A Mayan priest lights a fire at the start of a ceremony at the Kaminal Juyu archeological site, in preparation for the Oxlajuj B’aktun, in Guatemala City Guatemala. The Oxlajuj B’aktun is on December 21, marking a new period in the Mayan calendar, an event only comparable in recent times with the new millennium in 2000. A chorus of books and movies tried to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from rogue black holes and sun-storms to the idea that the Earth’s magnetic field could ‘flip’ on that date. Archaeologists says there is no evidence the Maya ever made any such prophesy. (AP)

The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-07M spaceship transporting U.S. astronaut Thomas Marshburn, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield heads to the International Space Station after blasting off from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. (AP)

New recruits of Jammu and Kashmir police participate in a passing out parade ceremony in Sheeri, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Srinagar, India. (AP)

A Chinese man plays with his pet bird on a frozen lake in Beijing. (AFP)

A woman holds a child in Marka’s main hospital, Somalia, December 18, 2012. (Reuters)

Algerian firemen douse the flames engulfing the central post office’s building in Algiers. (AFP)

A woman is reflected on an untitled art work by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor at the Museum of Contemporary Art in central Sydney, Australia. (Reuters)

A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume with dolphins at the animal exhibition park Marineland in Antibes, southeastern France. (AFP)

A model wears a creation of Israeli designer Hagit Witman by her brand ‘Fishndag’ during a show at the Tel Aviv fashion week in Israel. (AP)