Photographers Blog

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal speaks to the military at US base Kandahar Airfield, Kandahar, Afghanistan, December 2, 2009. The first of 30,000 new U.S. troops will arrive in Afghanistan in two to three weeks, top U.S. officials said on Wednesday, even as they made clear plans to start bringing the soldiers home in 18 months could slip.  REUTERS/Mustafa Quraishi/Pool

A woman cries during a rally “Russia Against Terror”, commemorating the victims of the crashed Nevsky express train, at Poklonnaya Hill in the Victory Park in Moscow, December 2, 2009. A bomb caused the Russian train crash that killed dozens of people and injured 100 more, officials said on Saturday, stoking fears of an upsurge in attacks in Russia’s heartland.  REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

Six-year-old Sneha Shahu (L) receives treatment in a rehabilitation center for children who were born with mental and physical disabilities in Bhopal December 2, 2009. Bhopalis and environmental groups say many more people have been harmed since Union Carbide Corp, now part of Dow Chemical Co., developed a toxic gas leak in 1984 resulting in thousands of people dying in the aftermath, in what is called one of the world’s worst industrial disaster. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

A dancer from the Momix dance company performs during their show ‘Bothanica’ in Madrid December 2, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Click here for the full Editor’s choice slideshow and click here for further showcases of Reuters photography.

Romanian female soldiers prepare for a military parade to celebrate Romania’s National Day in central Bucharest December 1, 2009.  REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel

A displaced Afghan child lines up to receive winter aid from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during a distribution for the needy in Kabul December 1, 2009. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Frank de Winne of Belgium eats an apple in a vehicle after he returned to earth in the Russian Soyuz space capsule in the steppe near the town of Arkalyk, in northern Kazakhstan, December 1, 2009.  REUTERS/Sergey Remezov

Lucian Craita hugs a lion named Richie as it is relocated to South Africa from his courtyard near Urziceni, 55 km (34 miles) northeast of Bucharest, November 30, 2009. Craita said he has been raising Richie since it was a cub and on Monday, he passed Richie to Vier Pfoten, an international animal rights foundation, which will relocate Richie, and three other lions from Romania, to Lionsrock, a big cat sanctuary in South Africa.  REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel

Tourists walk onto raised platforms for flood waters during a period of seasonal high water in Venice November 30, 2009. The water level in the canal city rose to 130 cm (4 feet) above normal, according to the monitoring institute.  REUTERS/Michele Crosera

Waiters dressed in Santa Claus costumes gesture as they welcome Christmas during a photo opportunity on a pub street in Nanjing, Jiangsu province  November 30, 2009. REUTERS/Jeff Xu

The Amazon forest burns next to the city of Mandaquiri, November 28, 2009. The world’s biggest rainforest is suffering from seasonal drought.   REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

Ben Cahoon (86) and Avon Cobourne (6) of the Montreal Alouettes celebrate with the Gray Cup after beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 97th CFL Grey Cup in Calgary, Alberta, November 29, 2009.     REUTERS/Todd Korol

A red ribbon hangs in advance of World AIDS Day on the front of the White House in Washington, November 29, 2009. World AIDS Day will be commemorated on December 1.  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

A handout photo released by NASA shows a close-up view of a water bubble floating freely on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis shows a refracted image of astronaut Leland Melvin November 24, 2009.  REUTERS/NASA Handout

Mahouts train for a light and sound show for UNESCO World Heritage Week in Ayutthaya province, 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok, November 26, 2009.  REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) holds hands with his Senegalese counterpart Abdoulaye Wade at the presidential palace in Senegal’s capital Dakar November 26, 2009. Ahmadinejad arrived in Dakar during his last leg of an international tour of Latin America and Africa. REUTERS/Emilie Regnier

An Israeli police officer leans on a bus next to a dummy during a drill simulating a bomb attack near the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City November 25, 2009. Some 300 policemen, firefighters and rescue workers took part in a routine drill on Wednesday to help increase preparedness for emergency situations in civilian areas. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Former servicemen cry as they say goodbye to their fellow soldiers following the end of their army service term at a railway station in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province November 25, 2009. REUTERS/China Daily

Horses are pictured during the Sicab International Pre Horse Fair show in the Andalusian capital of Seville November 25, 2009. The show runs till November 28 and is dedicated exclusively to Spanish thoroughbreds. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

An Afghan policeman frisks an Afghan man at a checkpoint near of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Tillman November 24, 2009.  REUTERS/Bruno Domingos

A family of asylum seeker from Kosovo camp out in a squat in the town of Angers, western France, November 24, 2009.  The groups from countries such as the Darfur area of Sudan, Mali and Kosovo are demanding the right to remain in France, have been gathering the area for 21 days.  REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Demonstrators with hands covered in fake blood and a Tony Blair mask protest outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in London November 24, 2009. An official inquiry into Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War began on Tuesday, promising a thorough investigation which could prove embarrassing for the government ahead of next year’s election. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

A dead alligator lies in a drying lake that forms part of the Amazon river system, near the city of Manaquiri November 22, 2009. After a rainy season that caused some of the worst flooding in recent history, the seasonal drought that followed is proving to be especially bad as well. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/Amazonaspress

Czoton, 7, works at a balloon factory on the outskirts of Dhaka November 23, 2009. About 20 children are employed at the factory and most of them work for 12 hours a day. The weekly wage is 150 taka ($2.14) for the children. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Uriel Ben-Hamo (L), Israel’s kickboxing champion, trains in a gym in Jerusalem November 19, 2009. Ben-Hamo, 19, divides his time between punching bags and the more peaceful pursuits of a yeshiva, or Orthodox Jewish seminary. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Spanish matador Manuel Jesus “El Cid” performs a pass on a bull during a bullfight at the Plaza de Acho bullring in Lima November 22, 2009. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

A Romanian Roma child looks out from a voting booth at a polling station in Sintesti, near Bucharest November 22, 2009. REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel

North Koreans walk with shovels for harvesting crops behind a border fence separating the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong November 22, 2009.  REUTERS/Jacky Chen

A tourist poses next to Victoria’s Secret models following their appearance in New York’s Times Square to celebrate the return of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to New York, November 18, 2009.  REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

President Barack Obama tours the Great Wall of China in Badaling, November 18, 2009.      REUTERS/Jason Reed

Uruguay’s Luis Suarez (L-R), Diego Perez and Alvaro Fernandez celebrate on top of the goal at the end of their World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match against Costa Rica in Montevideo, November 18, 2009. Uruguay reached the World Cup finals after a 1-1 draw at home to Costa Rica.  REUTERS/Martin Cerchiari