By ANTHONY SPAETH

The news is normally a mass of facts, organized from the most important to the specifics, printed in gray columns or intoned by a poker-faced anchor behind a desk. But there are some events that barely register on the consciousness with mere words. They require an image, and Asia produced several such indelible events in 1998. One of the 20th century's most destructive, genocidal maniacs died in the jungle of northern Cambodia. Pol Pot had lived in near-total obscurity for more than two decades, but the world finally caught up with him--too late for justice or an international trial, but in time to witness a corpse on a rough-hewn bed with a stained shirt. Similarly, a confusing clash of political titans in Malaysia got much clearer when Anwar Ibrahim, the deposed heir apparent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, appeared in a Kuala Lumpur courtroom with a black eye and a neck brace. Malaysians, shocked by the charges against Anwar of sexual misdeeds and abuse of power, were equally taken aback to see what could happen even to a former leader if he dared challenge authority.

The absence of certain images also spoke volumes. The biggest political event of the year was the fall of Suharto, venerable strongman of Asia's third most-populous nation, who slipped into such a secure, private and untroubled retirement that students are back in the streets demanding his public trial for corruption. India caught the world off-guard by testing its nuclear armory deep beneath the desert of Rajasthan. Pakistan followed suit. Masses on both sides of the border celebrated boisterously--and the subcontinent became a far more dangerous place.

Away from politics, the images were more grand, inspiring, with East and West merging in spectacular ways as evidenced at the successful Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan. British architect Sir Norman Foster's new airport for Hong Kong, following a glitch-prone opening, proved to be the most breathtaking travel experience since ... well, since Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa's new airport in Kuala Lumpur, which opened barely one week earlier amid similar chaos. A performance of Puccini's Turandot brought Beijing's Forbidden City to life for a few unforgettable nights of Asian color and Italian melody--accompanied by the cicada-like chorus of cameras aiming to capture yet another of Asia's great photos of the year.

NEXT: View the images of the year

The Year in Images
• Pol Pot
• Anwar Ibrahim
• Indonesia
• Hong Kong
• The Winter Olympics