December 16, 2014

Members of the public stand behind flower tributes near the cafe where hostages were held in central Sydney, Australia.

A priest blesses servicemen during a farewell ceremony at the Vaziani military base outside Tbilisi, Georgia.

The uncle and cousin of injured student Mohammad Baqair, center, comfort him as he mourns the death of his mother, who was a teacher at the school in Peshawar, Pakistan. Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern city, killing more than 140 people, officials said

A light and sound show is staged at the ancient Khmer city of Phimai in Nakhon Ratchasima province, as part of an annual festival, Nov. 7, 2014. The event is held within the grounds of a temple at Phimai Historical Park, Thailand, which marks one end of the former Khmer highway from Angkor. (Photo taken by Matthew Richards/Thailand/VOA reader)

Masked Spanish police officers lead a detained woman in Melilla, Spain. Spanish and Moroccan police have arrested seven people in an ongoing sweep of suspected efforts to recruit women to go to Syria and Iraq to support Islamic State insurgents, the Spanish Interior Ministry said.

People stand in the mist as they look at a small model of a casino, as part of the Christmas holiday lights in Nice, France.

Acid attack survivors participate in a candlelight vigil protesting violence against women as they mark the second anniversary of the deadly gang rape of a student on a bus, in New Delhi, India.

A swan flies across the waters of Eastchester Bay as the sun sets behind Manhattan, New York.