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Alessandro Della Bella / EPA
The almost new moon sets behind the Uetliberg near Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 27.
Sven Sprattler / EPA
A composite picture of six handout still images made available on Nov. 27 and taken from footage of a freelance video-journalist shows mounted police riding over anti-nuclear activists protesting a nuclear waste transport on the route of the 'Castor' train near Dahlenburg, Germany, on Nov. 26. By these recordings the anti-castor campaign 'Kampagne Castor Schottern' has made serious allegations against the police on Nov. 27, claiming they had severely injuried anti-nuclear activists. Thousands of protesters assembled in and around the northern German town of Dannenberg to meet a train carrying nuclear waste to a nearby storage depot. Anti-nuclear demonstrators said 23,000 people took part in the protest against nuclear energy and the use of the storage site. Police estimated the crowd at about 8,000. The so-called Castor transport, containing a cargo of 11 sealed casks of nuclear material, was scheduled to arrive late Nov. 26, but was still en route early Nov. 27.
Mounted police ride over anti-nuclear activists in Germany
AP reports:
German police cleared a sit-in of thousands of protesters attempting to block a shipment of nuclear waste and temporarily detained 1,300 people Sunday, officials said.
Hundreds of officers started evicting protesters from the rail lines near Dannenberg in the north of the country in the morning, police spokesman Stefan Kuehm-Stoltz said.
Those who refused to leave were detained on site for several hours, but all were eventually released by late afternoon. Only those who refused to divulge their identity to police were brought before judges.
Read the full story here.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters
A woman waters flowers on the balcony of her apartment in Yangon, Myanmar, Nov. 26. Myanmar's former capital and biggest city, Yangon, is a crumbling monument to almost half a century of isolation and mismanagement at the hands of generals who took power in a 1962 coup and ruled with an iron fist until a nominally civilian parliament opened in March this year. Picture received Nov. 27.
Nearly half a century of isolation leaves Yangon in tatters
Reuters reports:
Yellow and orange diesel generators, some as big as buses, are ubiquitous, symbols of a failing power grid behind the city of about 5 million people that accounts for a quarter of Myanmar's economic activity.
"Sometimes the power is cut and sometimes it's regular. We're used to it," said 71-year-old Abdullah Mingala, an ethnic Indian Burmese who was born and raised in Yangon and who makes a living renting out a pickup truck and a sedan as taxis.
"The best thing about the city is its weather and people. The weather is not too hot and everyone is simple and friendly and open."
Read more from Reuters here.
Crunch time! Players making super sacks and tough tackles around the NFL
Darron Cummings / AP
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, center, loses his helmet as he is tackled by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Ernie Sims, top, and middle linebacker Pat Angerer during the first quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 27.
Check back for more images from later games and follow the coverage from Week 12 action here.
John Russell / AP
Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, center, throws as he is hit by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defenders Da'Quan Bowers (91) and Adrian Clayborn, in the first quarter of an NFL football game on Nov. 27, in Nashville, Tenn.
Darron Cummings / AP
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Curtis Painter (7) is hit by Carolina Panthers strong safety Charles Godfrey during the first quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 27. Painter fumbled on the play but the Colts recovered.
Daron Dean / Reuters
Wide receiver Mike Thomas of the Jacksonville Jaguars, left, is tackled by free safety Shiloh Keo (31) and cornerback Sherrick McManis (22) of the Houston Texans during the second half of their NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 27.
Salisbury Cathedral hosts 'Darkness to Light' Advent procession
Matt Cardy / Getty Images
The interior of Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by trails of candles carried by choristers during the annual 'darkness to light' advent procession on Nov. 25, in Salisbury, England. The service - which begins with the medieval cathedral in total darkness and silence before the Advent Candle is lit at the West End -is one of the most popular services of the liturgical year. The annual advent service, which takes place over three nights, is a mix of music and readings during which two great candlelit processions move around the different spaces in the 750-year-old building which, by the end, is illuminated by almost 1300 candles and is a spectacular start to the Christmas season. Editor's note: A long exposure was used in making the image and pictures were received Nov. 27.
The scale of old religious buildings -- whether they be cathedrals, temples or mosques -- are so impressive to me. The construction of Salisbury Cathedral began in 1220, and considering the architects and builders lacked the technology and machinery that we have today, I find it simply amazing that such a project and many others like it were completed at the time. Salisbury Cathedral has gone through a number of restorations, and I wonder, will people find the structures built today worthy of preservation and restoration in the future, as construction standards, for the most part, certainly don't seem to be as high.
See other PhotoBlog posts from Salisbury Cathedral.
Matt Cardy / Getty Images
The interior of Salisbury Cathedral is illuminated by candles carried by choristers during the annual 'darkness to light' advent procession on Nov. 25, in Salisbury, England.
Pakistan buries troops killed in NATO attack
Mian Khursheed / Reuters
Soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of their colleague Najeebullah, who was killed in a NATO cross-border attack one day earlier, to his grave in his hometown of Charsadda in northwest Pakistan Nov. 27. On Sunday, Pakistan buried 24 troops killed in the air attack that has pushed a crisis in relations between the United States and an ally it needs to fight militancy towards rupture.
msnbc.com news services report:
"America is attacking our borders. The government should immediately break ties with it," said Naseema Baluch, a housewife attending the Karachi demonstration. "America wants to occupy our country but we will not let it do that."
U.S. and NATO officials are trying to defuse tensions but the soldiers' deaths are testing a bad marriage of convenience between Washington and Islamabad.
"This was a tragic unintended incident," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, adding that he fully supported a NATO investigation that was under way. We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons."
Read the full story here.
Arif Ali / AFP - Getty Images
Pakistani Islamists burn a U.S. flag in protest of NATO strikes on Pakistani troops during a protest in Lahore on Nov. 27. NATO expressed regret over air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers as the United States sought to repair relations with Islamabad that plunged into crisis over the lethal attack. Pakistan has reacted with fury over the killings of two dozen soldiers, including two officers, in an "unprovoked" attack by NATO helicopters and fighter jets on two military posts on the border with Afghanistan early Saturday.
Arshad Arbab / EPA
Pakistani Army soldiers and officials attend the funeral of their comrades who were killed in NATO's airstrikes at Pakistani military check posts in Mohmand tribal agency, during their funeral in Peshawar, Pakistan, Nov. 27. Pakistani authorities on Nov. 26, closed NATO supply routes and ordered the U.S. military to vacate a base after airstrikes killed at least 24 Pakistani soldiers. Officials said two officers and 22 soldiers were killed and 13 troops wounded in the unprovoked action. Other unconfirmed reports said the casualty tolls could be higher.
Marco Ugarte / AP
People dressed as zombies react to the camera during the V edition of the so-called 'Zombie Walk' in Mexico City, Nov. 26. According to the organization 'Zombie Walk Mexico', the event gathered over 9,800 participants, breaking the previous record set in Asbury Park, in New Jersey in 2010 with 4,093 participants. Guinness World Records have not officially confirmed if Mexico holds the new record.
Mexico City 'zombies' gather to challenge world record
This looks like a ghoulishly good time!
Read more here.
Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters
Opposition UDPS supporters run through a cloud of teargas outside N'Djili airport in Kinshasa, Congo, Nov. 26. Police in Congo blocked President Joseph Kabila's main rival at an airport in Kinshasa on Saturday to stop him from staging an election rally after at least two died in violence across the central African state's capital city. Two days before presidential and parliamentary elections, rival factions hurled rocks at each other and gunfire was heard across town.
Two dead in Congo pre-election violence
Reuters reports:
Police stopped opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and his entourage from leaving Kinshasa's N'djili airport after his party said it would defy a ban on political rallies imposed earlier on Saturday.
"I'll call the population of Kinshasa to come here," Tshisekedi, 78, sitting in a red Hummer surrounded by police at the exit gate of the airport, told reporters.
"We are already dying in our thousands, we are not going to let a few injuries stop us fighting now," he said, a reference to his accusations that Kabila's government has saddled Congo's population with insecurity and poverty.
Read the full story here.
Michigan beats Ohio State, ends 7-game skid
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
Denard Robinson of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with students after beating Ohio State at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
AP reports:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Denard Robinson accounted for five touchdowns, helping No. 17 Michigan beat Ohio State 40-34 on Saturday and snap a school-record, seven-game losing streak in the rivalry.
The Wolverines (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) were forced to settle for a six-point lead with 1:59 left on Brendan Gibbons' career-long 43-yard field goal after two apparent TDs were negated by a video review and then penalties.
The Buckeyes (6-6, 3-5) had a chance to win the game on their final drive, but freshman Braxton Miller sailed a pass over Deviser Posey's head on what could've been a 76-yard TD and threw a loss-sealing interception to Courtney Avery.
Michigan finally beat its archrival because it had a better quarterback than Ohio State for a change.
President Obama just a fan at this basketball game
Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama react as they watch the Oregon State vs Towson basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
Patrick Semansky / AP
President Barack Obama chats with First Lady Michelle Obama in the first half the game on Saturday.
Patrick Semansky / AP
Actor Bill Murray chats with President Obama and first lady before the game on Saturday.
Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images
President Obama greets other spectators at the game on Saturday.
AP reports:
TOWSON, Md. - Obama, who plays in pick-up games as often as he can, has brought his family to Towson University, just north of Baltimore, to watch Towson play Oregon State on Saturday afternoon.
Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, is Oregon State's head coach.
The president and first lady are sitting court side on the Beavers' side. Daughters Malia and Sasha are in the first row of bleachers. Also at the game is the president's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson.
Catching an Oregon State game has become a post-Thanksgiving tradition for the Obamas.
Last Thanksgiving, the Beavers came to Washington and beat Howard. The year before that, Oregon State made the trip east and defeated George Washington.
For more sports images checkout the Week in Sports Pictures.
Top dogs strut their stuff at the Winner Show
Koen Van Weel / EPA
A woman combs her dog at the Winner Dog Show in Amsterdam on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
Koen Van Weel / EPA
A participant gives her dog a brush at the show on Saturday.
Koen Van Weel / EPA
A man combs her dog at the show on Saturday.
Koen Van Weel / EPA
A woman gives her dog a trim at the show on Saturday.
Koen Van Weel / EPA
Participantsuse an electric shaver to shave their dog at the show on Saturday.
The Amsterdam Winner Show is the oldest and biggest international dog show in the Netherlands, with over 3000 official recognized breeds of dogs being judged. The show is organized by the Royal Dutch Kennel Club Cynophilia each year, and this year marks the 122nd competition.
Please check out our Animal Tracks for more amazing pictures.
German police, protesters clash at nuke protest
Julian Stratenschulte / EPA
Police officers move in on anti-nuclear activists on Saturday.
Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
Anti-nuclear protesters stage a sit-in on railway tracks near Harlingen on Saturday.
Nigel Treblin/pool / EPA
An aerial view of the railway cargo station in Dannenberg, Germany on Saturday with trucks waiting to be loaded with 'Castor' nuclear waste containers.
AP reports:
BERLIN — Police used water cannons to disperse about 300 protesters hurling rocks and fireworks during an attempt to disrupt a shipment of nuclear waste in northern Germany on Saturday, officials said.
Another 50 activists tried to sabotage the rail tracks that will be used by a train this weekend to transport the nuclear waste to the storage facility near the northern town of Gorleben, police spokesman Stefan Kuehm-Stoltz said.
On Friday, police clashed with some 200 protesters near the northern town of Dannenberg. Some 20 officers were injured during the clash, police said.
Police said several thousand protesters were gathering in Dannenberg Saturday to hold a peaceful protest rally. Organizers said some 23,000 people already joined the protest.
Previously on PhotoBlog: Protests greet train carrying nuclear waste as it travels from France into Germany
Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters
Anti-nuclear protesters build a barricade on their way to railway tracks near Lemgrabe on Saturday.
Nigel Treblin/pool / EPA
An aerial view of tractors gathering for the protest rally against the 'Castor' nuclear waste transport on Saturday.
Protesters continue to occupy Tahrir Square ahead of parliamentary elections
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Protestors hold a giant Egyptian flag aloft in Tahrir Square on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
Large suspension bridge collapses in Indonesia
Firman Hidayat / AFP - Getty Images
People try to find other victims after a bridge collapsed on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
msnbc.com staff and news service reports:
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A busy bridge collapsed Saturday in central Indonesia, killing at least three people and injuring many more as a bus, cars and motorcycles crashed into the river below, police and witnesses said.
Capt. Syafii Nafsikin said search and rescue teams rushed to the scene.
The death toll could climb, he said, adding that many people were believed to be injured.
The bridge linking the towns of Tenggarong and Samarinda in East Kalimantan province was clogged with traffic when the accident occurred, Syaiful, a witness, told local TV station TVOne.
NASA launches super-size Mars rover to red planet
Terry Renna / AP
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover lifts off on Saturday.
Space.com reports:
The car-size Curiosity rover was lofted into space at 10:02 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at the end of a smooth countdown. Curiosity is the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission.
The 1-ton rover weighs about five times more than each of its immediate Mars rover predecessors, the golf-cart-size twins Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet in 2004 to look for evidence of past water activity. [Photos: Last Look at Curiosity Rover]
NASA sends its Mars rover toward the Red Planet.
Owners, players reach tentative deal to end NBA lockout
Patrick Mcdermott / Getty Images
NBA Commissioner David Stern and Former Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association Billy Hunter speak to members of the press to announce a tentative labor agreement to end the 149-day lockout on early Saturday morning.
nbcsports.com reports:
“We’ve reached a tentative understanding,” said NBA commissioner David Stern at a hastily put together 3:30 a.m. press conference. “(The deal) is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations. We’re optimistic that will all come to pass and the NBA season will begin Dec. 25.”
That will be a Christmas Day start with a triple-header followed by a 66-game season, providing both the owners and players ratify this deal. Read the full story.
Cattle banditry threatens peace in young country of South Sudan
Cattle raids are not new in South Sudan. But with a gun surplus left behind by two decades of civil war with Sudan, the raids are more violent, adding fuel to long-standing economic and ethnic rivalries in the herding communities. South Sudan officially became Africa's 54th nation in July, but the young country continues to struggle with internal violence.
Tony Karumba / AFP - Getty Images
A herdsman from the Dinka tribe is pictured at a cattle-camp near south Sudan's central town of Rumbek.
BBC News describes the importance of cattle to the South Sudanese culture:
In many South Sudanese communities the cow is incredibly important.
It is a source of personal wealth, and young men cannot get married without paying a dowry of cows.
So, in what are very poor communities, cattle raiding has become a way of life for some.
To make matters worse, automatic weapons are everywhere, following decades of civil war.
In the past, cattle raids caused relatively few casualties. Now the guns boom, and scores or even hundreds die in a day - creating a commensurate desire for revenge.
Tony Karumba / AFP - Getty Images
A herdsman stands among his cattle at a cattle-camp near south Sudan's central town of Rumbek on Nov. 13. One of Africa's longest-running wars left this land in ruins and battling a bitter legacy that threatens prospects for peace -- a stockpile of weapons spurring cattle raids and banditry.
See more about Sudan's split into two countries
Solar eclipse darkens Black Friday
Jay Pasachoff / Williams College
The moon's disk takes a bite out of the sun during Friday's partial solar eclipse, as seen from Invercargill in New Zealand. The last of 2011's four solar eclipses was visible only from an area in southern latitudes taking in New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa and Antarctica.
Today was "Black Friday" for some folks in southern climes, and not because it's the big shopping day after Thanksgiving: A partial solar eclipse made the sky just a little bit darker in areas of New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa and Antarctica.
Some observers spotted only a slight grazing of the sun, while others — such as Williams College astronomer Jay Pasachoff and his eclipse-chasing colleagues — could see the moon take an appreciable bite out of the sun's disk in the skies over Invercargill in southern New Zealand. "After an in-and-out, off-and-on-rain day, we are very pleased," Pasachoff said in a report from Sky & Telescope's Kelly Beatty.
Pasachoff passed along another perspective on the eclipse, taken from the seventh-floor offices of the New Zealand Department of Conservation in Invercargill. The hand in the picture belongs to Steve Butler, who works for the government agency.
Jay Pasachoff / Williams College
The partially eclipsed sun can be seen through a filter held in front of a seventh-floor window in Invercargill. Appropriate safety protection, such as specially designed solar filters, should always be used when gazing at the sun, even during a partial eclipse.
"I gave him one of my solar filters to hold so I could take that photo (Nikon D200)," Pasachoff told me in an email. "He is the regional project manager and was able to grant us access to that site where we were shielded from the wind ... aside from the fierce wind that came through the opened window."
Antarctica's researchers had what were potentially the best seats in the house, with up to 90 percent of the sun's diameter blacked out. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as if the weather was all that cooperative down at the bottom of the world.
Today's event was the last of four partial solar eclipses during 2011, but there's one more eclipse to close out the year. A total lunar eclipse will be visible from half the world on Dec. 10-11, with best viewing available from Australia, Asia and the Pacific. North Americans will see the beginning stages of the eclipse, while Europeans and Africans will catch the ending.
Next year brings a new crop of solar spectacles, including an annular "ring" eclipse visible from Asia, the Pacific and the western U.S. on May 20, and a total solar eclipse visible from Australia and the South Pacific on Nov. 13.
More eclipse treats:
- Solar eclipse dims skies in Europe, Middle East
- Marvel at the 'Midnight Sun' eclipse
- The sun gets double-crossed
- Eclipse views turn moon into a star
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Egyptians throng Tahrir Square seeking end of military rule
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
People take part in Friday prayers in Tahrir Square before a mass rally on Nov. 25 in Cairo, Egypt. Thousands of Egyptians are continuing to occupy Tahrir Square ahead of parliamentary elections to be held on Nov. 28.
Manu Brabo / AP
An Egyptian protester with colors of the Egyptian flag and Arabic writing that reads, 'Nov. 19' on his face gestures near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 25. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting, "Leave, leave!" filled Cairo's Tahrir Square in a massive demonstration to force Egypt's ruling military council to yield power. The Friday rally is dubbed by organizers as "The Last Chance Million-Man Protest," and comes one day after the military offered an apology for the killing of nearly 40 protesters in clashes on side streets near Tahrir over the last week.
Multiple exposures give different view of Novak Djokovic's serve
Michael Regan / Getty Images for Barclays
Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves during the men's singles match against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on Nov. 25, in London, England.
As a tennis fan, I enjoyed getting to see Novak Djokovic's serve captured in this way. While the end of this match didn't go well for Djokovic, he's had an impressive year, taking the number one ranking from Rafael Nadal. ESPN reports:
A weary Djokovic finished his spectacular season by losing more matches in three days than he did in the first seven months of the year, earning the top-ranked Serb an early exit in the ATP World Tour Finals.
After winning three Grand Slam titles and seizing the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal before having the last few months derailed by injuries, Djokovic had simply run out of energy coming into the season-ending tournament.
Morocco votes in test of king's reform drive
The AP reports from RABAT, Morocco:
Moroccans voted for a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change.
Zacarias Garcia / EPA
The people in charge of a polling station wait for voters in a school in Rabat, Morocco, on November 25.
A moderate Islamist party and a pro-palace coalition led by the finance minister are competing for the top spot, but a key test for the authorities' legitimacy will be how many voters cast ballots.
The king amended the
constitution over the summer giving the prime minister new powers, including the ability to dissolve parliament and make certain appointments, in response to pro-democracy protests. But the ultimate authority remains with the king."I've always voted, but this time it is more important," said Dr. Mohammed Ennabli as he lined up to vote in the affluent Agdal neighborhood of Rabat. "Before it was the king who chose, now it is the people who choose."
Zacarias Garcia / EPA
A man prepares the table with the traditional couscous for the people in charge of a polling station in a school in Rabat on November 25.
Many people, however, scorned a process they say has been going on for decades without any tangible effect on their lives.
"I won't vote, the promises are never kept — with or without the new constitution, it is the same," said Abdallah Cherachaoui, an unemployed 45 year old in the lower income district of Akkari. "They are laughing at us." Read the full story.
Previously on PhotoBlog:
Black Friday: Tiring for retail staff, and for shoppers too
Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images
Employee Neal Smith, center, yawns before the midnight opening of a Best Buy store in San Diego, California on November 25.
J. Miles Cary / The News Sentinel via AP
Bobby Snodderly, 77, of Jacksboro, Tenn., watches over his family's shopping bags at West Town Mall in Knoxville on Black Friday. Snodderly and his family began their Christmas shopping at midnight at the Wal-Mart in Jacksboro, Tenn., and then continued onto Knoxville.
Related content:
Protests greet train carrying nuclear waste as it travels from France into Germany
Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
A picture taken with a thermal imaging camera shows police (foreground) guarding the train transporting Castor containers, which carry radioactive nuclear waste, during a stop in Neunkirchen near Saarbruecken, Germany, on November 25.
The AP reports from DANNENBERG, Germany:
Alex Domanski / Reuters
Two police officers measure the radiation of a Castor container on a train during a stop in Neunkirchen on November 25.
Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police, setting a vehicle on fire, as skirmishes intensified Friday after a shipment of nuclear waste reprocessed in France crossed into Germany on its way to a controversial storage site.
The clash broke out in the afternoon between about 400 riot police and 300 demonstrators in the woods outside the northern German town of Dannenberg, near the storage facility at Gorleben where the nuclear waste is being transported by train.
Activists in Germany say neither the waste containers nor the Gorleben site, a temporary storage facility, are safe.
The train carrying the annual shipment entered western Germany in the morning after delays in France, where activists damaged railtracks in an attempt to halt the cargo. Read the full story.
Sascha Schuermann / AP
Police try to secure the area where environmental activists attacked a police car near Metzingen, northern Germany, on November 25.
Sascha Schuermann / AP
A group of masked environmental activists dig underneath the railway track in an attempt to halt a train carrying nuclear waste near Metzingen, northern Germany, on Nov. 25.
Dar Yasin / AP
Local Kashmiri photographers Yawar Nazir, left, and Showket Shafi wait for treatment after they said they were assaulted by police and paramilitary forces during a protest in Srinagar, India, on Nov. 25. At least four journalists said they were assaulted by police and paramilitary forces Friday as they covered a protest in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Police accused of beating journalists in Indian-controlled Kashmir
The AP reports from SRINAGAR, India:
An Associated Press cameraman and at least three other journalists said they were assaulted by police and paramilitary forces Friday as they covered a protest in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Umar Meraj was beaten for several minutes by security forces using rifle butts, batons, fists and a barrage of kicks, according to Meraj and other witnesses.
Local journalists have repeatedly complained of harassment and assaults by police in the tumultuous Himalayan territory. Continue reading.
Obamas give White House Christmas tree the thumbs-up
Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images
The official White House Christmas Tree arrives via horse-drawn carriage at the White House on Nov. 25. The tree, a 19-foot-tall balsam fir, was grown on Schroeder's Forevergreens farm near Neshkoro, Wisconsin.
Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images
First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia, accompanied by dog Bo, receive the White House Christmas tree on November 25.
The AP reports from WASHINGTON:
Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images
Michelle Obama speaks with daughter Sasha as they receive the White House Christmas tree.
Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and family dog Bo have witnessed the arrival of a 19-foot balsam fir from Wisconsin as the official White House Christmas tree.
The fir came from Tom and Sue Schroeder's Forevergreens farm near Neshkoro, Wis. It's the first time one of the Schroeder's trees has made it to the White House.
The tree was hauled up the White House driveway on Friday by horse-drawn carriage, where the Obamas inspected it and then gave it a thumbs-up.
The fir is destined for the Blue Room, where it will serve as the centerpiece of White House Christmas decorations.
Read more in TODAY.com's story: Christmas arrives at the White House