A girl with her face painted takes part in a beauty contest for children during the annual Christmas fair in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Ilya Naymushin/Reuters
German Bundeswehr Army soldiers with the 2nd paratroop company 373 decorate a fir tree imported from Germany for Christmas Eve in their Army camp in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
A boy returns with his cattle at sunset on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, India. A piece of bamboo hangs from the neck of one of the cattle to prevent it from running too far. Biswaranjan Rout/AP
Shiite women take part in a reenactment of the battle of Kerbala during an Ashura procession in Istanbul. Thousands of Shiite Muslims gathered in Istanbul's Halkali district to commemorate the Ashura religious festival, the day when Imam Hussein, one of the prophet Mohammad's grandsons, was killed during a battle in AD 680 in Kerbala, a city in modern-day Iraq. Murad Sezer/Reuters
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seen on TV screens at a shop in Moscow during a live broadcast. Violent rampages outside the Kremlin have highlighted the need to strengthen public order and raise police prestige, Putin said. Mikhail Metzel/AP
A set of footprints remain in the snow and ice during a freezing rain event in Lexington, Ky. Snow changed over to freezing rain during the early morning hours. Charles Bertram/Lexington Herald-Leader/AP
Police officers detain Tibetan exiles during a protest outside the venue where Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is addressing a gathering on Indian-Chinese relations in New Delhi. Wen pressed on with a charm offensive in India, offering support for New Delhi's bid for a greater role in the United Nations and agreeing on an ambitious target of $100 billion in trade between the rising Asian powers by 2015. Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Switzerland's Andreas Kuettel soars through the air during the practice session for the ski jumping World Cup competition in Engelberg, Switzerland. The competition takes place in Engelberg from December 17-19. Michael Buholzer/Reuters
Pakistani workers unload a huge portrait of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to install it on a roadside in Islamabad. Wen will arrive in Pakistan on Friday on a three-day visit to focus on investment and bilateral trade. Anjum Naveed/AP
Navajo code talkers sit in the front row as they listen to President Obama speak at the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Interior Department in Washington, DC. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Thick ice coats the lighthouse at the entrance to Cleveland's harbor. While northeast Ohio got a respite from the winter storms earlier in the week, ice-slicked roads prompted warnings of treacherous driving conditions and delayed school openings across a swath of the country, mainly in the South, while the East Coast braced for snow. Mark Duncan/AP
A nomadic child peers out of warm clothing on a cold winter morning by a roadside in Allahabad, India. Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP
Brown bear Mascha, a present from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the city of Bern, plays in a snow-covered enclosure at the animal park Daehlhoelzli in Bern, Switzerland. Peter Klaunzer/Keystone/AP
A Christmas tree decked out with $11 million worth of gold and precious stones stands under the dome of the Emirates Palace Hotel, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The hotel's general manager, Hans Olbertz, was quoted in local newspapers as saying the 43-foot faux fir has 131 ornaments that include diamonds and sapphires. The tree is the latest extravagance at the hotel, which also has its own marina, heliport, and a vending machine that sells small gold bars. Hussein Malla/AP
Professional dog-walkers take their dogs out in Kista, a suburb of Stockholm. Heavy snow continues to fall throughout the country. Johan Nilsson/Scanpix/Reuters
Shiite Muslim men chant slogans before taking part in a Muharram procession ahead of the Ashura festival in Karachi, Pakistan. Athar Hussain/Reuters
Jackdaws sit in the snow near the Matterhorn close to the Swiss mountain resort of Zermatt. Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/22
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/21
In Pictures: Sinkholes around the world
In Pictures: What happened to the green revolution in Iran?
In Pictures: Facing the devastation of the Oklahoma tornadoes
In Pictures: Sandy: Chronicle of an unrelenting storm
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/20
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
In Pictures: The Israeli separation barrier: A West Bank wall
The French Parliament is considering a new bill that would allow university science classes to be taught in English. Politicians and academics across the spectrum are upset.
When two French ministers last month launched a new program to respond to the challenges of population aging, they gave it an English name: “Silver Economy.” But that didn’t strike a chord with their boss.
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