Vienna — Opening ceremony of the traditional Vienna Opera Ball at the Vienna State Opera.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Martin Schalk / Getty Images

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Hamburg, Germany — Maria Fernandez draws a picture on the ice at the Ice Arena in the Planten un Blomen Park. Several artists attend the action taking place under the motto 'Hamburg on Ice'.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MALTE CHRISTIANS / EPA

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London — A model prepares backstage before the Fyodor Golan show during London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2012 at Somerset House.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ian Gavan / Getty Images

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Quezon City, Philippines — A Filipino fan signs a message wall with the portrait of the late singer Whitney Houston at a mall. Houston, a Grammy Award-winning singer, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide, was found dead in her hotel room in Beverly Hills. Her funeral will be Saturday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DENNIS M. SABANGAN / EPA

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Oberstdorf, Germany — The sun is shining over a snow-covered tree in Obermaiselstein near Oberstdorf.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ANDREAS GEBERT / EPA

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Athens — A nearly 200-foot-long yacht is adrift and taking on water between the islands of Skyros and Psarra in the central Aegean Sea. All the passengers and crew, eight French nationals, were airlifted from the distressed yacht and are safe.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: EPA

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Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan opposition protesters are pushed over by a police water cannon during a demonstration against higher fuel prices. A wave of protests has swept across Sri Lanka since the government increased fuel prices a week ago because of rising world oil prices. A liter of gasoline rose 10 cents to $1.25 (about $5 per gallon) and diesel went up 26 cents.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Eranga Jayawardena / Associated Press

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Bangkok, Thailand — A Japanese sumo wrestler fights with Thai children during the sumo practice session as part of The Grand Thailand Sumo Tournament. The traditional Japanese sport of sumo, which has been an essential part of Japan's cultural heritage for eight centuries and is rarely seen outside the country, is held to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 84th birthday and promote cultural exchanges to strengthen the two countries' relationship.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: RUNGROJ YONGRIT / EPA

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Falloujah, Iraq — Falloujah residents wave Syrian revolutionary flags and Iraqi flags, chanting slogans against Syrian President Bashar Assad during a demonstration. According to local sources, thousands of residents of Fallouja, in Anbar province, demonstrated in support of the Syrian people with the participation of tribal sheikhs, religious leaders and mass organizations to show their solidarity with anti-government protesters in Syria.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MOHAMMED JALIL / EPA

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Mogadishu, Somalia — Internally displaced Somali children at their camp in the war-torn capital. At least 2.34 million people, or about a third of the country, still need support across Somalia, while hunger will grow in the lean period before the next harvest in the conflict-ridden Horn of Africa nation. A third of Somalia's population needs emergency aid and the mortality rates remain among the highest in the world, the U.N. warns.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: TONY KARUMBA / AFP / Getty Images

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Berlin — British actor Robert Pattinson poses for fans as he arrives for the photo call for the film "Bel Ami" at the Berlinale film festival. The 62nd Berlinale, the first major European film festival of the year, kicked off with 23 productions screening in the main showcase.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JOHANNES EISELE / AFP / Getty Images

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Fairview Township, Pa. — Fairview and McKean firefighters extinguish a fire that engulfed a tractor-trailer and the nine cars that it was hauling in the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 near Erie. State police say a tractor-trailer caught fire and was destroyed, along with nine cars it was carrying. The driver escaped the truck unharmed.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jack Hanrahan / Associated Press

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New Orleans — The Rex Parade moves through the central business district as Mardi Gras celebrations build to a climax in the Big Easy.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans — A reveler on Jackson Avenue is handed a coconut by a member of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club in the passing From Zulu With Love float during the Zulu Parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: John McCusker / TIMES-PICAYUNE

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New Orleans — The Krewe of Rex signature Jester float approaches Canal Street along St. Charles Avenue.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ted Jackson / TIMES-PICAYUNE

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New Orleans — A bee and her keeper, Rosa and Larry Fores, take a break from the buzz of activity on St. Charles Avenue.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ELIOT KAMENITZ / Times-Picayune

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New Orleans — Crowds fill Bourbon Street outside Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and Bar in the final fleeting hours of Mardi Gras in the French Quarter.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SKIP BOLEN / EPA

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New Orleans, Louisiana — The Treme Jazz Band marches through the French Quarter in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, the last day of the Carnival season ending at midnight, a daylong celebration of parades, marching groups and people in costumes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans, Louisiana — A close-up view of the brand-new Butterfly King float as it gets ready to roll in the 2012 Krewe of Rex Parade during Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Mardi Gras, which translates as Fat Tuesday, ends at midnight, just before Ash Wednesday ushers in Lent.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SKIP BOLEN / EPA

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New Orleans, Louisiana — A member of the Krewe of Zulu costumed for the krewe's parade down Jackson Avenue early in the morning on Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SKIP BOLEN / EPA

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New Orleans, Louisiana — Dancers perform in the Krewe of Zulu Parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SKIP BOLEN / EPA

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New Orleans, Louisiana — Debbie Miller, left, Nidia Vodanovick and Julie Noto, dressed as Senior-Sations, a takeoff on the New Orleans Saints cheerleaders, walk through the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans, Louisiana — The Zulu Parade moves through the central business district of New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans, Louisiana — Robert Detrinis and his wife Lenny Detrinis walk through the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans — Members of Pete Fountain's Half Fast Marching Club begins to parade through the streets of New Orleans. Tuesday is the last day of the Mardi Gras celebration ending at midnight, after a daylong celebration with parades, marching groups and people in costumes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans — The Mardi Gras "Krewe of Tucks" parade drives through the streets.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans — Actress Hilary Swank walks to her float in the staging area before the start of a Mardi Gras parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans — Actress Mariska Hargitay throws beads while riding in the Mardi Gras parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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New Orleans — A Mardi Gras float in the 2012 Krewe of Proteus Parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Skip Bolen / Getty Images

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New Orleans — Cyndi Lauper goes to her waiting Mardi Gras float in the 2012 Krewe of Orpheus Parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Skip Bolen / Getty Images

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New Orleans — A Mardi Gras float in the 2012 Krewe of Proteus Parade.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Skip Bolen / Getty Images

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New Orleans, LA — Riders on the "Muses Go Shopping" float keep their eyes on the hundreds of hands passing them by at the Krewe of Muses Parade in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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Mobile, Ala — Riders toss beads and toys as floats roll down Napoleon Avenue at the Krewe of Babylon Parade in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: G.M. ANDREWS / PRESS-REGISTER

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New Orleans, LA — Riders toss beads and toys as floats roll down Napoleon Avenue at the Krewe of Babylon Parade in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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New Orleans — Riders toss beads from floats at the Krewe of Chaos Parade in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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Mobile, Ala. — Revelers with the Mystic Stripers toss trinkets to the crowds gathered on Royal Street in Mobile, Ala. The pre Lenten blowout continues along the Gulf Coast, culminating in Fat Tuesday celebrations Feb. 21. Tourism leaders estimate more than a million visitors pour into the Mobile area each Mardi Gras season to watch the festivities.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: G.M. ANDREWS / PRESS-REGISTER

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New Orleans, LA — Actress and New Orleans native Patricia Clarkson was the honorary Muse as she rides in a giant shoe down St. Charles Avenue at the Krewe of Muses Parade in New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

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New Orleans, LA — Actress Patricia Clarkson talks to another rider on her float as she rides in the Muses Mardi Gras Parade through the streets of New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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Mobile, Ala. — A reveler with the Mystic Stripers tosses trinkets to the crowds gathered on Royal Street in Mobile, Ala. The pre Lenten blowout continues along the Gulf Coast culminating in Fat Tuesday celebrations Feb. 21.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: G.M. ANDREWS / PRESS-REGISTER

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New Orleans, LA — The Muses Mardi Gras Parade rolls through the streets of New Orleans.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Bill Haber / Associated Press

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Warsaw — A squirrel holds a nut between its teeth while jumping onto a tree at Lazienki Park.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Pawel Kula / PAP

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Klingenthal, Germany — A ski jumper flies past the referee tower during the Team-Tour World Cup competition at the Vogtland Arena. The competition has been cancelled due to strong winds at the ski jump.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HENDRIK SCHMIDT / DPA

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Munich, Germany — A man surfs on a wave on the small man-made river Eisbach in the English Gardens with temperatures around freezing. The standing wave in the Eisbach is a favorite spot for daring water sports enthusiasts the year round.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PETER KNEFFEL / DPA

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Cologne, Germany — Fools celebrate in front of Cologne's landmark cathedral carnival season was launched. Hundreds of thousands of Germans, mainly in the western Rhine region, crowd the streets to celebrate Women's Carnival Day.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: OLIVER BERG / DPA

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Granada, Nicaragua — Nicaraguans dressed in traditional costumes take part in the Poetry Carnival during celebrations annual Poetry Festival.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ELMER MARTINEZ / AFP

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Yangon, Myanmar — A boy looks into the camera while playing inside the flower stall of his parents at a wholesale fruit and vegetable on the outskirts of Myanmar's largest city. The head of Myanmar's fledgling human rights panel said Tuesday it would not launch probes into allegations of abuses in ethnic conflict areas to encourage regime efforts to seek an end to fighting.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STR / AFP

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Pyongyang, North Korea — North Koreans lay flowers beneath a large portrait of the late leader Kim Jong Il to commemorate his death and what would have been his 70th birthday.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press

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Ramallah, West Bank — Israeli soldiers stand guard at the site of a crash between a truck and a school bus transporting Palestinian children between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. At least eight Palestinian children from East Jerusalem were killed when their school bus was hit by a truck on a road in the West Bank, Israeli police said.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP

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Chesterfield, N.J. — An Investigator views the scene of a school bus crash. State police said a child -- the daughter of a state trooper -- died in the accident. The bus collided with a dump truck about 8:30 a.m. at a Route 528 intersection.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matt Rourke / Associated Press

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Niagara Falls, N.Y. — Niagara Falls firefighters pull a man from the freezing water of Hyde Park Lake. Authorities say the 70-year-old man died after he was pulled from the lake, where he had broken through the ice while trying to retrieve one of his dogs.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JAMES NEISS / The Niagara Gazette

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Formentera, Spain — The ferry Maverick Dos after it ran aground in Formentera in the Balearic Islands. It had left Ibiza at 7:30 p.m. with 29 passengers and crew. One passenger was injured.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: EFE

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Wadi al-Awabi, Oman — Cyclists racing west of Muscat pass by Omani nationals performing their traditional dance during the third stage of Tour of Oman.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — A tourist poses for a photo with the United Buddy Bears on display during its world tour outside a shopping mall. The United Buddy Bears are to promote living together in peace and harmony and Malaysia is the first Southeast Asian country to be chosen for its tour.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Mark Baker / Associated Press

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Comayagua, Honduras — A pair of injured inmates are guarded by a police officer after fire broke out at a prison in central Honduras. As many as 300 were feared dead, with many inmates asphyxiated or burned alive, officials said. Dozens of others, some with severe burns, were taken to hospitals in Comayagua and the capital, Tegucigalpa.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Gustavo Amador / EPA

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Comayagua, Honduras — Anxious relatives of inmates wait for news after fire broke out.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: GUSTAVO AMADOR / EPA

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Comayagua, Honduras — A Honduran woman weeps after learning of the death of her son in the prison fire.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP / Getty Images

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Katmandu, Nepal, — A Hindu holy man smears his body with ash and vermillion powder at the courtyard of the Pashupatinath Temple as celebrants begin arriving for the Shivaratri festival, dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, on Feb. 20.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Niranjan Shrestha / Associated Press

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Schwedt, Germany — Bizarre ice formations hang like crystal skirts around tree trunks at the Unteres Odertal national park.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PATRICK PLEUL / AFP / Getty Images

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Coldingham, Scotland — Simon Bilcock leaves the water after a bit of surfing at Coldingham Bay, an inlet in the North Sea. Improved wetsuit materials and technology have turned the sport into a year-round activity even in frigid locales, allowing dedicated surfers to take advantage of the better waves and less crowded breaks the winter offers.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

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Kvaloya, Norway — The aurora borealis, or northern lights, cast an ethereal glow in the sky above Kvaloya island. The phenomenon is caused when charged particles from the sun strike gas molecules in the upper atmosphere. The charged particles are drawn by the Earth's magnetic field to the poles.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MARTIAL TREZZINI / EPA

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=53970

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Petah Tikva, Israel — An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish bride enters the men's section of the hall during her traditional wedding to Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, great-grandson of the rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Oded Balilty / Associated Press

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Ramallah, West Bank — A Palestinian youth masked with the colors of his flag hides behind a makeshift barricade during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the Israeli Ofer Prison, following a demonstration in support for Khader Adnan, a jailed senior member of Islamic Jihad who has been on hunger strike for nearly 60 days.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ABBAS MOMANI / AFP / Getty Images

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Colombo, Sri Lanka — A man runs for cover as riot police unleash water cannon on a group of demonstrators protesting rising living costs after the government raised the prices of fuel by 35%, food by almost 4% and bus fares by 20% over the weekend.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ISHARA S.KODIKARA / AFP / Getty Images

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Ahmadabad, India — An Indian worker cleans red chilies by hand. Workers earn around 10 rupees (or 20 U.S. cents) for removing the petioles from 20 kilograms of chilies.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ajit Solanki / Associated Press

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Quito, Ecuador — Supporters of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa chant slogans against the El Universo newspaper outside the National Court of Justice in Quito, where the newspaper is appealing a $40-million fine and prison sentences for its top executives for libeling Correa.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: RODRIGO BUENDIA / AFP / Getty Images

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=53975

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Herat, Afghanistan — Afghan children play on the remains of a Soviet-era armored personnel carrier. Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 after 10 years of fighting against Mujahiddin millitamen.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: AREF KARIMI / AFP / Getty Images

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Mogadishu, Somalia — Hundreds of Somalis march in a rare open protest against Islamist Shebab insurgents and their Al Qaeda allies. "Down with Al Qaeda! Down with Al Shebab!" the crowds chanted, as they marched through the streets near the presidential palace, passing areas recently struck by suicide and car bomb attacks set off by the hard line Shehab.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MOHAMED ABDIWAHAB / AFP / Getty Images

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Liverpool, England — Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is presented with a rose during a visit to the Alder Hey Children's Hospital. The duchess visited charities Tuesday on her first Valentine's Day as a married woman, while more than 7,900 miles away her husband Prince William, is on a six-week posting in the Falkland Islands as part of his role as an Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PHIL NOBLE / POOL

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Frankfurt, Germany — One red balloon lies in the street on a snowy Valentine's Day in Frankfurt.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FRANK RUMPENHORST / AFP / Getty Images

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Berlin — Pia Walter and Maxence Lepesant kiss in an inflatable "pop-up" church during their wedding rehearsal.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEPHANIE PILICK / AFP / Getty Images

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Berlin — A woman tugs on a ribbon holding a Valentine's Day balloon to a fence.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEPHANIE PILICK / AFP / Getty Images

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Shanghai — A couple kiss for 60 seconds to receive free food in a kissing competition at a cafe. What, no heart-shaped balloons?

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press

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Warsaw — A girl meets a vendor selling (of course) heart-shaped balloons on a chilly Valentine's Day in Warsaw.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Czarek Sokolowski / Associated Press

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Durbach, Germany — A tractor rolls through a vineyard after southern parts of Germany received a new blanket of snow.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PATRICK SEEGER / AFP / Getty Images

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Obilic, Kosovo — Steam billows through the air as a security worker makes his rounds amid the ice-covered cooling towers of Kosovo's main power plant.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: VISAR KRYEZIU / Associated Press

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Cairo — An Egyptian protester lies in one of several mock graves dug symbolically in Tahrir Square for former President Hosni Mubarak and members of the ruling military council.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MARCO LONGARI / AFP / Getty Images

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Washington — People of Chinese descent wave flags and cheer near the White House to welcome China's vice president, Xi Jinping.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press

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Jakarta, Indonesia — A man is hustled away by police after being detained during a protest against the hardline Muslim group Islamic Defender Front. Some 200 Indonesians converged on a Jakarta square to denounce the Islamic vigilante group known for its armed attacks on minorities and moderates.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ADEK BERRY / AFP / Getty Images

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Berlin — A Dalmatian Pelican swims in the ice cold water at the zoo in Berlin.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HERBERTA KNOSOWSKI / EPA

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