Today in photos (Dec. 4)

Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami activists block a road with burning tires during a nationwide strike on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party called the strike to demand authorities halt trials of its top leaders on charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan. (Associated Press)

Oxen skulls representing animals killed by the drought lay at the feet of security agents outside Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. Brazilian farmers affected by the drought brought oxen skulls to the presidential palace and are asking the president to pardon their government bank debts. (Eraldo Peres / Associated Press)

Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square as protesters gather in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. A protest by tens of thousands of Egyptians outside the presidential palace in Cairo turned violent on Tuesday as tensions grew over Islamist President Mohammed Morsi’s seizure of nearly unrestricted powers Thousands of protesters also gathered in Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square, miles away from the palace, to join several hundred who have been camping out there for nearly two weeks. (Maya Alleruzzo / Associated Press)

U.S. Army Sgt. Aaron Brewster is welcomed home by his parents Steve Brewster, right, and Sharon Brewster during a welcome home ceremony, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 in Fort Stewart, Ga. About 200 soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team returned home from their 9-month deployment to Afghanistan. (Stephen Morton / Fr56856 Ap)

Residents prepare to assess their house which was damaged by Typhoon Bopha in Butuan city in southeastern Philippines Tuesday Dec. 4, 2012. A Philippine governor says at least 33 villagers and soldiers have drowned when torrents of water dumped by the powerful typhoon rushed down a mountain, engulfing the victims and bringing the death toll from the storm to about 40. (Karlos Manlupig / Associated Press)

People walk past a Christmas tree in Red Square, with the GUM State Department Store at right, in Moscow, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. A heavy snow fall hit Moscow early morning but it melts in the above-zero temperature. (Alexander Zemlianichenko / Associated Press)