Wednesday: The day in photos

Swimmers take an early morning dip in a heated outdoor pool in London. Regular swimmers use the pool, which is heated to 82 degrees 365 days a year. This morning the air temperature was only 33 degrees.  (Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

Excavations director Karin Schwerdtfeger lays open a Bronze Age grave dating back to the times of the 3,600-year-old Nebra sky disc in Mucheln, Germany. A multi grave with two women, three men and two teenagers was only recently discovered nearby during diggings for a rail connection. Archaeologists have collected about 14,000 findings since excavations began in September.  (Peter Ending / EPA)

A Christian pilgrim lights a candle as light pours into the Russian Orthodox section of the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. The church is a popular destination during the Christmas holiday season.  (Jim Hollander / EPA)

A protester throws stones at riot police during a demonstration outside the Greek Parliament in Athens. Unrest in Greece, sparked by the Dec. 6 fatal police shooting of a Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15, intensified today with security forces battling protesters nationwide.  (Aris Messinis / AFP / Getty Images)

Israeli soldiers wearing chemical protection suits evacuate ‘’wounded’’ mannequin figures during a chemical attack drill at a school in the northern Israeli city of Herzliya. The drill is part of a wider civil defense exercise.  (Pavel Wolberg / EPA)

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims descend upon Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in the annual hajj. About 3 million Muslims from across the globe came to Saudi Arabia over the weekend to perform the ancient rituals of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is considered the spiritual pinnacle of a devout Muslim’s life.  (Jamal Nasrallah / EPA)

Supporters hold candles and chant slogans outside Tucheng detention center during a protest against former President Chen Shui-bian‘s detention on the 60th anniversary of Human Rights Day in Taipei County, Taiwan. Chen was arrested on the suspicion of graft, forgery, money laundering and other crimes and is being held while prosecutors build their case.  (Wally Santana / Associated Press)

King penguins, foreground, and Gentoo penguins, background, take a walk through Basel zoo in Basel, Switzerland.  (Matthias Waeckerlin / EPA)

An elderly woman sweeps on a staircase leading to a underpass walkway in Beijing, China.  (Andy Wong / Associated Press)

Emergency workers carry the body of a victim killed in a building collapse in downtown Moscow. An emergency official says one person is dead and two others are feared to be trapped after part of an apartment building collapsed. A city emergency response agency spokesman said ceilings and walls caved in at the site of a six-story apartment building that is being reconstructed.  (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)