Feb. 13 Photo Brief: Ash Wednesday with the Pope, Mars rover self-portrait, hula hoop record, Syrian slingshot, Banana Joe
Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Ash Wednesday, Curiosity takes self-portrait on Mars, Thailand sets hula hoop record, Westminster crowns Banana Joe and more in today’s daily brief.
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- The Riverside, California, police Honor Guard approaches the casket of slain Riverside police officer Michael Crain during a memorial service at Riverside National Cemetery. Crain was killed in an ambush by renegade ex-cop Christopher Dorner as he sat in his police car at a red light on February 7, 2013. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
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- A sculpture in the shape of cow with the words “Happy Valentine’s Day” painted on the side, is pictured at a paddock on the outskirts of the town of Nowra. (David Gray/Reuters)
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- A woman sits on a park bench with her dog along the waterfront beach of Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, British Columbia. (Andy Clark/Reuters)
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- A Duke Blue Devils fan recognizes Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s birthday before their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. (Mark Dolejs/USA TODAY Sports)
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- People take part in an attempt to break the Guinness world record for most number of people simultaneously hula-hooping at Thammasat University stadium in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok. Thailand broke the previous record held by Taiwan, with a new record of 4483 people hula-hooping for 7 minutes. The event was organized by the public health ministry to promote exercise and good health. (Kerek Wongsa/Reuters)
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- Self-portrait of the rover Curiosity, combining dozens of exposures taken by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, is seen in this February 3, 2013 handout image courtesy of NASA. The rover is positioned at a patch of flat outcrop called “John Klein,” which was selected as the site for the first rock-drilling activities by Curiosity. The rover’s robotic arm is not visible in the mosaic. (NASA)
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- Pope Benedict XVI attends the Ash Wednesday mass at the Vatican. Thousands of people are expected to gather in the Vatican for Pope Benedict’s Ash Wednesday mass, which is expected to be his last before leaving office at the end of February. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)
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- Pope Benedict XVI greets as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican. Cardinals around the world began informal contacts to discuss who should next lead the Church through a period of major crisis and the Vatican said it planned a big send-off for Pope Benedict before he becomes the first pontiff in centuries to resign.(Stefano Rellandin/Reuters)
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- US President Barack Obama acknowledges applause before delivering his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington. (Paul J. Richards/Getty Images)
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- Banana Joe, an Affenpinscher, won Best of Show during the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Stan Honday/Getty Images)
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- Best in Show judge Michael Dougherty (L), congratulates dog handler Ernesto Lara after his dog Banana Joe, an Affenpincher, won the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. A total of 2,721 dogs from 187 breeds and varieties competed in the event, hailed by organizers as the second oldest sporting competition in America, after the Kentucky Derby. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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- An Israeli settler sits praying among the rubble of his house that was demolished by Israeli police in the outpost of Maale Rehavam, in the Israeli occupied Palestinian West Bank. The house was built without any authorization outside the larger state-sanctioned settlement. The number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank grew by 4.7% in 2012, according to figures obtained by AFP from a settler organization. (Janos Chiala/Getty Images)
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- Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel jump from their vehicle as they patrol in Nor Gal district Kunar province. The Afghan government welcomed President Barack Obama’s announcement that the United States will withdraw 34,000 troops from the war-torn country over the next year. NATO, which has about 37,000 troops in Afghanistan, will also withdraw them in stages before the end of 2014. (Noorullah Shirzada/Getty Images)
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- Australian surfer Marti Paradisis rides a wave near Pedra Branca Rock, south of Tasmania in the Southern Ocean in this in this file photograph taken in November 2012 in this picture provided by Big Wave Awards. Paradisis won the ‘Biggest Wave’ section of the Australiasian Big Wave Awards, which included $20,000 prize-money. (Andrew Chisholm/Big Wave Awards)
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- A young Indian wrestler grapples with a senior during an evening practice session at the Mahatma Phule Vyayam Mandir Kushti (traditional Indian wrestling) academy in Mumbai. Wrestlers around the world on Wednesday vowed to fight to save the ancient sport’s Olympic status, after the International Olympic Committee voted to drop it for the 2020 Games. (Indranil Mukherhee/Getty Images)
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- A skier sets off from the peak of Mount Aigba in the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, some 50 km from Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi. With a year to go until the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, construction work continues as tests events and World Championship competitions are underway. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
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- Thai grooms and their brides (L-R) Sorawich Changtor, 28, Rungnapa Panla, 30, Varuttaon Rangsiyawong, 27, and Prasit Rangsiyawong, 29, run during a wedding ceremony ahead of Valentine’s Day in Prachin Buri province, east of Bangkok. Three Thai couples took part in the wedding ceremony arranged by a Thai resort, aimed to strengthen the relationships of the couples by doing fun activities. (Kerek Wongsa/Reuters)
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- People walk through “Heartwalk”, a Times Square Valentine Heart in New York, February 12, 2013. The heart was made from boards salvaged from boardwalks from New York and New Jersey that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. (Keith Bedford/Reuters)
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- Members of the public pose for pictures with a waxwork model of US actor George Clooney during a photocall by London’s Madame Tussauds to mark Valentines Day in central London. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
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- People dressed as straw bears walk through the streets in Heldra, Germany. On Ash Wednesday, people from the village dress as straw bears to drive out the winter. (Uwe Zucchi/Getty Images)
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- Tibetans hold lit candles as they walk around the Tibetan monastery during a candlelight vigil to show solidarity to Tibetans who have self-immolated, and to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Tibetan Proclamation of Independence, at the Tibetan Refugee Camp in Lalitpur. A Tibetan monk self-immolated on Wednesday at the premises of the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu.(Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
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- A Tibetan girl holding a lit candle takes part in a candlelight vigil to show solidarity to Tibetans who have self-immolated, and to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Tibetan Proclamation of Independence, at the Tibetan Refugee Camp in Lalitpur. A Tibetan monk self-immolated on Wednesday at the premises of the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
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- Bratislav Stojanovic, a homeless man, holds candles as sits in a tomb where he lives in southern Serbian town of Nis . Stojanovic, 43, a Nis-born construction worker never had a regular job. He first lived in abandoned houses, but about 15 years ago he settled in the old city cemetery. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
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- Newly initiated Female ‘Naga Sadhvis’, Hindu holy women, from the Juna Akhara walk to the river to perform rituals on the banks of the Ganga River during the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad on February 13, 2013. During every Kumbh Mela, the diksha, a ritual of initiation by a guru takes place for new members. (Sanjay KanojiaSanjay Kanojia/Getty Images)
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- A Free Syrian Army fighter uses a catapult to launch a handmade grenade during clashes with forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, in the Aleppo district of Salaheddine. (Aref Hretani/Reuters)
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- French actress Juliette Binoche arrives on the red carpet prior to the screening of the film “Camille Claudel 1915” presented in the Berlinale Competition of the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin. (John Macdougal/Getty Images)
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- Martha Stewart, Joan Rivers and Star Jones attend the Dennis Basso Fall 2013 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Stage at Lincoln Center in New York City. (Andy Kropa/Getty Images)
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- The Blonds designer Phillip Blond backstage at The Blonds fall 2013 fashion show during MADE Fashion Week at Milk Studios in New York City. (Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)
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