Nov. 15 Photo Brief: Tension builds in the Middle East, a Patriotic John Daly and “Big Phil” the giant Euro coin
Hamas and Israel step up rocket attacks, John Daily in red, white, blue and in the trees, “Big Phil” an Austrian model of the Euro coin worth approximately $1.7 million and more in today’s daily brief.
- Stephen McGarry, hangs out the laundry in the back garden of his home on Clonard Street in west Belfast. When asked would he like to see the peace wall that divides Catholic and Protestant communities taken down, McGarry replied, “It never should be taken down. But mum would love to see holes in it to let the light through.” The first barriers were built in 1969, following the outbreak of the Northern Ireland riots known as “The Troubles.” They were built as temporary structures meant to last only six months, but they have multiplied over the years, from 18 in the early 1990s to 40 today; in total they stretch over 13 miles (21 km), with most located in Belfast. (Cathal McNaughton/Reuters photo)
- Kansas Jayhawks fans cheer against the Chattanooga Mocs in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won the game 69-55. (John Rieger-US Presswire)
- A woman carrying her baby walks past stacked wood near the final campaign rally for Sierra Leone opposition presidential candidate in Freetown November 15,2012. Incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma, a former insurance executive who came to power in 2007 in elections generally considered free and fair, will face off against former junta leader Bio. Saturday’s poll is the latest test of democracy in a region notorious for flawed polls, civil wars, and coups. (Joe Penney/Reuters)
- A Palestinian stone-thrower runs after Israeli security forces fired tear gas during clashes against Israel’s military operation in Gaza, outside Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah. A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed close to Tel Aviv on Thursday, in the first attack on Israel’s biggest city in 20 years, raising the stakes in a military showdown between Israel and the Palestinians that is moving towards all-out war. (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)
- Skaters enjoy the ice rink on its opening night at Somerset House in London. (Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)
- A chicken hat keeps one fan warm as the Miami Dolphins pay a visit to the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/MCT)
- Cast members perform with singer Lila Downs and Celso Pina (not in frame) during the 13th Annual Latin Grammy show in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
- A woman takes part in a demonstration demanding measures to save the social security system in San Jose. At least 6.000 people took part in the protest on Thursday. (Ezequiel Becerra/AFP/Getty Images)
- A professional diver dressed as Santa Claus gestures at a visitor inside a giant aquarium as part of celebrations for Christmas at the Manila Ocean Park. The Philippines, a mainly Roman Catholic country in Southeast Asia, prepares for Christmas early – shopping malls play Christmas carols in September and lanterns and fireworks are put up in early December. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters photo)
- Palestinians carry the body of Ahmed Al-Jaabari, Hamas’s military mastermind, during his funeral in Gaza Cityd. A Hamas rocket killed three Israelis north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, drawing the first blood from Israel as the Palestinian death toll rose to 13 and a military showdown lurched closer to all-out war with an invasion of the enclave. The offensive began on Wednesday when a precision Israeli air strike assassinated Ahmed Al-Jaabari, and Israel shelled the enclave from land, air and sea. (Ali Hassan/Reuters photo)
- A rocket is seen after its launch from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel. Israel exchanged the fiercest fire with Hamas in years after assassinating its military mastermind and threatening a wider offensive in the Gaza Strip to stem Palestinian rocket salvoes. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters photo)
- An injured Israeli baby is held by a security officer inside an ambulance at the scene where a rocket, fired from Gaza, landed in the southern city of Kiryat Malachi . A Hamas rocket killed three Israelis north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, drawing first blood from Israel as the Palestinian death toll rose to 13 and the military showdown lurched closer to all-out war. (Gideon Rahamim/Reuters photo)
- Israeli soldiers watch as an Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket near the southern city of Beersheba. Hamas fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel on Thursday, killing three people, and Israel launched numerous air strikes across the Gaza Strip, threatening a wider offensive to halt repeated Palestinian salvoes. (Baz Ratner/Reuters photo)
- John Daly of USA plays a shot from the trees during the first round of the UBS Hong Kong open at The Hong Kong Golf Club in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
- A woman walks past mannequins in a closed shop at central Athens. Thousands of small shops and businesses have closed up over the past few years of Europe’s economic downturn, especially in the so-called “PIIGS” countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. (John Kolesidis/Reuters photo)
- Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko of Russia (top) practice during a training session before the Bompard Trophy event at Bercy in Paris. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters photo)
- A paramilitary police officer stands in front of the Great Hall of the People, venue of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing November 8, 2012. Picture taken November 8, 2012. (Carlos Barria/Reuters photo)
- Belgian police officers arrest Flemish separatists after they shout anti-monarchy slogans outside a Te Deum mass to celebrate King’s Day at the Saint-Gudule cathedral in Brussels. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters photo)
- A tractor driver levels the ground during preparations ahead of the Maha Kumbh festival at Sangam in Allahabad. Allahabad, located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and where the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers meet, is a focal point for Hindu pilgrims during the Kumbh Mela, where devotees gather to bathe in the holy waters of the three rivers. (Sanjay Kanojia/Getty Images)
- The driver of the Chilean team Das-Udec competes in the first stage of the Atacama Solar Challenge — a solar car race in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile — in Iquique , some 2000 km north of Santiago. Fifteen teams from four countries are participating in the three-day 1300 km-race. (Martin Bernett/Getty Images)
- A woman presents Europe’s biggest gold coin during an exhibition at the Pro Aurum trade house in Hamburg, northern Germany. The so-called “Big Phil” made after the model of an Austrian coin weighs around 31 kilograms and is worth more than 1.3 million euros or 1.7 million US dollars. “Big Phil” is on display at Pro Aurum until November 17, 2012. (Christian Charisius/Getty Images)
- Riot police officers protect themselves from a projectile at the end of a demonstration organized by Spain’s “indignant” protesters, a popular movement against a political system that they say deprives ordinary Spaniards of a voice in the crisis, near the parliament building in Madrid during a general strike. The second general strike this year hit Spain with protesters marching in several cities against sweeping austerity measures and high unemployment, scenes echoed elsewhere in Europe. Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-biggest economy, is suffering 25 percent unemployment, with the rate even higher amongst young people. (Cesar Manso/Getty Images)
- Some 2,000 South Korean volunteers make 140 tons of kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of spicy fermented cabbage and radish, in a park outside the metropolitan government building in Seoul. City officials will hand out kimchi to about 14,000 poor households in an event marking the start of the winter season. (Jung Yeon-Jejung/Getty Images)
- Afghan National Army cadets secure the perimeter as smoke bombs, simulating detonated IED’s cover the area during a Taliban capture military exercise, overseen by French and Canadian soldiers, at the Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC)d in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Daniel Berehulak/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)