Cairo — Egyptians read notes and messages in Arabic in Tahrir Square, Cairo. Egypt's political crisis shows no signs of abating as the opposition to the country's Islamist government levels new challenges against the legitimacy of a referendum on a draft constitution. Morsi also confronts criticism from the judiciary as prosecutors hold a sit-in to demand removal of a new prosecutor general he appointed.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Petr David Josek / Associated Press

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Mangalore, India — Mourners grieve during the funeral of nurse Jacintha Saldanha at the Shirve Church cemetery near Mangalore. About 2,000 mourners have packed a Catholic church in southwest India for the funeral of the nurse, who was found hanged in London after taking a hoax call to the hospital treating Prince William's wife, the former Kate Middleton.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP / Getty Images

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Shirva, India — Relatives toss soil and flowers during the burial of nurse Jacintha Saldanha at her hometown. Saldanha, a nurse at a London hospital, was found hanging in her room days after she had been duped by a hoax call from an Australian radio station about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rafiq Maqbool / Associated Press

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Paris — Two women wearing wedding veils in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during a demonstration for the legalization of gay marriage and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parenting.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FRED DUFOUR / AFP / Getty Images

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Hobart, Australia — Play is interrupted as a magpie and a seagull tussle during day four of the First Test Cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Blundstone Arena.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matt King / Getty Images

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Bloemfontein, South Africa — Supporters of South African President Jacob Zuma sing and dance outside the 53rd National Conference of the African National Congress. Some 4,500 ANC delegates are gathered to nominate candidates to fill the party's top six positions, with embattled President Jacob Zuma facing a leadership challenge from his deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP / Getty Images

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Cairo — Boats parked waiting for customers on the Nile River. Boat rides for many Egyptians are part of the night life culture.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Hassan Ammar / Associated Press

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Kabul, Afghanistan — Afghan security officials inspect the scene of a suicide bomb blast targeting the offices of a private logistics company in Kabul. At least 11 civilians were killed and 16 others were injured in two attacks in Afghanistan.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: S. SABAWOON / EPA

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Quezon City, Philippines — Filipino women celebrate during a demonstration outside the Philippine Congress in suburban Quezon City after hearing news that Philippine legislators passed a landmark law that would provide government funding for contraceptives and sexuality classes.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Aaron Favila / Associated Press

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Suwon, South Korea — Supporters of South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party wearing Santa Claus costumes dance during her election campaign rally in Suwon. Park heads into Wednesday's presidential election under the weight of history. Not only is she the daughter of dictator Park Chung-hee who ruled with ruthless efficiency for 18 years, but she's trying to win power in a country still dominated by men.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Lee Jin-man / Associated Press

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Tomohon, Indonesia — Mount Lokon spews volcanic ash as it erupts in Tomohon North Sulawesi province. The volcano erupted with a loud blast and spewed volcanic ash. Mount Lokon has been on high alert status since July and has maintain high volcanic activity ever since.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: EPA

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Katmandu, Nepal — A Buddhist monk lights incense as he offers prayers at the Boudhanath Stupa in Katmandu. The Boudhanath Stupa is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Niranjan Shrestha / Associated Press

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Newtown, Conn. — A student peers from a school bus on its way to Newtown Middle School as classes resumed Tuesday in Newton in the wake of Friday's shooting that killed 20 children. Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the shooting remained closed.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

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Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan — A bird lover feeds doves in front of the Blue Mosque.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MAURIZIO GAMBARINI / DPA

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Northwich, England — Sheep graze in a field as a winter mist envelopes the Cheshire countryside.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Europe

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Bethlehem, West Bank — Foreign visitors walk through Manger Square in Bethlehem, where a decorated Christmas tree and the Church of the Nativity, the traditionally accepted birthplace of Jesus Christ, are illuminated.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JIM HOLLANDER / EPA

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Doha, Qatar — A Qatari fighter jet, trailing decorative smoke, soars over skyscrapers during the Gulf emirate's National Day celebrations.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: KARIM JAAFAR / AFP

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Manila — Filipino Catholics gather outside the Senate building in Pasay City to protest the passage of a reproductive health law that would allow government funding for contraceptives. The Catholic Church, which approves only natural forms of birth control, strongly opposed the bill. The Philippines is Asia's largest Catholic country.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: FRANCIS R. MALASIG / EPA

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Goshti, Afghanistan — Afghan schoolboys walk past a commando force standing guard at the Goshti district of Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SHAH MARAI / AFP

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London — Queen Elizabeth II, flanked by Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, right, are joined by members of the Cabinet for a group portrait at No 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence. The queen sat in on a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, the first such visit by a sitting British monarch in more than a century, to mark her diamond jubilee. Historically, monarchs regularly led Cabinet meetings, but the last one to exercise their right to attend was Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth's great-great grandmother, who died in 1901. Elizabeth, 86, received a gift from the Cabinet to celebrate her 60 years on the throne.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JEREMY SELWYN / Pool

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Melegnano, Italy — Thousands of lights illuminate the home of Massimiliano Goglio, which he transforms each year into "Casa di Babbo Natale," or Santa's house.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: TIZIANA FABI / AFP/Getty Images

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London — A pedestrian uses a mobile device on Oxford Street in front of an advertisement for a lingerie store. British retailers hope Christmas sales will rescue a year in which high unemployment and the debt crisis have blighted consumer spending.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg

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Moscow — Eggs thrown by anti-gay protesters strike gay-rights activists staging a "kiss-in" outside Russia's parliament, where legislators planned to debate a bill imposing sanctions for providing minors with information on homosexuality. The legislative debate later was postponed until next month.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ANDREY SMIRNOV / AFP/Getty Images

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Cancun, Mexico — A worker applies finishing touches to the Santuario de la Esperanza (Sanctuary of Hope) during preparations for the celebration of the end Friday of the so-called Maya Long Count Calendar.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: PEDRO PARDO / AFP / Getty Images

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Hanoi — Children play on the wreckage of a downed B-52 aircraft on display at the B-52 Victory Museum as Vietnam marks the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Christmas bombings of Hanoi by U.S. forces.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: HOANG DINH NAM / AFP/Getty Images

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Nangarhar, Afghanistan — Afghan police stand guard during the burning of confiscated opium. A United Nations agency last month reported that Afghans expanded their poppy fields by 18% this year as high opium prices continued to make the crop attractive.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ABDUL MUEED / EPA

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Stratford, Conn. — Mourners arrive for the funeral of first-grade teacher Victoria Soto, one of 26 people killed in last week's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP/Getty Images

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New Delhi — Students and activists carry candles while protesting a gang rape of a medical student on a New Delhi bus that has sparked fresh concern for women's safety in in the city.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP/Getty Images

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Tel Aviv — A model wears a creation of Israeli designer Hagit Witman for her label, Fishndag, in a show during Tel Aviv's fashion week.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Ariel Schalit / Associated Press

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Enschede, Netherlands — Disc jockey Gerard Ekdom broadcasts from inside a glass house during a Dutch radio station’s fundraiser for the Red Cross. During the annual event, dubbed Serious Request, three DJs stay in the structure for six days without eating solid food.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ADE JOHNSON / EPA

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Athens — A man walks past riot police as government workers rally during a 24-hour strike called to protest new austerity measures by Greece's government.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU / EPA

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Rostock, Germany — Jellyfish are on display in an aquarium at the Darwineum, a zoo in Rostock that has had 120,000 visitors since opening in September.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: BERND WUESTNECK / AFP / Getty Images

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Washington — The body of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington. Inouye, a decorated World War II veteran and the second-longest serving U.S. senator in history, died Monday at age 88.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EPA

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Washington — Mourners pay their respects in the Capitol Rotunda, where the body of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) lies in state. Because of his seniority, Inouye became president pro tempore of the Senate in 2010, putting him third in the line of presidential succession, after the vice president and the speaker of the House.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: SHAWN THEW / EPA

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Lagos, Nigeria — Firefighters try to contain flames from an oil pipeline that exploded Monday on the outskirts of Lagos, reportedly as thieves tried to siphon oil from it.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Sunday Alamba / AP

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Urbandale, Iowa — A man clears snow from his driveway after an overnight snowfall closed many schools and businesses for the day.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press

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Dhaka, Bangladesh — A laborer pulls a cart piled with empty drums during a nationwide strike called by Islamic political parties.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP/Getty Images

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Bugarach, France — French officials inspect caves in Bugarach, a village in the foothills of the Pyrenees, amid fears of mass suicides or other activities linked to the end Friday of an ancient Mayan calendar that purportedly identifies Bugarach as the only place that will be saved from destruction.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Patrick Aventurier / Getty Images

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Sana, Yemen — Two women sit amid Palestinian flag at the site of a rally celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic movement.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: YAHYA ARHAB / EPA

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Bethlehem, West Bank — A pilgrim prays inside the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born. Local shop owners complain that recent fighting between Israel and Hamas has caused a drop in the number of Christmas-season visitors to Bethlehem.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: OLIVER WEIKEN / EPA

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — People at Copacabana beach welcome the first sunrise of summer.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ANTONIO SCORZA / AFP

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Stonehenge, England — The winter solstice is celebrated at the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge in southern England, as access to the site is given to druids, New Age followers and others.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Matt Dunham / Associated Press

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Peten, Guatemala — Guatemalan natives and visitors at the Tikal archaeological site take part in a ceremony celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Baktun 13 and the start of the Maya new age.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: JOHAN ORDONEZ / AFP

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Vatican City — Cardinals and bishops attend a ceremony for Christmas greetings to Pope Benedict XVI at Clementina Hall.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Pool / Getty Images Europe

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Bamberg, Germany — A man scrapes frost off his windshield on the first day of winter.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: DAVID EBENER / DPA

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Norfolk, Va. — Petty Officer First Class Arthur Johnson is greeted by his fiancee, Sonia Castro, upon the return of his ship, the New York, to Norfolk Naval Station.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Vicki Cronis-Nohe / The Virginian-Pilot

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Alexandria, Egypt — Opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi evacuate a wounded comrade during clashes clash with Islamist supporters of the president.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Anonymous / Associated Press

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New Delhi, India — Indian activists participate in a candlelight vigil for the victim of a gang rape that occurred Dec. 16. Hundreds of women marched from the Indian president's house to a war memorial site to protest what they say is a growing number of sex crimes. According to media reports, the condition of the victim, who is hospitalized and was on ventilator support, is improving.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: ANINDITO MUKHERJEE / EPA

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