Our world in photos: May 23

RIO DE JANEIRO — Alliance with nature — a success with reforestation: Similarly, reforestation projects are meeting success in South America. Pictured is an aerial view of a mangrove recovered from deforestation in the Guapimirim environmental protection area on Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Four years ago, the Mar Urbano NGO planted 30,000 mangrove trees in the deforested area that today reach up to 4 meters high. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classed this coastline area bordering the South Atlantic Ocean as an IUCN-protected area category V, a protected landscape/seascape.

The prime objective of the IUCN-protected area is to safeguard the remaining mangroves in Guanabara Bay and to preserve the human populations whose ethos centers on a traditional lifestyle in a close relationship with the environment.

FRANKFURT — Unburdened by the oversized human brain, a bird goes about the business of daily life: A stork flies over a field on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, on a misty Thursday morning, May 23, 2024. This bird resembles the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) with partially-black wings. The White Stork is a migratory bird known to winter in Spain and Africa; on their return flights to Germany, these storks cover around 10,000 kilometers.

The White Stork is also considered a symbol of luck and happiness in Germany. Perhaps that’s why they chose Grafenwoehr’s Culture and Military Museum in eastern Germany as their home last year.

COLOMBIA — Learning from our forebears: A white-faced capuchin holds an earthworm at a wildlife center in the rural Las Mercedes community of Tocaima, Colombia, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The shelter is a transit home for wildlife recovered through national police seizures, rescue operations or voluntary handovers by owners.

Capuchin monkeys (sometimes called Panamanian Capuchin monkeys), which are native to Central and South America, are highly social animals and are named after the Capuchin Friars, a Roman Catholic religious order related to the Franciscans, who often live in fraternal communities.

WEST BANK — Another image clarifies the impossibility of peace in a difficult region: Mourners carry the bodies of Palestinians. Some are draped in the Islamic Jihad militant group flags during their funeral in the West Bank city of Jenin, Thursday, May 23, 2024. The Israeli military said Thursday it has completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Health Ministry says killed 12 Palestinians. Militant groups claimed at least eight of the dead as fighters, one from Hamas and seven from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Even before the Hamas attack that led to the war in Gaza, the West Bank has been a region of hostilities between Palestinians and the Israeli government, the latter of which has sought to increase settlements.

The Israeli government’s casualty counts do not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

UKRAINE — Latest civilian losses to Russian missiles: Rescuers carry a body after a Russian missile hit a large printing house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Russian missiles slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians early Thursday, officials said, as Kyiv’s army labored to hold off an intense cross-border offensive by the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s allies are strategizing on how they can extract money from frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv’s war effort, a debate getting more urgent as Russia gains territory on the battlefield. The U.S. Congress’ protracted fight over a since-passed funding package for Ukraine also aggravated the crisis.

TEL AVIV — Dramatic ‘half face’ photos of hostages: Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza hold photos of their loved ones during a performance calling for their return in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, May 23, 2024.

Also, within the past day, the families of five Israeli women soldiers who were taken hostage released the video of the capture. Their goal was to keep the public mindful of their plight and to pressure Israeli leaders to revive negotiations for their release.

KATHMANDU — A congregation of birds joins worshippers: Buddhist devotees stand in a queue to light butter lamps during Buddha Jayanti or Buddha Purnima festival at the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, May 23, 2024. This year marks the 2586th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha, which is religiously significant in the Hindu religion. Tradition holds that Gautam Buddha was born on Full Moon day in Vaishakha. Celebrated as Vesak and Buddha Jayanti, it is believed he was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Adherents dress in white garments and distribute kheer, which is a rice pudding. A legend began when a woman named Sujata once offered the kheer to Gautama Buddha.

Buddhism and Hinduism have a common bond in the religious history of ancient India. Buddhism has its origins in the Gangetic plains during the 5th century B.C.E.

FRANCE — Secularism in schools is an uphill climb: Students run up a flight of stairs as they make their way to class at Ibn Khaldoun, a private Muslim school, in Marseille, southern France, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Brought into the international spotlight by the ban on hijabs for French athletes at the upcoming Paris Olympics, France’s unique approach to “laïcité” — loosely translated as “secularism” — has been increasingly stirring controversy from schools to sports fields across the country. France has banned the wearing of hijab in public schools since 2003; a year later, the nation banned the wearing of the abaya, or full body and head covering for women. Since 2011, these religious head coverings have been banned in all public places. 

Ibn Khaldoun was established in 2009 with 25 students and has grown to enroll almost 400. Located in Marseille, Ibn Khaldoun is one of the few private Muslim schools under contract with the French government, receiving financial support but required to adhere to strict curricular and behavioral standards.

WHITE HOUSE — African diplomacy high on the agenda: President Joe Biden, center right, and Kenya’s President William Ruto, center left, along with Kenya’s First Lady Rachel Ruto, left, and First Lady Jill Biden, right, wave after a State Arrival Ceremony Thursday, May 23, 2024, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. President and First Lady Ruto are on a three-day state visit, during which the two nations issued a joint statement celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. They also declared this relationship is expanding from regional to global.

The Rutos’ visit occurs as the East African nation’s police force is deployed to Haiti to help quell the gang-related violence and to deal with the neighboring Dominican Republic’s crackdown on immigrants.

MOSCOW — Russian tentacles draw in Bahrain: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to meet with Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa prior to their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Bahrain, a tiny but strategically located nation in the Persian Gulf, has relations with both the United States and the United Kingdom. But on Thursday, as part of Al Khalifa’s talks with Putin, Bahrain revealed its tentative willingness to resume diplomatic relations with Iran after accusing it of fomenting discord among Islamic groups.

However, according to Iran International Newsroom, Bahrain has recently taken interest in other diplomatic agreements and thawing of tensions between other nations in the Middle East, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia.

BERLIN — Under the ‘Crown of Seven Blades’ is the slogan “protect freedom” — and a lot of makeup: Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends an event marking the 75th anniversary of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz), in Berlin, Germany, Thursday May 23, 2024. Also called the West German Constitution, or the Federal Republic of Germany’s Constitution, the Basic Law was approved in Bonn on May 8, 1949, then approved by the occupying Western Allies on May 12, and took effect on May 23, 1949.

The Basic Law guarantees the right to own property, freedom of movement, free choice of occupation, freedom of association, and equality before the law.

NEW YORK — ‘All I wanted was a little hug’: New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba (8) and Florida Panthers center Kevin Stenlund (82) collide during the third period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference Stanley Cup playoff finals, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in New York. The Panthers took Game 1 with a 3-0 score, in part because of an erroneous own goal on the Rangers’ part.

The two teams travel to play Game 2 in New York City on Friday night.

HOUSTON — ‘It’s okay — we have a washing machine: Houston Astros’ Jake Meyers beats the tag on a return to first base against the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Houston. Los Angeles had fewer hits but won this game 2-1. The winning pitcher was Tyler Anderson; Luis Garcia pitched the save.

Both teams are off Thursday. The Angels return home to host the Cleveland Guardians on Friday for the first of a three-game series. The Astros travel to Oakland for a series of games starting Friday.