Feb 19, 2014

Feb. 19 Daily Brief: Baby race in Amsterdam, Blustery day at the Vatican, Ultra-orthodox Jewish wedding, midwives strike, Beirut bombing

Baby race in Amsterdam, Blustery day at the Vatican, Ultra-orthodox Jewish wedding, midwives strike, Beirut bombing and more in today’s daily brief.

: Toddlers take part in a race during the annual Nine Months Fair (Negenmaandenbeurs) in Amsterdam. This event offers new parents and parents-to-be all kind of information about pregnancy and baby and is held from February 19 to 23. (Robin Van Lonkhuijsen/Getty Images)

: A squirrel sits on a tree in Hanover, central Germany. (Julian Stratenschulte/Getty Images)

: Pope Francis salutes the crowd as he arrives for his general audience in St Peter’s square at the Vatican. (Gabriel Bouys/Getty Images)

: A gust of wind blows Pope Francis’s mantle as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter’s square at the Vatican. (Max Rossi/Reuters)

: A combination picture of Pope Francis as a gust of wind blows his skull cap off as he leads the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Max Rossi/Reuters)

: Norway’s Alexander Kristoff celebrates after winning the 130 km (81 miles) stage two of the Tour of Oman cycling race in Muscat. (Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)

: Thai soldiers hand out bottles of water to anti-government protesters through a barbed-wire fence at a Defence Ministry compound serving as a temporary office for Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in north Bangkok. Protesters seeking to oust Yingluck rallied at her temporary office on Wednesday, but the premier stayed away from the potential flashpoint a day after five people were killed in gunbattles in Bangkok. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

: An anti-government protester stands near Thai soldiers guarding a Defence Ministry compound, which is serving as a temporary office for Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in north Bangkok. Protesters seeking to oust Yingluck rallied at her temporary office on Wednesday, but the premier stayed away from the potential flashpoint a day after five people were killed in gunbattles in Bangkok. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

: Midwives, wearing white masks and bearing the words ”on strike”” take part in a demonstration to ask the government to clarify their status in Paris. Some of the midwives on strike, are asking to leave the public service to become hospital practitioners. (Joel Saget/Getty Images)

: Jewish bride Rivka Hannah (Hofman) looks at her groom Aharon Krois from behind a curtain during the Mitzvah Tans dance ritual following their wedding in an ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. During the Mitzvah Tans dance ritual the bride will dance with members of the community, family and with her groom at the end of the wedding ceremony. (Menahem Kahana/Getty Images)

: Children peep from behind a curtain next to Jewish ultra-orthodox bride Rivka Hannah (Hofman) during the Mitzvah Tans dance ritual following her wedding in an ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. During the Mitzvah Tans dance ritual the bride will dance with members of the community, family and with her groom at the end of the wedding ceremony. (Menahem Kahana/Getty Images)

: Jewish ultra-orthodox groom Aharon Krois celebrates his wedding with Rivka Hannah (Hofman) (unseen) during the Mitzvah Tans dance ritual following her wedding in an ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. During the Mitzvah Tans dance ritual the bride will dance with members of the community, family and with her groom at the end of the wedding ceremony. (Menahem Kahana/Getty Images)

: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groom Aharon Cruise (C) dances during his wedding in the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. Mea Shearim is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It is populated mainly by Haredi Jews. (Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

: Britain’s Prince Charles (C) wearing traditional Saudi uniform, dances with sword during the traditional Saudi dancing best known as ‘Arda’ performed during Janadriya culture festival at Der’iya in Riyadh. Charles arrived in Saudi Arabia on a private visit. (Fayez Nureldine/Getty Images)

: Models present creations for the Simongao collection during the 2014 Autumn / Winter London Fashion Week. (AndrewCowie/Getty Images)

: Flames rise from the wreckage of cars following a bomb explosion in a outhern suburb of the capital Beirut . Twin bomb blasts appeared to target the Iranian cultural centre, and an AFP photographer at the scene said the blasts had occurred beyond a security checkpoint at the centre, close to the building. (Getty Images)

: A man stands at the balcony of a damaged building at the site of an explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut.The al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed a twin bomb attack in Beirut on Wednesday, saying such attacks would continue until Hezbollah forces withdrew from the fighting in Syria and its own fighters were released from Lebanese jails. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

: A Lebanese man carries an injured girl following a bomb explosion in a southern suburb of the capital Beirut. Twin bomb blasts appeared to target the Iranian cultural centre, and an AFP photographer at the scene said the blasts had occurred beyond a security checkpoint at the centre, close to the building. (Getty Images)

: Leopoldo Lopez (C), an ardent opponent of Venezuela’s socialist government facing an arrest warrant after President Nicolas Maduro ordered his arrest on charges of homicide and inciting violence, is escorted by the national guard into a vehicle after he turned himself in, during a demonstration in Caracas. Fugitive Venezuelan opposition leader Lopez, blamed by Maduro for violent clashes that left three people dead last week, appeared at an anti-government rally in eastern Caracas and quickly surrendered to the National Guard after delivering a brief speech. (Christian Hernandez/Getty Images)

: Republic of Congo policemen shoot at anti-Balaka forces at a road block in Bangui’s Combatant neighborhood, Central African Republic. Heavy gunfire and explosions from rockets and grenades erupted on February 19 at the airport in the Central African Republic’s capital Bangui where protesters have erected barricades against international forces based there, an AFP correspondent said. Bullets whistled past French soldiers guarding the main entrance to the airport, the correspondent said. (Fred Dufour/Getty Images)

: Pakistani teenage activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai (top C) lights candles with Syrian refugee girls who live in Jordan, during her visit to Al Manara Social Development centre in Amman. Malala, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education, was met with songs and dancing from the girls, who then listened to her story and message. (Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

: An Afghan child walks through the snow during snowfall in Kabul. The Afghan capital has experienced its third snowfall of the winter. (Nicolas Asfouri/Getty Images)