An Israeli sapper inspects the damage in a house hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malah. (AFP)

A Palestinian man sits amid the rubble in his bombed house following an Israeli air strike on Gaza City. (AFP)

A Capitol Police Officer stands guard as Congressional freshmen of the 113th Congress pose for a class picture on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Washington DC. (AFP)

A t-shirt printing shop worker makes a shirt featuring US President Barack Obama and asking him to take a stand for Burma, in Yangon. (AFP)

The Communist Party of China’s new Politburo Standing Committee, the nation’s top decision-making body (L-R): Zhang Gaoli, Liu Yunshan, Zhang Dejiang, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Yu Zhengsheng and Wang Qishan meet the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (AFP)

An exiled Tibetan wearing a Xi Jinping mask is surrounded by Tibetan flags during a protest in Dharmsala, India against Chinese policies. (AP)

A protester holds a picture of Savita Halappanavar outside University Hospital Galway in Galway, Ireland, where an Indian woman died after being denied pregnancy termination, sparking an outcry from voters and criticism from the Indian government. The Irish government Thursday pledged to urgently clarify its vague abortion laws. (Reuters)

A protester argues with a policeman during an anti-austerity rally in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. (Reuters)

A Bosnian Muslim man watches the inauguration ceremony of Husein Kavazovic at Begova mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia. (AP)

A visitor walks past a sculpture called Yellow during the media preview of The Art of the Brick exhibition in Singapore. The exhibition, which features U.S. artist Nathan Sawaya, starts from November 17, 2012 to April 14, 2013 at the Art Science Museum. (Reuters)

A monkey and a chimpanzee made of chocolate by French chocolate maker Patrick Roger are displayed in his shop in Paris. (Reuters)