English pop-rock balladeer Elton John performs at the International Sport Arena in Guangzhou, in China’s southern Guangdong province. Elton John dedicated his Beijing show to Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei – a controversial move the artist said was unlikely to make the nation’s cultural minders happy. (AFP)

An Indian man walks through a closed market on the 20th anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition in Hyderabad. In 1992, tens of thousands of Hindu extremists ripped apart the 16th century mosque at Ayodhya in northern India as security forces watched. Hindus say it is the birthplace of their god Rama. (AP)

Thai people hold candles in front of Grand Palace in Bangkok during celebrations for the 85th birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej (AP)

People walk past a Christmas tree in Red Square, with the GUM State Department Store at right, in Moscow, Russia. (AP)

A worker cleans windows of a building in New Delhi, India. (AP)

A woman walks with an umbrella during heavy snowfall in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria. (Reuters)

Thai fans perform South Korean rapper PSY’s Gangnam Style dance before a performance by PSY in Bangkok Wednesday night – his first show in Asia outside of South Korea. (AP)

Penguins clad in Christmas-themed outfits walk during an event at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan. (Reuters)

Police officers are sprayed with milk by European milk farmers during a demonstration outside the European Parliament in Brussels. Farmers drove their tractors into the European Quarter for a two-day demonstration to protest what they believe are unfair milk prices. (AP)

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a mass for the newly elected cardinals, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. (AP)

The sun rises over the banks of the Rio de La Plata, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Reuters)