The best photos of 2019
From a royal arrival to a departing prime minister, the images that sum up the year












Headline news has provided plenty of fodder for The Week’s best photos of 2019.
Brexit features prominently, with images of Remain and Leave backers squaring up to one another in the first image of the year. Theresa May is also pictured shedding a tear outside No. 10 as she announced her resignation as prime minister in July.
The photos depict a world continuing to be affected by terrorism, from the white nationalist attack on two New Zealand mosques that killed 51 worshippers in March, to the Islamist stabbing at London Bridge in November that claimed the lives of two young graduates involved in a prisoner reform scheme.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
International politics feature in the gallery, with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un pictured in February arriving for talks with US President Donald Trump in Vietnam. Later in the year, Trump is seen holding some scribbled notes denying a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine’s President Zelensky.
And the ongoing climate crisis couldn’t be ignored, with firefighters battling wildfires in California taking the October spot in the mini-portrait of 2019.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
7 peaceful, easy hikes across the US
The Week Recommends These trails won't leave you breathless
-
Film reviews: The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Cloud
Feature A space-age superhero team mounts a redo and Reality catches up with an online reseller
-
'Grief and condolences are not enough'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
Trump threatens Russia with 'severe tariffs'
speed read The president also agreed to sell NATO advanced arms for Ukraine
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
IAEA: Iran could enrich uranium 'within months'
Speed Read The chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Rafael Grossi, says Iran could be enriching uranium again soon
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump gives himself 2 weeks for Iran decision
Speed Read Trump said he believes negotiations will occur in the near future
-
What would a US strike on Iran mean for the Middle East?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION A precise attack could break Iran's nuclear programme – or pull the US and its allies into a drawn-out war even more damaging than Iraq or Afghanistan