The day in pictures

1 of 12 A Buddhist monk looks unmoved during a "ghost-beating" ceremony in Beijing, China to celebrate the upcoming Tibetan New Year.

2 of 12 Some victims from the 300 killed in the Iranian train disaster are buried in Neyshabur.

3 of 12 One hundred brides meet 100 bridegrooms in a mass wedding of Muslim couples in the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India.

4 of 12 It is carnival time in Cologne, Germany.

5 of 12 A woman in traditional costume sits behind a memorial to Aboriginal teenager Thomas Hickey, whose controversial death sparked riots in Sydney, Australia.

6 of 12 Riot police in Manila, the Philippines, keep a firm grip on a protester taking part in a demonstration for opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe.

7 of 12 An armed Iraqi security guard stands on a rooftop overlooking a Sunni mosque in Baghdad.

8 of 12 Filipino tribesmen carry a mummy to its new grave in Kabayan town, Benguet province - it is thought they were stolen in the 1960s.

9 of 12 Democratic presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards talks to the media after a speech in New York.

10 of 12 An American gunner looks down from a Chinook helicopter on the barren Afghan landscape.

11 of 12 Afghan cooks prepare lunch in a wood fired kitchen at an orphanage.

12 of 12 A model seen through a "Glass Art" vase at the "Ambiente" fair in Frankfurt, Germany.