Dec. 23 Daily Brief: Pussy Riot members released, reindeer in the snow, a giant wave
The two jailed members of Pussy Riot were released, Scottish reindeer endure the snow, surfers battle in Spain’s Big Wave Challenge, and more in today’s daily brief.
- Eve Grayson, a Reindeer herder of the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd, feeds the deer on December 23, 2013 in Aviemore, Scotland. Reindeer were introduced to Scotland in 1952 by Swedish Sami reindeer herder, Mikel Utsi. Starting with just a few reindeer, the herd has now grown in numbers over the years and is currently at about 130 by controlling the breeding. The herd rages on 2,500 hectares of hill ground between 450 and 1,309 meters and stay above the tree line all year round regardless of the weather conditions. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
- Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova gestures as she walks out of prison in Krasnoyarsk, December 23, 2013. Tolokonnikova was freed from prison on Monday under an amnesty that allowed for her early release from a two-year sentence for a protest in a church against President Vladimir Putin. (Ilya Naymushin /Reuters)
- Anti-government protesters hold Thai national flags as they march towards the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Bangkok December 23, 2013. The Thai baht plumbed its lowest level in almost four years on Monday as a political crisis grew more intractable, with anti-government protesters attempting to stop candidates from registering for a February election. (Kerek Wongsa/Reuters)
- A surfer rides a wave during the Punta Galea Big Wave Challenge in Punta Galea, northern Spain, December 22, 2013. The best big wave riders in the world battled on Sunday against six local wildcards from Spain’s Basque Country region at Punta Galea, located 15 kilometres from Bilbao. South African surfer Grant Baker won the competition. (Joseba Etxaburu/Reuters)
- French troops of the Sangaris operation and civilians try to comfort a boy crying after a demonstrator who was shot dead near the international airport in Bangui on December 23, 2013. African Union troops fired on demonstrators protesting against the president of the strife-torn Central African Republic, killing at least one person, according to AFP reporters on the scene. (Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images)
- Romualdo Redona and his younger sister Angel offer prayers and candles at the grave of their siblings, who were victims of the onslaught of super typhoon Haiyan a month ago, buried in a vacant lot along a main road in Tanuan, Leyte province, central Philippines December 23, 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. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)
- Men from Dinka tribe stand amongst cows in a Dinka cattle herders camp near Rumbek, capital of the Lakes State in central South Sudan December 14, 2013. Picture taken December 14, 2013. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
- People walk past decorations on a street ahead of Christmas day celebrations in Colombo December 23, 2013. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)
- A woman searches for recyclable waste at a dump site on the banks of Bagmati River in Kathmandu December 23, 2013. According to one of the workers from the site, they each earn about $5 a day. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)
- A man is silhouetted as he walks near Jaffa Gate outside Jerusalem’s Old City December 23, 2013. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)
- Shi’ite pilgrims pray at the Imam al-Abbas shrine during the Shi’ite religious ceremony of Arbain in the holy city of Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, December 23, 2013. Arbain, which falls on December 23 and 24, 2013, commemorates the end of the 40-day mourning period since Ashura, which marks the death of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Imam Hussein. (Reuters/Mushtaq Muhammed)
- Children dressed in Santa Claus costumes wave as they travel in a vehicle after attending Christmas celebrations at a church in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh December 23, 2013. (Ajay Verma/Reuters)
- A man wearing a gas mask walks through fire as protestors clash with Turkish police during a demonstration on December 22, 2013 in the Asian side of Istanbul. Turkey’s prime minister threw down the gauntlet to his rivals on Sunday, warning he will “break their hands” if they use allegations of high-level corruption to undermine his rule. His heated remarks came as riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Istanbul calling for the government’s resignation. ( Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)
- Guatemalan municipal firefighter Carlos Chacon, dressed as Santa Claus, goes down a cable from a bridge to deliver presents to children in Guatemala City on December 22, 2013. (Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty Images)
- Accompanied by royal family members, Japanese Emperor Akihito (3rd L) waves from the balcony to well-wishers celebrating his birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on December 23, 2013. The emperor turned 80 years old on December 23. L-R: Crown Princess Masako, Crown Prince Naruhito, emperor, Empress Michiko, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko and Princess Mako. (Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images)