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The Week in Pictures: December 21, 2013 (Photos)

From Nelson Mandela’s final journey home to fresh violence across Syria and central Africa, in a look at the most striking images from the past seven days.

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Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters

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Damascus
December 15, 2013
A man looks for survivors inside a pickup truck at a damaged site after what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Bassam Khabieh/Reuters

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Bangui, Central African Republic
December 20, 2013
A man wounded in fighting between anti-Balaka forces and former Seleka militiamen sits on the floor in a community hospital. Gunfire erupted in and around the capital after a period of relative calm, with violence flaring in angry demonstrations against Chadian peacekeepers, shootouts at checkpoints, and the destruction of a mosque.

Jerome Delay/AP

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Bangui, Central African Republic
December 20, 2013
The body of a man suspected to be an ex-Seleka militiaman lies by a charred car.

Jerome Delay/AP

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Juba, South Sudan
December 19, 2013
An internally displaced man holds his son inside a United Nations Missions in Sudan compound. South Sudanese government troops battled to regain control of a flashpoint town and sent forces to quell fighting in a vital oil producing area on Thursday, the fifth day of a conflict that that has deepended ethnic divisions in the two-year-old nation.

Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

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Qunu, South Africa
December 14, 2013
The funeral cortège carrying the coffin of former South African President Nelson Mandela approaches his home village.

Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

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Santiago, Chile
December 15, 2013
Michelle Bachelet celebrates after winning Chile's presidential election in a landslide victory, which should hand the center-leftist the mandate she sought to push ahead with wide-reaching reforms.

Ivan Alvarado/Reuters

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
December 16, 2013
Police clashed with supporters of the native Indian community during a protest outside the Indian museum, next to the Maracana stadium. Officers arrested more than 20 indigenous people who occupied the abandoned museum as a protest against its demolition, as part of renovations ahead of Brazil's 2014 World Cup, according to local media.

Pilar Olivares/Reuters

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Amman, Jordan
In this Nov. 22, 2013, photo, men keep a stolen cat in a bird cage at the "thieves market." Dog breeding coupled with dognapping is a thriving business in Jordan, where lax laws call for only a $7 fine for violators and police remain hesitant to pursue those suspected of animal abuse. Activists have campaigned for years for increased penalties, but lawmakers seem uninterested to pursue it in a culture where animal abuse remains rampant.

Mohammad Hannon/AP

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Bhubaneswar, India
December 19, 2013
Villagers walk home carrying water collected from the Kuakhai River on a foggy morning.

Biswaranjan Rout/AP

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Washington, D.C.
December 15, 2013
President Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughter Sasha check out the funny face made by one of a team of elves—made up of former patients of the Children's National Medical Center—who greeted the first family as they arrived for a taping of the Christmas in Washington television benefit program at the National Building Museum. The 32nd-annual show, benefiting the Children's National Health System, featured Hugh Jackman, the Backstreet Boys, Sheryl Crow, Anna Kendrick, Janelle Monae, and Pat Monahan.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

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Kiev, Ukraine
December 17, 2013
An interior ministry member looks through a bus window at a pro-European-integration demonstration. Ukraine's president secured a $15 billion loan from Russia  Tuesday when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin—money that could help fend off economic crisis as antigovernment protests continued.

Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters

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New York
December 17, 2013
Cecil Williams pets his guide dog, Orlando, in his hospital bed following a fall onto subway tracks from a platform. The blind 61-year-old Williams says he fainted while holding onto his black Labrador, who tried to save him from falling. Both escaped without serious injury.

John Minchillo/AP

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Milan, Italy
December 16, 2013
AS Roma's Gervinho (left) is tackled by AC Milan's goalkeeper Gabriel during their Italian Serie A soccer match at San Siro stadium.

Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters

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Paris
December 17, 2013
French President Francois Hollande (left) shakes hands with Quebec Premier Pauline Marois as she leaves the Élysée Palace.

Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

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Viavelez, Spain
December 19, 2013
Huge waves crash onto the seafront in the northern region of Asturias.

Eloy Alonso/Reuters

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