DECEMBER 2017 - Pictures of the day - Dec 22 - Dec 31, 2017

DECEMBER 2017
Pictures of the day
Dec.22 – Dec.31
vinhbinh2010
DECEMBER 2017
Pictures of the day
Dec.22 – Dec.31, 2017
PPS by https://ppsnet.wordpress.com
Sources : reuters.com , AP images , nbcnews.com , …
January 31, 2018 Pictures of the day - Dec.22 - Dec.31, 2017 1

Reuters / Thursday, December 21, 2017
Used plastic candle containers are piled up in a yard before
they are decomposed at Plastkom's factory in Jesenice,
Slovenia. Plastkom, a Slovenian candle-recycling company
that is one of the few of its kind in Europe, decomposes about
1,400 tonnes of candles per year and exports most of the
material to Germany. Staunchly Catholic Slovenians use about
6,400 tonnes of candles a year, mainly for placing on family
graves. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic
Dec.21, 2017

December 22, 2017

A performer poses during
celebrations after Rahul
Gandhi, newly elected
president of India's main
opposition Congress party,
took charge as the
president during a
ceremony outside the
party's headquarters in
New Delhi, India.
REUTERS/Altaf Hussain
Dec.22, 2017

Fans of Kim Jong-hyun, lead singer of top South Korean boy band SHINee, react
as a hearse carrying his coffin leaves during his funeral at a hospital in Seoul,
South Korea. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Dec.22, 2017

Buildings are seen as fog blankets
the city of Skopje, Macedonia.
REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski
Dec.22, 2017

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises
during the winter solstice at Stonehenge
on Salisbury Plain in southern England.
REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Dec.22, 2017

Shadows of people queuing to vote are cast
on a wall during voting in Catalonia's regional
elections outside a polling station in
Barcelona, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
Dec.22, 2017

A woman tries to push a riot police
barricade during healthcare
employees and students protest in La
Paz, Bolivia. REUTERS/David Mercado
Dec.22, 2017

Stranded passengers ride on a makeshift
raft after all ferry service were cancelled, a
day after a Philippine vessel capsized
because of bad weather in Infanta, Quezon
in the Philippines. Reuters/Erik De Castro
Dec.22, 2017

Cataldo Ambulance medics and
other first responders revive a 32-
year-old man who was found
unresponsive and not breathing
after an opioid overdose on a
sidewalk in the Boston suburb of
Everett, Massachusetts.
REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Dec.22, 2017

Reuters / Friday, December 22, 2017
A wounded Palestinian demonstrator dressed as
Santa Claus is evacuated during clashes with Israeli
troops, at a protest as Palestinians call for a "Day of
Rage" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, near the
border with Israel in the southern Gaza Strip.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Dec.22, 2017

Palestinians burn a poster depicting U.S. President Donald
Trump as the U.N. General Assembly holds an emergency
special session to vote on a draft resolution calling on the
United States to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as
Israel's capital, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Dec.22, 2017

Israeli forces fire teargas canisters during a protest against U.S. President Donald
Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, near the Jewish
settlement of Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. REUTERS/Goran
Tomasevic
Dec.22, 2017

People react to results in Catalonia's regional elections at a gathering of the
Catalan National Assembly (ANC) in Barcelona, Spain. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Dec.22, 2017

A Cuban flag decorates a subsidised state
store, or "bodega", where Cubans can buy
basic products with a ration book they
receive annually from the government, in
downtown Havana, Cuba.
REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
Dec.22, 2017

The children of Apotex pharmaceutical
billionaire Barry Sherman and his wife
Honey console each other during their
memorial, days after what police called their
suspicious deaths in Toronto. REUTERS/Mark
Blinch
Dec.22, 2017

Catalan Ciudadanos leader Ines Arrimadas (C) smiles next to
Ciudadanos national leader Albert Rivera at a Ciudadanos rally after
results were announced in Catalonia's regional elections in
Barcelona, Spain. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Dec.22, 2017

An elephant dressed in a Santa
Claus costume distributes a
doll to students during
Christmas celebrations at
Jirasart school in Ayutthaya,
Thailand. REUTERS/Athit
Perawongmetha
Dec.22, 2017

Sergej W., who is suspected of
detonating three bombs, targeting
the Borussia Dortmund soccer
team bus in April, arrives to stand
trial at a German state court in
Dortmund, Germany.
REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Dec.22, 2017

Kobe Steel Executive Vice President Naoto
Umehara bows to apologise during a news
conference in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS/Kim
Kyung-Hoon
Dec.22, 2017

U.S. tourists Stafford Newsome and
Kaitlin Taft, sit in a Volkswagen Beetle,
the "world's smallest hotel", as his
owner Mohammed Al-Malahim
claims, in Shoubak, Jordan.
REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Dec.22, 2017

A girl cries as her mother combs her
hair outside their home on the
outskirts of Srinagar.
REUTERS/Danish Ismail
Dec.22, 2017

Lottery balls are lifted before being dropped
into a rotating drum before the start of
Spain's Christmas Lottery "El Gordo" (The Fat
One) in Madrid, Spain. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Dec.22, 2017

Girls take a selfie during the
Christmas market in Zagreb,
Croatia. REUTERS/Antonio Broni
Dec.22, 2017

A tourist poses for a picture during the
Christmas market in Zagreb, Croatia.
REUTERS/Antonio Bronic
Dec.22, 2017

Montagne Avenue is decorated with
Christmas illuminations during the holiday
season in Paris, France. REUTERS/Charles
PlatiauDec.22, 2017

Christmas decorations light up the
street on Carnaby Street in central
London, Britain. REUTERS/Peter
Nicholls
Dec.22, 2017

A woman and a man take a selfie as
they celebrate a Christmas festival in
Beirut, Lebanon. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Dec.22, 2017

People stop to look at Christmas light
decorations on a house on Beech Road,
St.Albans, Britain. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra
Dec.22, 2017

The Elysee Palace is reflected in a
Christmas tree ornament in Paris,
France. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
Dec.22, 2017

People take selfies in front of a
Christmas tree in Tbilisi, Georgia.
REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili
Dec.22, 2017

Israeli soldiers get out of a vehicle during
clashes with Palestinian demonstrators at a
protest as Palestinians call for a "Day of Rage"
in response to Trump's recognition of
Jerusalem as Israel's capital, near the West
Bank city of Nablus, December 22.
REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Dec.22, 2017

A Palestinian demonstrator hurls back a tear
gas canister fired by Israeli troops, during
clashes at a protest as Palestinians call for a
"Day of Rage" in response to Trump's
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital,
near the border with Israel in the east of Gaza
City, December 22. REUTERS/Mohammed
Salem
Dec.22, 2017

Reuters / Friday, December 22,
2017
Palestinian demonstrators take
cover during clashes with Israeli
troops, at a protest as
Palestinians call for a "Day of
Rage" in response to Trump's
recognition of Jerusalem as
Israel's capital, near the border
with Israel in the east of Gaza
City, December 22.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Dec.22, 2017

2017
A wounded Palestinian
demonstrator is evacuated
during clashes with Israeli
troops at a protest against
Trump's decision to recognize
Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel, near the border with
Israel in the east of Gaza City,
December 22.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Dec.22, 2017

2017
Israeli border police arrest a
Palestinian protester during a
protest against Trump's decision
to recognize Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel, near the Jewish
settlement of Beit El, near the
West Bank city of Ramallah
December 22. REUTERS/Goran
Tomasevic
Dec.22, 2017

Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas
fired by Israeli troops during clashes at a
protest as Palestinians call for a "Day of
Rage" in response to Trump's recognition
of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, near the
border with Israel in the east of Gaza City,
December 22. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Dec.22, 2017

Sixty-day-old Nadia Ahmad
Sabri, who suffers from
severe malnutrition, lies in
bed at a malnutrition
treatment center in the Red
Sea port city of Hodeida,
Yemen.
REUTERS/Abduljabbar
Zeyad
Dec.22, 2017

Twinkling holiday lights spread cheer around the world
From Maine to Romania, glittering holiday lights are cutting through the gloom as winter descends.
Tokyo
Visitors view a light show at an
amusement park on Dec. 20.
— Kimimasa Mayama / EPA
Dec.22, 2017

Philippines
A woman stands outside a house lit up
by Christmas lights in Manila on Dec.
22.
— Dondi Tawatao / Reuters
Dec.22, 2017

December 23, 2017

India
St. Thomas church is illuminated
ahead of Christmas in Bhopal on Dec.
23.
— Sanjeev Gupta / EPA
Dec.23, 2017

Myanmar
A girl walks in front of a
Christmas tree at Holy Trinity
Cathedral in Yangon on Dec. 23.
— Lynn Bo Bo / EPA
Dec.23, 2017

Denver
Motorists pass the traditional
holiday light display at the
City/County building on Dec. 23.
— David Zalubowski / AP
Dec.23, 2017

December 24, 2017

Joel Arena walks his boss' dog
through Frontier Park in St.
Charles, Mo., as snow falls on
Dec. 24. A winter storm that
brought several inches of snow
to parts of the Midwest was set
to blanket parts of the Northeast
on Monday, potentially snarling
travel.
— Robert Cohen / St. Louis Post-
Dispatch via AP
Dec.24, 2017

Islamabad
A man prepares a Christmas tree in a
Christian neighborhood on Dec. 24.
— Anjum Naveed / AP
Dec.24, 2017

aithful pray beneath a painting
depicting Jesus Christ during
midnight Mass at the Nuestra
Senora Del Carmen Church on
Dec. 24, in Rio Grande, Puerto
Rico. The Mass finished well
before midnight this year to
accommodate those who live in
areas without electricity. The
church ran the Mass with a
generator. Barely three months
after Hurricane Maria made
landfall, approximately one-third
of the devastated island is still
without electricity.
— Mario Tama / Getty Images
Dec.24, 2017

Indonesian Christians celebrate
Christmas Mass at a stadium in
Surabaya, on Dec. 24.
— Juni Kriswanto / AFP - Getty Images
Dec.24, 2017

Pope Francis leads the Christmas night
Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the
Vatican on Dec. 24.
— Tony Gentile / Reuters
Dec.24, 2017

Members of the U.S. army take a picture
during celebrations on Christmas Eve at a
U.S. airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan on Dec.
24.
— Mohammad Ismail / Reuters
Dec.24, 2017

People attend a Christmas Eve
Mass at The 'Flussschifferkirche'
floating church in Hamburg,
Germany on Dec. 24. The church
was first built for sailors who
navigate the rivers and canals.
— SRDJAN SUKI / EPA
Dec.24, 2017

Dallas Cowboys
cheerleaders perform at
halftime during an NFL
game against the Seattle
Seahawks in Arlington,
Texas on Dec. 24.
— Larry W. Smith / EPA
Dec.24, 2017

President Donald Trump and first
lady Melania Trump speak on the
phone with children as they track
Santa's movements with the North
American Aerospace Defense
Command Santa tracker on
Christmas Eve at the president's
Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach,
Florida on Dec. 24.
— Carolyn Kaster / AP
Dec.24, 2017

An Egyptian woman lights a candle
during a mass on Christmas Eve at Saint
Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Cairo
on Dec. 24.
— Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Dec.24, 2017

Christian worshippers pray at the
Church of the Nativity, accepted by
Christians as the birthplace of Jesus
Christ, in Bethlehem on Dec. 24.
— Abed Al Hashlamoun / EPA
Dec.24, 2017

A Franciscan monk
prays in the grotto
of the Church of
Nativity in
Bethlehem on Dec.
24.
— Jim Hollander /
EPA
Dec.24, 2017

Members of a Palestinian marching band
parade during Christmas celebrations
outside the Church of the Nativity on
Christmas Eve, in Bethlehem on Dec. 24.
— Majdi Mohammed / AP
Dec.24, 2017

Members of the Cryophile
winter swimming club form
2018 on the bank of the Yenisei
River to mark the upcoming
New Year and Christmas season
in Krasnoyarsk, Russia on Dec.
24.
— Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
Dec.24, 2017

December 25, 2017

A lifeguard wearing a Christmas hat uses
binoculars to watch swimmers on Christmas
Day at Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia, on
Dec. 25.
— David Gray / Reuters
Dec.25, 2017

A member of the U.S. Army receives a gift from
Santa during Christmas celebrations in Kabul,
Afghanistan, on Dec. 25.
— Mohammad Ismail / Reuters
Dec.25, 2017

A woman wearing a Santa hat
dives into a partly frozen lake in
Shenyang in China's Liaoning
province on Dec. 25.
— AFP - Getty Images
Dec.25, 2017

Midnight Mass and frosty plunges:
Christmas traditions around the world
Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et
Orbi Christmas day blessing from
the main balcony of St. Peter's
Basilica at the Vatican on Dec. 25,
2017.
— L'Osservatore Romano via AP
See Christmas celebrations around the world, from the Vatican to Kabul.
Dec.25, 2017

Worshippers with the Legio
Maria of African Church
Mission hold candles during
their overnight Christmas Mass
at the church near Ugunja,
Kenya, early on Dec. 25.
— Fredrik Lerneryd / AFP -
Getty Images
Dec.25, 2017

A man wearing a Santa hat warms
up before swimming in a partly
frozen lake in Shenyang in China's
Liaoning province on Dec. 25.
— AFP - Getty Images
Dec.25, 2017

A Palestinian shopkeeper dresses
plastic models outfitted as Santa Claus
outside his shop in Gaza City on Dec.
25.
— Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty
Images
Dec.25, 2017

Swimmers prepare to dive into the water
as they take part in the Christmas Day
Serpentine swim in London's Hyde Park
on Dec. 25.
— Andrew Winning / Reuters
Dec.25, 2017

Meghan Markle joins her
fiancé, Prince Harry, along
with Prince William and his
wife, Kate, at a Christmas
church service at Church of
St. Mary Magdalene in King's
Lynn, Britain on Dec. 25.
— Chris Jackson / Getty
Images
Dec.25, 2017

Britain's Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, leads members of the royal family
as they arrive to attend the Christmas Day church service on the Sandringham
estate in eastern England. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Dec.25, 2017

Members of the Berlin Seals ice
swimming club take a dip in
Orankesee lake as part of their
traditional Christmas session in
Berlin on Dec. 25.
— Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters
Dec.25, 2017

December 26, 2017

People take a selfie in front of the
India Gate war memorial on a smoggy
winter morning in New Delhi, India.
REUTERS/Saumya Khandelwal
Dec.26, 2017

A Rohingya refugee woman holds a child as
she waits for rice delivery at the Nayapara
refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Dec.26, 2017

A man dressed as Santa Claus gestures as the convoy
of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista
Pizzaballa arrives through an Israeli checkpoint to
attend Christmas celebrations, in the West Bank city
of Bethlehem. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Dec.26, 2017

Members of a family displaced by the
war in the northwestern areas of Yemen
sit in their makeshift hut on a street in
the Red Sea port city of Hodeida,
Yemen. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad
Dec.26, 2017

President Trump participates in
NORAD (North American
Aerospace Defense Command)
Santa Tracker phone calls with
children at Mar-a-Lago estate in
Palm Beach, Florida.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Dec.26, 2017

Pope Francis holds a statuette of baby
Jesus during the traditional midnight
mass in St. Peter's Basilica on
Christmas Eve at the Vatican.
REUTERS/Tony Gentile
Dec.26, 2017

George Weah, former soccer player
and presidential candidate of
Congress for Democratic Change
(CDC), arrives to cast his ballot
during presidential elections at a
polling station in Monrovia, Liberia.
REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon
Dec.26, 2017

Women gather to watch the body of
Noor Mohammad Tantray, a
suspected militant, who according
to the local media was killed in a
gunbattle with Indian security
forces, during his funeral in south
Kashmir's Tral town.
Dec.26, 2017

A Rohingya refugee stands next to a
pond in the early morning at the
Balukhali refugee camp near Cox's
Bazar, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Marko
Djurica
Dec.26, 2017

General view of the scene of a crash
involving a passenger bus that swerved off
course and drove into a busy pedestrian
underpass in Moscow, Russia. Courtesy of
Alexey Abanin/via REUTERS
Dec.26, 2017

Members of the U.S. army play guitars
during Christmas Eve celebrations at a
U.S. airfield in Bagram, north of Kabul,
Afghanistan. REUTERS/Mohammad
Ismail-26
Dec.26, 2017

December 27, 2017

A member of the Old Surrey Burstow
and West Kent Hunt crashes as she
jumps a fence during the annual Boxing
Day hunt in Chiddingstone, Britain.
REUTERS/Simon Dawson
Dec.27, 2017

Rohingya refugees walk next to a pond in the early morning at the Balukhali
refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Dec.27, 2017

Reuters reporter Kyaw Soe Oo
and his sister Nyo Nyo Aye hug
each other as he arrives at court
in Yangon, Myanmar.
REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.27, 2017

People bundle up against the cold
temperature outside of the Oculus
building in New York City.
REUTERS/Stephanie KeithDec.27, 2017

A photographer takes pictures of
waves breaking on the Brittany
coast at Audierne in western France.
REUTERS/Mal Langsdon
Dec.27, 2017

Migrants, part of a group intercepted aboard a dinghy off the coast in the
Mediterranean Sea, look on as they stand on a rescue boat upon arrival on
Christmas day at the port of Malaga, Spain. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
Dec.27, 2017

A man exercises in the morning at Ramna Park in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Dec.27, 2017

Herdsmen tame horses on a snow-covered pasture in
Xilingol, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
Ma Jianquan via REUTERS
Dec.27, 2017

Prince Harry gestures as he
guest-edits the BBC's Radio 4
Today programme, in London,
Britain. Jeff
Overs/BBC/Handout via
REUTERS
Dec.27, 2017

Peru's former President Alberto
Fujimori asks for forgiveness
from Peruvians as he lies in
hospital bed in Lima, Peru, in this
still image taken from a video
posted on Facebook. Fujimori
Handout/Reuters TV via
REUTERS
Dec.27, 2017

Workers climb scaffolding to clean the
walls of the historic Red Fort in the old
quarters of Delhi, India.
REUTERS/Saumya Khandelwal
Dec.27, 2017

Reuters reporter Wa Lone's wife Pan
Ei Mon (2nd-R) tries to catch his
hand as he arrives at court in
Yangon, Myanmar.
REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.27, 2017

An ambulance is seen during medical evacuation from the besieged town of
Douma, eastern Ghouta to Damascus, Syria. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
Dec.27, 2017

People walk past stranded cargo ship Ocean Crown
during a windy weather in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
Dec.27, 2017

A local checks her phone during a pre-Christmas "Posada" celebration at a
makeshift shelter for families of the Tlalpan housing project affected by the
September 19 earthquake in Mexico City, Mexico. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
Dec.27, 2017

Jockeys and horses prepare to warm up
before the Christmas Ballyheigue beach
horse races in the County Kerry village of
Ballyheigue, Ireland. REUTERS/Clodagh
Kilcoyne
Dec.27, 2017

A swimmer participates in the annual
Christmas winter swimming
competition in the Vltava river in
Prague, Czech Republic.
REUTERS/David W Cerny
Dec.27, 2017

Liverpool's Roberto Firmino
celebrates scoring their fourth goal
during their match against Swansea
City in Anfield, Liverpool, Britain.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Dec.27, 2017

The wreckage of a vehicle is pictured
at the site of air strikes in Sanaa,
Yemen. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Dec.27, 2017

A Christmas tree is pictured at a park that
was turned into a makeshift shelter for
families of the Tlalpan housing project
affected by the September 19 in Mexico City,
Mexico. REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme
Dec.27, 2017

A worker walks across the frozen
Kunming Lake at the Old Summer Palace
in Beijing, China. REUTERS/Thomas
Peter
Dec.27, 2017

A stag deer stands in the
undergrowth in Richmond Park, in
west London, Britain.
REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Dec.27, 2017

A Palestinian demonstrator moves a
burning tire during clashes with Israeli
troops, in the West Bank city of
Bethlehem. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Dec.27, 2017

Reuters / Wednesday, December 27, 2017
A privately owned Dassault Falcon 7X business jet
aircraft is seen after it was blown off the airport
apron and into an adjacent building as strong
winds hit the Maltese islands, according to local
media, at Malta International Airport in Luqa,
Malta. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
Dec.27, 2017

December 28, 2017

Revellers battle with flour and eggs during the traditional Els Enfarinats (The
Floured) festival in Ibi, Alicante Province, Spain. REUTERS/Heino Kalis
Dec.28, 2017

Runners and riders participate in the Christmas Ballyheigue beach horse races in
the County Kerry village of Ballyheigue, Ireland. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Dec.28, 2017

A newborn baby wearing a dog
costume to celebrate the New Year
of the Dog is pictured at the
nursery room of Paolo Chokchai 4
Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.
REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Dec.28, 2017

Rohingya refugees Saddam Hussein, 23,
and his wife Shofika Begum, 18, pose for a
photo in front of their temporary shelter
at the Kutupalong refugee camp near
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The newlywed
couple, both from the village of Foyra
Bazar in Maungdaw township that was
burnt by the Myanmar military, fled with
their families and other Rohingya some
three months ago, Saddam Hussein said.
They knew each other from before
escaping from Myanmar and were
planning to get married but managed to
do so only now, as refugees living in the
overcrowded Kutupalong refugee camp.
REUTERS/Marko Djurica
Dec.28, 2017

President Donald Trump greets members of the West Palm Beach Fire Rescue squads at
one of their stations in West Palm Beach, Florida. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Dec.28, 2017

First Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian parliament Iryna
Herashchenko embraces a prisoner of war (POW) from the
Ukrainian armed forces during the exchange of captives in
Horlivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Dec.28, 2017

Emergency Ministry members and policemen
are seen outside a supermarket after an
explosion in St Petersburg, Russia.
REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
Dec.28, 2017

A suspect is pictured inside a
drug den during a raid by
agents of the Philippine Drugs
Enforcement Agency in Tondo,
Manila, Philippines.
REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Dec.28, 2017

Children are seen in an ambulance during a
medical evacuation from the besieged town
of Douma, Eastern Ghouta to Damascus,
Syria. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh
Dec.28, 2017

New York Yemeni Americans
demonstrate in response to
President Donald Trump's
travel ban and recent denials
of visa applications in Foley
Square in lower Manhattan in
New York City, New York.
REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
Dec.28, 2017

Manuela Moelgg of Italy in
action during the first run of
the women's alpine slalom at
the FIS Alpine Skiing World
Cup in Lienz, Austria.
REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Dec.28, 2017

Four Link Systems, Inc's fully
electric foldable vehicle
'Earth-1' which was designed
by Kunio Okawara, famous in
Japan as the artist behind the
long-running wildly popular
robot anime "Gundam",
changes its form in Tokyo,
Japan. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Dec.28, 2017

Visitors walk on the newly opened
488-metre-long glass suspension
bridge at Hongyagu attraction in
Pingshan, Hebei province, China.
Zhang Haiqiang via REUTERS
Dec.28, 2017

Fishermen cover their heads and part of their
boats with blankets and straw as they wait to
catch fish in the waters of the Anchar Lake on
a cold winter day in Srinagar.
Dec.28, 2017

People are seen through balloons as they make
their way at the seaside promenade of the
northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece.
REUTERS/Alexandros AvramidisDec.28, 2017

A resident walks on 10th Street after two
days of record-breaking snowfall in Erie,
Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Robert Frank
Dec.28, 2017

Members of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after their
game against the Boston College Eagles in the 2017
Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Vincent Carchietta-
USA TODAY SportsDec.28, 2017

Fish farmers catch fish in
Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China.
REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.28, 2017

A woman watches the sun rise behind the Shard from
Primrose hill in London, Britain. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Dec.28, 2017

Drugs suspects are seen
sleeping inside a detention
cell of the Philippine Drugs
Enforcement Agency
(PDEA) in Quezon City,
Metro Manila, Philippines.
Dec.28, 2017

A firecracker explodes
next to riot police officers
during a protest rally
against Bolivia's
government new health
care policies in La Paz,
Bolivia. REUTERS/David
Mercado
Dec.28, 2017

Reuters / Thursday, December 28,
2017
Rohingya refugees Saddam Hussein,
23, and Shofika Begum, 18, pose for a
picture in a tent decorated with
blankets just after getting married at
the Kutupalong refugee camp near
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The newly
wed couple, both from the village of
Foyra Bazar in Maungdaw township
that was burnt by the Myanmar
military, fled with their families and
other Rohingya some three months
ago, Saddam Hussein said. They knew
each other from before escaping from
Myanmar and were planning to get
married but managed to do so only
now, as refugees living in the
overcrowded Kutupalong refugee
camp. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
Dec.28, 2017

Afghan women mourn
inside a hospital
compound after a suicide
attack in Kabul,
Afghanistan.
REUTERS/Mohammad
Ismail
Dec.28, 2017

December 29, 2017

Dec.27, 2017
What would Jerusalem be without its
walls? Poets have sung of them since
ancient times, they are mentioned in
the Book of Psalms, and they have
shadowed conflicts past and present.
The current golden limestone walls
date back to the 16th century.
Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the
Magnificent ordered the iconic
ramparts built after his father, Selim
the Grim, brought Jerusalem under
Turkish rule in 1517.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Friday, May 19, 2017
photo, Armenian school kids play
in the soccer field located next to
Jerusalem's Old City Walls at the
Sts. Tarkmanchatz Armenian
School of Jerusalem. (AP
Photo/Oded Balilty)
The city remained under Ottoman
rule for 400 years, until British
Gen. Edmund Allenby marched
through the Jaffa Gate on Dec.
11, 1917, the start of 30 years of
British rule.
Over the course of its tumultuous
3,000-year history, Jerusalem’s
Old City has had many masters,
from the ancient Persians and
Babylonians all the way up to the
modern states of Jordan and
Israel. There have been almost as
many walls, some torn down by
wars or earthquakes.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Tuesday, June 27, 2017 photo, Palestinians ride on horses during the Eid
al-Fitr holiday outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Today, the 2.5-mile (4 kilometer)
circuit around the Old City walls
brings visitors face-to-face with
Jews, Muslim and Christian
Arabs, Armenians, men and
women of the cloth and tourists
from around the globe.
But the Old City, its walls and its
famed religious sites — holy to
Jews, Christians, and Muslims —
are once again at the heart of a
renewed conflict. Both Israel
and the Palestinians lay claim to
the 215 acres (less than one
square kilometer) bound by the
walls.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Tuesday, June 27, 2017 photo, Palestinians celebrate the Eid al-Fitr
holiday outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)GALLERY PHOTOS

Israel captured the Old City, which was part of Jordanian-controlled east
Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel later annexed the entirety of
east Jerusalem, a move which the international community doesn’t
recognize. Palestinians seek east Jerusalem and the Old City as the capital
of their future state.
These conflicting claims have erupted into violence numerous times in the
past. On Dec. 6, President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem to be Israel’s
capital, enraging Palestinians and much of the Muslim world. Although
Trump said his declaration did not prejudge the outcome of negotiations
on the city’s final borders, it was seen by the Palestinians as siding with
Israel and led to several weeks of violence.

In this Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017 photo, people walk along the Jerusalem's Old
City walls, next to Jaffa Gate. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
But in the shadow of the walls, day-
to-day life flourishes. Families picnic,
worshippers pray, hawkers peddle
souvenirs and snacks, and artists use
the sand-hued stone as their canvas.
Associated Press photographer Oded
Balilty looks at daily life along
Jerusalem’s historic Old City walls.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017 photo,
members of Holy Land Bikers group gather
in Jerusalem Old City before riding their
motorbikes to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.
(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS
Dec.24, 2017

Dec.27, 2017
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 photo, a
man prays facing Jerusalem's Old City
walls between Jaffa Gate and Zion
Gate. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Wednesday, Dec.
20, 2017 photo, an ultra-
Orthodox Jewish man
plays his violin during the
Jewish holiday of
Hanukkah, at Jaffa Gate in
Jerusalem Old City. (AP
Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 photo, a
young girl waits for her family to cross
the Zion Gate in Jerusalem Old City. (AP
Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 photo, Israeli
Arab Christian school kids play on inflatables
games in De La Salle school basketball yard
surrounded by the Jerusalem's Old City walls
next to the New Gate in Jerusalem Old City.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Thursday, July 6, 2017
photo, Israeli police officers
search a Palestinian man next to
the New Gate in Jerusalem Old
City. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017 photo, an Israeli
soldier on their weekend time off carrying their
unloaded M-16 rifle as they tour in Jerusalem
Old City. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Saturday, May 20, 2017 photo, a view of Jerusalem Old City and
Damascus Gate, Saturday, May. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Monday, May. 15, 2017 photo, a
woman plays on a harp at Jaffa Gate In
Jerusalem Old City. (AP Photo/Oded
Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017 photo,
people walk in and out Jerusalem's Old City
seen through the Old city walls in Jaffa
Gate. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo,
Israelis carry national flags outside the Old
City's Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, during
Jerusalem Day which marks the 50th
anniversary of Israel's capture of the city's
eastern half from Jordanian control during the
Six-Day War in 1967. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Tuesday, July 25, 2017
photo, Palestinians pray as
Israeli border police officers
stand guard at the Lion's Gate
in Jerusalem's Old City. (AP
Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017 photo,
a view of Jerusalem Old City seen
from the Jerusalem Ramparts
Walk. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 photo,
people buy from a grocery store located
between Damascus Gate and the
Flowers Gate in Jerusalem's Old City.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo,
backdropped by the Silwan neighborhood of east
Jerusalem, people tour the Jerusalem Ramparts Walk
on Jerusalem's Old City walls. (AP Photo/Oded
Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 photo, Israelis walks
along the Jerusalem Old City walls during the
Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. (AP Photo/Oded
Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Wednesday, July 19, 2017 photo, Palestinians gather for prayer outside
the Lion's Gate following an appeal from clerics to pray in the streets instead of
inside the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, until a dispute
with Israel over security arrangements is settled. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016 photo,
people walk next to Damascus Gate in
Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, Dec.
31, 2016. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
TEXT FROM THE AP NEWS
STORY, JERUSALEM WALLS
OFFER GLIMPSE OF CITY'S
RICHNESS, BY ILAN BEN ZION
AND ODED BALILTY.
PHOTOS BY ODED BALILTY
GALLERY PHOTOS

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in the
air, as seen from Santa Monica,
California. Twitter/Joshua
Berson/@bersonphoto/via REUTERS
Dec.29, 2017

Ballerinas of Municipal Theatre ballet school
prepare backstage before a rehearsal for
their year-end performance, in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Dec.29, 2017

Children ride a manually operated Ferris wheel in a slum in Mumbai, India.
REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Dec.29, 2017

The Aurora Borealis (northern
lights) illuminates the sky of
Lapland region, in Inari, Finland.
LEHTIKUVA/Irene Stachon/via
REUTERS
Dec.29, 2017

Navy personnel of People's Liberation Army
(PLA) wave at their brides during a mass
wedding at a military base in Zhoushan,
Zhejiang province, China. REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.29, 2017

A cyclist is seen amid heavy fog
in Jinan, Shandong province,
China. REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.29, 2017

Religious Jews attend a special
prayer for rain at the Western
Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Dec.29, 2017

A vehicle is seen on a solar panel
expressway during its opening in Jinan,
Shandong province, China.
REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.29, 2017

Friends of a victim killed in a
fire at a restaurant wait at a
hospital in Mumbai, India.
Dec.29, 2017

Fire Department of New York (FDNY)
personnel work on the scene of an
apartment fire in Bronx, New York.
REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
Dec.29, 2017

A general view of the restaurants
destroyed in a fire in Mumbai, India.
REUTERS/Danish SiddiquiDec.29, 2017

Buildings are seen as fog blankets
the city of Skopje, Macedonia.
REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski
Dec.29, 2017

Palestinian teen Ahed Tamimi enters a
military courtroom escorted by Israeli
Prison Service personnel at Ofer Prison
near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Dec.29, 2017

December 31, 2017

Dec.31, 2017

People dance on a beach in Mumbai, India.
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks light the sky over
the Arc de Triomphe on the
Champs Elysees Avenue in
Paris, France.
REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
Dec.31, 2017

People fly lanterns at
Borobudur temple in
Magelang, Indonesia. Antara
Foto/Anis Efizudin/ via
REUTERS
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode behind the Elizabeth Tower,
commonly known as Big Ben, in London, Britain.
REUTERS/Toby Melville
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode in front of the skyline
with the financial district in Frankfurt,
Germany. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks light up the Atomium building, a
metal structure built in the form of a crystal of
iron, in Brussels, Belgium. REUTERS/Francois
Lenoir
Dec.31, 2017

Revellers enjoy themselves during
the Hogmanay celebrations in
Edinburgh, Scotland.
REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Dec.31, 2017

People watch fireworks in the rain in
downtown Beirut, Lebanon. REUTERS/
Jamal SaidiDec.31, 2017

People watch the first sunrise on New Year's Day
at a beach in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Dec.31, 2017

People celebrate the new year during a countdown
event at Yongdingmen Gate in Beijing.
REUTERS/Jason Lee
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks are seen during New
Year celebrations in
Pyongyang, North Korea. KCNA
/ via REUTERS
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode around
Familienkirche church in Vienna,
Austria. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader
Dec.31, 2017

Revellers enjoy themselves during Hogmanay
celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland.
REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode over the
ancient Parthenon temple atop
the Acropolis hill in Athens,
Greece. REUTERS/Costas Baltas
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks light up the Atomium
building, a metal structure built in
the form of a crystal of iron, in
Brussels, Belgium.
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode around National
Monument during New Year celebration in
Jakarta, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Wahyu
Putro/ via REUTERS
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode during New Year's celebrations in the business district in
Jakarta, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak/via REUTERS
Dec.31, 2017

People celebrate New Year at Eastwood mall in Quezon City
Metro Manila in the Philippines. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Dec.31, 2017

People watch as the Burj Khalifa is lit up during
the new year celebrations in Dubai, UAE.
REUTERS/Satish Kumar
Dec.31, 2017

Children wear "2018" glasses as they
wait for the new year fireworks in
Hong Kong. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode over Chao Phraya River
during New Year's celebrations in Bangkok,
Thailand. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaDec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode over Chao Phraya River during New
Year's celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand.
REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaDec.31, 2017

Fireworks light the sky over the
Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral
during the New Year's Day
celebrations in central Moscow.
REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva
Dec.31, 2017

People release balloons as they take
part in a New Year countdown event in
celebrations to ring in 2018 in Tokyo.
REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Dec.31, 2017

People enjoy as fireworks explode over
Lotte Group's 123-storey skyscraper
Lotte World Tower during New Year
celebration in Seoul, South Korea.
REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour and Hong
Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre during a
pyrotechnic show in Hong Kong, China.
REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition Centre during a pyrotechnic show
to celebrate the New Year in Hong Kong. REUTERS/Tyrone
Siu
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during
new year celebrations on Sydney Harbour, Australia. REUTERS/David Gray
Dec.31, 2017

A spectator waits for the annual
new year fireworks as part of
celebrations on Sydney Harbour,
Australia. REUTERS/David Gray
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during
new year celebrations on Sydney Harbour, Australia. REUTERS/David Gray
Dec.31, 2017

A spectator laughs as she waits for
the annual new year fireworks as
part of celebrations on Sydney
Harbour, Australia. REUTERS/David
Gray
Dec.31, 2017

People watch as sky lanterns are
released ahead of New Year on the
frozen Songhua river in Harbin,
Heilongjiang province, China.
REUTERS/Stringer
Dec.31, 2017

People watch fireworks in the rain
ahead of the New Year at Marina Bay
in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Dec.31, 2017

Fireworks explode next to the
Quadriga sculpture atop the
Brandenburg gate during New Year
celebrations in Berlin, Germany.
REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Dec.31, 2017

For nearly 2½ miles along the western bank of the Tigris River, hardly a single building is intact. The warren of narrow
streets of Mosul’s Old City is a crumpled landscape of broken concrete and metal. Every acre is weighed down by more than
3,000 tons of rubble, much of it laced with explosives and unexploded ordnance.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, a boy who recently returned to the Old City walks
past a destroyed building near his house in Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
It will take years to haul away
the wreckage, and this is just
one corner of the destruction.
The Iraqi military and U.S.-led
coalition succeeded in
uprooting the Islamic State
group across the country, but
the cost of victory is nearly
incalculable.
Three years of war devastated
much of northern and western
Iraq. Baghdad estimates $100
billion is needed nationwide to
rebuild. Local leaders in Mosul,
the biggest city held by IS, say
that amount is needed to
rehabilitate their city alone.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 15, 2017 photo, Haider, left, and Abdullah carry belongings they collected from their damaged
house to wash before returning to live in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
So far no one is offering to
foot the bill. The Trump
administration has told the
Iraqis it won’t pay for a
massive reconstruction
drive. Iraq hopes Saudi
Arabia and other Gulf
countries will step up, and
Iran may also take a role.
The U.N. is repairing some
infrastructure in nearly two
dozen towns and cities
around Iraq, but funding for
it is a fraction of what will
be needed. As a result,
much of the rebuilding that
has happened has come
from individuals using
personal savings to salvage
homes and shops as best
they can.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, Yahya Ali, right and Haifa Shehab, look through the
rubble in their house in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Nearly every city or town in
former IS territory needs
repair to one degree or
another. The longer it takes,
the longer many of those who
fled IS or the fighting remain
uprooted. While 2.7 million
Iraqis have returned to lands
seized back from the
militants, more than 3 million
others cannot and they
languish in camps. Worst hit
is Mosul; the U.N. estimates
40,000 homes there need to
be rebuilt or restored, and
some 600,000 residents have
been unable to return to the
city, once home to around 2
million people.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 18, 2017 photo,
construction workers carry a
generator as a bulldozer removes
debris from destroyed shops in the
Old City of Mosul, Iraq. Along the
neighborhood’s gutted roads, a
handful of people are beginning to
rebuild but the task ahead will take
years - and billions of dollars. (AP
Photo/Felipe Dana)
Corruption and bitter sectarian
divisions make things even harder.
The areas with the worst
destruction are largely Sunni, while
the Baghdad government is Shiite-
dominated. The fear is that if Sunni
populations feel they’ve been
abandoned and left to fend for
themselves in shattered cities, the
resentment will feed the next
generation of militants.
“The responsibility to pay for
reconstruction falls with the
international community,” said
Abdulsattar al-Habu, the director
of Mosul municipality and
reconstruction adviser to Nineveh
province, where the city is located.
If Mosul is not rebuilt, he said, “it
will result in the rebirth of
terrorism.”
GALLERY PHOTOS

FROM HUE TO MOSUL
Mosul’s Old City paid the price for the Islamic State group’s last stand.
Streets are now knee-deep in rubble from destroyed homes. The few
high buildings of six or seven stories have been blasted hollow, reduced
to concrete frames. Shopping centers and office buildings are pancaked
slabs. Almost all that is left of the 850-year-old al-Nuri mosque, blown
up by IS fighters as they fled, is the stump of its famed minaret.
This combination of two satellite image released by
DigitalGlobe shows the Old City of Mosul, Iraq on July 8, 2017
after a punishing nine month battle to oust Islamic State
militants, left, and on Nov. 13, 2015, right. (DigitalGlobe via AP)

In this Nov. 14, 2017 photo, a young construction worker smiles during a break as he
rebuilds a destroyed shop in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
GALLERY PHOTOS

At the southern end of the district, the arcades of stone-arched storefronts in
the historic bazaars that once sold spices, cloth and household goods are
charred and gutted. Eaves that once shaded shoppers look like they were hurled
into the air to land as mangled metal scattered across the cityscape. At the
northern end just outside the Old City, some buildings have been blown to
splinters and piles of dirt in a large medical compound that housed the College
of Medicine and the Jomhouriya Hospital.
All five bridges crossing the Tigris have been disabled by airstrikes, forcing all
traffic onto a single-lane temporary span linking east and west.
A debris field the same size in New York City would run from the 9/11 Memorial
nearly to 18th Street and cover nearly a quarter of Manhattan south of Central
Park.

In this Nov. 14, 2017 photo, shop keeper Zyad Mohammed Ali, walks inside a
damaged spa in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
There were effectively two battles for Mosul. The first, from October to
February, freed the city’s east, which survived largely intact. The second
pulverized the west side. There, IS dug in and the Iraqis and U.S.-led coalition
upped their firepower, culminating in house-to-house fighting in the Old City.
The city, which IS overran in the summer of 2014, was declared liberated in July.
An Associated Press investigation found at least 9,000 civilians died in the
assault to retake Mosul, most in the west.
The Old City shows the densest destruction, but nearly every neighborhood of
western Mosul has blocks of blasted houses, industrial areas, government
buildings and infrastructure.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, children and women carry metal scraps they
collected from the rubble in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
It’s been more than a generation since the last comparable fight to seize a city. Military experts
compare the assaults on Mosul and IS-held Raqqa in Syria to the devastating 1968 battle for the
Vietnamese city of Hue.
Some look even further back. “All I can think of is Dresden, or pictures I’ve seen of World War II,”
said Stephen Wood, a senior analyst at the satellite imagery firm DigitalGlobe.
Along the Old City’s gutted roads, a handful of people are beginning to rebuild. Amar Ismail
Brahim sold his wife’s gold to repaint his cafe. He didn’t bother asking for government aid.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, the sun sets behind damaged buildings
in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Brahim ultimately blames the
Islamic State group for the
destruction, but he believes the
obligation of reconstruction lies
with the United States and other
Western countries.
“We fought Daesh on behalf of the
whole world,” he said, using the
Arabic acronym for the group.
“Now is the time for them to stand
with Mosul.”
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 15, 2017 photo, boys, one of them carrying a toy gun, walk on the
empty streets of the Old City, in Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
WRENCHING
HOMECOMINGS
The enormity of the task ahead in
Mosul can be grasped by what has
— and hasn’t — happened in
Ramadi , the capital of Iraq’s
western Anbar province. Two years
after it was retaken from IS, more
than 70 percent of the city remains
damaged or destroyed, according to
the provincial council.
Nearly 8,300 homes — almost a
third of the houses in the city —
were destroyed or suffered major
damage, according to UN Habitat.
All five of Ramadi’s bridges over the
Euphrates River were damaged;
only three are currently under
repair. Three-quarters of the schools
remain out of commission.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 14, 2017 photo, a construction worker stands in the
destroyed old bazaar in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP
Photo/Felipe Dana)
The Anbar provincial council
holds its meetings in a small
building down the street from
the pile of rubble that was once
its offices. Nearly all of Ramadi’s
government buildings were
blown up by the militants.
“We haven’t received a single
dollar in reconstruction money
from Baghdad,” said Ahmed
Shaker, a council member.
“When we ask the government
for money to rebuild, they said:
’Help yourself, go ask your
friends in the Gulf” — a
reference to fellow Sunnis.
So people in Ramadi borrow, beg
and compromise.
Halayl Sharqii and his wife
Hanna returned in 2016 and
found their house destroyed.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 15, 2017 photo, Ahmed Maha sits with his face covered in dirt after
a day of work removing debris from a shop in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP
Photo/Felipe Dana)
“All I remember doing is picking up
the pieces of our furniture in a
blanket,” said the 75-year-old
Halayl.
Like most of their neighbors, they
borrowed money from extended
family to partially rebuild their
modest two-room house. A Qatari
aid organization helped fix the roof
of one room. All around, other
houses are in similar states of semi-
repair; on one home, bullet-holes
are patched up with cement, while
its neighbor is still missing walls.
Weeds are thick in neglected
gardens around damaged homes
that remain abandoned.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 15, 2017 photo, construction workers gather on a commercial street
in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
On one street corner, children clamber up a collapsed apartment building
and pick through the rubble. The former residents pay them 1,000 Iraqi
dinars (a little less than a U.S. dollar) for each family photograph or
identification document they retrieve from the dust and concrete.
Most of Ramadi’s pre-IS population of around a half million has returned.
Restaurants and shops are reopening along main streets, and traffic churns
through scores of checkpoints. Iraqi officials cite that as a sign of success.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 14, 2017 photo, a construction worker climb the stairs of a destroyed
shop in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
But like many others, the Sharqiis’ decision to return
was out of desperation, not hope. Their savings were
drained and they wore out their welcome in a
crowded home with extended family in Baghdad.
“We had no other choice but to return,” Halayl said.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 18, 2017 photo, workers repair the door of a shop in the
Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
‘NOT GOING TO HAPPEN’
The main engine for rebuilding has been the stabilization program run by the U.N.
development agency, known as UNDP, which focuses on rehabilitating
infrastructure, including roads, water and electricity systems and schools, as well
as some homes.
Its daily project notices are ambitious. To clear debris from Mosul’s riverbank
neighborhood of al-Madain, a single contractor must have three heavy-duty
shovels, six mini dump trucks, six tractor-trailers, two excavators and 2 tons of
black trash bags. The timeframe: 45 days. Workers must be locals and must earn
no less than $20 a day.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, Mustafa Hansen, left,
helps his father Ahmed Mohammed, center, and his
grandfather Mohammed Tahar, clear the alley
leading to their house in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq.
(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
But funding is far lower than what Iraq
says it needs. So far, stabilization has
received some $392 million in
contributions. The United States has
given the lion’s share, some $115
million. Germany is the second biggest
donor at $64 million. The United Arab
Emirates and Kuwait are also
contributing, but no other Gulf nations
are among the list of donors.
Overall, Washington has contributed
$265 million to reconstruction since
2014, on top of $1.7 billion in
humanitarian assistance in Iraq. That is
a fraction of the $14.3 billion that the
U.S. spent in fighting the Islamic State
group in Iraq and Syria.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 18, 2017 photo, shop
owner Abu Azar sits outside a
destroyed bazaar in the Old City of
Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
And it’s far less than what Iraqis hoped.
Baghdad at first expected American
money would flow in after the defeat of
IS, said a senior U.S. official in
Washington who regularly meets with
Iraqi leadership. But Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson has said the United States is
no longer in the business of “nation-
building.”
“We just tell them, no, it’s not going to
happen,” the U.S. official said. “We have
to be up front with them.”
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 18, 2017 photo, a construction worker walks amid a cloud of dust as a bulldozer
removes debris from destroyed shops in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
The official said many in Washington
believe past efforts in Iraq didn’t yield
adequate returns and there is little
appetite for large international
reconstruction projects. After the 2003
toppling of Saddam Hussein, the U.S.
pumped $60 billion over nine years into
Iraqi reconstruction. Critics say the
money did little to prevent political
disarray and the rise of militants in Iraq.
About $8 billion dollars of it was wasted
through corruption and
mismanagement, according to the U.S.
special inspector general for Iraq
reconstruction.
Douglas Silliman, the U.S. ambassador to
Iraq, blamed the destruction of Iraqi
cities squarely on IS fighters.
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 18, 2017 photo, construction workers stand atop damaged buildings
and shops in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
“Had they not been here, had
they not conducted a
completely brutal and
inhumane campaign against
the Iraqi people, this
destruction would not have
happened,” he said.
In mid-July, just as Mosul was
declared free of IS, German
Ambassador Ekkehard Brose,
then co-chair of the coalition
working group on stabilizing
Iraq, warned against the U.S.
attitude staying out of
reconstruction. In a debate
with an American counterpart,
he said the U.S. had “a lot to
answer for in the situation in
Iraq.”
GALLERY PHOTOS

In this Nov. 15, 2017 photo, aerial view of destroyed building and
shops in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
“Say a year after the last city’s been
retaken from the IS, stabilization
slowly peters out and then there’s
nothing,” said Brose, whose country
returned from the ashes of World
War II with the help of the U.S.-led
Marshall Plan. “Who fills that
vacuum?”
The answer to that could be new
militants, Iran or Russia, he said.
“If you like any of those options,
don’t do reconstruction.”
GALLERY PHOTOS

This satellite image released by DigitalGlobe shows the Old City
of Mosul, Iraq on July 8, 2017 after a punishing nine month
battle to oust Islamic State militants. (DigitalGlobe via AP)
GALLERY PHOTOS

This satellite image released by DigitalGlobe shows what
remains of the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq on July 8,
2017. (DigitalGlobe via AP)GALLERY PHOTOS

This combination of two satellite image released by
DigitalGlobe shows the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq
on July 8, 2017 after a punishing nine month battle to
oust Islamic State militants, left, and on Nov. 13, 2015,
right. (DigitalGlobe via AP)
Text from the AP news story, Cities in
ruins after Islamic State, little cash to
rebuild, by Susannah George and Lori
Hinnant.
PHOTOS BY FELIPE DANA
GALLERY PHOTOS

People celebrate New Year at
Eastwood mall in Quezon City Metro
Manila in the Philippines.
Dec.31, 2017
THE END
Pictures of the day
Dec.22 – Dec.31, 2017
PPS by https://ppsnet.wordpress.com

DECEMBER 2017 - Pictures of the day - Dec 22 - Dec 31, 2017

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