Russian Communist Party supporters hold flags with the color and emblem of the Communist Party during a protest against the official results of the parliamentary elections in Moscow, Russia, on Dec. 5, 2011. The Communist Party appeared to benefit most from the protest vote, getting nearly 20 percent, up from less than 12 percent four years ago. The socialist Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party led by mercurial nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky are also expected to increase their representation in the Duma; both have generally voted with United Russia, and the Communists pose only token opposition.
Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, right, and Donald Trump shake hands after they met and spoke to the media in New York, Dec. 5, 2011.
President Barack Obama leaves the podium after making a statement to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Dec. 5, 2011, urging Republican lawmakers to pass the payroll tax cut.
Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is pushed on a wheelchair as he leaves Siriraj hospital to the Grand Palace for a ceremony celebrating his birthday in Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec. 5, 2011. King Bhumibol, the world's longest-reigning monarch, turned 84 on Monday.
Italian Premier Mario Monti prepares to speak at Rome's Foreign Press Club, on Dec. 5, 2011. Italy's new premier must try to persuade a skeptical parliament that his new plan to cut spending and boost growth will return Italy's ailing economy to health as Europe enters a crucial week for the future of the euro currency.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy waves goodbye to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she leaves the Elysee Palace following their meeting in Paris, on Dec. 5, 2011. The leaders of Germany and France discussed a cohesive plan to help save the euro through stricter oversight of government budgets. Financial markets signaled optimism that President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel will unveil a unified plan that tightens political and economic cooperation among the 17 European Union countries that use the euro and sets the stage for more aggressive aid from the European Central Bank.
A tall ship passes through fog on the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Dec. 5, 2011.
A pair of Western and Victorian crown pigeons eat from a feeding plate at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Malaysia, Dec. 5, 2011. The bird park houses more than 3,000 birds representing more than 200 species, in an enclosed aviary. Out of these birds, 90 percent are local birds and 10 percent were imported from overseas.
In this photo made using a slow shutter speed, runners head northbound past the Luxor hotel and casino on Las Vegas Boulevard during the Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon, Dec. 4, 2011, in Las Vegas. Nearly 45,000 participants ran in a marathon and half marathon.