Best pictures from January 4
An Israeli left-wing activist holds a placard during a protest to show solidarity with Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya.AMIR COHEN/Reuters
Buddhist monks participate in a procession to mark the 2,600th anniversary of the enlightenment of Lord Buddha, on the outskirts of Bangkok.SUKREE SUKPLANG/Reuters
Indian children fly kites on a rooftop ahead of a kite festival in Ahmadabad, India. The Kite festival Uttarayan or Makar sankranti will be celebrated on Jan. 14, 2013. Kites are flown in many parts of India during Makar Sakranti, a festival that marks the transition of winter to spring.Ajit Solanki/The Associated Press
A youth waves a Palestinian flag as he climbs a tree during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement, in Gaza City. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians joined a rare rally staged by President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group in Gaza on Friday, as tensions ease with rival Hamas Islamists ruling the enclave since 2007.AHMED ZAKOT/Reuters
A flamingo is pictured in its enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal, Germany.INA FASSBENDER/Reuters
Smoke from a bushfire billows over beach goers at Carlton, about 20 kilometres east of Hobart. Bushfires destroyed over 80 homes as temperatures in Australia's island state Tasmania peaked at record highs on Friday local media reported.HANDOUT/Reuters
Griffen Heydt, left, of Lander, Wyoming, and Ben Sears, of Philadelphia., take a last look at the Tennessee River from the top of the pyramid hill in Renaissance Park in Chattanooga, Tenn.. The two got together here for the holidays, according to Heydt.Tim Barber/The Associated Press
An Iranian woman sits on a bench in the Tochal mountainous area overlooking the polluted skyline of the capital Tehran, Iran. Government has ordered Tehran province schools, and government offices to close Saturday, Jan. 5, because of high air pollution in the province, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported Thursday Jan. 3. Such closure came last month because of dangerous air pollution levels.Vahid Salemi/The Associated Press