Anniversaries, festivals, beauty pageants, protests — the past week was anything but boring; there were lots of different events all around the world.
Have you seen most beautiful girls in France? Are you interested in the anniversary of the death of Jelaleddin Mevlana Rumi that took place in Istanbul? Would you like to see Santa Claus participating in a race, or swimming with fish? Check out this gallery compiled for you by Sputnik.
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Catriona Gray of the Philippines (C) is congratulated by contestants after winning the Miss Universe 2018 on 17 December.
© AFP 2023 / Lillian Suwanrumpha
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Belarusians dressed as Santa Claus and other Christmas characters take part in the country's first Santa Run around a lake in Minsk.
© REUTERS / Vasily Fedosenko
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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his 14th annual press conference in Moscow.
© Sputnik / Alexey Druzhinin
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Participants of the New Year's Cadet Ball at Pashkov House.
© Sputnik / Evgenia Novozhenina
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A resident is seen after a fire in the Educandos neighbourhood, on a branch of the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon River, in the city of Manaus, Brazil.
© REUTERS / Bruno Kelly
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A Mapuche indigenous activist attempts to stop the movement of riot policemen during a protest demanding justice for Camilo Catrillanca, an indigenous Mapuche man who was shot in the head during a police operation, in Santiago.
© REUTERS / Ivan Alvarado
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Students prepare for an event marking the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
© REUTERS / Jason Lee
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The five finalists (L-R) Miss Limousin Aude Destour, Miss Reunion Morgane Soucramanien, Miss Tahiti Vaimalama Chaves, Miss Franche-Comte Lauralyne Demesmay and Miss Guadeloupe Ophely Mezin, pose on stage during the Miss France 2019 beauty contest in Lille. Miss Tahiti Vaimalama Chaves was crowned Miss France 2019.
© AFP 2023 / Francois Lo Presti
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The cutting of the country's main Christmas tree in the Moscow region. A 100-year-old tree with a height of 27 metres and a trunk diameter of 60 cm will be put up in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin.
© Sputnik / Maxim Blinov
/ 10 / 30
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Artem Palyanov from the Leningrad Region, a “crystal” boy who dreamed of seeing St. Petersburg from a bird's-eye view.
© Sputnik / Alexey Nikolsky
/ 11 / 30
Commuters look on as supporters of opposition leader Martin Fayulu demonstrate at a crossroad in the Ndjili district of Kinshasa after campaigning for the Democratic Republic of Congo's general elections was called off by the authorities over security concerns.
© AFP 2023 / Marco Longari
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Mount Soputan volcano spews hot ash during an eruption as seen from the village of Silian Tiga in South East Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
© REUTERS / Antara Foto/Adwit B Pramono
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Members of the Welsh Guards, a regiment of the Household Division's Foot Guards, stand with women dressed as characters from Disney films, as they arrive for an event at 10 Downing Street in central London.
© AFP 2023 / Adrian Dennis
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Military aircraft take part in Qatar's National Day celebrations in Doha.
© REUTERS / Ibraheem al Omari
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Participants of bodybuilding competitions in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
© Sputnik / Tabaldy Kadyrbekovv
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Maasai warriors apply face paint before a sporting event dubbed the Maasai Olympics at Kimana, near a Kenayn border town with Tanzania.
© AFP 2023 / Yasuyoshi Chiba
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Jordanian Bedouin guards of honour prepare ahead of the arrival of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and his wife Desislava at the Royal Palace in Amman, Jordan.
© REUTERS / Muhammad Hamed
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A diver wearing a Santa Claus costume swims in a large fish tank during an underwater performance at Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo, Japan.
© REUTERS / Issei Kato
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President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony awarding the Eastern Military District with the Order of Suvorov at an extended meeting of the board of the Russian Defence Ministry.
© Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentyev
/ 20 / 30
Whirling dervishes perform during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of Jelaleddin Mevlana Rumi, Sufi mystic, poet and founder of sufism at Galata Mevlihanesi in Istanbul.
© AFP 2023 / Yasin Akgul
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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Bishop of the New Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) Epiphanius, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrei Paruby (from left to right) at the "Unification Cathedral" on Sofia Square in Kiev.
© Sputnik / Stringer
/ 23 / 30
Artist Alexandra Weld Queen manufactures a reinforced Christmas tree at a workshop on welding Christmas tree toys in the Octava creative cluster in Tula.
© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov
/ 25 / 30
Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers leave after bowing before the statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il during National Memorial Day on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang.
© AFP 2023 / Kim Won Jin
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Guests enter a newly-discovered tomb at the Saqqara necropolis, 30 kilometres south of the Egyptian capital Cairo belonging to the high priest "Wahtye" who served during the fifth dynasty reign of King Neferirkare (between 2500-2300 BC).
© AFP 2023 / Khaled Desouki
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A Chilean dockworker is detained by riot police during a protest against port operator TPS (South Pacific Terminal), to demand temporary workers be included in collective bargaining, in Valparaiso.
© REUTERS / Rodrigo Garrido
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Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates Galina Volchek, the artistic director of the Sovremennik Theatre.
© Sputnik / Aleksey Nikolskyi
/ 29 / 30
Workers carving a dragon sculpture from snow and ice in preparation for the winter tourism season in Mohe in China's northeast Heilongjiang province.
© AFP 2023 / Stringer
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Miss Tahiti Vaimalama Chaves performs onstage during Miss France 2019 beauty contest in Lille. Miss Tahiti Vaimalama Chaves was crowned Miss France 2019 on 15 December.
© AFP 2023 / Francois Lo Presti