2009 in Focus: Images from around the world

A reveller parades at the Sambadrome during Carnival celebrations in Sao Paulo. Carnival is the biggest and most popular celebration in Brazil.  (Mauricio Lima / AFP/Getty Images)

An underwater volcano erupts in the Pacific Ocean about seven miles off the Tongatapu coast of the island of Tonga, sending plumes of steam and smoke hundreds of feet into the air.  (Lothar Slabon / AFP/Getty Images)

Hindu youths pose for photographs as they celebrate Holi, the festival of colors, in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, to mark the onset of spring; people pour into the streets and cover each other with colored powder.  (Munir uz Zaman / AFP/Getty Images)

Catholic clerics participate in a candlelight procession circling the anointing stone in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem at the close of a Mass a day before Good Friday.  (Jim Hollander / EPA)

Volunteers try to clear discarded plastic bottles and other garbage blocking Vacha Dam, near the town of Krichim, Bulgaria.  (Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP/Getty Images)

Children in the Kibati refugee camp just north of the city of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, are treated to a performance of the organization Clowns Without Borders.  (Walter Astrada / AFP/Getty Images)

This New South Wales Police shows an X-ray of the skull of Sydney man whose decomposed body was found in marshland. A homicide detective said the man had been shot multiple times with a high-powered nail gun.  (AFP/Getty Images)

Dancers from the southern German state of Bavaria perform in Berlin before a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany.  (Michael Kappeler / AFP/Getty Images)

A boy salutes cadets during celebrations of Belarussian Border Guards Day celebrations in Minsk.  (Viktor Drachev / AFP/Getty Images)

A boy jumps while playing soccer in a field near Pretoria. South Africa hosted the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup during June.  (Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP/Getty Images)

A racegoer shows off plaited-hair hat on Ladies Day, the third day of Royal Ascot, in Berkshire, west of London. The five-day meeting is one of the highlights and traditions of the horse racing calendar.  (Adrian Dennis / AFP/Getty Images)

This combination of images shows the various stages of the total solar eclipse as viewed from the Indian village of Baihata, in the northeastern state of Assam. The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century cast a shadow over much of Asia, plunging hundreds of millions into darkness across India and China.  (Biju Boro / AFP/Getty Images)

A man is gored by a Miura fighting bull during the sixth run of the bulls of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain.  (A. Arrizurieta / AFP/Getty Images)

This underwater image shows Natalia Ishchenko of Russia competing during the synchronized solo free final at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome.  (Francois Xavier Marit / AFP/Getty Images)

A German fan called El Diablo gets into the act as the leading men ride in a breakaway during 12th stage of the Tour de France cycling race run between Tonnerre and Vittel.  (Joel Saget / AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese parents bed down in an auditorium after accompanying their children to begin their first semester at a university in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei province.  (AFP/Getty Images)

Dairy farmers spill milk onto a field near Zernikow, northeastern Germany, during demonstrations across Europe to demand higher prices for their produce.  (Axel Schmidt / AFP/Getty Images)

Streets are flooded in Binan, south of Manila. The Philippines was hit by a series of typhoons.  (Ted Aljibe / AFP/Getty Images)

Ice sculptures by Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo melt on the steps of the Concert Hall at the Gendarmenmarkt . The event, which saw participants place about 1,000 ice sculptures, was sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to draw attention to global warming and the Earth’s melting poles.  (John MacDougall / AFP/Getty Images)

A boatman transporting empty caskets navigates floodwaters on the edge of the Laguna Lake, east of Manila. Floods killed scores of people and submerged huge portions of the Philippine capital.  (Jay Directo / AFP/Getty Images)

Members and supporters of Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics rejoice in the Danish capital after the International Olympic Committee selected the Brazilian city to hold the Games.  (Oliver Morin / AFP/Getty Images)

A fireworks display over Brandenburg Gate is part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In addition, about 1,000 giant dominoes, many of them decorated by schoolchildren, are toppled during the official ceremony in Berlin.  (Wolfgang Rattay / AFP/Getty Images)