World news is global coverage of events and issues that affect all countries, as opposed to national news (news for the media of belligerent nations). The field includes world peace, international politics, terrorism, wars and other conflicts, natural disasters, economics, science and technology. It also includes coverage of sports events and other world happenings. World news first became a major focus of the press in the 19th century, when innovations such as the telegraph made it possible to spread hard news quickly and widely. The first news agencies, like Reuters and AP, were founded, and began to sell articles in bulk electronically (originally by telegraph, now via the Internet).

This year has seen the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has been marked by other global crises such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and political upheavals in many African nations. It has been a year of catastrophic natural disasters, with the deadliest earthquake in the 21st century striking Turkey and Syria, Cyclone Freddy – the longest-lasting tropical cyclone in history – killing thousands of people in Malawi and Mozambique, and a triplet earthquake causing widespread destruction across western Morocco and the Andes.

As the year draws to a close, photo editors at The New York Times have been sifting through their work to pick out the most startling and memorable images of 2022. The selection, curated by a photo editor, includes pictures of the aftermath of a mass shooting in Texas, a man who attacked Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer in their California home, and an armed gang that burst into Gaza’s largest hospital.