Share this:

Our world in photos: January 14

Silvia, only first name given, picks up donated items while carrying her child at an aid center for people affected by wildfires at Santa Anita Park Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Arcadia, Calif. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP

CALIFORNIA — Fire survivors finding donated replacements for lost necessities: Silvia, only first name given, picks up donated items while carrying her child at an aid center for people affected by wildfires at Santa Anita Park Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Arcadia. About 40,000 people have already applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has provided over $8 million so far for immediate needs. Moreover, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said there is help for residents who need refills on medications they may have left behind or new prescriptions.

The high winds are expected to create air quality problems in the Los Angeles area as ash from the wildfires is picked. Those having to be outdoors are urged to wear an N-95 or P-100 protective mask.

Recruits for the new government's police force stand in formation during a training and graduation session at the Police College in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday Jan. 14, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Photo: Omar Albam/AP

DAMASCUS — Something to keep in mind when there’s a new government, anywhere — expanding the police force: Recruits for the new government’s police force stand in formation during a training and graduation session at the Police College in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. The newly reopened police college in Damascus began accepting applications shortly after opposition groups toppled Assad last month. The coup ended a regime known for widespread surveillance, arbitrary detentions, and the torture and deaths of real and perceived opponents.

The country’s new leadership under the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group has been restructuring Syria’s military and security forces, said Oussama Mohammad, a military official at the police college, on Tuesday.

The remains of a burned vehicle are seen in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire Monday, Jan. 13, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP

CALIFORNIA — Close-up of a melted tire shows intensity of the heat: The remains of a burned vehicle are seen in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Altadena. After a tour of the area, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that seeing the destruction drove home the enormity of the situation and described the aftermath of the wind-driven infernos as a “dry hurricane.”

Mayor Bass, who has taken steps to reduce the bureaucracy residents face as they recover from the fires, is ready to ponder how Los Angeles will rebuild.

A miner is transported on a stretcher by rescue workers after he was rescued from below ground in an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Photo: Themba Hadebe/AP

SOUTH AFRICA — Illegal gold harvesting in abandoned mine leads to death of some, rescue of others: A miner is transported on a stretcher by rescue workers from below ground in an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Hundreds of miners working illegally have been trapped for months in an abandoned shaft. At least 24 bodies and 34 survivors have been recovered since Friday from one of the country’s deepest mines. Interpol, the France-based international policing agency, had also coordinated a major operation to target illegal gold mining in West Africa, one which has resulted in 200 arrests and the seizure of harmful chemicals such as mercury, cyanide explosives and drugs.

This often happens after mining companies have closed down a particular location that has become unprofitable.

Gael Monfils of France plays a forehand return to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Photo: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP

MELBOURNE — A pro-tour asset not often discussed — strong, flexible ankles: Gael Monfils plays a forehand return to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, both of France, during their first-round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Spectators who witnessed Monfils’ five-set victory over fellow Frenchman Perricard will long remember the 38-year-old’s performance.

Monfils, who won his 13th ATP title just three days earlier in Auckland, New Zealand, becomes the oldest male tennis player to win a tour-level trophy since Ken Rosewall in 1977.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

CAPITOL — Senators face a warrior, prepared to give them a finger: Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be Defense secretary, appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Hegseth, who faced pointed grilling from Senators, vows to bring “warrior culture” to the military if confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary. However, many senators are concerned about his lack of government experience as well as problems with substance abuse and allegations of sexual assault.

A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (albeit conducted before the hearings began on Tuesday) finds only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of Hegseth’s nomination.

A steam train travels through the 'Harz' forest to the top of northern Germany's 1,142-meter (3,743 feet) high 'Brocken' near Schierke, Germany, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP

GERMANY — Makin’ smoke on the mountain: A steam train travels through the ‘Harz’ forest to the top of northern Germany’s 3,743-foot high ‘Brocken’ near Schierke, Germany, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. The train runs on the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway, which is a network of three principal railways: the Harz Railway, connecting Wernigerode to Nordhausen; the Selke Valley Railway, which branches off the Harz Railway to arrive in Quedlinburg; and the very popular Brocken Railway, “which also branches off the Harz Railway and runs one of the highest train stations in Germany, the summit of the Brocken,” according to HarzInfo.

Mount Brocken is the highest peak in Northern Germany, about 1,141 meters above sea level. 

Pete Hegseth, center, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, arrives to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

CAPITOL — Surrounded by family, friends and supporters: Pete Hegseth, center, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be Defense secretary, arrives to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Hegseth told the Senate that Trump’s primary charge to him was “to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense” and that “he wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.”

However, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the Senate Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, refuses to support Hegseth, warning that his confirmation would be an “an insult to the men and women who have sworn to uphold their own apolitical duty to the Constitution.”

Subscribe to one of our weeklies here.

Leave a Comment