The Year in Photos: Europe and Africa

As 2018 draws to a close, Europe is no closer to knowing the final outcome of Brexit, while Russia's ties with the West show no sign of improving.

The streets of France have seen violent protests as "yellow vest" demonstrations have morphed from anger at a fuel tax hike to general discontent with President Emmanuel Macron's government. Protesters in Paris have torched cars, set fire to barricades and even vandalized one of the country's most sacred monuments, the Arc de Triomphe.

The European Union and Britain reached a deal on Brexit, but Prime Minister Theresa May's government is under threat as many lawmakers have vowed to vote down the agreement in Parliament. There have been protests in London, with demonstrators dressed in colorful costumes calling for a second referendum. Officials in Britain and the EU, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, are looking at their watches as the clock ticks down to March 29, when Britain is due to officially exit the bloc.

A protester walks under a large European Union flag bearing the words "Here_Now" during a protest outside the parliament building in Bucharest, Romania. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

May has tried to lift the spirits of her Conservative Party, even poking a bit of fun at herself by doing a robotic dance as she waltzed onstage at the Tory party conference in October. Previously, May's dancing at an event in Africa drew ridicule in the media. The British royal family also gave the U.K. public a bit of respite from Brexit, with Prince Harry marrying American actress Meghan Markle in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she wouldn't be a candidate in the country's next election, which is due in 2021 but could come earlier.

Major political change reached Africa as well, with Zimbabweans voting in July in their first election without former President Robert Mugabe on the ballot.

Meanwhile, Europe has witnessed another year of migrants making dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean to try to reach EU nations. Aid workers have been stretched, scrambling to rescue asylum-seekers who often set out in rickety boats or small dinghies. But the images of rescue boats packed with exhausted migrants in orange life vests have done little to unite EU nations, with many arguing among themselves over which country should take them in.

Journalists watch as Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his annual state of the nation address in Manezh in Moscow, Russia on March 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his annual state of the nation address in March, days before a nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in Britain turned the West against Moscow. The Russian government, which denies any involvement in the attack, went on to display its military might by hosting major exercises in September that included China.

In Italy, a bridge collapsed in Genoa during a sudden and violent storm in August, killing dozens. It led to calls for safety checks of bridges around Italy.

NEWS

A demonstrator waves the French flag onto a burning barricade on the Champs-Elysees avenue during a demonstration against the rising of the fuel taxes in Paris on Nov. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Cars are blocked on the Morandi highway bridge after a section of it collapsed, in Genoa, northern Italy. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

People wear white masks in support of Catalonian politicians jailed on charges of sedition and condemning the arrest of Catalonia's former president, Carles Puigdemont, in Germany, during a protest in Figures, Spain on April. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

People celebrate the victory of France in the final of the soccer World Cup on the Champs Elysee Avenue in Paris on July 16, 2018. (Jean-Francois Badias)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel walks through a corridor of the Reichstag building during a Christian Union parties faction meeting in Berlin on Sept. 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Pro-independence demonstrators throw paint at Catalan police officers during clashes in Barcelona, Spain on Sept. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker looks at his watch at the end of a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels on Feb. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

People wait in a queue to cast their vote at a polling station in Harare, Zimbabwe on July 30, 2018. Zimbabweans on Monday voted in their first election without Robert Mugabe on the ballot, a contest that could bring international legitimacy and investment or signal more stagnation if the vote is seriously flawed. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Sub-Saharan refugees and migrants, mostly from Eritrea, wait to be rescued by aid workers of Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, in the lower deck of a wooden as they were trying to leave the Libyan coast and reach European soil, 34 miles north of Kasr-El-Karabulli, Libya on Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

A six-meter high cartoon baby blimp of U.S. President Donald Trump is flown as a protest against his visit, in Parliament Square in London, England on July 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Pope Francis passes by a banner of a protester as he leaves after visiting St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, in Dublin, Ireland. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland on Aug. 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council during a summit of heads of state and government at NATO headquarters in Brussels on July 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Activist kicks a tear canister gas shot by riot police during a protest in support of the French railway employees, in Paris, France on April 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko holds his face during an interview with foreign media, with the portrait of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, right in the background, in Kiev, Ukraine on May 31, 2018. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Pool Photo via AP)

A topless woman with writing on her body reading "Berlusconi you expired" protests in front of Italian former premier and leader of Forza Italia (Go Italy) party Silvio Berlusconi at a polling station in Milan, Italy on March 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Meghan Markle walks down the aisle as she arrives for the wedding ceremony to Prince Harry at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England on May 19, 2018. (Danny Lawson/pool photo via AP)

Meghan Markle and Britain's Prince Harry stand on the steps of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding in Windsor, near London, England on May 19, 2018. (Jane Barlow/pool photo via AP)

Police charge against protesters during a demonstration by CDR (Committees for the Defense of the Republic) in Barcelona, Spain on Nov. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Avenues leading to the Arc de Triomphe are pictured from the top of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees avenue during a demonstration in Paris on Dec. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

The frame of an abandoned Peugeot 404 rests in Niger's Tenere desert region of the south central Sahara on June 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Stranded boats are pictured on the dried out shoes of the Lake of Gruyere in La Roche near Bulle, Switzerland on March 14, 2018. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP)

Children look up as military aircrafts fly above the city center during a military parade to celebrate Independence Day in Kiev, Ukraine on Aug. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain on Jan. 16, 2018.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Dancers Kimin Kim and Yulia Stepanova of the St Petersburg Ballet perform Swan Lake during a photo call at the Coliseum theatre in London on Aug. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A child from Eritrea sings to celebrate his arrival to Europe aboard the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue vessel near Pozzallo, Sicily, Italy on Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

Footsteps are seen as the snow falls at the Meuse-Argonne American WWI cemetery in Romagne-Sous-Montfaucon, France on Oct. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Fhe Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-11 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Dec. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Members of the Household Cavalry return to their barracks as snow falls in London. Britain, which is buffered by the Atlantic Ocean and tends to have temperate winters, saw heavy snow in some areas that disrupted road, rail and air travel and forced hundreds of schools to close on Feb. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Warsaw residents stand at attention with national flags and flares to observe a minute of silence for the fighters and victims of the 1944 Warsaw Rising against the Nazi German occupiers, on the 74th anniversary of the revolt, in downtown Warsaw, Poland on Aug. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister Theresa May dances as she arrives on stage to address delegates during a speech at the Conservative Party Conference at the ICC, in Birmingham, England on Oct. 3 , 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Family and friends of victims of the deadly attack on churchgoers in Russia's predominantly Muslim Dagestan region, attend a funeral service in Kizlyar, Russia on Feb. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)

Young participants of the "Temper of will" summer camp, organized by the nationalist Svoboda party, sit inside a tent with their AK-47 riffles as they receive instructions during a tactical exercise in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine on July 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A combination of twelve photos revelers pose for portraits as they participate in the flour war, a unique colorful flour fight marking the end of the carnival season in the port town of Galaxidi, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) west of Athens on Feb. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Bodybuilder Jens shows his muscles at the world's largest fitness trade show FIBO in Cologne, Germany on April 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge wave holding their newborn baby son as they leave the Lindo wing at St Mary's Hospital in London London on April 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Members of the "Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls" complete their human tower during the 27th Human Tower Competition in Tarragona, Spain on Oct. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A demonstrator runs pas a burning car during a demonstration in Paris on Dec. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Russian soldiers dressed in Red Army World War II uniforms march during a rehearsal of the Nov. 7 parade in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia on Nov. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A supporter of Zimbabwean's main opposition party MDC, who was arrested following clashes, is seen detained in a police vehicle outside the MDC headquarters, in Harare on Aug. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A team of wildlife veterinarians use a 4x4 vehicle and a rope to turn over a tranquilized elephant in order to attach a GPS tracking collar and remove the tranquilizer dart, in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania on March 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A security personnel looks out from the entrance of the Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A contestant checks her makeup in a mirror as she prepares to perform in the "Mr. & Miss Albinism East Africa" contest, organized by the Albinism Society of Kenya, in Nairobi, Kenya on Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A visitor walks past the National Chrysanthemum Society display at the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

A Russian honor guard prepares to take a part in a parade prior to a military exercises on training ground "Tsugol", about 250 kilometers (156 miles ) south-east of the city of Chita during Vostok 2018 in Eastern Siberia, Russia on Sept. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

The moon rises above a huge pile of discarded life vests and dinghies used by migrants and refugees crossing from the nearby Turkish coast, at a dump on the island of Lesbos on May 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A passenger crosses railroad tracks at rush hour at Gare de Lyon train station, in Paris, France, as union stage a mass strike on April 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

A man in a passing taxi shouts his disagreement at anti-Brexit, pro-EU supporters protesting backdropped by the Houses of Parliament in London on June 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Former Nazi concentration camp survivor Alexander Bytschok of Kiev, Ukraine, mourns on a plain metal plaque during the commemoration ceremonies for the 73th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald near Weimar, Germany on April 15, 2018. On 11th April 1945, units of the 3rd US Army reached Ettersberg Hill. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

FEATURES

Russian Orthodox believers gather to swim in the icy water on Epiphany at a hole in the form of Orthodox Cross at a lake in Orlino village, 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of St.Petersburg, Russia on Jan. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Shawn Roser, from Venice, Florida, a student at the North American college in Rome, throws a snowball as he plays in a snow blanketed St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican on Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A hot air balloon, carrying tourists, rises into the sky at sunrise in Cappadocia, central Turkey on Aug. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Tree-climbing goats feed on an Argania Spinosa, known as an Argan tree, in Essaouira, southwestern Morocco on April 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Rows of parked cars are covered by the first snowfall are seen at a shopping center in Moscow, Russia. Temperatures dipped to -6 C (21 F) in Moscow and -10 C (14 F) at night on Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

A woman carrying her child is reflected in a wall as she steps up in a subway in Moscow, Russia on Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

An aerial view of the WWII memorial taken through morning fog during sunrise in Ukraine's capital Kiev, Ukraine on Nov. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A church and remains of an ancient village which are usually covered by water are seen inside the reservoir of Sau, in Vilanova de Sau, Catalonia, Spain on Jan 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Light shines out from one of the buildings at Roemer Square during the official opening of the "Luminale" light festival in Frankfurt, Germany on March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Ali Kemer, a 50-year-old horse-breeder, herds horses in the village of Hormetci, on the foothill of Mount Erciyes, in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri, Turkey on Aug. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Newlyweds pose on a zebra crossing for wedding photographers during the 2018 soccer World Cup in Samara, Russia on July 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

People ride a bus in Mariupol, south coast of Azov sea, eastern Ukraine on Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Woman walks past the a murales by British street artist My Dog Sighs, in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood on Sept. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A villager rides in the traditional Epiphany celebration horse race in Pietrosani, Romania on Jan. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A view shows parched grass from the lack of rain in Greenwich Park, backdropped by the Royal Museums Greenwich and the skyscrapers of the Canary Wharf business district, during what has been the driest summer for many years in London on July 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Revellers run next to fighting bulls from the Victoriano del Rio ranch accompanied by steers during the 6th day of the running of the bulls at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, northern Spain on July 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

Commuters walk in and out Krasnopresnenskaya subway station in Moscow, Russia on June 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People play with a soccer ball during the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Manezhnaya Square in central Moscow, Russia on June 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Revelers enjoy as they throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain on Aug. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

An Honor guard soldier walks along the Kremlin wall, covered by snow, as his fellow soldier stands at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia on Jan. 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

A woman and young girl, dressed in costumes step out from a photo booth before taking part in a "Cabalgata de Reyes," Epiphany parade, in Madrid, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Pierre, a member of Team Arnicare, climbs an Ice Cascade during a night-time training session under a stary night near La Lecherette in the Hongrin region, in canton Vaud, Switzerland on Feb. 14, 2018. (Anthony Anex/Keystone via AP)

A super blue blood moon rises behind the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Greece on an. 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A polar bear blows bubbles as he dives in the water at its enclosure during warm late summer weather at the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A man passes a tree as he walks down a hill during sun set at the Olympic Park in Munich, Germany on Jan. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

SPORTS

England's Anthony Watson, left, and Ireland's Rob Kearney try to catch the ball during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland at Twickenham stadium in London on March 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia steers his car during the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix, at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco on May 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Italy's Oliveiro Troia, second left, and Italy's Marco Marcato, third from left, receive blessing at the Grotto of the Apparitions prior to the nineteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 200.5 kilometers (124.6 miles) with start in Lourdes and finish in Laruns, France on July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

From left are, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic hugging CVroatias head coach Zlatko Dalic as heavy rain falls during the award ceremony at the end of the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia on July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

England soccer fans react after England national soccer team lost the semifinal match between Croatia and England at the 2018 soccer World Cup, in Hyde Park, London on July 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

From left, wrestlers Nelson Fernandes, Alex Legrand, Ace Angel, and Zach, bottom, headlock wrestlers Lord Steven Crowley, Darkmundo, Maeven, and PV Red, fight during a wrestling charity gala in Ivry-sur-Seine, south of Paris, France on Feb. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)

A competitor takes part at the 2nd annual Belgrade Underpants Run on the banks of the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris lifts the trophy after France won 4-2 during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia on July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Belgium's Vincent Kompany jumps for the ball in front of Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima during the round of 16 match between Belgium and Japan at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Rostov Arena, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on July 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Julia Goerges of Germany serves to Monica Puig of Puerto Rica during the Women's Singles first round match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Monaco's Han-Noah Massengo heads the ball during a Group A Champions League soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Monaco at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on Nov. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

New world champion Simone Biles of the U.S. waits for the medal ceremony as the light bounces off a Russian gymnasts suit after the women's team final of the Gymnastics World Chamionships at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar on Oct. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with fans after winning the Champions League Final soccer match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine on May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

England's Harry Kane tries to control the ball during the round of 16 match between Colombia and England at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Spartak Stadium, in Moscow, Russia on July 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Eleonora Molinaro of Luxembourg serves to Natasha Subhash of the US during their girls' singles match on the sixth day at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Alexia Paganini of Switzerland competes in the Ladies Short Program during the ISU figure skating France's Trophy, in Grenoble, French Alps on Nov. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Mclaren driver Fernando Alonso of Spain, top, goes over the top of Sauber driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco as they are involved in a crash at the start of the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium on Aug. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

An unidentified athlete makes his trial jump at the ski jump in Bischofshofen, Austria, the fourth stage of the Four Hills Ski Jumping event on Jan. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

France's Kylian Mbappe runs with the ball during the semifinal match between France and Belgium at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the St. Petersburg Stadium, in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech Republic's Krystof Kryzl crashes during the first run of an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany on Jan. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam makes an attempt in the shot put of the heptathlon at the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Germany on Aug. 9, 2018.. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia, center, dives into a pool with his team after winning the Formula One race, at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco on May 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Spain's Rafael Nadal jumps in a corridor before his men's final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Austria's Dominic Thiem at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on June 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

England's Jonny Bairstow and England's James Anderson run off the pitch as sudden heavy rain starts during the second day of the second test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London on Aug. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Tiger Woods of the US chips on to the 6th green during a fourball match on the opening day of the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, outside Paris, France on Sept. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

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Curated by Europe and Africa Regional Photo Editor Tony Hicks.

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