The sails of the Sydney Opera House turn red during a World Aids Day reception in Sydney, Australia. (Reuters)

Members of ruling party UMNO look on during the annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Delegates will meet for five days. (AFP)

A cleaner walks through the yard of the al-Azhar mosque of Cairo. The fundamentalist Brotherhood is emerging as the biggest winner in partial results from the first voting this week in Egypt's landmark election, in which voters turned out in unexpected droves. (AP)

A family walks past banners appealing to people to vote for the United Russia party in front of Moscow's Kremlin. Russians will vote in parliamentary elections on December 4.   (Reuters)

An army soldier, who defected and is backing anti-government protesters, stands guard as he secures a street where protesters marched to demand the trial of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa. (Reuters)

India's Naga tribe dancers in traditional attire during the inauguration of the Hornbill festival in Kisama village, on the outskirts of Kohima. The week-long festival, held annually to celebrate northeastern Nagaland's statehood day, concludes on Dec. 7. (AP)

Syrian refugees who fled violence in their country during a break in class at the Islamic Charity Center in Mafraq, Jordan. (Reuters)

People shop at a recently opened supermarket in Mumbai. Tens of thousands of small shopkeepers went on strike across India Thursday to protest a government decision to allow foreign retail giants to enter the country's $450 billion retail market. (Reuters)

Austrian Caritas director Michael Landau (c) holds a sign promoting a donation campaign in front of a homeless shelter, The Crypt (Die Gruft), in Vienna. The  facility, run by Caritas, solicits donations from the public during the cold winter season. The sign reads: 'Crypt winter package, one sleeping bag, one hot meal'. (Reuters)