Spain's Christmas lottery "El Gordo" is worth 2.3bn euros (£2bn; $3bn) and this pair seem to think the more colourful the costume, the greater the chance of winning.Spain's Christmas lottery "El Gordo" is worth 2.3bn euros (£2bn; $3bn) and this pair seem to think the more colourful the costumece of winning., the greater the chance of winning.
Two 30m (98ft) tall steel animatronic cranes, said to be the world's largest, mimic the courtship dance of real-life birds in Singapore.
A worshipper at rest during Pope Benedict XVI's weekly audience at the Vatican.
South Korean troops on an early-morning patrol near Dangjin. The South Korean military is holding its biggest winter live-firing exercise, at a range 30km from the border with North Korea. The drill involves 800 soldiers as well as artillery and aircraft.
A carpenter works on the wooden door of a mosque in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
Fuel crisis? What fuel crisis? Cow dung cakes are a major source of domestic fuel for rural homes in India and an environment-friendly alternative to firewood.
A river of wishes in Singapore hundreds of white lantern balls have been inscribed with New Year's wishes and greetings.
Baby giraffe Tebogo looks up at its mother at a zoo in Frankfurt, Germany
Druids take part in a winter solstice ceremony at Stonehenge, England. Recent excavations at the site suggest that huge midwinter feasts were once held there.
