Our Thousand Words -- The World in Pictures

A compendium of images on events that made news around the world or caught our eye this forthnight.

Published: Dec 19, 2011

School boys stand near fuel trucks set ablaze in Pakistan's Baluchistan province on December 12.

Image by : Reuters

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School boys stand near fuel trucks set ablaze in Pakistan's Baluchistan province on December 12. Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on nine fuel trucks, killing one of the drivers

A trader at the New York Stock Exchange after trading ended for the day on December 12, when markets

Image by : Andrew Burton/ Reuters

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A trader at the New York Stock Exchange after trading ended for the day on December 12, when markets around the world crashed on worries over Europe’s growing debt crisis

Choristers practise in the choir stalls of St Paul's Cathedral in London on December 12

Image by : Toby Melville/ Reuters

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Choristers practise in the choir stalls of St Paul's Cathedral in London on December 12

A Palestinian girl weeps as Israeli soldiers detain activists in the West Bank on December 11 during

Image by : Mohamad Torokman/ Reuters

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A Palestinian girl weeps as Israeli soldiers detain activists in the West Bank on December 11 during clashes that followed the funeral of a Palestinian demonstrator

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (Centre) reacts during a parliamentary debate on last wee

Image by : Parbul TV via Reuters TV/ Reuters

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Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (Centre) reacts during a parliamentary debate on last week's European Union summit in London on December 12. Cameron defended his decision to break with European partners by vetoing a change to the EU treaty

Travis Beard, organiser of "Secret Cinema", at a screening in Kabul on December 8. In a du

Image by : Ahmad Masood/ Reuters

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Travis Beard, organiser of "Secret Cinema", at a screening in Kabul on December 8. In a dusty, dimly lit Kabul basement, the cinema fan club launched their first movie event outside Britain

A fire-fighter evacuates a patient from AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata on December 9. The fire that swept

Image by : Rupak De Chowdhuri/ Reuters

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A fire-fighter evacuates a patient from AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata on December 9. The fire that swept through the hospital killed at least 90 people, most of them patients

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for the Immaculate Conception celebration prayer in Piazza di

Image by : Alessandro Bianchi/ Reuters

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Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for the Immaculate Conception celebration prayer in Piazza di Spagna (Spain's Square) in downtown Rome on December 8

Ahmed Khan, 58, a rickshaw puller, gets his beard dressed by a roadside barber in Noida near New Del

Image by : Parivartan Sharma/ Reuters

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Ahmed Khan, 58, a rickshaw puller, gets his beard dressed by a roadside barber in Noida near New Delhi on December 8

U.S. navy crew fold their national flag as they prepare to hand over their base to Iraqi forces in B

Image by : Atef Hassan/ Reuters

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U.S. navy crew fold their national flag as they prepare to hand over their base to Iraqi forces in Basra on December 1. U.S. forces are expected to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011