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2023 in photos: A look back at some of the biggest moments of the year

Click to play video: 'Year in review: 2023 from A to Z'
Year in review: 2023 from A to Z
WATCH: Year in review - 2023 from A to Z – Dec 27, 2023

As 2023 comes to a close, Global News has compiled photos of some of the biggest moments of the year.

The year saw its fair share of natural disasters, fierce demonstrations and conflicts abroad.

Mixed in between were stories that caught the public’s imagination, including the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon in the U.S. and its subsequent destruction, the coronation of King Charles III after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the recovery of the Titan submersible.

Canada also played host to politicians from abroad in 2023, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — the latter of which was overshadowed by international embarrassment after the House of Commons gave a standing ovation to a fighter from a Nazi unit.

The legal troubles of former U.S. President Donald Trump continued, with him appearing in court in New York related to a civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, and a now infamous mugshot was taken that has become a rallying point for his political base.

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Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown (79) pauses as Damar Hamlin is examined by medical staff during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Cincinnati. Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field during Monday Night Football may serve as a wake-up call for many Canadians says a spokesman for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Emilee Chinn.
FILE – In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, Feb. 4, 2023. A missile fired on Feb. 5 by a U.S. F-22 off the Carolina coast ended the days-long flight of what the Biden administration says was a surveillance operation that took the Chinese balloon near U.S. military sites. It was an unprecedented incursion across U.S. territory for recent decades, and raised concerns among Americans about a possible escalation in spying and other challenges from rival China. (Chad Fish via AP, File).
FILE – In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. A missile fired on Feb. 5 by a U.S. F-22 off the Carolina coast ended the days-long flight of what the Biden administration says was a surveillance operation that took the Chinese balloon near U.S. military sites. It was an unprecedented incursion across U.S. territory for recent decades, and raised concerns among Americans about a possible escalation in spying and other challenges from rival China. (U.S. Navy via AP).
A destroyed building leans on a neighbouring house following the earthquake in Samandag, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. Survivors of the earthquake that jolted Turkey and Syria 15 days ago, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands of others homeless, dealt with more trauma and loss Tuesday after another deadly quake and aftershocks rocked the region. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel).
U.S. President Joe Biden places his hand on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s back as they enter the Parliament buildings, in Ottawa, Friday, March 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld.
King Charles lll waves from the carriage beside Queen Camilla during the Royal Procession following the King’s Coronation, in London on Saturday, May 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette.
(left to right) the Duke of Edinburgh, the Earl of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence ,the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales, Prince Louis, the Prince of Wales on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London, to view a flypast by aircraft. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images).
File photo dated 06/05/23 of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, London. A prime minister battling to turn round his party’s fortunes in the polls, economic gloom, industrial strife and a growing rift between the Sussexes and working royals have all characterised 2023. Issue date: Thursday December 14, 2023.
People embrace after a tornado damaged homes near Carstairs, Alta., Saturday, July 1, 2023. No injuries were reported. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh.
New York Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt pitches to Chicago White Sox’s Tim Anderson during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in New York. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has traveled into the United States, resulting in a number of air quality alerts issued since May. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II).
Traffic moves along West Street past One World Trade Center, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in New York, amidst smokey haze from wildfires in Canada. Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks. (AP Photo/Andy Bao).
Nick Taylor, of Canada, reacts after winning the Canadian Open championship on the fourth playoff hole against Tommy Fleetwood, of Southport, U.K., in Toronto on Sunday, June 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj.
In this photograph released by Action Aviation, the submersible Titan is to dive into the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Rescuers in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean raced against time Tuesday, June 20, 2023, to find a missing submersible carrying five people on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic. (Action Aviation via AP). (Action Aviation via AP)
Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly
Tornado damaged homes are seen near Carstairs, Alta., Saturday, July 1, 2023. No injuries were reported. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Debris fills the street following a tornado in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Following the wreckage of a south-end Ottawa tornado, researchers and contractors are on-site looking into the aftermath that has left several homes uninhabitable. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick.
Artemis II crew members, from left, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch, stand together at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in front of an Orion crew module on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. The U.S.-Canadian crew inspected the capsule during a visit late Monday and Tuesday. NASA plans to send the four around the moon and back late next year. (Kim Shiflett/NASA via AP).
FILE – The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Communities still reeling from climate-fueled storms and other natural disasters, from the wildfires in Maui to severe flooding in New England, fear a federal government shutdown will delay needed disaster relief.(Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP, File).
The McDougall Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside above houses in West Kelowna, B.C., on Friday, August 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Russian investigators inspect a part of a crashed private jet near the village of Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. Russia’s mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s presumed death in a plane crash along with some of his top lieutenants raised questions about the future of his Wagner Group that has sent forces to African countries. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File).
This booking photo provided by Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, shows former President Donald Trump on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, after he surrendered and was booked at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Trump is accused by District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP).
Rhea Seehorn, from left, Bryan Cranston, writer Peter Gould and Betsy Brandt, from the acting and writing team of “Breaking Bad,” speak on a picket line outside Sony Pictures studios on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Culver City, Calif. The film and television industries remain paralyzed by Hollywood’s dual actors and screenwriters strikes. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello).
A portrait of Wagner Group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died last week in a plane crash two months after launching his brief rebellion, lies on flowers on the grave at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky).
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at Raj Ghat (Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation site) in New Delhi, India on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognize Yaroslav Hunka, who was in attendance and fought with the First Ukrainian Division in World War II before later immigrating to Canada, in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle.
Tears stream down a woman’s face during a vigil organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver in support of those killed in Israel by Hamas, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck.
Protestors attend a march in support of Palestinians in Toronto, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey.
A makeshift memorial for Matthew Perry is seen outside the building shown in exterior shots of the television show “Friends” on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in New York. Perry, who played Chandler Bing on NBC’s “Friends” for 10 seasons, was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Saturday. He was 54. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP).
A photojournalist walks among the flames of a wildfire in rural Aguanga, Calif. Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP).
Fans attend the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko).
Taylor Swift performs at the Monumental stadium during her Eras Tour concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 9, 2023. Thousands of “Swifties” attended the superstar’s first-ever concert in Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko).
Canada’s Christine Sinclair leaves the field after Canada defeated Australia 1-0 in her final international soccer match, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. Sinclair, 40, made her 331st and final appearance for Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck.
Rev. Ai Hironaka, resident minister of the Lahaina Hongwanji Mission, squats down to look at debris where the altar once stood in the grounds of his temple destroyed by wildfire, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Recovery efforts continue after the August wildfire that swept through the Lahaina community on Hawaiian island of Maui, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson).
Former President Donald Trump attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial in New York State Supreme Court, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in New York. (David Dee Delgado/Pool Photo via AP).
Islene Facanha, of Portugal, participates in a demonstration dressed with images of wildfires at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong).

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