The Arab Spring. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. A nuclear crisis. The end of Osama bin Laden. And more. How to sum up an extraordinary year of news in just 10 photos? Given that The Associated Press handles more than 1 million images a year, the very notion is daunting.The choice of these 10 images from these seven stories is in no way meant to disrespect those involved in any other news events.

1. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is wheeled away on a stretcher after being shot in the head in Arizona. Photographer James Palka was scheduled to make photos of an event outside a Tucson shopping center where Giffords was to speak. He arrived to a scene of mayhem and carnage after a gunman opened fire on the crowd, killing 6 and wounding 13. Palka made many photos, among them this image of Giffords being wheeled away on a stretcher after being shot in the head. He didn't know it was Giffords at the time, until AP reporting confirmed it.

2. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is wheeled in and out of court on a stretcher as he faces trial. A popular uprising in Tunisia that led to the end of a regime was the catalyst for a series of popular revolts that became known as the Arab Spring. Hosni Mubarak had been in power since 1981 and had shown no signs of relinquishing control when Egyptians took to the streets in January. Photographer Ben Curtis captured an image showing both panic and defiance in the face of riot police and clouds of choking tear gas. The defiance eventually led to Mubarak's downfall 18 days later.

3. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is wheeled in and out of court on a stretcher as he faces trial. A popular uprising in Tunisia that led to the end of a regime was the catalyst for a series of popular revolts that became known as the Arab Spring. Hosni Mubarak had been in power since 1981 and had shown no signs of relinquishing control when Egyptians took to the streets in January. Photographer Ben Curtis captured an image showing both panic and defiance in the face of riot police and clouds of choking tear gas. The defiance eventually led to Mubarak's downfall 18 days later.

4.A tsunami crashes ashore in Japan after a massive earthquake, and a woman mourns over the body of her mother. The sheer magnitude and power of the waves was breathtaking. The trail of destruction they left behind was devastating. Telling this story in just two photos was excruciating. In the end, the helicopter view from our Japanese partner agency, Kyodo, showed the water churning across the country, over residential and agricultural areas, across rivers, all testament to its unstoppable power. Eight days later, photographer David Guttenfelder captured a quietly sad moment as Tayo Kitamura mourned alongside the body of her mother, Kuniko, after it was discovered in the ruins of her home.

5.A tsunami crashes ashore in Japan after a massive earthquake, and a woman?mourns?over the body of her mother. The sheer?magnitude?and power of the waves wasbreathtaking. The trail of destruction they left behind was?devastating. Telling this story in just two photos was?excruciating. In the end, the helicopter view from our Japanese partner agency, Kyodo, showed the water?churning?across the country, over residential and agricultural areas, across rivers, all testament to its unstoppable power. Eight days later, photographer David Guttenfelder captured a quietly sad moment as Tayo Kitamura mourned alongside the body of her mother, Kuniko, after it was discovered in the ruins of her home.

6.Osama bin Laden in his hideout, covered in a blanket, watching TV. Since 9/11, he was the world's most-wanted man. The popular imagination often placed him in a remote mountain cave hiding from the law. The reality was that, at least at the time of his death in May, he was in a villa in Pakistan close to a major military garrison. Here we see him in a frame grab made from video seized during the raid that killed him, wrapped in a blanket watching TV in a nondescript room. The U.S. government took photos of his body, but they were never released and he was quickly buried at sea.

7.Mourners react at a memorial service for the victims of a bombing and shooting in Norway that left scores of people dead. A day after the memorial, suspect Anders Behring Breivik sits in a police car as he leaves an Oslo courtroom. There was an outpouring of grief in Oslo's streets during memorial services for the victims of the devastating shooting spree and bombing that left 77 dead and dozens more injured. Photographer Emilio Morenatti was at the memorial to capture two young women, their faces contorted with sadness and tears. Breivik later admitted to detonating the bomb in downtown Oslo and then, while security forces were occupied, going to the island of Utoya where he embarked on a systematic shooting spree that left 66 people dead, many of them young campers.

8.Mourners react at a memorial service for the victims of a bombing and shooting in Norway that left scores of people dead. A day after the memorial, suspect Anders Behring Breivik sits in a police car as he leaves an Oslo courtroom. There was an?outpouring?of?grief?in Oslo's streets during memorial services for the victims of the devastating shooting?spree?and bombing that left 77 dead and dozens more injured. Photographer Emilio Morenatti was at the memorial to capture two young women, their faces contorted with sadness and tears. Breivik later admitted to?detonating?the bomb in downtown Oslo and then, while security forces were occupied, going to the island of Utoya where he embarked on a systematic shooting spree that left 66 people dead, many of them young campers.

9. Moammar Gadhafi's body lies atop a mattress in Libya following his capture and death at the hand of rebel fighters. For 42 years Gadhafi ruled Libya with an iron hand. Then, in February a popular uprising began in the eastern city of Benghazi and spread across the country. It led to a NATO bombing campaign and, months later, his death at the hands of a mob of rebel fighters. Photographer Manu Brabo was able to get inside the commercial freezer in Misrata where Gadhafi's body was being kept and displayed to a curious public. From fame, power and riches to a corpse on the floor.

10. Apple computer CEO Steve Jobs. By October, he was dead of cancer and mourned by an entire generation that has used his innovative products. This image, by photographer Paul Sakuma, was made during Jobs' keynote address to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.