10 photo highlights

A little elf steals the show in this festive photo of President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle and their daughters Malia, left and Sasha, right with children who are or were patients at the Children's National Medical Center during a charity event at the National Building Museum in Washington. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Christians show their Christmas spirit decorating a tree on the roof of their house in Islamabad, Pakistan. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

Wearing traditional military uniform a demonstrator at the anti-government protests in Kiev's Independence Square in Ukraine makes a striking portrait. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Snow is a rare sight in the West Bank city of Nablus and while some may be enjoying the novelty and beautiful landscape, thousands of people have remained without electricity after a four-day snowstorm hit the Middle East. Photograph: Alaa Badarneh/EPA

North Koreans gather on the steps of Mansu Hill to lay flowers at the base of statues of the late leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

A fire outbreak made an inferno of this high-rise building in Guangzhou, China. Authorities were unable to say whether there were any casualties from the blaze in the unfinished Jianye Building. Photograph: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Actor Meagan Good shows her dramatic manicure at the Anchorman 2 premiere in New York City in an alternative view to the usual red carpet photo opportunity. Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Athletes take to the ice for a speedy demonstration during the Team GB announcement of the Short Track Athletes to compete at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympicsin Nottingham, England. A timely use of motion blur photography. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

AP photographer Jerome Delay is documenting the volatile situation in the Central African Republic. He has spent time with former FARCA (Central African Republic Forces) soldiers linked to Anti-Balaka Christian militiamen who have set up camp in a school in the Boeing neighborhood of the capital Bangui. The leader of the Christian militia says his fighters won't put down their weapons until President Michel Djotodia is no longer in power. Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP

A bird's eye view shows visitors to the Voortrekker Monument watching as a ray of sunlight shines on the unmarked tomb in the monument during Day of Reconciliation celebrations in Pretoria in South Africa. Under apartheid, the day was known as Day of the Vow, in commemoration of a promise Voortrekkers made to God to build a church should they be granted victory against attacking Zulus, but now the day is used to foster reconciliation and national unity. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP