Jan. 14 Photo Brief: Clouds over earth, Mali rebels expand control, Crackolandia in Brazil, pollution in China
Clouds over earth, Mali rebels expand control despite French intervention, Crackolandia in Brazil, pollution in China and more in today’s daily brief.
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- US President Barack Obama during a press conference in the East Room of the White House January 14, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Imaegs)
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- Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style.
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- Sadhus or holy men walk in a procession towards the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers to bathe before sunrise during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on January 14, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims led by naked, ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges on Monday at the start of the world’s biggest religious festival. The Kumbh Mela in the Indian town of Allahabad will see up to 100 million worshippers gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings. Before daybreak on Monday, a day chosen by astrologers as auspicious, hundreds of gurus, some brandishing swords and tridents, ran into the swirling and freezing waters for the first bath, signalling the start of events.(Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images
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- The landmark “Tiger & Turtle” sculpture that resembles a roaller coaster is pictured at the former zinc smeltery’s grounds Krupp Mannesmann in the Angerpark in Duisburg-Wanheim on January 13, 2013. 120 tons of galvanised steel are mounted and welded for the sculpture on the heap. The walkway area will amount to 220 metres including 249 steps. (Patrik Stollar/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A NASA handout shows a large presence of stratocumulus clouds photographed by the Expedition 34 crew members aboard the International Space Station above the northwestern Pacific Ocean about 460 miles east of northern Honshu, Japan on January 4, 2013 and released Janaury 14, 2013. The cloud pattern is typical for this part of the world carrying cold air over a warmer sea with no discernable storm pattern. (NASA Handout via Reuters)
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- Members of the South African Police Services fire rubber bullets at rock-throwing protestors during an illegal strike by farmworkers, on January 14, 2012 in Villiersdorp, a small farming town about 100Km North of Cape Town, South Africa. The farm workers have said that they they will not return to work on the fruit growing region’s farms until they receive a daily wage of at least R150 ($17) per day. (Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Bolivia’s President Evo Morales speaks during an interview with journalists at the presidential residence in La Paz January 13, 2013. Picture taken January 13. (David Mercado/Reuters)
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- Holly Reynolds, 4, holds a placard at a peace rally at Belfast City Hall January 13, 2013. The rally followed another night of violent protests as loyalists renewed their anger against restrictions on flying the union flag from Belfast City Hall. (Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)
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- The crescent moon is seen behind an ice sculpture during ice and snow sculptures festival at the “Eight Lakes” Park-Resort outside Almaty January 14, 2013. (Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)
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- A flock of duck is being fed on a pond at the Royal Lazienki Park in Warsaw January 14, 2013. (Peter Andrews/Reuters)
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- People take part in a rally to protest against the law, passed in late December 2012, that bans Americans from adopting Russian children, with a toy seen inside a glass jar in the foreground, in St. Petersburg, January 13, 2013. Thousands of demonstrators gathered for a march in Moscow on Sunday to protest against a ban on Americans adopting Russian children, saying President Vladimir Putin’s government had made orphans pawns in a political dispute. The sticker reads “I’m against Putin”.(Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)
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- Internally displaced Syrian boys, Mohamed and Khalil (R), show a picture they took with their sister, whom they said died during a bombing at the school where they were staying, in Aleppo January 14, 2013. (Muzaffar Salma/Reuters)
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- Actor/director Ben Affleck (L) poses in the press room with producers Grant Heslov (C) and George Clooney with the award for best motion picture drama for “Argo” at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in Beverly Hills on January 13, 2013. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Bulgarian dancers named “Kukeri” hold torches as they perform a ritual dance during the Kukeri Carnival in the village of Batanovci, western Bulgaria, on January 13, 2013. The Kukeri Carnival is a festival of brightly colored masks and costumes which marks the beginning of the spring. Every participant makes his own multi-colored personal mask, covered with beads, ribbons and woolen tassels. The heavy swaying of the main mummer is meant to represent wheat heavy with grain, and the bells tied around the waist are intended to drive away the evil spirits and the sickness. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images)
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- People donate blood for the injured, on January 14, 2013 in Bamako. Islamists have retreated in the east of Mali but French forces are facing a difficult situation in the west of the country where rebels are well armed, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on January 14. France launched the operation alongside the Malian army on January 11, 2013 to counter a push south by the insurgents who had threatened to advance on the capital Bamako. (Issouf Sango/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A French soldier lies on the ground during training for emergency first aid at the Malian army air base in Bamako January 14, 2013. France, which has poured hundreds of troops into the capital Bamako in recent days, carried out more air raids on Monday in the vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance grouping al Qaeda’s north African wing AQIM alongside Mali’s home-grown MUJWA and Ansar Dine militant groups. (Joe Penney/Reuters)
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- Japanese women in kimonos walk during heavy snowfall at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo, as they attend a ceremony celebrating Coming of Age Day, January 14, 2013. Youths across Japan are honoured with special coming-of-age ceremonies when they reach the age of 20. The Tokyo metropolitan area had its first snowfall this season on Monday, which affected transportation as some flights to and from the the capital’s Haneda airport had to be cancelled, parts of expressways temporarily closed and local train services delayed. (Yuya Shino/Reuters)
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- People cross a snow covered bridge at the village of Bolton Abbey, near Skipton, northern England on January 14, 2013. Snow hit parts of England with up to 10cm expected to fall in some areas, prompting fears of travel chaos. (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Drug addicts sleep along the sidewalk next to a CathoLic church at so called “Crackolandia”, a place where drug users gathering to smoke crack cocaine, in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil on January 11, 2013.(Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Drug users flock together on a sidewalk in”Crackolandia”, a place where addicts gather to smoke crack, in downtown Sao Paulo Brazil on January 14, 2013. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A homeless wrapped up in a matress walks in”Crackolandia”, a place where addicts gather to smoke crack, in downtown Sao Paulo Brazil on January 14, 2013. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
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- This combination of photos shows (top) the Beijing skyline during severe pollution on January 14, 2013, and the same view (bottom) taken during clear weather on February 4, 2012. Dense smog shrouded the city with pollution at hazardous levels for a fourth day and residents were advised to stay indoors. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Students do body exercise during class break in a classroom building on a foggy day in Jinan, Shandong province, January 14, 2013. Heavy fog enveloped a large swathe of east and central China, with the city’s residents being advised to stay indoors to avoid the heavily polluted air, Xinhua News Agency reported. (China Daily via Reuters)
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- Indian pedestrians walk as the sun sets near the Haji Ali mosque in Mumbai on January 14, 2013. India is part of a global trend that is advancing towards an increasing urbanisation, according to which more than half of the world’s population is living in towns and cities. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A group of boys stand on top of an excavator as they try to fly kites during the Makar Sankranti festival in Mumbai, January 14 ,2013. Makar Sankranti is an auspicious festival celebrated by hindus across the country that marks the start of the harvest season. It is celebrated in different forms in different parts of India and in Maharashtra, the state of which Mumbai is the capital, it is celebrated by the flying of kites. (Vivek Prakash/Reuters)
U.S. sharing intelligence on Mali with France, eyes other support
David Alexander
Reuters
1:45 p.m. EST, January 14, 2013
ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – The United States is sharing information with French forces battling al Qaeda-affiliated militants in Mali and is also considering providing logistics, surveillance and airlift capability, U.S. defense officials said on Monday.
“We have a responsibility to go after al Qaeda wherever they are,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters heading with him on a week-long tour of European capitals.
“We have a responsibility to make sure that al Qaeda does not establish a base for operations in North Africa in Mali.”
Panetta said the United States had been “very concerned” about attempts by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to establish a base in northern Mali, and commended France for the steps it has taken to disrupt advances by the militants.
“We have been working with our regional partners to try to develop plans to confront that threat,” he said, adding that the Pentagon was looking at providing assistance in three areas.
“One is to obviously provide limited logistical support, two is to provide intelligence support and three to provide some airlift capability,” Panetta said. He did not give a time frame for making the decision about the additional support.
France has poured hundreds of troops into the Malian capital Bamako in recent days and carried out more air raids on Monday in the vast desert area seized last year by an Islamist alliance grouping AQIM with Mali’s home-grown MUJWA and Ansar Dine militant groups.
A senior U.S. defense official said the United States was already sharing information with the French and would continue to do so.
The U.S. defense secretary declined to say whether the intelligence support would be in the form of satellite images or unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. He indicated that the airlift support under discussion involved cargo planes, and a defense official said the logistics support included refueling aircraft.
“We are engaged in those discussions. Africom (U.S. Africa Command) is discussing this with France and will continue to work with them to ensure that ultimately we do stop AQIM,” said Panetta, who received a briefing from the commander of the U.S. Africa Command, General Carter Ham, during the flight.
Panetta said the aim was to disrupt the rebel advances in Mali to give time for the ECOWAS grouping of African nations to respond on the ground.
“The responsibility for assuring security in that region will be passed to African nations to provide a more permanent security for the sake of the world,” he said.
Panetta said that while AQIM might not be an immediate threat to the United States, the fear was that it ultimately would be.
“We’re concerned that any time al Qaeda establishes a base of operations,” he said.
“While they might not have any immediate plans for attacks in the United States and in Europe … ultimately that still remains their objective and it’s for that reason that we have to take steps now to ensure that AQIM does not get that kind of traction.”
(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Phil Stewart and David Brunnstrom)
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