A look at the best news photos from around the world.
December 16, 2014
1
Members of the public stand behind floral tributes near the cafe where hostages were held in central Sydney. Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people including the attacker were killed.
2
A priest blesses servicemen during a farewell ceremony at the Vaziani military base outside Tbilisi, Georgia.
3
The uncle and cousin of injured student Mohammad Baqair, center, comfort him as he mourns the death of his mother who was a teacher at the school in Peshawar, Pakistan. Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern city, killing more than 100, officials said
4
A spectacular light and sound show is staged at the ancient Khmer city of Phimai in Nakhon Ratchasima province as part of an annual festival, Nov. 7, 2014. The event is held within the grounds of a temple at Phimai Historical Park, Thailand, which marks one end of the former Khmer highway from Angkor. (Photo taken by Matthew Richards/Thailand/VOA reader)