Snapshots of the fortnight (December 15-December 31)

Published: Jan 9, 2015

1/9

A protester holds a placard as she stands next to Israeli soldiers during a protest against Israeli settlements in Beit Fajjar town south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem

2/9

Family members of passengers onboard AirAsia flight QZ8501 react at a waiting area in Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. The AirAsia plane with 162 people on board went missing after pilots had asked to change the course to avoid bad weather during a flight from Indonesia's Surabaya city to Singapore

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A homeless man is embraced by a man during a mass at Sao Miguel Arcanjo church before a free Christmas dinner in Sao Paulo

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Pictures of the 43 missing trainee teachers from Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College Raul Isidro Burgos are seen in front of a Christmas tree placed by members of the State Coordinator of Teachers of Guerrero (CETEG) in the downtown Chilpancingo, Guerrero

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Members of the public observe the thousands of floral tributes left near the site of the Sydney cafe siege. Tough new national security laws failed to prevent a deadly hostage crisis in the heart of Sydney said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott while raising questions about the usefulness of such measures

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A branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland is seen in the City of London. The Bank of England warned Britain's banks they should expect a more exacting test next year of their defences in the event of a crisis abroad, after state-backed lenders passed a debut check focused on potential domestic strains capital

7/9

Thousands gather in a field near Sydney's Central Business District awaiting a harbour-side vantage point to open to the public for New Year's Eve fireworks

$Leslie Roeder of New York City joins other fracking protesters cheering outside New York Governor An$

8/9

Leslie Roeder of New York City joins other fracking protesters cheering outside New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office. Protesters were celebrating the recent announcement by Cuomo's administration to ban hydraulic fracturing in the state after a long-awaited report concluded that the oil and gas extraction method poses health risks

9/9

Labourers unload potatoes from a supply truck at a wholesale vegetable market in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. India's wholesale price inflation eased for the sixth straight month in November to its lowest in nearly 5-1/2 years, mainly driven by a sharp fall in fuel prices, government data showed on Monday