Strange blue lights in the night sky over New York, Christmas calls from the White House, a fox hunt in Ireland, icy weather in China, the Sahara Festival in Tunisia, Santa Claus on Copacabana Beach in Rio, recovery from a tsunami in Indonesia, an eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily, penguins in Italy and Antarctica, and much more.
Photos of the Week: Vertical Dancers, Pagan Solstice, Panda Monitor
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An Israeli air force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Air Base in Israel's Negev Desert on December 26, 2018. #
Jack Guez / AFP / Getty -
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Bright-blue light is visible in the sky after a transformer explosion at an electrical power station in the New York City borough of Queens, photographed from Weehawken, New Jersey, on December 27, 2018. #
Melissa Coffey via Reuters -
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This photo, taken on December 22, 2018, shows a man working on giant Buddha statues in Sagyin village on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River in Madaya township, Burma (also known as Myanmar). Sagyin village is known for producing marble statues, most of which are sold to Chinese traders, with the rest exported to Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan. #
Ye Aung Thu / AFP / Getty -
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A staff member dressed as a giant panda monitors the two released giant pandas in the snow at the Longxi-Hongkou National Nature Reserve on December 27, 2018, in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda released two captive-bred female giant pandas, Qinxin and Xiao Hetao, into the wild on Thursday. #
An Yuan / China News Service / VCG via Getty -
A large statue of Nipper, the dog featured in the painting His Master's Voice and brand mascot of the HMV chain, stands near the Old Vinyl Factory on December 28, 2018, in London, England. The bankrupt HMV company has gone into administration for the second time in six years, putting more than 2,200 jobs at risk. All 125 stores will remain open while discussions about the future of the business continue. #
Leon Neal / Getty -
With One World Trade Center seen in the background, a little girl leaps across boulders forming a breakwater along Brooklyn Bridge Park on December 27, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. #
Wong Maye-E / AP -
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Sydneysiders enjoy warm weather at Balmoral Beach on December 26, 2018, in Sydney, Australia. Sydney residents are enjoying a hot Christmas break, with temperatures reaching 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. #
Hanna Lassen / Getty -
A picture taken on December 26, 2018, in Savines-le-Lac shows the Saint Michel Chapel on a small island in the middle of the Serre-Ponçon artificial lake, one of the largest in Europe. #
Joel Saget / AFP / Getty -
A woman salvages valuable items from a temporary amusement park that was hit by a tsunami in Sumber Jaya village in Sumur, Pandeglang, Banten province, on December 25, 2018, three days after the tsunami hit the west coast of Indonesia's Java island. Desperately needed aid flowed to a stretch of Indonesia's tsunami-struck coastline on December 25, officials said, but aid workers warned that clean water and medicine supplies were dwindling as thousands crammed makeshift evacuation centers. #
Adek Berry / AFP / Getty -
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Revelers take part in the festival of Els Enfarinats in the town of Ibi near Alicante, Spain, on December 28, 2018. For about 200 years, the inhabitants of Ibi have celebrated annually with a battle using flour, eggs, and firecrackers outside the town hall. #
Alberto Saiz / AP -
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A woman leans against one of the Stonehenge monoliths as druids, pagans, and revelers gather at Stonehenge, hoping to see the sun rise, as they take part in a winter solstice ceremony at the ancient neolithic monument near Amesbury, England, on December 22, 2018. #
Matt Cardy / Getty -
Saymon Claus, a student of Brazil's School of Santa Claus, has his beard trimmed during a ritual named "Barbas de Molho" to mark the end of Christmas season, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 26, 2018. #
Pilar Olivares / Reuters -
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A detail of a horse's regalia is seen during the Sahara Festival on December 22, 2018, in Douz, Tunisia. The Sahara Festival, in its 51st year, brings together nomadic peoples of this Sahara region and celebrates their culture in a four-day event showcasing music, racing, and performances. #
Stephanie Keith / Getty for Lumix -
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Swiss guards parade before the arrival of the pope for the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas message to Vatican City and the world, on December 25, 2018, at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. #
Tiziana Fabi / AFP / Getty -
People view a metal sculpture made by Ruchan Kececi (not seen), a student of Fırat University's Faculty of Fine Arts, to illustrate a pregnant woman killed in the Khojaly Massacre in Elaziğ, Turkey, on December 28, 2018. The sculpture was made in the memory of 613 people killed in the massacre on February 25 and 26, 1992, which is regarded as one of the bloodiest and most controversial incidents of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. #
Ismail Sen / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
Vertical dancers of the Italian performance company Il Posto take part in their production, Full Wall, on the facade of the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta, Malta, on December 23, 2018. #
Darrin Zammit Lupi / Reuters -
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A press wrangler steps in as a reporter asks President Donald Trump a question about the government shutdown as the president and the first lady, Melania Trump, each spoke on the phone sharing updates to track Santa's movements from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2018. #
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
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