23 dhjetor 2013

French military personnel try to control supporters who are asking them to disarm fighting gangs, near the airport in Bangui, Central African Republic. France appealed to European partners for assistance in quelling months of religious violence in its former colony.

A man reacts after what activists said was an air raid by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Aleppo's al-Marja district. More than 300 people have been killed in a week of air raids on the northern city of Aleppo and nearby towns, a monitoring group said.

Anti-government protesters hold Thai national flags as they march toward the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Bangkok. The Thai baht plumbed its lowest level in almost four years as a political crisis grew more intractable.

People walk past decorations on a street ahead of Christmas day celebrations in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Colorful Christmas decorations on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, Dec. 22, 2013 (Photo taken by Thao Doan/VOA reader)

A pedestrian walks on the sidewalk during a snowstorm in Quebec City, Canada, Dec. 22, 2013.

An Afghan teacher teaches a girl how to read the Quran, Islam's holy book, at a local Madrassa, or seminary, in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Children learn to skate at the Seoul Square skating rink, South Korea.

A woman searches for recyclable waste at a dump site on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Well-wishers cross a bridge outside the Imperial Palace as they make their way to attend an event to celebrate Japan's Emperor Akihito's 80th birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

A woman and a child stand in the "Step into the Void" glass skywalk overlooking the French Alps on top of a 3842-meter peak in Chamonix. The installation, which opened to the public after three years of development, is made of three layers of glass and can withstand winds of up to 200kmph.

A man is silhouetted as he walks near Jaffa Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City.

A Thai hill tribe elder plays a traditional bamboo wind instrument as the sun sets in the village of Khun Klang, Chiang Mai province, Thailand. (Photo taken by Matthew Richards/Thailand/VOA reader)

A surfer rides a wave during the Punta Galea Big Wave Challenge in Punta Galea, northern Spain, Dec. 22, 2013.