Nov. 14 Photo Brief: Anti-austerity strikes across Europe, Afghan rag pickers, Diwali is celebrated, the Prince and the Hobbit, a homemade submarine
Anti-austerity protests and strikes across Europe, yellow fever in Darfur, the latest Twilight film premiers in London, Diwali is celebrated, Prince Charles meets a Hobbit, a dangerous school crossing and more in today’s daily brief.
- A scientist delegate yawns at stage during the closing session of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the new CPC Central Committee will meet with journalists on November 15, 2012. (Feng Li/Getty Images)
- Saleh Mohammed Hamid, 18, from West Darfur’s Gocker, is treated at Teaching Hospital after getting infected with yellow fever in El Geneina. According to UNAMID, the hospital, which has already treated 106 cases of yellow fever among of which 38 people have died, is expecting to receive thousands more vaccines. A yellow fever outbreak has killed nearly 100 people over the last seven weeks in Sudan’s Darfur, the World Health Organization said, a region where fighting has undermined access to healthcare. The statement said 329 suspected yellow fever cases and 97 deaths had been reported since the last week of September. (Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNAMID/Reuters)
- Palestinians wheel a wounded child into a hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. Israel killed the military commander of the Islamist group Hamas in a missile strike on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and launched air raids across the enclave, pushing the two sides to the brink of a new war. Hamas said Ahmed Al-Jaabari, who ran the organization’s armed wing, Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam, died along with an unnamed associate when their car was blown apart by an Israeli missile. Palestinians said nine people were killed, including a seven-year-old girl. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
- Actress Kristen Stewart arrives for the European premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” in London. (Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)
- Mollie King (L), Vanessa White (C) and Frankie Sandford of the music group The Saturdays arrive for the European premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” in London. (Luke MacGregor/Reuters)
- Kosovo Albanian artists set up a bridge made of water lilies across the Ibar river in the ethnically divided flashpoint town of Mitrovica in protest at the real bridge being blocked. The actual bridge linking the Albanian-populated south with the Serb-populated north of Mitrovica is closed off by a huge cement barricade, preventing any interaction between the two sides. Mitrovica in particular often the scene of violent clashes as local Serbs refuses to recognize the ethnic Albanian government in Pristina. (Armend Nimani/Getty Images)
- Riot police officers face protesters during a demonstration outside the Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon during a general strike. General strikes in Spain and Portugal will spearhead the day of action called by European unions and joined by activists as anger over governments’ tight-fisted policies boils over. (Patrica De Melo Moreira/Getty Images)
- An injured protester sits in the street after being detained during clashes at a 24-hour nationwide general strike in Lisbon. Spanish and Portuguese workers will stage the first coordinated general strike across the Iberian Peninsula on Wednesday, shutting transport, grounding flights and closing schools to protest against spending cuts and tax hikes. (Rafael Marchante/Reuters)
- Flood waters surround a stop sign in Bay Head, New Jersey. Many residents of the hard hit seaside town remain without power following Superstorm Sandy. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- An NYPD officer jumps over a chasm in the boardwalk caused by the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy in the Brooklyn borough region of Belle Harbor in New York. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
- Joe Balku, who donated the tree, drives a stake into the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree before workers stood it up on in New York City. The tree, an 80-year old Norway Spruce, was donated Balku of Flanders, New Jersey. It weighs approximately 10 tons, measures 80 feet tall and is 50 feet in diameter. The official tree-lighting ceremony will be Wednesday, November 28. (John Moore/Getty Images)
- People watch as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is raised into position in New York City. The tree, an 80-year old Norway Spruce, was donated by Joe Balku of Flanders, New Jersey. It weighs approximately 10 tons, measures 80 feet tall and is 50 feet in diameter. The official tree-lighting ceremony will be Wednesday, November 28. (John Moore/Getty Images)
- House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks to the media as female House Democrats gather around during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Leader Pelosi said that she has decided continue to lead the House Democrats and does not wish to retire at this time. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
- Oman fans sit under the scoreboard while the sun sets during the FIFA World Cup Asian qualifier match between Oman and Japan at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
- A U.S. flag is seen in the front door of a damaged home in the Breezy Point neighborhood which were left devastated by Hurricane Sandy in the New York borough of Queens. It has become one of the biggest sources of tension between residents and the authorities in the worst-hit areas of New York City after Superstorm Sandy: damaged electrical systems in homes and – making matters worse – not enough electricians to fix them. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)
- A gnome is seen in the yard of a burnt home in the Breezy Point neighborhood which were left devastated by Hurricane Sandy in the New York borough of Queens. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)
- Emirati weightlifter Amna Al Haddad pushes a tyre during a training session at Fast Performance Center in Ahdaaf Sports Club in Dubai. Al Haddad, 23, a former CrossFit enthusiast and currently an Olympic weightlifter, hopes to make it to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Jumana El Heloueh/Reuters)
- A newborn gorilla, named Ameli, is carried by her mother, Anya, at the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo near Tel Aviv. The baby gorilla, which was born two weeks ago, weighs approximately two kilograms. (Jack Guez/Getty Images)
- Ruby Walsh riding Keppols Hill fall at the last in The Racing Welfare Jonny Brown Novice’ Steeple Chase at Exeter racecourse on in Exeter, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)
- Britain’s Prince Charles (R) receives a traditional “hongi” greeting (or Maori greeting) during a walk along the Wellington waterfront. Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are on the last leg of a tour to mark Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee. (Kent Blechynden//Reuters)
- Britain’s Prince Charles (2nd L) meets actor Peter Hambleton (2nd R), who is dressed as Gloin the dwarf in The Hobbit movies, during a visit to the makeup department of film maker Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshop in Wellington. The latest film “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” by Jackson, who also directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will premiere later this month in Wellington. (Jeff McEwan/Reuters)
- Elementary school girls cross a river to go to school in the village of Nagari Koto Nan Tigo in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province. School children from around 46 families in the village are forced to cross the river every day because there is no bridge, villagers said. (Reuters)
- A sport center is flooded near the Tiber river in Rome. Flooding struck the northern outskirts of Rome on Wednesday after heavy rains in central Italy swelled the Tiber River, as Tuscany, Umbria and Venice counted the costs of extensive flood damage. (Tiziana Fabi/Getty Images)
- Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi scatters rose petals at the memorial of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in New Delhi. Suu Kyi is on a six-day visit to India. (Reuters)
- Lasha Pataraia pulls an eight-ton truck with his ear during a test event in Rustavi outside Tbilisi. The 32-year-old sportsman will attempt to break a record registered by the Guinness Book of World Records by the end of the month, according to organizers. (David Mdzinarishvili /Reuters)
- Riot police clash with students during a demonstration against austerity measures in downtown Rome. Police and protesters clashed in Spain and Italy on Wednesday as millions of workers went on strike across Europe to protest against spending cuts they say have made the economic crisis worse. (Reuters)
- A man holds a flare as thousands of people from France and Belgium demonstrate during an anti-austerity protest in Lille. Trade unions lead nationwide strikes and anti-austerity protests across Europe today. (Philippe Huguen/Getty Images)
- A passenger waits on an empty platform at the Thalys high-speed train terminal at Brussels Midi/Zuid rail station during an European strike. Millions of workers joined strikes across southern Europe on Wednesday to protest against spending cuts and tax hikes that trade unions say have brought misery and deepened the region’s economic crisis. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
- A riot policeman grabs a protester during a demonstration at Cibeles Square in Madrid, Spain. A coordinated general strike by unions in Spain and Portugal has paralyzed public transport in the two countries with further strikes planned across Europe. The strike against the governments’ austerity measures have force hundreds of flights to be cancelled and factories and ports to come to a standstill. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
- Rio policemen fight with demonstrators during a protest on a day of mobilization against austerity measures by workers in southern Europe in Rome. Riot police and anti-austerity protesters clashed in Italy on Wednesday as anger boiled over on a Europe-wide day of strikes and mass demonstrations. (Filippo Monteforte/Getty Images)
- A protester holds a flare during a demonstration in Lisbon during a general strike . General strikes in Spain and Portugal will spearhead the day of action called by European unions and joined by activists as anger over governments’ tight-fisted policies boils over. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/Getty Images)
- A protester wears a plastic bag on face during an anti-austerity protest in Athens, Greece. Unions in Spain, Portugal and Greece went on strike in what has become the first broad-based anti-austerity action to protest government plans amid a wide economic scope across Europe. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
- Palestinians help extinguish the fire after an Israeli air strike on the car of Hamas’s top commander in Gaza City. An Israeli official said on Wednesday the assassination of Hamas’s top commander in the Gaza Strip was not the end of Israel’s assault on the coastal territory and more strikes would follow. Ahmed Al-Jaabari, Hamas’s military chief, was killed when his car was hit by an Israeli airstrike. Multiple other Israeli attacks rocked the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
- Zhang Wuyi sits in his newly made multi-seater submarine at his new workshop near an artificial pool in Wuhan, Hubei province. Zhang, a 37-year-old local farmer, who is interested in scientific inventions, has independently made seven miniature submarines with several fellow engineers, one of which was sold to a businessman in Dalian at a price of 100,000 yuan ($15,855) last October. The submarines, mainly designed for harvesting aquatic products, such as sea cucumber, have a diving depth of 20-30 metres (66-98 feet), and can travel for 10 hours, local media reported. (Reuters)
- A man looks at his mobile phone by a sculpture of a banker at the National Bank of Greece premises. (Louisa Gouliamaki/Getty Images)
- Fruit bins burn at a packing store in Wolesley, about 120Km North of Cape Town, South Africa. The fire, which burnt more than 15000 wooden bins is thought to be connected to the farmworkers strike. South African police on Wednesday said one person was killed and five others injured as protests by farm workers demanding higher pay descended into violence, prompting calls for the military to be deployed. A week-long protest by farm workers spilled over into bloodshed with chilling echoes of recent mining unrest that has claimed more than 50 lives. “We can confirm the death of a 28-year-old man in Wolseley and five others wounded,” Lybey Swartz of the Western Cape police told AFP. (Rodger Bosch/Getty Images)
- A visitor views an artwork by Christoph Schellberg’s ‘Alex Katz’ at the Frieder Burda museum in Baden-Baden. The artwork is part of the exhibition ‘Images of man’ which takes place from 17 November 2012 until 6 January 2013. (Uli Deck/Getty Images)
- A visitor walks past untitled family portraits at the Wellcome Collection in London. The Wellcome Collection in London, which specializes in art related to medicine and science, is staging a new exhibition called “Death: A Self-Portrait” comprising around 300 artifacts belonging to American Richard Harris dealing with the subject of death. It runs from Nov. 15-Feb. 24 next year and admission is free.(Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)
- A police officer questions an activist, wearing a prosthetic buttock, from environmental group Greenpeace during a demonstration at the stairs of the National Congress in Buenos Aires. The organization demands the Congress approve a new law on electronic waste. Her T-shirt reads, “Without law on electronic waste, where do you want us to put the batteries?” (Greenpeace/Reuters)
- A warped house, inspired by drawings of Polish illustrator Jan Szancer, is pictured on the main street in Sopot, a Baltic sea resort. (Janek Skarzynski/Getty Images)
- German soldiers wait for the welcoming ceremony with guard of honor at the Chancellery in Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for talks expected to focus on the forthcoming EU summit on the bloc’s seven-year budget. (Odd Andersen/Getty Images)
- An Afghan Pashtun boy, who said he was forced from the troubled province of Baglan due to threats from the Taliban, looks on as he winds up for the day after scavenging for recyclables at a garbage dump site in Kabul, Afghanistan. Children working at the garbage site in Kabul said they can make up to 90 Afghans (USD $1.75) per day collecting cans and other recyclable materials for sale. If they were to stay and work in their home province, with limited options for employment, and join the Police or Army, the Taliban threatened they would come for them and their families, they said. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Workers from a scrap-yard and Afghan Pashtun boys, who say they were forced from the troubled province of Baglan due to threats from the Taliban, warm themselves by a fire near to a garbage dump site in Kabul, Afghanistan. Children working at the garbage site in Kabul said they can make up to 90 Afghans (USD $1.75) per day collecting cans and other recyclable materials for sale. If they were to stay and work in their home province, with limited options for employment, and join the Police or Army, the Taliban threatened they would come for them and their families, they said. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Salesman wear Prince Harry and Prince William masks at The Ideal Home Christmas Show in London, England. Over 400 exhibitors are showcasing a range of gift ideas for Christmas at the Earls Court exhibition centre. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
- A sales assistant looks up at Christmas tree lights on display at The Ideal Home Christmas Show in London, England. Over 400 exhibitors are showcasing a range of gift ideas for Christmas at the Earls Court exhibition centre. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
- A girl sits among diyas, or oil lamps, in her yard during Diwali celebrations in Felicity, central Trinidad November 13, 2012. Hindus decorate their homes and places of worship with lamps or candles as a symbol of the victory of good over evil during Diwali, the festival of light. (Andrea De Silva/Reuters)
- Scented candles are held by wellwishers during a ceremony as Sadhus and Hindus celebrate Diwali at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London, England. Diwali, which marks the start of the Hindu New Year, is being celebrated by thousands of Hindu men women and children in the Neasden mandir, which was the first traditional Hindu temple to open in Europe. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
- Food is placed on the main stage as Sadhus and Hindu men celebrate Diwali at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London, England. Diwali, which marks the start of the Hindu New Year, is being celebrated by thousands of Hindu men women and children in the Neasden mandir, which was the first traditional Hindu temple to open in Europe. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)