The shadow of Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, is cast against the South Carolina state flag as he waits to be introduced at a campaign rally in an airplane hanger in North Charleston, South Carolina. (AP)

A Swiss guard salutes as Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing upon leaving the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican at the end of a special audience for members of the Neocathecumenal Way movement. (AP)

The grounded Costa Concordia cruise ship is framed by rocks off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy. (AP)

A medium performs a traditional mask dance during the Shikali festival in Lalitpur, Nepal. (Reuters)

Protesters seen through the Syrian national flag chant slogans during an anti-regime protest in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan. (AP)

Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine prepares to hit a return to Bernard Tomic of Australia during their men's singles match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia. (Reuters)

This NASA composite image of the Herschel in far-infrared and XMM-Newton's X-ray images shows how hot young stars are sculpting and interacting with surrounding ultra-cool gas and dust, which, at only a few degrees above absolute zero, is the critical material for star formation. (AFP)

Male giraffe calf Ng'ombe stands in front of his mother Nyiri at the zoo in Cologne, Germany. (AP)