Dec. 17 Daily Brief: A Christmas tree in the rubble, airstrikes in Syria, a breathtaking view
A survivor of Super Typhoon Haiyan erects a Christmas tree in the rubble, sculptors gather for the Brussels Ice Magic Festival, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is re-elected and more in today’s daily brief.
- A typhoon survivor decorates a Christmas tree amidst the rubble of destroyed houses in Tacloban city in central Philippines December 17, 2013. Super typhoon Haiyan reduced almost everything in its path to rubble when it swept ashore in the central Philippines on November 8, killing at least 6,069 people, leaving 1,779 missing and 4 million either homeless or with damaged homes. (Erik De Castro/Reuters)
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is congratulated by Horst Seehofer (C) of the Christian Social Union (CSU) after being re-elected as chancellor during a meeting of the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament in Berlin December 17, 2013. Merkel was elected to a third term as chancellor in a vote in the German lower house of parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for her new “grand coalition” government to be sworn in and formally take power later in the day. (Tobias Schwarz/Reuters)
- An activist is detained by riot police during a demonstration near the Museu do Indio (Indian Museum) “Aldea Maracana” (Maracana Village) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 16, 2013. The demonstrators, among whom there were some 30 Amazonic natives, seized the museum protesting against its scheduled demolition to continue the works in the Mario Filho “Maracana” stadium ahead of the FIFA WC Brazil 2014. (Tasso Marcelo/AFP/Getty Images)
- A Newari woman, with her lips and face painted to depict a deity, sits inside a house before she takes part in a parade to celebrate the Yamari Puni festival in Kathmandu December 17, 2013. The name “Yamari Puni” originates from Newari words, “ya” meaning like, “mari” meaning delicacy and “puni” meaning full moon. People from the Newar community celebrate the festival once a year, in the day and at night during a full moon, by performing traditional songs and dance. They also prepare Yamari also called Yomari, a confection of rice flours to be consumed specially on the day of the festival. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
- A Syrian man helps an injured man following an airstrike in Aleppo’s Maadi neighborhood on December 17, 2013. Two children were among at least 13 people killed in new air strikes on a rebel-held district of Syria’s main northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Mohammed Al-Khatieb/AFP/Getty Images)
- Syrians search for survivors amidst the rubble following an airstrike in the Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo on December 17, 2013. Two children were among at least 13 people killed in new air strikes on a rebel-held district of Syria’s main northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. (Mohammed Al-Khatieb/AFP/Getty Images)
- A pair of 10-day-old sibling lion cubs are seen in their play area at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park animal care center in San Diego, California, in this December 16, 2013 handout provided by the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. The brother and sister, whose mother Oshana was not giving them the attention they need to thrive, are receiving bottles of formula every two hours from animal care staff, according to the zoo. (Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo/Handout via Reuters)
- Sculptor Juuso Partanen of Finland carves a sculpture of a tree at the Brussels Ice Magic Festival December 17, 2013. Some 20 artists from all over the world made sculptures out of 420 tonnes of ice depicting characters from comic strips. The festival will open on December 20 and will end on February 9, 2014. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)
- A worker is reflected in the mirrored sculpture “Cloud Gate,” also commonly known as “The Bean,” as he sprinkles de-icing salt around the bean-shaped sculpture in Chicago, Illinois, December 16, 2013. Picture taken with a fish-eye lens. (Jim Young/Reuters)
- Australia’s players celebrate winning the Ashes test cricket series against England as England’s James Anderson (L) reacts at the WACA ground in Perth December 17, 2013. Australia beat England by 150 runs in the third test at the WACA on Tuesday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series and reclaim the Ashes. (David Gray/Reuters)
- A journalist, wearing slippers to protect the glass floor, stands in the ‘Step into the Void’ installation during a press visit at the Aiguille du Midi mountain peak above Chamonix, in the French Alps, December 17, 2013. The Chamonix Skywalk is a five-sided glass structure installed on the top terrace of the Aiguille du Midi (3842m), with a 1,000 metre drop below, where visitors can step out from the terrace, giving the visitors the impression of standing in the void. The glass room will open to the public on December 21, 2013. (Robert Pratta/Reuters)
- An effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set on fire during an anti-North Korean rally on the second anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong Il in central Seoul December 17, 2013. North Korea’s political and military elite publicly pledged their loyalty to leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, less than a week after he ordered the execution of a powerful family ally in a rare public purge. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
- Flowers are seen on the sands of a beach in Meco, near Sesimbra, on December 17, 2013, as people watch the waves after one university student died and five others are missing when the group of seven were swept away by a huge wave on a beach in Portugal on December 15. The group, students at a university in the capital, had rented a house for a weekend break at Moinho de Baixo beach in the Sesimbra region. One member of the group was able to get to shore and call for help. (Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images)
- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich (L) gives a wink to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a signing ceremony after a meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission at the Kremlin in Moscow, December 17, 2013. Russia is planning to buy $15 billion worth of Ukraine’s upcoming eurobonds using money from a sovereign wealth fund this year and next, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)
- A medic connects electrodes to the head of Bertrand Piccard (C) pilot and co-founder of Solar Impulse before the start of a transatlantic 72 hour flight simulation at the airport in Duebendorf near Zurich December 17, 2013. Swiss long-range solar-powered aircraft project Solar Impulse HB-SIB airplane is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. Flight testing is planned for spring 2014, and the first solar-powered round-the-world flight for sometime between April and July 2015. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)
- A tree smoulders in an area that burned down to Highway 1 during a wild fire in Big Sur, California, December 17, 2013. A wildfire that erupted in a scenic stretch of California’s central coastline late Sunday night has destroyed at least 15 homes and forced many residents to evacuate, county and fire officials said. (Michael Fiala/Reuters)
- A giant panda plays in the snow at a zoo in Kunming, Yunnan province, December 16, 2013. Picture taken December 16, 2013. (China Daily/Reuters)
- The tower of the Allerheiligen church in Reitham and the mountains of the lake Tegernsee area are silhouetted against the dusk sky in Warngau December 17, 2013. Warm weather with temperatures close to 12 degrees celsius hit the southern part of Germany just seven day’s before Christmas. (Michael Dalder/Reuters)