Jump to December 2012 archive page: 1 2 3 ... 11

  • English town goes whole Hogmanay to welcome in New Year

    Nigel Roddis / Reuters

    Participants carrying burning barrels of tar on their heads parade through Allendale, northern England on Monday, December 31, 2012. Dating back to 1858, 45 barrel carriers called Guisers parade through the town balancing whiskey barrels weighing 35 pounds filled with burning tar on their heads. The barrels are used to light a bonfire at midnight in the town center while spectators and participants shout "Be damned to he who throws last".

    Slideshow: Celebrations as 2013 dawns

    Damian Shaw / EPA

    From Sydney to Siberia, revelers celebrate the arrival of a new year.

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  • Mourners lay to rest firefighter ambushed by gunman

    Carlo Allegri / Reuters

    The casket of slain firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka is brought out of St. Stanislaus Church following his funeral service in Rochester, N.Y., on Dec. 31. Kaczowka was killed along with firefighter Michael Chiapperini while responding to a fire in Webster, New York on Dec. 24, where William Spengler shot at first responders. Two other firefighters were injured while seven house burned.

    Jamie Germano / Democrat and Chronicle Pool via AP

    West Webster firefighters walk in procession with the casket of fellow firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka during his funeral at St. Stanislaus Church in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday.

    Jamie Germano / Democrat and Chronicle Pool via AP

    Janina and Marian Kaczowka, right, leave the church at the end of a funeral for their son, West Webster firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka, at St. Stanislaus Church in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday.

    Carlo Allegri / Reuters

    Kimberly Ciapperini attends the funeral of slain firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka at St. Stanislaus Church after his funeral service in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday. Kimberly is the widow of Michael Ciapperini, who was laid to rest yesterday.

    West Webster firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, was laid to rest on Monday, after he and fellow firefighter Michael Chiapperini were ambushed and killed while responding to a fire on Dec. 24, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. Two other firefighters were also injured. Chiapperini's funeral was held on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.

    Jamie Germano / Democrat and Chronicle Pool via AP

    A West Webster firefighter carries a program during the funeral for fellow West Webster firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka at St. Stanislaus Church in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday.

    Carlo Allegri / Reuters

    Firefighters wait for the casket of slain firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka to be brought outside of St. Stanislaus Church following his funeral service in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday.

    Carlo Allegri / Reuters

    A sign at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery is seen during the burial of slain firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka following his funeral service in Rochester, N.Y., on Monday.

     

  • Reuters cameraman wounded by Syrian sniper

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    Ayman al-Sahili, a Reuters cameraman, receives first aid after he was shot in the leg by a sniper loyal to Syrian President Bashar el-Assad while filming on the front line in Syria's north city of Aleppo on Dec. 31.

    By Reuters

    A Reuters television cameraman was shot in the leg and wounded while filming on the front line in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Monday.

    Ayman al-Sahili, a Libyan citizen working as part of a Reuters multi-media reporting team, was hit by a rifle bullet fired from a distance. He was treated in Syria and then driven across the border to Turkey. His injury was not life-threatening.

    The ambulance transporting Sahili to Turkey encountered an air strike in Aleppo and maneuvered into an alley until it was safe to continue the journey.

    Syria was by far the most dangerous country for journalists in 2012, with 28 killed there during the year according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a watchdog group. Read the full story.

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    Ayman al-Sahili is carried on a stretcher after he was wounded by a sniper loyal to Syrian President Bashar el-Assad in Syria's north city of Aleppo on Dec. 31.

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    Ayman al-Sahili is carried away in Syria's north city of Aleppo on Dec. 31.

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    A Free Syrian Army fighter pulls a boy off the street as a sniper fires during fighting with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar el-Assad in Aleppo city on Dec. 31.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

    Slideshow: Syria uprising

    Muhammed Muheisen / AP

    A look back at the violence that has overtaken the country

    Launch slideshow

     

  • With the motherland close at heart, Russian culture lives on in Israel

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Russian-speaking Israelis dance to Russian pop beats at the Soho nightclub in Tel Aviv on March 9, 2012. The club caters to the Russian-speaking immigrant community, featuring hired dancers and extravagant decorations rarely seen in informal Israel.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Russian-speaking immigrants drink vodka during a Russian folk music festival at the Gan HaShlosha national park near the northern Israeli Town of Beit Shean on May 11, 2012. About 2,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union attended the two-day festival, singing Russian standards, barbecuing and drinking vodka.

    By Daniel Estrin, Oded Balilty, The Associated Press

    In parts of Israel, it's hard to find a single Hebrew sign in a sea of Cyrillic. Shopkeepers address customers in Russian, and groceries are amply stocked with non-kosher pork, red caviar and rows of vodka. Russian pop beats thump at bars, and in some homes, people will as likely be hunched over a chessboard as a computer keyboard.

    The Soviet Union crumbled 20 years ago, and in the aftermath, more than 1 million of its citizens took advantage of Jewish roots to flee that vast territory for the sliver of land along the Mediterranean that is the Jewish state. By virtue of their sheer numbers in a country of 8 million people and their tenacity in clinging to elements of their old way of life, these immigrants have transformed Israel.

    Israel has the world's third-largest Russian-speaking community outside the former Soviet Union, after the U.S. and Germany. Russian-speaking emigres may not conjure up the same recognition as the country's black-hatted Orthodox Jews or gun-toting soldiers, but they are just as ubiquitous — maintaining habits more suited to the "old country" than their adopted Mideast homeland, like wild mushroom foraging or winter dips in the Mediterranean, the closest substitute to frigid Siberian waters. Continue reading.

    Editor's note: The Associated Press made these images available to NBC News on Dec. 30.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Two immigrants from the Ural region of the former Soviet Union rinse off after bathing in the Mediterranean Sea in the early morning, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Dec. 4, 2012. Many Soviet immigrants gather at the beach for a traditional winter dip, the closest substitute to the freezing waters of the former Soviet Union.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Alexandra Bahman, who emigrated to Israel from Moldova in 2006, sits in her bedroom with her cat on July. 6, 2012. Bahman left Moldova with the carpet and photos that now decorate her bedroom walls, in Ashdod, Israel. Ashdod is heavily populated by immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    A choir practices in a government-funded elderly care facility catering to Russian-speaking immigrants in Ashdod, southern Israel, on Nov. 4, 2012. The choir sings Russian standards and Israeli folk songs translated into Russian.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union play chess in a public park in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Chess is a popular sport in Israel's Russian-speaking community, and the world's second-best chess master, Belarusian-born Boris Gelfand, lives in Israel on Nov. 15, 2012 . Israel has one of the world's largest Russian-speaking communities outside the former Soviet Union, and the immigrants' tenacious clinging to their old way of life has transformed the Jewish state.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Gymnasts from Russian-speaking immigrant families warm up at a gymnastics competition organized for Israel's immigrant community, in the southern resort city of Eilat on Nov. 9, 2012. Most of Israel's Olympic gymnasts are immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    An employee of the Mizra pork factory poses with a pig's head in a refrigerated warehouse in Kibbutz Mizra, northern Israel, on Dec. 6, 2012. The million-strong Soviet immigrant community has increased customer demand for pork in the country, a non-kosher food rarely eaten by Israeli Jews.

    Oded Balilty / AP

    Russian-speaking immigrants gather for a Russian folk music festival at the Gan HaShlosha national park near the northern Israeli Town of Beit Shean on May. 11, 2012. About 2,000 immigrants from the former Soviet Union attended the two-day festival, singing Russian standards, barbecuing and drinking vodka.

    View more photos by AP photographer Oded Balilty.

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  • Blooming and booming: Fireworks cascade from Taiwan's tallest skyscraper

    Fireworks explode from Taiwan's tallest skyscraper, the Taipei 101, during New Year celebrations in Taipei on Jan. 1, 2013. The Taipei 101, a 1,670-foot-high skyscraper (509 meters) ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. The Chinese characters read 'Taipei 101.'

    Pichi Chuang / Reuters

    Fireworks explode from Taiwan's tallest skyscraper, the Taipei 101, during New Year celebrations in Taipei on Jan. 1, 2013. The Chinese characters read 'Taiwan.'

    Sam Yeh / AFP - Getty Images

    New Year 2013 is shown on the Taipei 101 building to mark the new year.

    Previously on PhotoBlog: 

    Slideshow: The world's tallest skycrapers

    Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

    Slideshow: Celebrations as 2013 dawns

    Damian Shaw / EPA

    From Sydney to Siberia, revelers celebrate the arrival of a new year.

    Launch slideshow

  • Protests turn to mourning for gang-rape victim as India prepares for muted New Year's

    Dar Yasin / AP

    Indians participate in a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of a gang rape victim in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Reuters reports: India's armed forces canceled New Year's Eve parties on Monday, reflecting the somber mood across the country after the gang rape and murder of a student that triggered an international outcry.

    High-end clubs, politicians and ordinary Indians also called off celebrations as a mark of respect for the 23-year-old woman who died on Saturday two weeks after her brutal assault. Full Story

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

    Sajjad Hussain / AFP - Getty Images

    A man holds a sign protesting rape during a rally in New Delhi on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Amit Dave / Reuters

    Students hold candles as they pray during a candlelight vigil in Ahmedabad for a gang rape victim on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Manish Swarup / AP

    An Indian girl shouts during a protest against the rape and subsequent death of a student in New Delhi, India, on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Mahesh Kumar / AP

    Indian students shout slogans during a protest rally over the gang rape and death of a New Delhi student in Hyderabad, India, on Dec. 31, 2012.

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  • Back from Afghanistan, soldier finds comfort in daily chores of family life

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Not much more than a week back from Afghanistan, 1st Lt. Aaron Dunn smiles while holding his baby, Emma, at home in Fountain, Colo. on Dec. 8, 2012.

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn kisses his wife Leanne as they reunite during an arrival ceremony for soldiers returning from a deployment in Afghanistan, at Ft. Carson, in Colorado Springs on Nov. 30, 2012. 1st Lt. Dunn, with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, had not seen his wife and baby since he deployed in March.

    Brennan Linsley, a photographer with The Associated Press, spent time with the family of First Lt. Aaron Dunn over the past month as they adjusted to Aaron's homecoming from Afghanistan.

    "Emma was 5 months old when I deployed, and 14 months old when I returned," explains Dunn, pictured above holding his daughter beside the Christmas tree at his home in Fountain, Colo.

    Emma had little clear memory of him when he came home, Dunn explains, though he had been able to witness her growing up during his 9-month deployment thanks to the wonders of modern communication. "I was able to stay in touch with the family and had the luck to watch Emma begin to crawl via Skype," he says.

    Nevertheless, it has taken some weeks for her to accept his role as a parent after so long away. "I have basically let Emma set the pace with what she is comfortable with," Dunn says. 

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn removes his belongings from his army duffel bag on the morning of his return from a deployment in Afghanistan, Nov. 30, 2012. Dunn's combat team was charged with engaging Taliban fighters in Kunar Province and mentoring Afghan government soldiers.

    Asked what he'll miss about Afghanistan, Dunn says: "Probably getting to do my job. It's one thing to train, but it's a whole different thing when you are actually doing what you have worked so hard at during training. The rewards are there."

    Soldier who lost 4 limbs in Afghanistan returns home to hero's welcome

    "In my opinion, its tougher on the families, especially after the unit takes a casualty. I personally can't imagine waiting, not knowing if your loved one is alive or even alright, and having a panic each time a car drives by your drive way thinking it's the military chaplain and escort coming to see you."

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn tries to feed his baby Emma as his wife Leanne watches, at home in Fountain, Colo. on Dec. 9, 2012.

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn cuts a Christmas tree in an area of National Forest reserved for seasonal cutting, as his wife Leanne carries their baby Emma in a backpack, outside Woodland Park, Colo. on Dec. 8, 2012.

    Asked about switching gears from fighter to family man, Dunn says: "A lot of people seem to think that 'quality time' will make up for a long absence. It doesn't. Its 'quantity time' that does that. It's the time spent doing things that are fun, but also the time spent doing the daily chores, and other routines that firmly bring a family together."

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn and his wife Leanne, left, look at photos of Dunn's fellow soldiers in Afghanistan as baby Emma vies for their attention, at home in Fountain, Colo. on Dec. 9, 2012.

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Three weeks back home from the war in Afghanistan, Aaron Dunn and his wife Leanne pray during services at their church, in Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 2012.

    "War and coming home are going to mean different things to each soldier," Dunn says. "For me it was God and family. I get my security in life from my hope in God, and my companionship and support from my family."

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn and his wife Leanne cook at home in Fountain on Dec. 9, 2012.

    Asked what's the best thing about being home, Dunn says: "Family - at the risk of sounding cliched, I really don't care about much else but being with family and the ones I love... and the ability to decide on a whim to go somewhere without any concerns or restrictions - like getting shot at." 

    Brennan Linsley / AP

    Aaron Dunn watches as his wife Leanne reads a bedtime story to their baby Emma on Dec. 9, 2012.

    More from Brennan Linsley: In harm's way: Photographer documents moments of relief, heartbreak in Afghanistan

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  • Fireworks before midnight? Sydney kicks off New Year party early

    David Gray / Reuters

    Fireworks explode on the rooftops of buildings during a 9 p.m. show prior to the new year celebrations in Sydney on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Brendon Thorne / Getty Images

    People watch fireworks under The Sydney Harbor Bridge during New Year's Eve celebrations on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Rob Griffith / AP

    Fireworks explode around the Opera House during the pre New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney on Dec. 31, 2012.

    Eager revelers camped Sunday night on the shores of Sydney Harbor to get the best vantage points as 1.5 million were expected to gather to watch the fireworks show centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge, The Associated Press reports.

    The shores were packed when an eight-minute preliminary show for young children exploded over the harbor three hours before the main event in Sydney and as the clock struck midnight in Samoa and other South Pacific islands to the east, ushering in the new year there.

    Read more about New Year celebrations around the world and take a look at the slideshows below.

    Slideshow: New Year's traditions

    Mariana Bazo / Reuters

    We may have different calendars, customs and beliefs, but most of us mark the arrival of a new year. Take a look at the ways cultures around the world celebrate and bring good luck for the year ahead.

    Launch slideshow

    Slideshow: Celebrations as 2013 dawns

    Brendon Thorne / Getty Images

    From Sydney to Siberia, revelers prepare to celebrate the dawn of a new year.

    Launch slideshow

  • Landslide in Colombia leaves at least two dead, seven injured

    Ejercito Nacional de Colombia / AFP - Getty Images

    This frame grab, above, from a video released by the Colombian Army on Dec. 30, shows a landslide that ocurred on Dec. 29 along a road between the cities of Neiva and Florencia, in southwestern Colombia. The slide left at least two people dead, seven injured and vehicles buried in mud, officials and witnesses said. Army troops, police and Red Cross teams with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs are examining the site in search of bodies or survivors, said Jesus Gomez, a disaster relief official in the area. The stability of the slope itself is also being assessed to determine if it is safe for the rescue teams to work.  

    Diario Del Huila-Newspaper / Reuters

    Colombian soldiers and police officers stand next to the wreckage of vehicles while searching for victims of the landslide.

  • Fiscal talks hit major setback as GOP appeals to Biden

    Drew Angerer / Getty Images

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) leaves the Senate chamber and heads to a meeting with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill, Dec. 30, in Washington, D.C. The House and Senate are both in session today to deal with the looming 'fiscal cliff'.

    Democrats said that Republicans, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., are insisting that a deal to resolve the fiscal cliff include what is known as "chained CPI" -- a change in how Social Security benefits are calculated to increase over time. 

    Just before a self-imposed deadline at which Senate leaders were set to brief their respective caucuses about a prospective deal, negotiations toward a scaled-back agreement to avoid the onset of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts on Jan. 1 appeared on the verge of breakdown.

    -- Reported by Michael O'Brien, NBC News

    Read the full story

    Related content:

    In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, President Barack Obama tells David Gregory he's optimistic the fiscal cliff can be averted, lays out the goals for his second term, and also discusses the Benghazi attack and how it was handled by the administration and those on Capitol Hill.

  • Children wait for winter aid in Afghanistan

    Musadeq Sadeq / AP

    Displaced Afghan children from Helmand Province wait for winter relief assistance from the United Nations Refugee Agency at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, on Sunday, Dec. 30. About 600 displaced families received relief assistance from the UN agency.

    Related content:

    Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads

    More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

    Launch slideshow

  • Blast in Karachi kills six, wounds 48

    Reuters

    A bus is seen in flames at the site of a bomb explosion in Karachi, Pakistan, Dec. 29. Six people were killed and 48 wounded, police and a hospital official said.

    Shakil Adil / AP

    A Pakistani woman grieves after losing her son in the blast.

    Pakistan's commercial capital and biggest city has seen numerous militant attacks over the past 10 years and is also plagued by violence between rival ethnic-based factions.

    The bus was destroyed in the explosion and a subsequent fire. Police said the bomb had been planted on the bus, but provincial official Sharfud Din Memon said it was left on a motorbike and went off as the bus passed.

    -- Reported by Reuters

    Read more.

    Reuters

    People carry an injured man away from the scene of a bomb explosion.

    Akhtar Soomro / Reuters

    Firefighters douse a bus after a bomb explosion in Karachi.

     

  • Jet rolls off Moscow runway, splits apart

     

    Alexander Usoltsev / AP

    Rescuers work where a plane skidded off the runway at Vnukovo airport in Moscow on Saturday, Dec. 29. The Tu-204 aircraft belonging to Moscow-based Red Wings broke into pieces and caught fire, killing several people.

    "We saw how the plane skidded off the runway ... The nose, where business class is, broke off and a man fell out," said a witness, who gave his name as Alexei. "We helped him get into a mini-bus to take him to the hospital."

    Another witness described pulling four people from the wreckage when he arrived at the scene before emergency service workers. "We could not get the pilot out of the cockpit but we saw a lot of blood," he told the TV station Rossiya-24.

    -- Reported by Reuters

    Read the full story.

     

    Alexander Usoltsev / AP

    Yuri Kochetkov / EPA

     

  • Bridgeport gun buyback effort continues, in wake of Newtown

    Michelle Mcloughlin / Reuters

    Bridgeport police officer Peter Garcia inspects guns brought in during a gun buyback event in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Read the full story.

    Michelle Mcloughlin / Reuters

    Bridgeport police officer Peter Garcia inspects a handgun during the buyback on Friday.

    Michelle Mcloughlin / Reuters

    Bridgeport police officer Peter Garcia (L) inspects rifles brought in by John Coppola on Friday.

    Related stories:

     

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  • Muddy cyclist crosses finish line victorious

    David Stockman / AFP - Getty Images

    Belgian Niels Albert celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the Azencross (Cross des As), the fifth stage in the Bpost Bank Trofee Cyclocross competition, on December 28 in Loenhout.

     

  • Food fight! Spanish town arms itself with eggs, flour for charity

    David Ramos / Getty Images

    Revelers take part in the battle of 'Enfarinats', a flour fight in celebration of the Els Enfarinats festival on December 28, in Ibi, Spain.

    Citizens of Ibi, Spain annually celebrate the Els Enfarinats festival with a battle using flour, eggs and firecrackers. The battle takes place between two groups, a group of married men called 'Els Enfarinats' which take the control of the village for one day, pronouncing ridiculous laws and fining the citizens that infringe them, and a group called 'La Oposicio' which try to restore order. At the end of the day the money collected from the fines is donated to charitable causes in the village. The festival has been celebrated since 1981 after the town of Ibi recovered the 200-year-old tradition.

    -- Getty Images

     

    Alberto Saiz / AP

    Revelers take part in festival of Els Enfarinats, in the town of Ibi near Alicante, Spain, on Dec. 28.

    David Ramos / Getty Images

    Revelers walk toward the battle of 'Enfarinats', a flour fight in celebration of the Els Enfarinats festival, on Dec. 28, in Ibi, Spain.

    Alberto Saiz / AP

    A reveler takes part in festival of Els Enfarinats, in the town of Ibi near Alicante, Spain, on Dec. 28.

    Morell / EPA

    People enjoy the traditional 'Els Enfarinats' battle at Ibi in Alicante, eastern Spain, on Dec. 28.

    David Ramos / Getty Images

    A reveler smokes during the battle of 'Enfarinats', a flour fight in celebration of the Els Enfarinats festival on Dec. 28, in Ibi, Spain.

    Alberto Saiz / AP

    Revelers take part in festival of Els Enfarinats, in the town of Ibi near Alicante, Spain, on Dec. 28.

    David Ramos / Getty Images

    Revelers take part in the battle of 'Enfarinats', a flour fight in celebration of the Els Enfarinats festival on Dec. 28, in Ibi, Spain.

     

  • Protecting Britain’s only herd of reindeer, nestled in Scottish highlands

    David Moir / Reuters

    Reindeer gather around herder Anna Jemmett, from the Glenmore Reindeer Centre, to eat lichen from her hands in the Cairngorm Mountains near Aviemore, Scotland, on Dec. 28. The 150 strong Cairngorm Reindeer Herd is Britain's only herd of reindeer.

    David Moir / Reuters

    Reindeer herder Anna Jemmett from the Glenmore Reindeer Centre carries a 26 lbs bag of grain feed along a wooden pathway, a task carried out twice a day in winter, before feeding a herd of free ranging reindeer in the Cairngorm Mountains near Aviemore, Scotland, on Dec. 28.

    David Moir / Reuters

    A herd of reindeer walk together in the Cairngorm Mountains near Aviemore, Scotland, on Dec. 28.

    David Moir / Reuters

    Reindeer herder Anna Jemmett from the Glenmore Reindeer Centre, calls out to attract a herd of free ranging reindeer before feeding them, in the Cairngorm Mountains near Aviemore, Scotland, on Dec. 28.

    David Moir / Reuters

    Ducks walk past a herd of reindeer in the Cairngorm Mountains near Aviemore, Scotland, on Dec. 28.

    For more information about Britain's only herd of reindeer visit the Cairngorm Reindeer Herd website.

     

  • The colorful faces of Kathmandu's Yomari Puni festival

    Narendra Shrestha / EPA

    A group of young Nepalese Newari girls wearing costumes representing various deities participate Jyapu Day procession in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Dec. 28. Thousands of the Kathmandu based majority Jyapu, which means ethnic farmers, celebrated farmers day all over the country. The Nepalese government has made the day a national holiday in recognition of the Jyapu.

    Niranjan Shrestha / AP

    A Newar community girl dressed as a deity watches as she participates in a parade marking Yomari Puni festival in Katmandu, Nepal, on Dec. 28. Yomari Puni is a festival observed annually by the Newari community on a full moon day where Yomari, a confection of rice flour, is prepared and eaten.

    Niranjan Shrestha / AP

    Newar community girls dressed as deities participate in a parade marking Yomari Puni festival in Katmandu, Nepal, on Dec. 28.

    See more photos from Nepal on PhotoBlog.

  • Residents evacuated as Nicaragua volcano spews ash cloud

    Mario Lopez / EPA

    San Cristobal volcano is seen next to Chinandega, Nicaragua on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2012. The volcano's activity is set to continue, specialists said, with gas and ash eruptions. Read the full story.

    Mario Lopez / EPA

    A fireman hoses down ash on a street of Chinandega, Nicaragua on Thursday.

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    Some 300 families living on the flanks of the highest volcano in Nicaragua have been advised to leave after it began spewing hot gas and ash. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

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