August 21 Photo Brief: Wildfires in Spain, endangered sea turtles in South Carolina and a battered swimmer in the Florida Straits
Wildfires continue to sweep across Spain, U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad abandons her fourth attempt to swim from Florida to Cuba, loggerhead turtle hatchlings begin their trip to the ocean, and more in today’s daily brief.
- Fire fighters work at the site of a wildfire in Tabuyo del Monte, near Leon. Numerous wildfires have broken out across Spain in the sweltering heat in recent weeks, an extra headache for authorities struggling to get the country out of its financial crisis and recession. (Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images)
- Fire fighters work at the site of a wildfire in Tabuyo del Monte, near Leon. (Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images)
- Embers from a wildfire glow on the ground in Tabuyo del Monte, near Leon. (Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images)
- Embers from a wildfire glow on the ground in Tabuyo del Monte, near Leon. (Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images)
- US endurance swimmer Diana Nyad swims in the Florida Straits between Cuba and the Florida Keys on August 19, 2012. Nyad abandoned her fourth attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida on August 21, after battling storms and jellyfish for more than two days, according to her crew. The 62-year-old hit the water on Saturday at the start of the 103-mile (166-kilometer) swim across the Florida Straits, a trek she attempted without a protective shark cage. (Christi Barli/Diana Nyad via the Florida Keys News Bureau/Barli/AFP/Getty Images)
- Veteran long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad is aided after she was pulled out of the water between Cuba and the Florida Keys early August 21, 2012. The 62-year-old American, who battled squalls, rough seas and jellyfish, had set out from Cuba on Saturday had spend more than 60 hours in the water before she abandoned the swim. (Christi Barli/The Florida keys News Bureau/Handout/Reuters)
- Veteran long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad rests after she was pulled out of the water between Cuba and the Florida Keys early August 21, 2012. (Christi Barli/The Florida keys News Bureau/Handout/Reuters)
- Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces tanks move amongst an umbrella of barrage during an annual live fire exercise at the Higashi-Fuji firing range in Gotemba, at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture. The annual drill involves some 2,400 personnel, 80 tanks and armoured vehicles and 30 aircraft and helicopters. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)
- Tracer bullets ricochet off their targets as the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force Type 74 and Type 90 armoured tanks fire machine guns during a night annual training session at Higashifuji training field in Gotemba, west of Tokyo. Mt. Fuji is seen in the background. (Issei Kato/Reuters)
- A loggerhead turtle hatchling makes it’s way to the surf, as tourists and volunteers look on, at South Litchfield Beach along the coast of South Carolina August 17, 2012. South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts (SCUTE), is a group of volunteers dedicated to sea turtle conservation in Georgetown and Horry counties. Turtle volunteers walk the area’s beaches along South Carolina’s coast daily during the nesting season, looking for signs of turtle activity and keeping tabs on the progress of the endangered species of turtles that lay their eggs along the coast. (Randall Hill/Reuters)
- A Loggerhead turtle hatchling makes its way to the surf at Myrtle Beach State Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina August 4, 2012. Volunteers take nest inventories three days after the nests hatch and the empty egg shells are categorized and the information is sent to researchers. (Randall Hill/Reuters)
- A volunteer looks at an injured Loggerhead sea turtle hatchling after an inventory on Litchfield Beach, South Carolina August 17, 2012. (Randall Hill/Reuters)
- Dancers in body paint wait to take part in a performance during festivities marking the start of the annual harvest festival of “Onam” in the southern Indian city of Kochi. The ten-day-long festival is celebrated annually in India’s southern coastal state of Kerala to symbolise the return of King Mahabali to meet his beloved subjects. (Sivaram/Reuters)
- Afghan vendors living in India perform a traditional dance to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in Kolkata. Eid al-Fitr, the final day of Ramadan, celebrates the purification achieved by a month of sunrise-to-sunset fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam and is marked by several days of festivities. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)
- Statues of Chuchok, a greedy Brahmin who died in a story from the Buddhist Vessantara Jataka from gluttony due to his new found wealth, is seen at Baan Chuchok in Bangkok, Thailand. It is believed that wealth and luck would come to those who believe in Chuchok. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
- An entertainer dances in front of statues of Chuchok, a greedy Brahmin who died in a story from the Buddhist Vessantara Jataka from gluttony due to his new found wealth, at Baan Chuchok in Bangkok, Thailand. Some Thai Buddhist’s hire dancers to give thanks to Chuchok, statues after their wishes have been fulfilled. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
- Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, about 178 km (110 miles) south of Quito August 20, 2012. The authorities are encouraging residents living near the volcano to evacuate due to increased activity of the volcano, according to local media. The Tungurahua volcano has been in an active state since October 1999. (Carlos Campana/Reuters)
- An Indian tea-vendor, covered with a plastic sheet for protection from rain, waits for customers in Kolkata. Even with increased rain, according to Indian Meteorological Department, the overall rain deficit for the country is 15 percent. (Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images)