A zebra faces down a chilly wind at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England.
Tony Margiocchi / Barcroft Media
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Soldiers stand guard on a tank outside Egypt’s presidential palace in Cairo.
AP
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A young Indian child cries as she watches police detain communist activists at a rally in Hyderabad against utility price hikes.
AP
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President Obama watches workers building an engine during a tour of the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant in Redford, Mich., where he later spoke on the economy and “fiscal cliff” negotiations.
AFP/Getty Images
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Harry Jackson, 13, the oldest of the choristers at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, sings as the choir prepares for its busiest season of the year.
ZUMA Press
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A visitor inspects a giant illuminated sphere that’s part of the Lyon, France, Festival of Lights.
ZUMA Press
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Nobel laureates and their guests sit for the Nobel Banquet at City Hall in Stockholm, Sweden. The European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Reuters
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A man brushes snow off the top of a military monument at Mansudae in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Reuters
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Monte Carlo casino in Monaco, France, can be seen reflected in the massive Christmas decorations outside its doors.
Reuters
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Spanish police carry a member of the Mortgage Victims’ Platform away from financial company Bankia’s headquarters, which the group tried to occupy during a protest against evictions in Madrid.
AP
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Protesters burn an effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino in commemoration of International Human Rights Day in Manila.
AP
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Chief Raoni Metuktire, leader of Brazil’s Kayapo tribe, speaks (yes, speaks) about a campaign to protect the Amazon at the Geneva Press Club in Switzerland.
EPA
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A supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez grasps an action figure of the much-maligned ruler. He underwent surgery in Cuba today after finding out last week that his cancer had returned.
Reuters
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Sikh guard Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar made history today, becoming the first guardsman to wear a turban rather than a bearskin hat on duty at Buckingham Palace.
ZUMA Press
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Fireworks top off the tree-lighting ceremony in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s Ibirapuera Park.
ZUMA Press
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Meera, a young Indian girl, totes her family’s wares — paper pinwheels — to market in Mumbai for sale. Meera works after school to help support her family.
AP
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Survival pods dubbed “Noah’s Arc” by their creator, a farmer named Liu Qiyuan, stand his yard in Qiantun, China. The apocalypse-obsessed farmer hopes the government will adopt his creation for protection against tsunamis and earthquakes.
AFP/Getty Images
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Visitors watch a Santa-clad aquarium worker feed sardines at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea.
ZUMA Press
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A German contractor inspects a segment of excavated tunnel in Pasewalk. Berlin’s Allied Museum says the tube, discovered earlier this year, is part of a 450-meter spy tunnel from Rudow in West Berlin to Treptow in the east.
EPA
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Swiss F-5E Tiger II jets release flares during a flight demonstration at a Swiss Air Force ceremony at an air base in Duebendorf.
Reuters
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A confident group of Syrian rebels watch a nationalist jet fly over their position in Fafeen village. The rebels, with help from an al-Qaida-linked group, have taken control of a sprawling military base there after a two-day battle.
AP
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With help from the microalgae breeding in this petrie dish, Pierre Calleja, manager of Fermentalg, announced the French firm’s successful test of its biofuel on a standard, unmodified car engine.
Reuters
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Indian youths sit in a grounded boat at Triveni Sangam, in Allahabad. The blessed area, according to Hindu tradition, is the confluence of three rivers: the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythic, “invisible” Saraswati.
AFP/Getty Images
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Four-year-old Andrew Garcia and mom Ashley welcome home dad Pfc. Carlos Saldana at a celebration in Albuquerque for the return of New Mexico National Guardsmen from deployment in Egypt.
ZUMA Press
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An (invisible?) Spanish street performer poses with an iPad showing the numerically momentous time — 12:12:12 on 12/12/12 — at Plaza Mayor in Madrid.
Reuters
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What a racket for Belgium’s retiring star Kim Clijsters, whose exhibition match in Antwerp marks the end of her pro career.
Reuters
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Pilgrims, including one who’s got a seemingly healthy relationship with his bike, sleep at Basilica’s square in Mexico City ahead of celebrations marking the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Reuters
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A couple with a child embrace after being released from the mall at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Ore., where two people were killed by a gunman.
AP
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Pope Benedict XVI tries not to look too confused as he uses his iPad to post his first tweet since joining Twitter.
Reuters
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A teary silent protester wears her problems on her… face, at a demonstration in Lansing against Michigan’s new right-to-work law.
AP
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Thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims gather in Dhaka for a funeral prayer in honor of Islami Oikya Jote party leader Mufti Fazlul Huq Amini.
AP
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An immodest Ukranian parliament member clambors over the dais amid scuffles between parties during the very first session for the newly-elected governing body in Kiev.
AFP/Getty Images
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Greek municipal employees push over barriers protecting the grounds of parliament in Athens. There were no clashes between cops and the protestors, who are seeking to prevent forced firings.
AP
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Around 550 children (and one lonely looking little brother) sit at a massive First Communion Mass organized by a local radio station at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Mexico.
Reuters
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Barcelona’s Lionel Messi adds a second goal (his 88th of the year) to his record-breaking tally during Barcelona’s early-round Spanish King’s Cup match against Cordoba.
AFP/Getty Images
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Religious dignitaries gather at Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral for a ceremony marking the beginning of a year-long commemoration of the church’s 850th anniversary.
AP
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Bandhan Kerketta, right, is congratulated by teammate Deepak Kushwaha after their team won a relay at India’s National Sports Meet for the Blind in New Delhi.
AP
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An activist hurls stones at riot cops guarding the Tucuman provincial house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during protests over the acquittal of 13 suspects in a kidnapping and prostitution case.
Reuters
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Indian firefighters attempt to control a fire — blamed on a short circuit at one of the shops — at an electronics market in the old quarters of New Delhi.
AFP/Getty Images
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An Albanian teen cleans snow from the roof in front of his window just outside the city of Kukes.
Reuters
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Israeli soldiers take cover behind a fruit stand during clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians in Hebron, West Bank. The scuffles broke out before the funeral of a Palestinian teenager shot dead by Israeli troops.
Reuters
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Queen Elizabeth inspects the rows of gold reserves in a vault at the Bank of England in London.
AFP/Getty Images
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A visitor peers into a piece called ‘Thought’ by Chinese artist Yin Xiuzhen is at Kunsthalle in Duesseldorf, Germany.
EPA
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A member of Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency loads into an incinerator some of about 1.2 tons of illegal narcotics destroyed by he government this year.
Reuters
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A young elephant plays in the snow at the zoo in Berlin, Germany.
AFP/Getty Images
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Competitors jockey for position in midair during the quarterfinal heat of the Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Telluride, Colo.
Getty Images
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Indian army soldiers perform Mallakhamb, a form of traditional Indian gymnastics, during a rehearsal for Victory Day celebrations in Mumbai.
AP
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Towering racks await the delivery of the 750 million pages of the British Library newspaper collection at its new environmentally controlled facility in Boston Spa, England.
Reuters
