Pictures of the week: Dec. 25 - MSN.com

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© Jesus Vecino/AFP/Getty Images
Carrio, Spain
A member of the UME (Unit Military Emergency) tries to put out a wild fire in Carrio, northwest Spain, on Dec. 20.





© Ali Hashisho/Reuters
SIDON, LEBANON
A man prepares decorations ahead of the birthday of Prophet Mohammed on Dec. 19.





© Thomas Wells/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal/AP
HOLLY SPRINGS, MISS.
Phyllis Evans gets a hug from Harvey Payne on Dec. 24, after he stopped by to check on her and her home following a severe winter storm.





© John Locher/AP Photo
LAS VEGAS
Former Miss Universe Paulina Vega, center, removes the crown from Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez before giving it to Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, right, at the Miss Universe pageant on Dec. 20. Gutierrez was incorrectly named the winner before Wurtzbach was given the Miss Universe crown.





© Fabio Teixeira /Reuters
RIO DE JANEIRO
Leandro Wendell dos Santos, 14, wearing a Santa Claus costume, rides his bike in the alley of the Mare slums complex to distribute presents to children on Dec. 23.





© Chris McGrath/Getty Images
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
A man works at a rug shop at the Grand Bazaar on Dec. 18.





© Pierre Crom/Getty Images
MARIUPOL, UKRAINE
Members of ultra-nationalist paramilitary Ukrainian group Azov march to Lenin Square in Mariupol to attend a ceremony to unveil a new monument on Dec. 20. The monument was dedicated to Ukrainian hero Svyatoslav and replaced a Lenin statue.





© Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo
SEOUL
Participants dressed in shrouds lie down inside wooden coffins during the “death experience” program at Hyowon Healing Center on Dec. 22. In a dark, dimly-lit room, people dressed in white burial shrouds sit down next to dozens of coffins. They write their wills, climb into the caskets, lie down and a symbolic “angel of death” - a man wearing a traditional Korean hat and black robes - shuts the lid of each casket





© Awakening/Getty Images
VENICE, ITALY
Rowers dressed as Santa race for the Father Christmas Regatta on the Grand Canal on Dec. 19.





© Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
A man walks his camel across the Liwa Oasis, southwest of the Emirati capital, on Dec. 20.

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© Matt Cardy/Getty Images
SALISBURY, ENGLAND
Choristers from the Salisbury Cathedral Choir practice ahead of the services that will be held in the cathedral marking Christmas Eve on Dec. 21.





© Yawar Nazir/Getty Images
SRINAGAR, INDIA
Kashmiri Muslim women pray at Hazratbal shrine during Eid-e-Milad, the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Mohammad, on Dec. 24. Thousands of Muslims from all over Kashmir visit the Hazratbal shrine to pay obeisance on the Eid-e-Milad.





© Adel Han/AP Photo
GAZA CITY, PALESTINE
A Palestinian protester is enveloped in smoke as he hurls stones at Israeli soldiers during clashes on the Israeli border on Dec. 18.





© Jason Lee/Reuters
BEIJING, CHINA
Two-year-old Pengpeng receives nebulizer therapy on the third day after China's capital Beijing issued its second ever "red alert" for air pollution at the New Century International Children’s Hospital on Dec. 21.





© Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
SAN DIEGO
San Diego State Aztecs' Zylan Cheatham, right, and Kansas Jayhawks' Jamari Traylor battle for a rebound during a game at Viejas Arena on Dec. 22.





© Miguel Schincariol /AFP/Getty Images
SAO PAULO
Long flames sprout up from the Museu da Lingua Portuguesa (Portuguese Language Museum) on Dec. 21.





© Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
MOSCOW, RUSSIA
Sergei Bainetov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces' flight safety service, attends a news conference on Dec. 21, dedicated to the crash of SU-24 fighter-bomber, a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey in November.





© Sean Gallup/Getty Images
BERLIN
Visitors look at the original skull, which, due to its weight, had to be exhibited separately from the skeleton, of Tristan the "Tyrannosaurus Rex" on the first day Tristan was exhibited to the public at the Museum fuer Naturkunde (Natural History Museum) on Dec. 17.





© AFP/Getty Images
LUCIJA, CROATIA
Croatian and Slovenian protesters shake hands over a razor-wire fence at a border crossing on Dec. 19, during a demonstration against the fence rolled out by Slovenia to block the path of migrants.





© David Mercado/Reuters
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
Boats on the dried Poopo lakebed on Dec. 17. Lake Poopo has dried up entirely. With the water now gone, animals have died off in the millions, according to studies. And the local families, having lost much of their sustenance, have been forced to migrate.

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© Sheng Li/Reuters
HARBIN, CHINA
Workers polish a snow sculpture ahead of the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival on Dec. 22.





© Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images
BAGO DIVISION, MYANMAR
Youths play soccer on Dec. 23.





© Adnan Abidi/Reuters
NEW DELHI, INDIA
Police detain demonstrators during a protest against the release of a juvenile rape convict on Dec. 20.





© Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
BEIJING, CHINA
Models painted in camouflage pose for Chinese artist Liu Bolin's artwork "Dongji," or Winter Solstice, on the second day after China's capital Beijing issued its second ever "red alert" for air pollution on Dec. 20.





© Sahrul Manda Tikupadang/Antara Foto/Reuters
SULAWESI, INDONESIA
A woman leans against a ferry passenger list as she searches for information about family members who were on board a sunken ferry, at a rescue command post on Dec. 21.





© Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
FIFA's suspended president Sepp Blatter holds a news conference on Dec. 21. Blatter will appeal against his eight-year ban by the world soccer body's ethics committee imposed on Monday, he told reporters.





© Kieran Doherty/Reuters
WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Revellers celebrate the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain on Dec. 22.





© China Stringer Network/Reuters
SHENZHEN, CHINA
An aerial view of the site of a landslide which hit an industrial park on Dec. 21.





© Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
SHENZHEN, CHINA
Rescue operations at an industrial estate hit by a landslide on Dec. 23.





© Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
MUMBAI, INDIA
Hosts wait backstage before the start of the Mr. & Miss Wheelchair India competition on Dec. 20.

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© AP Photo/Hatem Moussa
GAZA CITY, PALESTINE
A Palestinian boy sits atop a wall with an elephant painting in the Shati refugee camp. A group of two dozen artists have painted the walls, doorsteps and facades of all the houses along a one-mile-long (1.5 kilometer-long) edge of the camp, including in the area where Hamas chief Ismail Haniya lives.





© Mario Tama/Getty Images
RIO DE JANEIRO
A young man dives into Guanabara Bay at the opening day of the Museum of Tomorrow (background), designed by Spanich architect Santiago Calatrava, in the port district on Dec. 19. The museum is focused on the need for environmental sustainability and uses 40 percent less energy than conventional buildings, according to designers.





© ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images
YUEYANG, CHINA
A 10-meter-tall inflatable Santa Claus appears on the 300-meter-long glass-bottomed suspension bridge at the Shiniuzhai National Geological Park on Dec. 23.





© Joe Skipper/Reuters
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.
The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket returns to land in a time exposure at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 21.





© Thomas Peter/Reuters
TOKYO, JAPAN
A child looks at window cleaners dressed in sheep and monkey costumes denoting animal signs of the Chinese zodiac calendar during an event marking the upcoming end of the year at a hotel on Dec. 21.