From the chaos in the Central African Republic to China's pollution problem, Al Jazeera showcases the week in images.
People displaced by fighting between rival militias take shelter under an old broken airplane at the airport in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Anarchy and violence have been widespread across the country since the president was overthrown in March.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, right, leads a prayer service in memory of former South African president Nelson Mandela, in Cape Town, South Africa.
Retired US veteran Merrill E Newman, who was detained for over a month in North Korea, reunites with his wife in San Francisco on December 7.
The skyline of Shanghai has been blanketed with smog for days. The city(***)s air quality index surged to 482 micrograms per cubic metre - over 20 times the recommended limit by the World Health Organization.
Anti-government protesters shout slogans at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand. Large-scale protests have been taking place across the country in recent weeks, calling on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down.
Lawyers loyal to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party shout slogans during a hearing of their leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka in front of a court in Dhaka, the country(***)s capital.
On Sunday, an estimated 200,000 Ukrainians occupied central Kiev to denounce President Viktor Yanukovych(***)s decision not to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union.
Nearly two billion voters in 52 countries around the world will head to the polls this year to elect their leaders.
Russian-Saudi relations could be very different today, if Stalin hadn't killed the Soviet ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
How the art world's hunger for ancient artefacts is destroying a centuries-old culture. A journey across the Himalayas.
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