Our world in photos: December 6
Brooklyn Eagle Staff
December 6, 2024
VALENCIA — Nature’s revenge — mixing mud with a flood causes deaths and damage: A man walks past stacked up cars after floods in Catarroja that left hundreds dead or missing in the Valencia region in Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Vehicles were not the only mode of transportation affected. Railway lines in eastern Spain face repairs. The local railway link serving the Sedavi district of Valencia, near the Alfafar-Benetússer station, was among those sustaining the worst damage when last week’s flash floods swept everything away, including tracks.
Valencia is suffering major traffic jams around the city due to the closure of this vital transport link. The rail operator RENFE has not given a date for the completion of repairs.
BEIRUT — When men decide to fight, children are left to suffer: Ivana Skakye, 2, a Lebanese child who is suffering from third-degree burns over 40 percent of her body following an Israeli airstrike last September near their home in Deir Qanoun al Nahr, a village in south Lebanon, raises her burned arms as she lies on a bed at the Geitaoui hospital where she is receiving treatment, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Since that photo was taken, doctors have reported that while the children are healing from their physical wounds, their emotional scars will persist, with the youngest generations being traumatized in war-torn Lebanon.
One boy, four-year-old Hussein Mikdad, miraculously survived an Israeli airstrike last month that killed his mother, three siblings and six other relatives. Hussein is among hundreds of wounded Lebanese children who have become orphaned in Israeli airstrikes.
WINDSOR — Royal honors for a vital cinematic stuntman: Kiran Shah, stuntman and scale double in “The Lord of the Rings,” is made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Britain’s Prince William, at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Shah, a native of Nairobi, Kenya, to Indian parents, has appeared as a stunt double (also called stand-in) in ”The Lord of the Rings” and ”The Hobbit” film series. He was the scale double for Elijah Wood as Frodo. Because he is the only scale double capable of stunts, Shah has also doubled for the other major hobbits. Guinness World Records lists Shah as the world’s shortest stuntman. He has appeared as an actor in 31 films and as a stuntman or body double in 37. Shah is often confused with Deep Roy, as the two are both dwarf Nairobi-born Kenyan actors of Indian descent whose careers in film and television were launched during the late 1970s.
A Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, OBE joins the fifth rank of those honored for achievements in their field during their lifetimes. However, an MBE does not receive the style Sir or Dame; those titles are reserved for Knight Grand Cross and Knight Commander ranks, with women receiving the style “Dame” of those higher ranks.
CALIFORNIA — Chest-butt? High-five? Looks like they missed but they’re clearly celebrating: Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, left, celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. Before the game, Tyreek Hill, the Dolphins’ star wide receiver, had suffered a wrist injury, but declared “I don’t miss a game.” He was declared active for the Dolphins, reported the Palm Beach Post.
The Dolphins took the game 23-15, which was a must-win for them to safeguard any longshot hope at an AFC playoff berth.
PARIS — Remembering WWI on Armistice Day: French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer stand at attention at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during commemorations marking the 106th anniversary of the Nov. 11, 1918, Armistice, ending World War I, in Paris, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. The ceremony also stood as a testament to the two countries’ friendship, as nations worldwide pay tribute to their fallen soldiers in World War I. Armistice Day (from the Latin root to stand still arms) is observed starting with a moment of silence in remembrance of the fallen soldiers “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” when fighting ceased at the Western Front.
The United States has renamed Nov. 11 as Veterans Day to honor all veterans, including those living, who have served in the armed forces, whether or not in combat. However, the holiday’s original meaning is particularly significant to Western Europe.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Gangs still dominate the streets: Journalists take cover from the exchange of gunfire between gangs and police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. Escalating gang violence shut down Haiti’s international airport after fighters opened fire at a commercial jet operated by U.S. carrier Spirit Airlines, which is headquartered in Florida. The jetliner, which had originated in Fort Lauderdale, was on the landing approach when gangs shot, with bullets penetrating the interior and wounding a flight attendant, which the airline, U.S. Embassy and flight data all reported. The flight was diverted and landed in the Dominican Republic. Spirit, American Airlines and JetBlue all canceled flights to Haiti.
The U.S. Embassy warned of “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince, which may include armed violence and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports.”
NEW YORK — Emotions and memories for new generations: Cole Moud-Webb, 8, carries a United States flag during the annual Veterans Day Parade, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in New York. Considered the nation’s largest Veterans Day parade, it processes along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. The United War Veterans Council, which organizes the parade, estimated that some 20,000 marchers participated this year. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, marking the moment that World War I fighting ended. The U.S. marked its first Armistice Day under President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Congress made Nov. 11 an official federal holiday in 1938. The observance’s meaning was widened in 1954 to honor veterans of all wars.
An attempt in the early 1970s to move Veterans Day to a Monday observance to conform with other federal holidays proved unpopular, and some states resisted by keeping the original date. In 1975, President Gerald Ford restored the holiday to a fixed Nov. 11 date.
COLOGNE — A kiss to start carnival season: Revelers dressed in costumes kiss at Zuelpicher Street while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. Carnival celebrations in the Rhineland traditionally begin on Nov. 11, at 11:11 in the morning (coinciding with Armistice Day’s celebration of the end of World War I fighting), and last until Ash Wednesday (a moveable date) the following year, according to the Associated Press. The Carnival season is particularly popular in Duesseldorf, Cologne, and Mainz in the Rhineland of southwestern Germany, bordering France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Schools close so that children can also participate.
Many of the first day’s processions showcased floats satirizing global political topics, including one float of a costumed Putin sendup depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing the devil.
