Burqin, West Bank — A Palestinian Christian man decorates the Byzantine-era St. George's Orthodox Church to prepare for Christmas in the West Bank village of Burqin, which is considered one of the oldest Christian holy places in the world. According to Christian teachings, Jesus had passed through Burqin on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth and cured 10 lepers, which made the church a pilgrimage site.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SAIF DAHLAH / AFP / Getty Images

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Las Pinas, Philippines — Lights decorate a church as thousands of people attend an early morning Mass that signals the beginning of the celebrations for Christmas in suburban Las Pinas. The early morning Mass is a religious tradition in which Filipinos attend a Mass for nine consecutive days until Christmas.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Pat Roque / Associated Press

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Istanbul, Turkey — Young women with their faces painted with the Syrian flag attend a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar Assad in front of the Syrian Consulate, following Friday prayers. More than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since pro-democracy protests began in March, according to the United Nations.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: BULENT KILIC / AFP / Getty Images

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New Delhi — Indian homeless people and rickshaw pullers sit next to a fire to keep themselves warm at night. India's supreme court has ordered Indian states to provide adequate night shelters for the homeless during the winter.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HARISH TYAGI / EPA

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Galicia, Spain — People observe the sculpture of Spanish artist Alicia Martin, made of 3,000 books, on the occasion of the exhibition "Inside" at City of Culture of Santiago de Compostela. Eight authors received the challenge to realize a piece that is not to be removed from the line of discourse of their work, while at the same time engaging in a dialogue with the unique architectural setting that is the complex.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: XOAN REY / EPA

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Medellin, Colombia — Colombian actor Jazmin Zamora performs at the Plaza Botero.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP / Getty Images

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Erdeven, France — A helicopter surveys the Maltese-registered cargo ship TK Bremen, which ran aground on Kerminihy beach, spilling oil from its engines on the coast of Brittany, in western France. Winter storm Joachim has battered France's western seaboard since Thursday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEPHANE MAHE / Reuters

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Krasnoyarsk, Russia — A fisherman stands on the frozen bank of the Yenisei River near Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ILYA NAYMUSHIN / Reuters

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Sochi, Russia — People fish from a pier during sunset in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MIKHAIL MORDASOV / AFP / Getty Images

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Cairo — Egyptian soldiers beat a protester during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square after demonstrators threw petrol bombs and set fire to furniture in front of the nearby parliament.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / Getty Images

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Cairo — Egyptian protesters break the windows of the Shura Council near the parliament. Egyptian soldiers charged at protesters outside the cabinet's offices, breaking up a sit-in after the demonstrators threw petrol bombs and set fire to furniture in front of the nearby parliament.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / Getty Images

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Kabul, Afghanistan — Afghan men play soccer in a field near the Darul Aman Palace in Kabul. The men, mostly students, gather in this field to play soccer on their day off from school. Darul Aman Palace was built in the early 1920s by King Amanullah Khan to modernize Afghanistan, and in recent history heavy shelling by the Mujahideen after the end of the Soviet invasion left the building a gutted ruin.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP / Getty Images

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