burning barricade at the Cinelandia square during a march in support of teachers on strike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

10.

A Philippine Air Force crew looks out from his helicopter as Typhoon Haiyan-ravaged city of Tacloban is seen in the background, during a flight to deliver relief goods in Leyte province, Philippines. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across several islands in the eastern Philippines on Nov. 8.