Riot police walk in the street as a couple kisses on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Rich Lam/Getty Images)

As is the custom every year, the Boston Globe releases what they believe are the best photos of the year using major news events as a guide. Spanning events including the Japan tsunami and the rising of the Arab Spring, the selection is a poignant reminder of how much things have changed in the world over just one year. Take a look at many more photos in Part I and Part II of their summary.

A short selection after the jump…

This official White House photograph made available May 2, 2011 shows US President Barack Obama (2nd left) and Vice President Joe Biden (far left), US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (right) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd right) along with members of the national security team, as they receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, in Washington, DC on May 1, 2011. (Pete Souza/official White House photographer)

A painting of Amy Winehouse is left near the house in north London where the body of the English pop star was found earlier on July 23. Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse, whose struggle with drink and drugs overshadowed her sultry musical talents, has been found dead at her flat in north London, emergency services said. She was 27. (Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images)

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, kiss as Bridesmaids Grace Van Cutsem and Margarita Armstrong-Jones look on from the balcony at Buckingham Palace in London after the Royal wedding April 29, 2011. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Cars stand submerged in overflow water from the Wolf River on McMiller Road in Memphis, Tenn. May 10, 2011. After weeks of rising to historic levels the Mississippi River reached a crest just shy of the forecast 48 feet at the Memphis gauge. "It's going to meander around that level for the next 24 to 36 hours," meteorologist Bill Borghoff said. "We're going to pretty much hold onto the crest for a while." (Mike Brown/Associated Press/The Commercial Appeal)

Anti-government protesters celebrate inside Tahrir Square after the announcement that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had resigned on February 11, 2011. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

A wave caused by a tsunami flows into the city of Miyako from the Heigawa estuary in Iwate Prefecture after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck Japan March 11, 2011. (Mainichi Shimbun /Reuters)

A leopard attacks a forest guard July 19 at Prakash Nagar village near Salugara, on the outskirts of Siliguri, India. The leopard strayed into the village area and mauled several villagers, including three guards, before being caught by forest officials. The leopard, which suffered injuries caused by knives and batons, died later in the evening at a veterinary center. The forest guard being attacked was injured. (Associated Press)

A warplane of government forces crashes after being shot down over the outskirts of Benghazi in eastern Libya. (Anja Niedringhaus/AP)

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/12/the_year_in_pictures_part.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/12/the_year_in_pictures_part_ii.html