Egyptian boys sit in front of graffiti and Arabic, bottom. that reads, ‘regime you are afraid of a paint brush and a pen,’ in Tahrir Square in Cairo. The Egyptian military assumed joint responsibility with police for security and protecting state institutions until the results of a Dec. 15 constitutional referendum are announced. (AP)

A woman leaves a voting cabin with her ballot at a polling station in Bucharest as Romanians head to the polls to elect a new parliament. (AFP)

A member of Egypt’s Republican Guard stands behind a barbed wire barricade, as the Guard blocks a road leading to the presidential palace in Cairo. (Reuters)

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)

Congolese FARDC government soldiers are cheered as they arrive, in Goma, eastern Congo. Several hundred Congo army soldiers returned to the key eastern city, as rebels remained poised nearby and a possible fight loomed for the city of 1 million. (AP)

Pope Benedict XVI gives a blessing as he leads the Angelus prayer from the window of his private apartments in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Reuters)

Syrian children look through their car window as they cross into Lebanon with their families at the border crossing, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon. (AP)