Our world in photos: January 13
Brooklyn Eagle Staff
January 13, 2025
MAYOTTE — Chessboard pieces the size of cats and dogs may not be the most relaxing venue … but ‘any port in a storm’: People interact by an outdoor chess board after finding refuge at the Lycée des Lumières after losing their homes in Mamoudzou, Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
Arriving Thursday in Mayotte, French President Emmanuel Macron viewed the devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido, deemed the strongest storm to hit the region in nearly a century. Grasping Macron’s hand, Mayotte security agent Assane Haloi said, “We are without water, without electricity, there is nowhere to go because everything is demolished,” she said. “We can’t even shelter; we are all wet with our children, covering ourselves with whatever we have so that we can sleep.”
The French territory of Mayotte is situated between the eastern African nation of Mozambique and the island nation Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Inspiring ascent by disabled climber: Ezequiel da Luz, a para-athlete with an amputated leg and no movement in his lower limbs, celebrates reaching the top of Pedra da Gavea with an organization that aims to increase accessibility in trails, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
Pedra da Gavea, with an elevation of 844 meters, is composed of granite and gneiss. As one of the highest mountains worldwide to descend directly into the ocean, it offers a challenge to climbers.
FRANCE — Long, horrendous ordeal ends with courageous courtroom confrontation and victory: Gisele Pelicot speaks to the press as she leaves the courtroom in the Avignon courthouse, southern France, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. Pelicot’s now ex-husband had drugged her over the course of a decade and allowed dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious. Pelicot is becoming a symbol of France’s fight against sexual violence. Some 700 people gathered at Place de la Republique in Paris to support the 71-year-old and all rape victims in France. The court convicted 51 men in the case.
Pelicot has emerged as a feminist icon in part because she chose to let the trial be public so the culture of rape, including the videos taken of her, could be shown as evidence.
BOSNIA — Alarming volume of fog and smog almost covers a city’s tower: Avaz Twist Tower building, 172 meters high, peaks through a dense layer of fog and smog in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. It wasn’t just fog but trapped toxic air that left Bosnians choking and sickened. Public health officials urged Sarajevo’s inhabitants to stay home on Thursday as flights were grounded and winter smog blanketed Bosnia-Herzegovina’s capital. Sarajevo and other major cities in the Balkans have experienced worse pollution during winter months as they rely on coal and wood for heating, reports Daily Sabah.
The Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, which assesses air quality in real-time, measured the air quality index at a “very unhealthy” 225, ranking the city as the third most polluted in the world.
MADRID — Most of the exuberant joy found in the world is probably at concerts and on playing fields: Team Real Madrid’s players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Intercontinental Cup soccer final match against CF Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. Real Madrid won the game 3-0. The victory makes Real Madrid’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful coach in the club’s history in terms of trophies lifted. Ancelotti now has 15 titles to his name during his time with Madrid, surpassing Miguel Munoz’s tally of 14, a record that has stood for more than half a century — since 1972.
The 65-year-old Ancellotti was born in Reggiolo, Italy, between Verona and Modena in the northern part of the peninsula.
MAYOTTE — Impactful aftermath — a cyclone’s power: A young girl walks in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. The storm was considered the worst to hit the island in about a century.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Mayotte on Thursday for a government tour of the cyclone’s destruction.
ROME — ‘With a bold snatch of the ball …’: Roma’s Angelino, top, and Sampdoria’s Fabio Depaoli challenge for the ball during the Italian Cup soccer match between Roma and Sampdoria, at Rome’s Olympic Stadium, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. Rome won 4-1, with Artem Dovbyk being recognized as the team’s best player for this game.
The 27-year-old Dovbyk plays for Serie A club Roma and the Ukraine national team.
CALIFORNIA — Time-out for yoga — only in “The Golden State”: UNLV running back Darrien Jones, left, and defensive back Devin Hartsuck celebrate after the team’s win against California during the LA Bowl NCAA college football game Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. The University of Nevada Las Vegas team is second in the Mountain West division, with a season record of 11-3. Wednesday’s game was the last of the season.
Although out of the College Football Playoffs this season, The Athletic pointed out that the Rebels could very well produce NFL draft picks.
