Dec. 11 Photo Brief: Driving dogs, recovering Philippines, surviving 12/12/12 and a go-go juice-chugging Chenoweth Boo Boo
Move over Tunces the driving cat. You’re so yesterday fashionably dressed IKEA monkey. The New Zealand SPCA just taught three dogs how to drive a car.
Also in today’s daily brief, Kristen Chenoweth spoofs Honey Boo Boo, cleanup efforts from Typhoon Bopha begin in the southern Philippines, a Chinese farmer builds survival pods inspired by the movie “2012” and much more.
- Members of the British pop girl group Spice Girls (From L-R) Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm pose for pictures on the red carpet as they arrive for the premiere of the Spice Girls musical ‘Viva Forever’ in central London. ‘Viva Forever’ is produced by Judy Craymer, written by Jennifer Saunders and features the music of the Spice Girls. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)
- Patrouille Suisse Northrop F-5E Tiger II jet release flares during a flight demonstration at a Swiss Air Force commando handover ceremony at the Swiss Army Airbase in Duebendorf near Zurich, Switzerland. (Michael Buholzer/Reuters)
- James McCormick is comforted by a neighbor at the St. Charles Catholic Church before a funeral for his longtime partner David Maxwell, 66, who died in Hurricane Sandy floodwaters in the Midland Beach area of Staten Island in New York City. Maxwell was the last of Sandy’s victims found on Staten Island, when his body was discovered in his home 11 days after the storm. A Vietnam veteran, he was buried at the Calverton National Cemetery and was accompanied by honor guards from the Catholic War Veterans and the Patriot Guard Riders. (John Moore/Getty Images)
- An illegal miner loads coal into a bathtub at a mine in the village of Stranjani, near Zenica, Bosnia. There are about 20 illegal mines in the area, where Bosnians dig for coal with their bare hands and use makeshift tools, such as bathtubs, to transport the coal. One bag of their coal is sold for 3 euros ($4 dollars), which is popular with the locals as it is cheaper than the coal sold at the city mine. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
- Hosts Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth speak onstage during the 2012 American Country Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Mark Davis/Getty Images)
- A child walks in a park after heavy snowfall in Kiev, Ukraine. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)
- Seagulls flock together on the snowcovered shore of Lake Constance in Fischbach, eastern Germany. (Felix Kaustle/AFP/Getty Images)
- Stuffed toys are hung up to dry next to a damaged tree at a village in Bsoton town, Davao Oriental in the aftermath of Typhoon Bopha. The United Nations launched a 65 million USD global appeal on December 10, 2012 to help desperate survivors of a typhoon that killed more than 600 people and affected millions in the southern Philippines. (Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
- Children walk near a toppled electric post in Boston town, Davao Oriental province on December 10, 2012. (Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
- Workers sew clothes in a small industrial settlement in Jakarta. Indonesia expects global uncertainties to keep hitting exports next year. (Yusuf Ahmad/Reuters)
- (L – R)New Zealand SPCA dogs Monty, Porter and Ginny sit in front of a modified Mini Countryman on a race track in Auckland in this December 10, 2012 handout picture. The SPCA said they trained three dogs to drive cars for a series of events to publicize the adoption of animals looked after by the shelter, claiming ‘you can teach an SPCA dog new tricks.’ (SPCA/Michael Bradley/Handout/Reuters)
- A New Zealand SPCA dog Monty, an 18-month-old Giant Schnauzer, drives a modified Mini Countryman on a race track in Auckland in this December 10, 2012 handout picture. (SPCA/Michael Bradley/Handout/Reuters)
- A New Zealand SPCA dog Ginny, a 12-month-old Beardie Whippet Cross, drives a modified Mini Countryman on a race track in Auckland in this December 10, 2012 handout picture. (SPCA/Michael Bradley/Handout/Reuters)
- A diver dressed in a Santa Claus costume swims with sardines during a promotional event for the Christmas ‘Sardines Feeding Show with Santa Claus’ at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)
- Dolphins jump near a man dressed as Santa Claus at the Marineland aquatic park in Antibes, France. (Eric Gaillard/Reuters)
- A wheel chair-bound woman shouts political slogans outside the presidential palace area on December 10, 2012 in Cairo. President Mohamed Morsi has ordered Egypt’s army to ‘cooperate’ with police and given it powers of arrest until the results of a referendum to be held this weekend, according to a decree obtained by AFP. (Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images)
- Malaysian customs officers show elephant tusks which were recently seized in Port Klang outside Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia’s customs authorities late Monday seized two containers with some 1,500 pieces of elephant tusks, weighing around 24,000 kg and estimated to be worth 6 million ringgit ($1.96 million), according to a press release issued by the Malaysian Customs Department on Tuesday. Although shipping documents listed the containers’ final destination as Port Klang, customs intelligence said that the containers were planned to be sent to China. (Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters)
- Farmer Liu Qiyuan poses among survival pods that he built and has also dubbed ‘Noah’s Arc,’ in a yard at his home in the village of Qiantun, Hebei province, south of Beijing. Inspired by the apocalyptic Hollywood movie ‘2012’ and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Liu hopes that his creations consisting of a fibreglass shell around a steel frame will be adopted by government departments and international organisations for use in the event of tsunamis and earthquakes. Liu has built seven pods which are able to float on water, some of which have their own propulsion. (Ed JonesEd Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
- Farmer Liu Qiyuan (top) looks out from inside one of seven survival pods that he has also dubbed ‘Noah’s Arc,’ in a yard at his home in the village of Qiantun, Hebei province, south of Beijing. The airtight spheres with varying interiors contain oxygen tanks and seatbelts with space for around 14 people, and are designed to remain upright when in water. (Ed JonesEd Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
- A figure of a crucified Ronald McDonald, mascot of the McDonald fast-food restaurant chain, is seen as part of the display by British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman entitled ‘The End of Fun’ in the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg. Prosecutors acted after receiving complaints from visitors who said the exhibition by the British artists offended the feelings of Russian Orthodox Christians. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)
- A visitor looks at a display by British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman entitled “The End of Fun” in the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg. The display has drawn over 100 complaints and state prosecutors are checking whether it violates a law against incitement to hatred, under which two members of the Pussy Riot punk protest band opposed to President Vladimir Putin were jailed. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)
- Choristers from Winchester Cathedral don ice-skates to enjoy the artificial rink set up beside the cathedral in Winchester, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)