Oct. 9 Photo Brief: Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for the Hajj, elephant census, Rockettes practice, flooding in Asia
Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for the Hajj, elephant census, Rockettes practice, flooding in Asia and more in today’s daily brief.
- A general view shows pilgrims performing evening prayers in Mecca’s Grand Mosque as more than two million Muslims have arrived in the holy city for the annual hajj pilgrimage. The hajj, which is one of the world’s largest human assembly, begins on October 13 amid concerns over the deadly MERS coronavirus. (Fayez Nureldine/Getty Images)
- A general view shows security standing guard while pilgrims perform evening prayers in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, on October 8, 2013, as more than two million Muslims have arrived in the holy city for the annual hajj pilgrimage. The hajj, which is one of the world’s largest human assembly, begins on October 13 amid concerns over the deadly MERS coronavirus. (Fayez Nureldine/Getty Images)
- A Muslim pilgrim wears a mask as she walks to Mecca’s Grand Mosque to perform evening prayers prior to the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage which begins on October 13. More than two million Muslims have arrived in the holy city for the hajj, one of the world’s largest human assemblies, amid concerns over the deadly MERS coronavirus. (Fayez Nureldine/Getty Images)
- A worker cleans up a pool inside the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin mosque in Putrajaya. (Samsul Said/Reuters)
- An elephant plays in the dust after cooling in a pond during a census at the Amboseli National Park, 290 km (188 miles) southeast of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, October 9, 2013. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments are conducting a joint aerial count of elephants and other large mammals in the shared ecosystem of the Amboseli- West Kilimanjaro and Natron- Magadi landscape. The census will cover a 25,623 square kilometer area including 9,214 square kilometers of the Amboseli area, 6348 square kilometers of the Namanga-Magadi areas in south-western Kenya and 3,013 square kilometers of the West Kilimanjaro and 7,047 square kilometers of the Natron areas in North Tanzania. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)
- A family of elephants graze during a census at the Amboseli National Park, 290 km (188 miles) southeast of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, October 9, 2013. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments are conducting a joint aerial count of elephants and other large mammals in the shared ecosystem of the Amboseli- West Kilimanjaro and Natron- Magadi landscape. The census will cover a 25,623 square kilometer area including 9,214 square kilometers of the Amboseli area, 6348 square kilometers of the Namanga-Magadi areas in south-western Kenya and 3,013 square kilometers of the West Kilimanjaro and 7,047 square kilometers of the Natron areas in North Tanzania. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)
- Elephants graze in a marsh at Amboseli National Park, approximately 220 kms southeast of Nairobi. Kenyan and Tanzanian governments started on October 7 a joint aerial count of elephants and other large mammals in the shared ecosystem of the Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro and Natron- Magadi landscape. The one-week exercise, cost 104,000 US dollars, is a collaboration between the two countries and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) among others. (Tony Karumba/Getty Images)
- The Rockettes go through rehearsals in New York in preparation for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring dazzling dance numbers and costumes, classic favorites and a breathtaking new number Snow. The 2013 The Radio City Christmas Spectacular will run from November 8 to December 30, 2013. (Timothy Clary/Getty Images)
- The Rockettes go through rehearsals in New York in preparation for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring dazzling dance numbers and costumes, classic favorites and a breathtaking new number Snow. The 2013 The Radio City Christmas Spectacular will run from November 8 to December 30, 2013. (Timothy Clary/Getty Images)
- A combine harvester works during sunset on a wheat field of the “Svetlolobovskoye” farm outside the village of Novosyolovo, some 240 km (149 miles) south of Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Rain will cut the area Russia sows for winter grains by one-fifth compared to the official forecast, the Agriculture ministry said on Monday, fueling speculation that 2014’s winter wheat crop could fall and put pressure on global supply. (Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel holds his hand over his heart as U.S Army soldiers carry the flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Cody J. Patterson during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. According to reports, Patterson, who was from Philomath, Oregon, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning, Georgia, was killed while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan. Since the U.S. government shutdown, a benefit called the ‘death gratuity’ that helps families cover travel and funeral costs for fallen soldiers has gone unpaid. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) gathers with other Democratic Party senate members and Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (L) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 9, 2013. Reid called on Republican members of congress to negotiate an end to the U.S. Government shutdown entering its ninth day. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
- Thai children enjoy play in floodwaters at a buddhist temple in Pathum thani province, north of Bangkok. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported that 27 provinces in Thailand are still flooded and 31 people have died due to the flood. (Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Getty Images)
- An Indian auto-rickshaw driver pushes his three wheeler through water logged streets during heavy rains in Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh and Orissa coast are to be on high alert as a depression formed over the Bay of Bengal could intensify into a cyclonic storm and hit the state coast. A few places will experience heavy rainfall during the next two days, the Meteorological Centre reports. (Noah Seelam/Getty Images)
- Residents make their way through a floodwaters after typhoon Fitow swept the area in Yuyao, east China’s Zhejiang province. Typhoon Fitow, which barrelled into China’s east coast early on October 7 packing winds of more than 200 kilometres (124 miles) an hour, killed at least five people and impacted 4.5 million, state media reported. (Getty Images)
- Misaki Sango of Japan (C) leads the Womens 3000m Steeplechase before finishing in second place during the East Asian Games held at the Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium in Tianjin. The East Asian Games which are held every four years see nine countries including China, Japan, South and North Korea participating in 262 events in 22 different sports. (Mark Ralsron/Getty Images)
- Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine during their men’s singles match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
- Free Syrian Army fighters rush to help their fellow fighter after he was shot by a sniper loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo’s Salaheddine neighborhood. (Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)
- A tunnel worker rests inside a smuggling tunnel dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas is struggling to meet its payroll in the Gaza Strip, where income from taxes has been badly hit since neighboring Egypt started destroying a network of tunnels used to smuggle food, fuel and weapons into the Islamist-run enclave. (Ahmed Zakot/Reuters)
- Engineer Yuri erects a stone pyramid on the head of his acquaintance and colleague Alexander as they rest on the beach in the Adler district of Sochi. With just months to go before Russia is due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, cranes still tower over muddy construction sites in the palm tree-lined city, as it tries to complete its multi-billion dollar transformation into a winter sports hub. If everything goes according to plan the Games will be a showcase for Russia’s achievements under President Vladimir Putin, the culmination of a six-year personal project on a truly Soviet scale. But the President’s dream could still be crushed if Sochi is not ready on time, protests break out over a Russian law banning “gay propaganda” or Islamist militants attack the Games. Picture taken September 22, 2013. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
- A man fishes on a pier at the beach in central Sochi. With just months to go before Russia is due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, cranes still tower over muddy construction sites in the palm tree-lined city, as it tries to complete its multi-billion dollar transformation into a winter sports hub. If everything goes according to plan the Games will be a showcase for Russia’s achievements under President Vladimir Putin, the culmination of a six-year personal project on a truly Soviet scale. But the President’s dream could still be crushed if Sochi is not ready on time, protests break out over a Russian law banning “gay propaganda” or Islamist militants attack the Games. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
- Labourers brush their teeth with neem twigs on the banks of the Ganges river in Kolkata. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)
- Workers pick grapes during the harvest at the Chateau l’Etoile vineyard in l’Etoile. (Sebastien Bozon/Getty Images)
- A sheep looks at visitors during the 15th National Agricultural Exhibition Golden Autumn 2013 in Moscow. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/Getty Images)
- Rebel fighters cover a car in mud for camouflage at an undisclosed location in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. The world’s chemical watchdog said it will send a second team of inspectors to help dismantle Syria’s arsenal, as regime warplanes bombed rebels in the northwest of the country. (Mohamad Jadaan/Getty Images)