Our world in photos: January 23
Brooklyn Eagle Staff
January 23, 2025
ITALY — Airborne moments in a downhill run: United States’ Jared Goldberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup downhill training, in Val Gardena, Italy, Dec. 18, 2024.
James Crawford of Canada ranked first with a finish time of 2:01.68. He and Goldberg are competing with more than 70 athletes in this training. Earlier this month, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen became the first Brazilian to stand on the podium at a FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race and the first skier from South America to finish in the top three of an Alpine race at this level, according to the International Skiing and Snowboarding Federation.
Pinheiro Braathen was born in Norway to a Brazilian mother.
DETROIT — Two leaps — one for score, one for support: Michigan State guard Jase Richardson, right, reacts as guard Jaden Akins dunks during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oakland, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Detroit. Michigan State won 77-58 before a crowd of more than 12,000 spectators in this home game.
Jase Richardson, standing at 6’3” is a freshman at Michigan State. His teammate, guard Jaden Akins, 6’4” from Farmington Hills, is a senior majoring in communications.
VATICAN — The greatest blessing of all — expression of love from a child: Pope Francis receives a child’s kiss during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. During his greetings, he gave a specific welcome to pilgrims from Malta, an archipelago nation that had historic ties to both Italy and Spain. Malta gained its independence 60 years ago, in September 1964, from the United Kingdom.
Children, family and sharing meals as a family are vitally important to the Maltese people.
SYRIA — They walk the line: Women walk together near the “Alpha Line” that separates the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights from Syria in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. The Israeli government decided on Sunday, Dec. 15, to double its population in the occupied Golan Heights, which it captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, and then later annexed the region. Syrian leaders are saying they are war-torn and of no threat to the West, particularly the United States, Israel’s key ally. President-elect Donald Trump in 2019 — during his first term in office — stated U.S. support for Israeli control of the Golan Heights, but that has gotten pushback from Syrians. He was the only world leader to declare that Israel has sovereignty rights over the region.
The Golan Heights, a strategic mountainous region overlooking northern Israel and Syria, got its name from Biblical accounts in the Books of Deuteronomy (part of the Jewish Pentateuch), Joshua and 1 Chronicles. Located in the region of Bashan, the Golan was a refuge.
SULAWESI — Unhealthy waste from a nearby mine: Murky brown water is visible near nickel mining activities surrounding Baliara village on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, an island of Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. The contamination has devastated the indigenous Bajau people and other residents of Kabaena, who no longer have fish to eat or sell, can no longer harvest the seaweed or even swim. Most of the materials mined in Indonesia fuel the international supply chain for stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries, among other technologies, some of which the West deems climate-friendly.
Other land-based crops have also been adversely affected, including sugar cane, palm and clove trees cultivated for food and income, even as the Indonesian government hopes to profit from the expanded mining.
SYRIA — This is what happens when power is unlimited, no matter the structure that enables it: Activists from the U.S.-based Syrian Emergency Task Force and others look at a location identified as a mass grave for detainees killed under the rule of Bashar Assad in Najha, south of Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. The U.S. Prosecutor on Tuesday visited mass gravesites in Syria that date back years. Tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to be buried in mass graves throughout Syria.
Residents, forensic teams and international groups have joined forces to unearth the gravesites.
LITHUANIA — Unusual when yellow dominates the Christmas lighting theme: Visitors walk in front of the illuminated Christmas tree at Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. The Christmas trees of Vilnius are famous for their original themes and almost magical decorations. The city marked its 700th anniversary in 2023.
The square is named for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus of Vilnius, 11th century saints. Known as Vilnius Cathedral, it is a center of Catholic spiritual life in Lithuania.
SYRIA — A continuing gruesome transition: Members of the Syrian civil defense group, known as the White Helmets, put bodies and human remains on a truck after they collect them from a morgue previously used by pro-government Iranian units, located near the Set Zainab shrine, south of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. The corpses and partial remains were found in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of the capital, Damascus. The discovery was made at a site previously used by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran-backed Iraqi militias, which were allies of deposed President Bashar Assad during the country’s civil war.
The rescue group’s name came from their attire and headgear, which reflects the mission to save lives, particularly in war-torn areas.
