As South Africa continues to mourn the passing of Nelson Mandela, the Ukraine is still at odds with President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia continues to grapple with dictatorial Preisdent Vladimir Putin.
Visitors to the Voortrekker Monument watch as a ray of sunlight shines on the unmarked tomb in its basement during Day of Reconciliation celebrations in Pretoria on Monday, December 16, 2013. Under apartheid, the day was known as Day of the Vow, in commemoration of a promise Voortrekkers made to God to build a church should they be granted victory against attacking Zulus, but under democracy the day is used to foster reconciliation and national unity. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
Social activists and supporters of the Awami League party celebrate outside Central Jail, where opposition leader Abdul Quader Mollah was hanged, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mollah was hanged Thursday for war crimes committed during Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.AP Photo/A.M. Ahad
A Pro-European Union supporter, his mustaches painted in yellow-and-blue Ukrainian national flag colors, at a mass rally in Kiev Ukraine on Sunday, December 15, 2013. About 200,000 anti-government demonstrators converged on the central square of Ukraine's capital, a dramatic demonstration that the opposition's morale remains strong after nearly four weeks of daily protests.AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
(L-R) Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt attend a European Union leaders summit in Brussels on December 19, 2013. Early on Thursday morning, finance ministers from across the bloc sealed a broad agreement on final elements of a banking union. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia on Thursday, December 19, 2013. President Vladimir Putin said that National Security Agency surveillance is necessary to fight terrorism, but added that the government needs to “limit the appetite of special services” with a clear set of ground rules. AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev
A retired employee from the Telefonica phone company with tape over his mouth takes part in a protest next to other workers against what they claim are unjustified dismissals from the company, outside the court in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Syrian refugee women perform the play "The Syria Trojan Women" in Amman December 18, 2013. Syrian actress Nanda Mohammad trained Syrian refugee women for six weeks to reinterpret "The Trojan Women", a tragedy by Greek playwright Euripides on the Greeks' treatment of Trojan women after the fall of Troy. "The Syria Trojan Women" traces the parallels between the fates of the women of Troy and Syrian women refugees fleeing the violence in their country. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed