2009 in Images

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Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) sailors march pass Tiananmen Square during the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 2009 in Beijing, China.

The body of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran is carried on a stretcher through a group of Sri Lankan soldiers at Nanthikadal lagoon, near the town of Mullaittivu in northern Sri Lanka May 19, 2009. Sri Lanka's army chief said Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran's body was found on Tuesday, and Sri Lankan TV stations aired video of what appeared to be his corpse, with the top of its head blown off.

A recently constructed section of the controversial US-Mexico border fence expansion project crosses previously pristine desert sands at sunrise on March 14, 2009 between Yuma, Arizona and Calexico, California. The new barrier between the US and Mexico stands 15 feet tall and sits on top of the sand so it can lifted by a machine and repositioned whenever the migrating desert dunes begin to bury it. The almost seven miles of floating fence cost about $6 million per mile to build.

A view taken from the International Space Station of the Sarychev Volcano on the Kuril Islands in an early stage of eruption on June 12, 2009.

Sixteen-month- old Aubrey Melton reaches for her father SSG Josh Melton as she views his remains with her mother Larissa before his funeral service June 27, 2009 in Germantown, Illinois. SSG Melton, who was serving in Afghanistan with the Illinois National Guard, was killed in Kandahar during an IED attack June 19.

Young revellers run from the "Fire Bull", a man carrying a metal structure loaded with fireworks, at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain on July 12, 2009.

Before the Iranian election, a supporter of main challenger and reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi forms a heart shape with her hands to indicate her support, while wearing green ribbons - the color of the party, amidst a festive atmosphere at an election rally rally in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

An Iranian supporter of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is beaten by Basiji (volunteer paramilitary militia) and government security members as supporters come to his aid during riots in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 14, 2009. Iranian youth opposed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad take to the streets Sunday, setting dumpsters and tires on fire, in a second day of clashes triggered by voter fraud claims.

A boy touches an ice sculpture of a polar bear as it melts to reveal a bronze skeleton in Copenhagen, Denmark, host city of the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference, on December 8, 2009.

Smoke from the Station Fire rises over downtown Los Angeles Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. The Station Fire (caused by arson) lasted over a month, burning over 250 square miles, destroying 200 structures, and cost over $100 million (USD) and the lives of two Los Angeles County Firefighters.

Snow-covered pine trees sit in flood water March 31, 2009 near Moorhead, Minnesota. A snowstorm slowed recovery efforts as residents of Moorhead and neighboring Fargo, North Dakota tried to return to their homes as the flooded Red River slowly receded.

Pakistani men pray next to a bullet-ridden vehicle parked in the compound of radical Lal Masjid or Red mosque as the chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, not seen, talks to his supporters during Friday prayers, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 17, 2009.

Romain Grosjean (left) and Adam Khan (right) test Renault F1 cars in the desert in Dubai, April 9, 2009. The testing was part of the Renault F1 Roadshow taking place in Dubai.