2013 news review: Typhoon Haiyan, Boston Bombings and Ariel Castro

Terrorism, a number of high profile shootings and a typhoon saw tragedy and devastation fill the year of 2013. However, there were glimmers of positivity as captured women were freed and new babies emerged from a terrible natural disaster.

February saw the world wake up to a shock on Valentine's Day. South African athlete Oscar Pistorius's girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp shot dead at their home. Pistorius was arrested for her premeditated murder. A trial will be held in March next year and the athlete denies murdering the model and says he shot her by mistake thinking she was an intruder.

April saw the first of what later become acts of terrorism. As runners were finishing the Boston marathon, two bombs exploded killing three people and injuring more than 250. Two suspects were identified as Chechen-born brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokar Tsarnaev. The FBI tracked them down and Tamerlan was shot dead in a gun battle. Dzhokar was found hiding in a boat with a bloodied face. He could face the death penalty.

A few months later gunmen linked to the al-Shabaab movement stormed the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya and went on the rampage. At least 72 people were killed, including 61 civilians. A shoot-out with Kenyan forces eventually saw the perpetrators shot dead. The Islamist group said the attack was tribution for Kenyan military being in Somalia

Many families in the Philippines are spending Christmas with their lives still devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. It was powerful tropical cyclone that killed more than 6,000 people.

However, despite all the tragedy that 2013 brought there were moving stories emerging. Amanda Berry, Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, and Michelle Knight were rescued from a house in Cleveland, Ohio, after being held captive by Ariel Castro for more than a decade. He pled guilty to rape, kidnapping and aggravated murder but was later found dead in his cell.