Dec. 12 Daily Brief: Santa skates by the Eiffel Tower, Vienna ballet, a baby the size of a palm and cold flamingos
Flamingos huddled during snowfall, a rainbow over the Union Building, flute playing at a temple and more in today’s daily brief.
- Members of the State Opera ballet dance during a dress rehearsal of “Etudes” in Vienna December 12, 2013. The performance is part of “Ballet-Hommage” which will premiere on December 15, 2013. (REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader)
- A baby boy the length of a palm is seen inside an incubator in this posed picture taken at a hospital in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, December 11, 2013. According to local media, the mother gave birth to the 760g baby after a pregnancy of only 25 weeks. The baby will be monitored at the hospital for three to four months before being discharged. (REUTERS/China Daily)
- A man dressed as Santa Claus skates on an ice rink across from the Eiffel Tower as part of the Christmas holiday season preparations, in Paris December 12, 2013. (REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen)
- Flamingos stand in their enclosure during snowfall in winter in Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo December 12, 2013. (REUTERS/Baz Ratner)
- A giant picture of former South African President Nelson Mandela is pictured at the entrance of the Union Buildings in Pretoria December 12, 2013. (REUTERS/Yves Herman)
- South African expatriate Janine Daniels is comforted by her son Liam, 15, as they sing during a memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela at St George Church in Singapore December 12, 2013. The anti-apartheid hero’s death on December 5 at the age of 95 has brought an outpouring of grief and mourning, as well as celebration and thanksgiving for his life and achievements. (REUTERS/Edgar Su)
- The funeral cortege carrying the coffin of former South African President Nelson Mandela arrives at the Union Buildings in Pretoria December 12, 2013. Thousands of people lined the streets to view the body of former South African President Nelson Mandela. (REUTERS/Kevin Coombs)
- A woman holds flags as she waits for the cortege carrying the coffin of former South African President Nelson Mandela in the city center of Pretoria, as it travels on its way to the Union Buildings, December 12, 2013. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
- A rainbow is seen over the Union Building, where the body of former South African President Nelson Mandela was lying in state, in Pretoria December 12, 2013. Thousands of people lined up on Wednesday to say goodbye to Mandela, whose body lay in state in the building where the anti-apartheid hero was inaugurated in 1994 as South Africa’s first black president. (REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya)
- A Sadhu or Hindu holy man plays a flute as he sits under a tree at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu December 12, 2013. (REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)
- Members of the Palestinian civil defense ride a boat as they evacuate boys following heavy rains on a stormy day in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 12, 2013. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
- A dog stands in the snow at a park in Jerusalem December 12, 2013. Snow fell in Jerusalem and parts of the occupied West Bank where schools and offices were widely closed and public transport was paused. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
- Russia’s President Vladimir Putin walks into a room before delivering his annual state of the nation address at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 12, 2013. Putin conceded for the first time on Thursday that Russia’s economic problems were home-grown but vowed not to abandon the spending promises he made on returning to the Kremlin last year. (REUTERS/Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/Pool)
- Free Syrian Army fighters play with snow in Raqqa, eastern Syria, December 11, 2013. Picture taken December 11, 2013. (REUTERS/Nour Fourat)
- A woman walks near a barricade at the main street Khreschatyk where pro-European integration protesters hold a rally in central Kiev, December 12, 2013. Ukrainian protesters stood their ground after a sweep by riot police and their leaders dismissed an offer of talks from a president they say must quit for favouring ties with Russia over the European Union. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
- A couple shares a kiss at a barricade set up by pro-European integration protestors in central Kiev, December 12, 2013. Ukrainian protesters stood their ground after a sweep by riot police and their leaders dismissed an offer of talks from a president they say must quit for favouring ties with Russia over the European Union. (REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko)