Battle for Aleppo intensifies Syrian conflict

source  :  http://www.boston.com  :  January 30, 2012

With 200,000 fleeing Aleppo, fighting in Syria intensified in the 16-month long struggle opposing the rule of Bashar al-Assad. While fighting still grips Homs after a brutal siege, the conflict has moved north to finally include commercial hub Aleppo - largely spared until now - a city of over two million. Both the Syrian army and the rebel Free Syrian Army claim advances in the battle for Aleppo, which began in earnest over the weekend. More pockets of conflict rage in other locations within Syria as well. Gathered here are images made available in the last week from Syria, where independent news coverage has been limited and difficult. Some of the images are from third parties and transmitted without confirmation via international wire services as they were received. -- Lane Turner (32 photos total)

A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad burns during clashes between rebels and Syrian troops in Selehattin, near Aleppo, on July 23, 2012. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/GettyImages)

In flight

                                          SOURCE :    http://www.boston.com

The desire to float on the breeze is a strong one. The illusion of escaping gravity, however briefly, has driven mankind in myriad attempts at flight. The animals that achieve this are the subject of envy, study, and imitation. Flying, falling, or floating, the following images show us joyfully escaping the bounds of gravity, even if just for a moment. [Editors' note: There will be no Big Picture entries for the week of August 27, 2012. We will return with regular posts on Wednesday, September 5, 2012.]-- Lane Turner 

A competitor jumps into the water during a cliff diving competition near the central Bohemian village of Hrimezdice, Czech Republic on August 3, 2012. (David W Cerny/Reuters)

2

A participant demonstrates his skills using a water jet pack during a competition near Pleshchenitsy, Belarus on August 4, 2012. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) #

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Roller skate designer and performer Jean-Yves Blondeau leaps into the air as he skates down a road on Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China on July 22, 2012. Wearing a multiple-wheel roller suit, Blondeau took less than 20 minutes to skate almost seven miles from the peak to its base. (China Daily/Reuters) #

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Benny Borash kite boards in heavy seas and wind off Long Beach in Nahant, Mass. on June 4, 2012. (Bill Greene/Globe Staff) #

5

Jessica Marie Palazzolo, suspended from an overhead pulley, is lowered during the "Flight of the Angel," the culmination of the four-day Fisherman's Feast in Boston's North End on August 13, 2012. (Tamir Kalifa for The Boston Globe) #

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Chris Ashworth, who plays a cosmonaut, heads towards the camera during rehearsal for filming of the movie "Space Warriors" on July 20, 2012 at the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. (Dave Dieter/The Huntsville Times/Associated Press) #

7

Tourists enjoy zero gravity conditions during a flight in a specially modified plane above the Moscow region on August 15, 2012. (Sergei Remezov/Reuters) #

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Felix Baumgartner steps out from the capsule during a test flight on July 25, 2012 over Roswell, New Mexico on a mission to the edge of space to an altitude of 37.000 meters to break several records including the speed of sound in freefall. (Jay Nemeth/Red Bull via Getty Images) #

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Soldiers are deployed from a Washington Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a demonstration on August 5, 2012 in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren/Associated Press) #

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A Belgian Air Force C-130 cargo plane flies over Belgium on July 19, 2012 during a rehearsal for the country's National Day military parade. (Yves Herman/Reuters) #

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Russian Su-27 jet fighters perform during a celebration marking the Russian air force's 100th anniversary in Zhukovsky, Russia on August 12, 2012. (Mikhail Metzel/Associated Press) #

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A firefighting tanker plane drops water above a forest fire near Lacanau, France on August 17, 2012. (Loic Le Loet/Reuters) #

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Michael Wiskus wows the crowd at the Over the River Air Show on July 28, 2012 in Pasco, Wash. (Richard Dickin/The Tri-City Herald/Associated Press) #

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A replica Bleriot plane performs during a rehearsal of the Russian air force's 100th anniversary in Zhukovsky on August 10, 2012. (Misha Japaridze/Associated Press) #

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Tourists look at the Prague Castle from a balloon on August 12, 2012 in Prague. (Michal Cizek/AFP/GettyImages) #

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Hot air balloons take to the skies from Ashton Court at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta on August 10, 2012 in Bristol, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images) #

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A fawn breasted Birillant (Heliodoxa rubinoides) is seen at the private reserve of Paz de las Aves (Peace of the Birds) near Nanegalito, Ecuador on April 4, 2012. Ecuador has 1600 species, 13% of the existing world total. (Rodrigo BuendiaAFP/GettyImages) #

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Young sparrows call out to a male house sparrow as it flies off to find more food in East Windsor, Conn. on July 26, 2012. (Jessica Hill/Associated Press) #

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Mosquitoes and a dragonfly flit around a light on a hot summer night at the Turquillas land in Osuna, Spain on August 9, 2012. (Jon Nazca/Reuters) #

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A squirrel aboard the USS Constitution exercises its sea legs in Boston, Mass. on August 16, 2012. (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff) #

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France's Renaud Lavillenie celebrates as he competes in the pole vault final at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 10, 2012. (Johannes Eisele/AFP/GettyImages) #

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A diver takes a plunge with torches from the 82-foot-high Old Mostar Bridge into the Neretva River during the annual night high diving event in Mostar, Bosnia on July 29, 2012. (Amel Emric/Associated Press) #

23

Indian children dive in the River Ganges in Varanasi, India on June 1, 2012. (Rajesh Kumar Singh/Associated Press) #

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A couple jumps into the lake in Podpec, Slovenia on August 6, 2012. (Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters) #

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Actor Doug Jones jumps at the premiere of "The Watch" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on July 23, 2012. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters) #

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A paramilitary policemen clears a wall during a training exercise at a military base in Chuzhou, China on July 25, 2012. (ChinaTopix/AP Photo) #

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The English National Ballet performs a show before the start of the women's individual all-around gymnastics final in the North Greenwich Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 2, 2012. (Mike Blake/Reuters) #

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Jonathan Horton of the US trains at the O2 Arena before the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games in London July 25, 2012. This photo was taken using multiple exposures . (Mike Blake/Reuters) #

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138 skydivers form a massive snowflake on August 3, 2012 over Ottawa, Ill. It took 15 attempts over three days for the team to break the previous record of 108 skydivers, which was set in 2009. (Brian Buckland/Associated Press) #

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Megan Haverkamp (center front) and Michaela Hart enjoy a ride called the Ring of Fire at the midway of the Crow Wing County Fair on July 31, 2012 in Brainerd, Minn. (Kelly Humphrey/Brainerd Dispatch/Associated Press) #

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A boy flies a kite by the Amazon River during a festival inaugurating the river as one of the seven natural wonders of the world in Iquitos, Peru on August 13, 2012. (Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters) #

China Bad Air จีน: อากาศเป็นพิษ

China's Skies: Toxic levels of pollution
มลพิษเต็มท้องฟ้าสาธารณรัฐประชาชนจีน




source  :   http://www.boston.com/bigpicture              


มกราคม 2556                                                

No country in history has become a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage. China is clearly not an exception. The speed and scale of China's rise has brought an unprecedented pollution problem. Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China's leading cause of death according to the Ministry of Health. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The factories and spewing automobile engines recently caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled in and around Beijing. Stores are selling out of face masks and the government struggles to figure out this political challenge and provide relief of the long-term burden on its people. -- Paula Nelson

A woman wears a mask as she does her morning exercise outdoors in Fuyang, Anhui province, Jan. 14, 2013. China's environmental watchdog has ordered greater efforts to issue early warnings for air quality. (China Daily/Reuters)

Hindu Holy Bathe พิธีอาบน้ำอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์ MahaKumbhMela,

     source  :   http://www.boston.com

 

Maha Kumbh Mela

Held only once every twelve years, the cleansing ritual of the Maha Kumbh Mela sees up to a hundred million Hindu devotees symbolically bathe away their sins in the holy Ganges River. It is thought to be the largest gathering of humanity on earth. For 55 days devotees wade into the river to bathe, and join other religious observations on the banks of the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Various sadhu and sadhvi (holy men and women) abound. The Maha Kumbh Mela began this year on January 14, with preparations starting weeks earlier. [Editors' note: The Big Picture will not publish on Monday, January 21, as we observe the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. We will return on January 23 with regular posts.] -- Lane Turner 

Hindu devotees bathe in the waters of the holy Ganges river during the auspicious bathing day of Makar Sankranti of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 14, 2013 in Allahabad, India. The Maha Kumbh Mela, believed to be the largest religious gathering on earth, is held every 12 years on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. The Kumbh Mela alternates between the cities of Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar every three years. The Maha Kumbh Mela celebrated at the holy site of Sangam in Allahabad, is the largest and holiest. Celebrated over 55 days, it is expected to attract over 100 million people. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 

Daily Life: January 2013

from  http://www.boston.com/bigpictures

For this edition of our look at daily life we share images from Pakistan, Turkey, Belarus, Germany, El Salvador, Spain, Portugal and a few others from around the world. -- Lloyd Young ( 38 photos total)

Pakistani children, who were displaced with their families from Pakistan's tribal areas due to fighting between militants and the army, watch a girl skipping a rope, while playing in an alley of a neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Jan. 28. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press)

Dakar Rally 2013

     source  :  www.boston.com

This year, racers in the Dakar Rally are more than halfway through their 8,000-mile journey. They travel via motorcycle, quad bike, car, or truck over extreme terrain in three countries in South America. Competitors and support crews come from more than 50 countries to challenge their mechanical, driving, and orienteering skills. The race kicked off in Lima on Jan. 5 and will wrap up this Sunday with the podium celebrations in Santiago, Chile. -- 

Salvadoran Jorge Aguilar takes part in the sixth stage of Dakar Rally between Arica and Calama, Chile, on Jan. 10. (Felipe Trueba/European Pressphoto Agency)