New Delhi

In today’s pictures, Indian soldiers march, Italy marks the one-year anniversary of the Costa Concordia shipwreck, Mallory Hytes Hagan is crowned Miss America, and more.

A gunman killed 20 first graders and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, protests swelled in New Delhi after the gang-rape of a young woman, and Syrians continue to flee their country as a war is waged.

In today’s photos, rebel fighters fire their weapons in Syria, a Viking marks the new year in Scotland, a Jayhawk takes to the air in Kansas, and more.

Pakistani Anusha Khalid, 4, dressed as a bride, poses for a picture at an outdoor Mass on Christmas Day, in a Christian neighborhood in Islamabad, Pakistan. Protesters shield themselves as Indian police beat them with sticks during a violent demonstration near the India Gate against a gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student [...]

In today's photos, an art installation sits in a field in Indonesia, a man walks his goat amid snow in Afghanistan, a beached whale dies in the Queens borough of New York, and more.

In today’s pictures, a man competes in a darts championship in London, Santa Claus dangles from a bridge in Guatemala, Japanese Emperor Akihito celebrates his birthday, and more.

There are now over one billion automobiles on the road worldwide. An explosion in the auto markets in China and India ensures that number will increase, with China supplanting the United States as the world's largest car market. It's fair to say humanity has a love affair with the car, but it's a love-hate relationship. Cars are at once convenience, art, and menace. People write songs about their vehicles, put them in museums, race them, and wrap their identities up in them. About 15% of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels comes from cars. Traffic fatality estimates vary from half a million per year to more than double that. Gathered here are images of the automobile in many forms, and our relationship to and dependence on our cars. This is the second in an occasional Big Picture series on transportation, following Pedal power earlier this year. -- Lane Turner (40 photos total)
Antti Rahko stands next to his self-made "Finnjet" during preparations for the Essen Motor Show in Essen, Germany on November 22, 2012. The car rolls on eight wheels, offers ten seats, weighs 3.4 tons and is worth about one million US dollars. (Marius Becker/AFP/Getty Images)

Hindus worldwide recently celebrated Diwali, a five-day "festival of lights" that marks the new year and honors the principle of good over evil. One Diwali ritual is honoring Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. The occasion is also celebrated with fireworks, the sharing of sweets and gifts, and by decorating homes with lights and candles. Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji.-- Lloyd Young EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no post on Friday.)( 42 photos total)
A reveler lights a bottle rocket at a park during Diwali, the “festival of lights”, in Kolkata on Nov. 13. The festival marks the victory of good over evil and commemorates the time when Hindu God Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana and returned to his kingdom Ayodhya after 14 years in exile. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)

Today marks the start of the five-day festival of Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs around the world. During Diwali, originally a harvest festival, lamps are lit to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, fireworks are set off to drive away evil spirits, and prayers for prosperity are offered to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Collected here are images of this year's festival, as celebrants color their world, give prayers, and wish each other a happy Diwali. [33 photos]

A girl lights earthen lamps in a formation to form the shape of Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, on the eve of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, on November 12, 2012. (Reuters/Ajay Verma)

In today’s pictures, commuters take in art in Italy, a heavily tattooed Vladimir Franz gains enough signatures to run for Czech president, a boy greets his soldier dad in Colorado, and more.