Pictures of the Day

A full moon rises over the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

Children playfully huddle behind a South Korean Army soldier aiming his machine gun during an anti-terrorism exercise for a successful Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea. The March 26-27 summit is expected to draw dozens of world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, to discuss nuclear terrorism and safety.

 Riot police stand guard as protesters from the Jordanian Islamic Action Front Party demonstrate against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to support the Syrian anti-government protesters in Amman, Jordan.

 A supporter of a Pakistani religious party proudly shows his tape recorder as he records speeches of leaders at a rally against the US in Peshawar, Pakistan. A provocative resolution by an American congressman calling for the secession of Pakistan's largest province, which is rich in gas and oil, has caused an uproar in Pakistan.

Palestinians gather during the funeral of Zakariya Abu Eram in the West Bank town of Yatta, near Hebron. According to the Israeli military, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli soldier in the neck during a raid in the town of Yatta, seriously wounding him. The soldier opened fire, wounding the assailant and killing Eram who was not involved in the attack, witnesses said. The Israeli military claim he was the attacker's accomplice.

Cossacks form a pile at the annual folk festival to bid farewell to winter in the Siberian Cossack settlement of Sukhobuzimskoye, Russia. The traditional festival was featured in the painting 'The taking of the snow fortress' by 19th century Russian artist Vasily Surikov who was born in the village.

 Syrian refugees and local residents take part in a demonstration against Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad after Friday prayers outside the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan.

 A man is seen through a hole in an abandoned home that took heavy fire during a military operation to free two hostages in Sokoto, Nigeria. A British and an Italian hostage were killed Thursday during a failed rescue mission by British special forces and the Nigerian military. A group that claimed ties to al-Qaida claimed the kidnapping, which happened in May 2011.

Japanese living in Bern, Switzerland, hold a ceremony in the Japanese embassy to commemorate the victims of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan.