Year in Review: Best photos from around the world in 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, Global News takes a look back at some of the most compelling images that have captivated our audience this year.

NEWS & POLITICS

The series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, France on Nov. 13 dominated headlines around the world for much of the latter part of 2015. Some 130 people were killed and another 360 were injured when Islamic State attackers targeted a soccer stadium, rock concert and four popular nightspots in Paris and the Saint-Denis suburb.

In October, Canada elected its 23rd prime minister by electing Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to lead the country after an 11-year Conservative reign fronted by Stephen Harper.

The Syrian refugee crisis also dominated headlines much of the year. Turkish photojournalist Nilufer Demir captured a gut-wrenching photo of a drowned three-year-old Syrian boy, whose lifeless body was face down on the shore of a Turkish beach. The photo captivated much of the world and became a symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis. (Warning: this post contains an image that may not be suitable for some viewers.)

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People observe a minute of silence at the Place de Trocadero in Paris on November 16, 2015 to pay tribute to victims of the attacks claimed by Islamic State which killed at least 129 people and left more than 350 injured on November 13. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

People gather at a makeshift memorial in front of Le Carillon restaurant on November 15, 2015 in Paris, following a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on November 13. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images

Refugees and migrants spend the night in a field on the Greek island of Lesbos on November 9, 2015. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

View from Frutillar, southern Chile, showing volcanic lightning and lava spewing from the Calbuco volcano on April 23, 2015. Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images

Riot policemen stand splattered with red paint, thrown by protesters, outside the Athens University on April 16, 2015. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau share a moment as they watch Canadian veterans parade past them during Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa, November 11, 2015. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

A man reacts as he arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, on October 28, 2015, after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Refugees struggle to get on a train from Gyor to Hegyeshalom in Hungary on September 19, 2015. Vladimir Simicek/AFP/Getty Images

Rescue workers remove debris as they search for victims of an earthquake in Bhaktapur near Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, April 26, 2015. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha

French police officers inspect a piece of debris from a plane in Saint-Andre, Reunion Island on July 29, 2015. It was later confirmed the wing flap found on an island in the western Indian Ocean was part of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 that had disappeared 17 months ago. AP Photo/Lucas Marie

Pope Francis meets Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. AP Photo/Alex Castro

A lawyer, wearing his official robes, kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in Jerusalem’s Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank, Monday, Oct. 12, 2015. AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed

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Emergency personnel work at the scene of a deadly train derailment, Wednesday, May 13, 2015, in Philadelphia. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

A migrant and a boy react as they are stuck between Macedonian riot police and migrants during a clash near the border train station of Idomeni, northern Greece on Friday, August 21, 2015. AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

A general view of Chilean Calbuco volcano from Puerto Montt on April 22, 2015. AP Photo/Alex Vidal Brecas

A man pleads with soldiers to protect him from a mob of demonstrators after the Cibitoke district of Bujumbura, Burundi, on May 7, 2015. AP Photo/Jerome Delay

RCMP officers attend the funeral procession for slain RCMP Constable David Wynn, in St. Albert Atla., on Wednesday January 26, 2015. Jason Franson/ The Canadian Press

Conservative leader Stephen Harper pauses for a moment as he addresses the crowd on election night in Calgary, Monday October 19, 2015. Jonathan Hayward/ The Canadian Press

NDP Leader Rachel Notley reacts on stage after being named Alberta’s new premier in Edmonton on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Nathan Denette/ The Canadian Press

Tima Kurdi, touches a photo of her nephews Alan, left, and Ghalib Kurdi while speaking to the media outside her home in Coquitlam, B.C., on Thursday September 3, 2015. Alan, his older brother Ghalib and their mother died as they tried to reach Europe from Syria. Darryl Dyck/ The Canadian Press

Liberal leader and incoming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his way to the stage with wife Sophie Gregoire at Liberal party headquarters in Montreal, Oct. 20, 2015. Sean Kilpatrick/ The Canadian Press

Residential school survivor Lorna Standingready is comforted by a fellow survivor during the closing ceremony of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. Sean Kilpatrick/ The Canadian Press

Omar Khadr walks out the front door of his lawyer Dennis Edney’s home to speak the media in Edmonton, May 7, 2015. Nathan Denette/ The Canadian Press

Air Canada flight AC624 that crashed during a snowstorm, is seen at Stanfield International Airport in Halifax on March 30, 2015. Andrew Vaughan/ The Canadian Press

Liberal Leader and Prime Minister Elect Justin Trudeau hugs his mother Margaret Trudeau as he makes his way on stage for his acceptance speech at Liberal party headquarters in Montreal on October 19, 2015 after winning the 42nd Canadian general election. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

SPORTS

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Toronto hosted the 2015 Pan Am Games in July where Canadian athletes nabbed 217 medals; 78 gold, 69 silver, and 70 bronze.

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Canada also hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup. England eliminated Team Canada in the quarterfinals.

Toronto Blue Jays fever also swept the nation as Canada’s only Major League Baseball team finally put an end to the longest playoff drought by any North American professional sports team. Jose Bautista dropped the mic on the American League Division Series with a “bat flip seen round the world.” The Jays went on to face the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series. The Royals took the series 4-2.

Fireworks explode over the Toronto skyline, during the opening ceremony for the Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 10, 2015. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Japan’s Aiko Sugihara competes on the beam during the first day of qualifications at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championship in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 23, 2015. Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

A seagull flies in front of racers on the opening lap of the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on October 18, 2015. Paul Crock/AFP/Getty Images

Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price looks over after being pied following their 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings during overtime in NHL hockey action Thursday, April 9, 2015 in Montreal. Price broke a team record with 43 wins for a goaltender. Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

Canada’s Marko Medjugorac serves to Ecuador’s Geovanny Coello during singles table tennis competition in the Pan Am Games, July 23, 2015, in Markham, Ontario. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Edmonton Eskimos’ head coach Chris Jones is doused with Gatorade after defeating the Ottawa Redblacks to win the Grey Cup game in Winnipeg, Man. Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

Canada’s Andre de Grasse celebrates after winning the final of the men’s 100m race at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 22, 2015. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Team Canada players mob Peter Orr, 4, after he scored the game-winning run against the United States in the 10th inning of the gold medal baseball game at the Pan Am Games, July 19, 2015, in Ajax, Ontario. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

United States guard Kelsey Plum, left, drives past Canada’s Mirranda Ayim, right, during first half gold medal action at the Pan American Games in Toronto on July 20, 2015. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, connects with a right to the head of Manny Pacquiao during their welterweight title fight on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. AP Photo/John Locher

USA teammates, from left to right, Morgan Brian, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger celebrate following Lloyd’s second goal against Japan during first half final game soccer action at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Vancouver on Sunday, July 5, 2015. Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista flips his bat after hitting a three-run homer during seventh inning Game 5 American League Division Series baseball action in Toronto on October 14, 2015. Chris Young/ The Canadian Press

SLICE OF LIFE

From a couple kissing with a rainbow backdrop, to a woman going for a stroll on a frigid winter morning, photographers often capture unique moments in time.

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