Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Penguins wear Santa Claus costumes during a promotional event for Christmas at an amusement park in Yongin, south of Seoul, Dec. 18, 2013.
Nepal
Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
A Newari woman, with her lips and face painted to depict a deity, sits inside a house before she takes part in a parade to celebrate the Yamari Puni festival in Kathmandu, Dec. 17, 2013.
Ukraine
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
A Ukrainian pro-European Union activist stands while warming himself near a bonfire at a heavily fortified tent camp in the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Dec. 17, 2013.
Missouri
J.B. Forbes/The St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP
Firefighters in St. Louis had to retreat because of the intense heat and flame coming from the building in the warehouse district near the St. Louis riverfront, Dec. 16, 2013.
Central African Republic
Jerome Delay/AP
Christian youth march near the airport in Bangui, Central African Republic, calling for the resignation of the president and angry at the announced deployment of more Chadian troops within FOMAC, Dec. 20, 2013.
Washington
Elaine Thompson/AP
Wisconsin's Lauren Carlini, center, celebrates with teammates after they beat Texas in an NCAA women's volleyball tournament semifinal, Dec. 19, 2013, in Seattle.
Indonesia
Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images
A sulfur miner carries a goat head in a white bag as he climbs to bury the head in the crater as part of an annual offering ceremony on the Ijen volcano in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 17, 2013.
New York
Kena Betancur/Getty Images
Revelers dressed as Santa Claus run as the arrive at Tompkins Square Park to take part during the annual SantaCon bar crawl event in New York City, Dec. 14, 2013.
South Africa
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
The grave of former South African President Nelson Mandela is covered with flowers in is home village of Qunu, Dec. 16, 2013.
North Korea
David Guttenfelder/AP
North Koreans bow beneath portraits of the late leaders Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, Dec. 17, 2013.
France
Laurent Cipriani/AP
Andreas Matt of Austria, right, performs on his way to win the final of the men's ski cross World Cup event of Val Thorens, French Alps, ahead of Victor Oehling Norberg of Sweden, second right, who finished second, Jean Frederic Chapuis of France, left, who finished third, and Franz Promok of Austria, second right, who finished fourth, Dec. 15, 2013.
South Africa
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A young boy looks through a fence as he waits in line at the Tshwane Events Centre with thousands of people hoping to board a bus that will take them to wait in line to view the body of former South African president Nelson Mandela as he lies in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Dec. 13, 2013.
India
Biswaranjan Rout/AP
Villagers walk home carrying water collected from the Kuakhai River in on a foggy morning in Bhubaneswar, India, Dec. 19, 2013.
India
Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
A woman returns after fetching firewood at the Deoli-Benigrami village in Rudraprayag district, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, Dec. 15, 2013.
South Korea
Ahn Young-joon/AP
A couple poses under lights to celebrate the upcoming Christmas and New Year at Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, South Korea, Dec. 20, 2013.
Israel
Brian Snyder/Reuters
A woman swims in the pool at the David Citadel Hotel during a snow storm in Jerusalem, Dec. 13, 2013.
Pennsylvania
Matt Rourke/AP
Army cadets march onto the field before an NCAA college football game against the Navy, Dec. 14, 2013, in Philadelphia.
Connecticut
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
A makeshift memorial with crosses for the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre stands outside a home in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2013, the one-year anniversary of the shootings.
Illinois
Andrew A. Nelles/AP
Seven-year-old Kamohelo Muhammad listens to presenters during a memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela at the Rainbow PUSH headquarters, Dec. 13, 2013, in Chicago.
Sudan
Reuters
Performers from the South Kordofan oil war zone area dressed in traditional costumes participate in a ceremony at a beauty pageant in Khartoum, Sudan, Dec. 14, 2013.
North Korea
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
A North Korean employee works in a factory of a South Korean company at the Joint Industrial Park in Kaesong industrial zone, a few miles inside North Korea from the heavily fortified border, Dec. 19, 2013.
Georgia
John Bazemore/AP
Dee Sinclair, who bills himself as the real black Santa, delights 4-year-old Joe Morris IV, in Atlanta, Dec. 17, 2013.
Ukraine
Marko Djurica/Reuters
Pro-European integration protesters wave Ukrainian national flags in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Dec. 15, 2013.
Egypt
Jon Gambrell/AP
A man makes his camel sit at the historical site of the Giza Pyramids near Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 13, 2013.
Sweden
Hampus Andersson/TT News Agency/Reuters
Right-wing extremists clash with members of an anti-Nazism demonstration in the Stockholm suburb of Karrtorp, Dec. 15, 2013.
Spain
Jon Nazca/Reuters
Villagers hold torches during the Divina Pastora procession, as part of a festival to honour the Virgin of Los Rondeles, in the southern Spanish village of Casarabonela, late Dec. 12, 2013.
Vatican City
Giampiero Sposito/Reuters
Pope Francis has his skull cap removed by a child during an audience with children assisted by volunteers of Santa Marta institute in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Dec. 14, 2013.
India
Adnan Abidi/Reuters
A protestor shouts slogans during a candle light vigil to mark the first anniversary of the Delhi gang rape, in New Delhi December 16, 2013. A 23-year-old woman was gang-raped on a moving bus in Delhi December 16, 2012, beaten and then pushed out onto the street along with her male companion. She died two weeks later amid an outpouring of anger across India. Four men were sentenced to death while a teenager was sentenced to juvenile custody. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16L1C
Russia
Mikhail Metzel/RIA Novosti/Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles as he takes part in a televised news conference in Moscow December 19, 2013. Russia has not yet deployed Iskander missiles to its western exclave of Kaliningrad in response to an anti-missile shield the United States is building in Europe with help from NATO nations, Putin said on Thursday. REUTERS/Mikhail Metzel/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS PROFILE) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX16O95
Spain
Vincent West/Reuters
Actors take part in street theatre organized by the Coordinator of NGOs of the Basque Country in Bilbao December 19, 2013. The organization, an umbrella group for 84 Basque NGOs, performed Quien es Quien (Who's Who), an improvised theatrical piece, dressed as bankers, the wealthy and military personnel, handing out fake money to motorists and passers-by. The action was designed to draw attention to what the coordinator claims are the causes of poverty and inequality in the world. REUTERS/Vincent West (SPAIN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16OIM
Turkey
Murad Sezer/Reuters
Whirling Dervishes perform a traditional "Sema" ritual during a ceremony, one of many marking the 740th anniversary of the death of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, at Yenikapi Mevlevi Temple in Istanbul late December 18, 2013. Mevlana was an Anatolian philosopher, poet and the father of Mevlevi sect. Picture taken December 18, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTX16OBA
Israel
Nir Elias/Reuters
A horse walks in the snow at the base of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights near the Israel-Syria border December 17, 2013. Picture taken December 17, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: ANIMALS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16NG3