Dec. 12 photo brief: Weddings and babies on 12.12.12, the Pope tweets, lions bearing gifts, coffin therapy, Europe in a chill, Wall Street sees green
Twelve, twelve, twelve marked by newborns, couples in Indonesia and street performers, the Pope tweets, London’s lions open their Christmas gifts early, coffin therapy in China, Europe in a chill, Wall Street sees green and more in today’s Daily Brief.
- Laureus Statuette is unveiled in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
- This handout picture released by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) shows an archeologist during an excavation in Sonora State, Mexico on December 12, 2012. An approximately 1,000 year-old pre-Hispanic cemetery with 25 skeletons, some perfectly preserved, was located in the Mexican State of Sonora (Northwest), the first time this type of finding has ocurred in the area, reported on Wednesday the National Institute of Anthropology and History. (INAHHO/Getty Images)
- A mother and child look at a decorative bear at a country house estate in the village of Grabovnica near Cazma, central Croatia December 12, 2012. The seven-hectare estate owned by the Salaj family is lit with 1.3 million Christmas lights and turns into a winter wonderland every December, attracting thousands of visitors. (Antonio Bronic/Reuters)
- A man collects recyclable items in Managua’s municipal garbage dump, known as ” La Chureca” in Managua December 12, 2012. Spain delivered to the Mayor of Managua a modern recycling plant of solid waste valued at $48 million, expected to generate some 2,000 jobs, with the capacity to recycle between 750 and 800 tons of garbage per day. About 1,500 people inhabit La Chureca and make a living from recycling waste, local media said. (Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters)
- U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class EO3 John Chen, 23, from Lakehurst, New Jersey, kisses his new bride Victoria Chan, 25, from Manhattan, as they pose for photographers after they were married in a civil ceremony at New York City’s Office of the City Clerk December 12, 2012. Hundreds of couples packed the office in lower Manhattan to be married on the date 12/12/12 as this will be the last such triple date for almost a century until January 1, 2101. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
- Johnetta Chapman, left, and Johnnie Isner leave the beachside altar after they were married during a ceremony on Fort Myers Beach, Florida, December 12, 2012, the century’s last sequential date of 12-12-12. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)
- Workers walk past clocks showing a time of 12 minutes past 12 noon, on this century’s last sequential date, in a plaza in the Canary Wharf business district of London. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
- A street performer poses with an iPad with the time reading 12:12:12 in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, December 12, 2012. December 12, 2012 is the last day in this century where the numeral date can be all the same number. (Paul Hanna/Reuters)
- Indian nurses from Kasturba Gandhi hospital pose with two female babies born after midnight in conjunction with the date 12.12.12 in New Delhi. The once in a century date is being hailed as an auspicious day by astrologers, and many couples are getting married and expectant parents are flooding maternity homes, inundating doctors with requests to deliver their babies. (Prakash Singh/Getty Images)
- A groom prepares for his own wedding as he gets ready to take part in a mass Wedding ceremony in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Twelve couples participated in a mass wedding as today saw a surge in marriage across the globe to mark the once in a century date of 12/12/12. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
- Brides and grooms sit on a bus before they get ready to take part in a mass Wedding ceremony in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Twelve couples participated in a mass wedding as today saw a surge in marriage across the globe to mark the once in a century date of 12/12/12. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
- Brides and grooms exchange rings during a mass wedding ceremony in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Twelve couples participated in a mass wedding as today saw a surge in marriage across the globe to mark the once in a century date of 12/12/12. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
- Pope Benedict XVI clicks on a tablet to send his first twitter message during his weekly general audience at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI sent his first Twitter message from a digital tablet on Wednesday using the handle @pontifex, blessing his hundreds of thousands of new Internet followers. (Vincenzo Pinto/Getty Images)
- A therapist covers a man with a piece of cloth as the man lies in a coffin at a mental health clinic in Shenyang. The clinic opened three years ago and offers patients the experience of “death” by having them lie in a coffin as a form of therapy. The treatment, which lasts four to five hours, costs 2000 yuan (about $320). Apart from lying in the coffin, patients also have to record their feelings on paper before and after the experience, listen to a therapist’s guidance and to relatives reading “epitaphs”. The sign on the wall reads “experience the true meaning of life by experiencing the mystery of death”. (Sheng Li/Reuters)
- Egyptians walk past a line of army tanks stationed outside the presidential palace in Cairo. Egypt’s powerful army has called for President Mohamed Morsi and the secular opposition to meet later in the day to stop a crisis over an imminent constitutional referendum from tearing the country apart. (Marco Longari/Getty Images)
- Lucifer the lion holds a Christmas present in his mouth at ZSL London Zoo in London, England. Keepers at the zoo gave the some of the animals Christmas presents containing festive treats during a photocall at London Zoo. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
- A horse stands in woods as it is tied to a tree in Xianghe, Hebei province. (Petar Kujundzic/Reuters)
- A dog has his face covered in snowflakes in Auetal, western Germany. Meteorologists forecast ongoing winter weather for the following days in the region. (Ole Spata/Getty Images)
- People are seen out for a walk as frost lingers on the trees at Dyrham Park on December 12, 2012 near Bath, England. Forecasters have warned that the UK could experience the coldest day of the year so far today, with temperatures dropping as low as -14C, bringing widespread ice, harsh frosts and freezing fog. Travel disruption is expected with warnings for heavy snow in some parts of the country. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
- A rose is covered in snow in a garden in Bremen, northwestern Germany. (Carmen Jaspersen/Getty Images)
- Frozen undergrowth is seen in Richmond Park in west London. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
- A paraglider glides over Tignes, French Alps. Recent snowfalls have encouraged skiers to hit the slopes and the Tignes authorities have opened certain slopes early. (Philippe Desmazes/Getty Images)
- An internally displaced Afghan girl looks out from her shelter at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul. The refugees asked the U.N. and the Afghan government to give them supplies before winter approaches. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)
- Municipal workers take part in a rally against state sector layoffs demanded by the country’s international lenders, in front of the parliament in Athens. Greece on Wednesday asked its foreign lenders for extra money to complete a bond buyback that forms part of its bailout, with policymakers and analysts calling the scheme a success even though it narrowly missed its debt reduction target. (Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters)
- Snow covered seesaws are seen in a park as cold winter temperatures hit Romania in downtown Bucharest. (Bogdan Cristel/Reuters)
- The New York Stock Exchange is seen lit up in Christmas green in New York. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)