Our world in photos: January 22
Brooklyn Eagle Staff
January 22, 2025
CALIFORNIA — Smoke and fumes as much of a threat as the fire itself: A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. Officials have said about 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders. And the wildfire threatens more than 13,000 structures. The evacuation orders impact the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near the sea, areas north of Pasadena and part of the San Fernando Valley.
As of Wednesday afternoon, two people had been killed and scores more faced flames, high winds and towering clouds of smoke as they fled their burning homes.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lying in state for the final goodbye: The flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lies in state during a ceremony in the Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Washington. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. The 39th president will lie in state until Thursday morning, at which time his casket will be moved to the National Cathedral for a state funeral service that begins at 10 a.m.
Carter’s family will then accompany the casket later on Thursday back to their hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private funeral service and burial.
ECUADOR — The pain of missing children: A woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish, “We don’t want revenge, just justice” during a Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, protest outside the prosecutor’s office following the disappearance of four adolescents, in Quito, last month. After someone videotaped the youths being loaded into a pickup truck, Ecuador’s military has admitted to having the teens in their custody briefly, saying that they had been arrested for robbery on Dec. 8 but were released the same day. The military blames gangs for the children’s disappearance.
An Ecuadorean judge on Dec. 31 ordered the arrest of 16 soldiers charged with the children’s disappearance. The case has shaken the country, which has undergone an increased military presence in its fight against drug gangs.
DENVER — ‘I’m leaping for a score … and I’m wrinkling your jersey’: Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun, left, drives to the basket as Boston Celtics centers Luke Kornet, front right, and Kristaps Porzingis (8) defend in the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Denver. The Celtics took the game 118-106. Porziņģis, who made his Boston Celtics debut in late November, missed the season’s first 17 games and was plagued by injuries, but the disciplined player has been working himself back into top condition, Jay King wrote in the Jan. 8 edition of The Athletic, a section of the New York Times.
The 29-year-old Porziņģis stands at 7’2”. He was born in the Northern European Baltic country of Latvia. Now in his 9th NBA season, he started with the New York Knicks in 2015 and has also played with the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards before joining the Celtics.
VATICAN — Uplifting performance for the pontiff: Pope Francis, right, looks at a performance by CircAfrica circus troupe during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. Although seeming frail and congested, Pope Francis appeared to enjoy a performance by an African-themed circus troupe, CircAfrica. The group, which has been performing in Rome, brought acrobats, robot-operated puppet elephants, jugglers and dancers on rollerskates to perform for the pope in the Vatican auditorium. Among the features of CircAfrica’s show were mechanical elephants.
After speaking more seriously earlier in the General Audience about protecting children from abuse and hard labor, Pope Francis thanked the troupe for bringing the gift of laughter, reports Aleteia.
GHANA — Bright colors, bright future? President John Dramani Mahama takes the oath of office during his inauguration ceremony at Independence Square in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. This marks Mahama’s third stint as president of the West African nation. Originally serving out his deceased predecessor’s term in 2012, he was then elected later that year and served until 2017. Elected again in December on a campaign to “reset” the nation, the 66-year-old Mahama pledged to tackle the economic crisis, corruption and unemployment.
Ghana held elections last month for president and members of parliament; voting took place during one of the country’s worst cost-of-living crises in a generation. This election was viewed as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups.
MANHATTAN — Tough duty, not happy to be photographed: Todd Blanche, a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and attorney for President-elect Donald Trump, departs court, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in New York. Blanche apparently had a tough day in court as Judge Ellen Gesmer of the state’s mid-level appellate court grilled him on whether a president-elect is eligible for presidential immunity; he conceded that “There’s never been a case like this before. So no,” reported the Associated Press.
Trump’s sentencing is still scheduled for this Friday, Jan. 10.
GREENLAND — ‘Is it the next U.S. governor of Greenland …?’ Donald Trump Jr., right, poses for a photo as he arrives in Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. The younger Trump brought a message from his father, “We’re going to treat you well,” even as the president-elect has not ruled out military intervention to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory. Greenland, which sits between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and is considered “the world’s largest island,” houses a U.S. military base, which Trump sees as vital to security interests.
However, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that the future of Greenland would be decided by Greenland and that it is “not for sale.”
