The world in photographs, 2001 - Agence France-presse

The Annual is a collection of photographs from Agence France-Presse. The original idea was to collect the best photos of 2001, but the project quickly grew into a series of photos portraying significant events in the new millennium. The striking events are grouped together by common themes or places, in an attempt to put the news of the past months into a coherent perspective. An entire chapter is devoted here to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Photos recall the day Israel's future Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made his controversial visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, thus triggering off violent demonstrations by Palestinians and relaunching the Intifada against Israel. Another section of the book is dedicated to the events of September 11, 2001. Once the initial shock and horror of the destruction of the Twin Towers of Manhattan was past, photojournalism more than played its part in documenting the tragedy on a daily basis. From New York to Kabul, AFP's team of photojournalists sprung into action to document every aspect of the aftermath of the terrorist attack.;Other chapters include photos detailing the fall of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade and the march of Subcommandante Marcos, the Zapatista National Liberation Army leader from Mexico. Pictures from the civil war in Algeria share pages with the interminable wrangling over the American presidential election, which hinged on a handful of ballots.