Jump to March 2012 archive page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 19
  • Western Wall's notes to God cleared out ahead of Passover holiday

    Ammar Awad / Reuters

    Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz and workers remove notes from the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, on March 28. Rabbi Rabinovitz headed a team on Wednesday that cleaned out the cracks and made room for more paper notes that Jews believe are notes to God, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover which begins on April 6.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    A man helps remove messages and prayers written by thousands of people addressed to God from the cracks in the Western Wall in preparation for the up coming Jewish Passover holiday on March 28 in Jerusalem's old city. All the notes once collected will be buried in a special place at the Mount of Olives according to Jewish law. Passover begins in the evening of Friday, April 6 and commemorates the story of the Exodus where the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    A man helps remove messages and prayers written by thousands of people addressed to God from the cracks in the Western Wall in preparation for the up coming Jewish Passover holiday, on March 28 in Jerusalem's old city.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    Messages and prayers written by thousands of people addressed to God from the cracks in the Western Wall are seen on the floor after they were removed in preparation for the up coming Jewish Passover holiday on March 28 in Jerusalem's old city.

     

    Show more
  • Homecoming for US troops after year-long deployment in Afghanistan

    CJ Gunther / EPA

    Sergeant First Class Paul Brady of the 182nd Infantry Massachusetts National Guard embraces his daughter Regan, 6, during a welcome home ceremony at Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts, March 28, 2012. The 182nd Infantry Regiment, one of the original units in the United States Military, returned from a year long deployment in Afganistan.

    CJ Gunther / EPA

    Family members and friends wave United States flags during the arrival of the 182nd Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard at a welcome home ceremony at Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts, March 28,2012. The 182nd Infantry Regiment, one of the original units in the United States Military, returned from a year long deployment in Afganistan.

     

  • Preparing for elections in Myanmar

    Reuters

    A child with stickers and a party flag of National League for Democracy (NLD) on his face at the election campaign of NLD party in Yangon March 28, 2012.

    Reuters

    A supporter holds up a portrait of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during an election campaign of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Yangon March 28, 2012. Myanmar's parliamentary election is scheduled for Sunday.

     Reuters reports: Western countries desperately want Myanmar's by-elections on Sunday to go smoothly - and give opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi a seat in parliament - so they can start to lift sanctions and let their companies invest in the once-isolated state.

    Myanmar's civilian rulers have astonished with a reform drive since taking office a year ago, freeing hundreds of political prisoners jailed by the former junta, holding peace talks with ethnic militias and opening up the economy.

    Western companies are lining up to get into the country, sandwiched between China and India and offering huge potential in energy, financial services, telecoms and tourism.

    Aung San Suu Kyi cancelled her remaining campaign events on Sunday citing illness.

  • Tibetan exiles protest in New Delhi ahead of Hu Jintao's arrival

    Adnan Abidi / Reuters

    A Tibetan exile shouts slogans while lying on the ground during a protest against the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India, in New Delhi March 28, 2012. Hu is scheduled to attend the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in India on March 29.

    Adnan Abidi / Reuters

    A Tibetan exile is detained by police during a protest against the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to India, in New Delhi March 28, 2012.

    Manan Vatsyayana / AFP - Getty Images

    A Tibetan activist is detained by Indian police during a protest in New Delhi on March 28, 2012. A Tibetan exile who set himself alight two days ago in New Delhi in a protest against a visit to the city by Chinese President Hu Jintao died, doctors said.

     The tibetan man who set himself on fire in protest 2 days ago had died, according to news reports.

    A proposal to create a bank for developing nations is one of the agenda items for the BRICS Summit which begins Thursday in New Delhi.

    A growing number of Tibetans is protesting regularly against Chinese rule, demanding an end to what they say is relentless repression by Beijing. NBC News' Adrienne Mong has more on the latest -- including rare footage of monks demonstrating in Qinghai Province.

  • Rare white elephants treasured in Myanmar

    Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty Images

    A caretaker bathing a white elephant in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, March 26. Kings and leaders in the predominantly Buddhist nation have traditionally treasured white elephants, whose rare appearances in the country are believed to herald good fortune, including power and political change.

    Soe Than Win / AFP - Getty Images

    A caretaker bathing a newly-born white elephant in Naypyidaw.

    Related content

     

     

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • California gray whale entangled in netting freed by rescuers

    Dolphinsafari.com

    Rescuers cut away netting from the fluke of a California gray whale off the coast of Dana Point Harbor, Calif.

    DolphinSafari.com

    A team of rescuers follow "Bart" the California gray whale for seven hours carefully sawing through discarded nylon fish netting that entangled the mammal off the Orange County coast.

    Mike Johnson / DolphinSafari.com

    A California gray whale, nicknamed named "Bart", swims free after rescuers spent seven hours freeing him from fish netting that entangled the mammal.

    A California gray whale was spotted Friday night off the coast of Dana Point Harbor, Calif., covered in nearly 50 feet of fishing wire. Rescue crews suspected it had been dragging the nylon netting, which was filled with dead sea animals, for nearly a week.

    The rescue involved seven tiring hours of sawing through the nylon as rescue crews followed the whale for mile after mile out to sea.

    "It was getting very frightening towards the end of the day because we were running out of time," David Anderson of DolphinSafari.com told NBCLosAngeles.com.

    Crews were using grappling hooks and lines to reel in the mammal and a knife to cut away debris, according to The LA Times. Then, at last, a line snapped as the whale dived down, and was free.

    More than 1,000 whales and dolphins die in fishing nets every day said Anderson, and he was happy to be able to save one.

    --Msnbc.com wire services contributed to this report

    Related links:

    A California gray whale is moving freely after rescuers spent seven hours untangling it from a discarded fishing net. KNBC-TV's Vikki Vargas reports.

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Colorado wildfire continues to rage near Denver

    Joe Amon / The Denver Post

    A home completely burned during the Lower North Fork Wildfire near Denver Colo. on March 27.

    The Colorado wildfire raging in the foothills and canyons near Denver has killed two people, destroyed more than 23 homes, and has caused the evacuation of 900 residences. 

    The area of pines and grassland is mountainous and sparsely populated, dotted with hamlets and the occasional expensive home. It's about 25 miles southwest of Denver at an altitude that ranges from 7,000 to 8,200 feet.

    According to reports, the blaze could have been ignited by embers from a controlled-burn operation.

    Related Links:

    --Msnbc.com wire services contributed to this post.

    A wind-driven fire may force as many as 20,000 people to evacuate a mountain community 45 minutes outside of Denver. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Picking spring flowers in Carlsbad

    Mike Blake / Reuters

    A worker picks giant tecolote ranunculus flowers by hand at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, Calif. on March 27. The flowers are sold for commercial purposes and the fields are a tourist attraction.

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

    An early spring coaxes the birds, bees, flowers and humans to come out from winter hibernation to enjoy the sunshine.

  • Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

    Job seekers looking for that perfect match at San Francisco fair

    A job seeker fills out a registration form as he waits to enter the HIREvent job fair at the Hotel Whitcomb on March 27 in San Francisco. Employers at the event were hoping to fill over 400 entry level and management job openings.

    The jobless rate has dropped to 8.3 percent from 9.1 percent since last summer, a move Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said is "somewhat out of sync" with the rather modest pace of economic growth.

    Related content

  • Drought conditions fuel wildfire in northern Spain

    Photos by Miguel Riopa / AFP - Getty Images

    A firemen runs close to a fire burning near the village of Castrelo do Val, in Ourense, northwestern Spain, on March 27, 2012. A firefighter was killed fighting one of the wildfires that have devastated thousands of acres due to drought in northwestern Spain.

    A villager looks at a fire burning close to the village of Castrelo do Val in northwestern Spain on March 27, 2012.

    Associated Press reported on March 15 2012:

    The landscape in northern Spain is now a palette in shades of ugly. Pale brown fields without crops or pasture stretch off into the distance. A pond for watering sheep has shriveled into a dustbowl. An irrigation canal down the road holds only stagnant water, murky from so much sediment and so little flow.

    In Galicia, Spain's lushly green northwestern corner where it usually rains all the time, pastures have no grass this year. Farmers there and elsewhere are being forced to ship in food for sheep and cattle at a cost of $2.6 million a day, according to ASAJA national spokesman Gregorio Juarez.

    Related story: Troubled Spain and Portugal are desperate for rain

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images

    Palestinians endure rolling blackouts caused by fuel shortages

    Palestinian school children do their homework on candle light during a power cut in Gaza City on March 27, 2012. A political fight between Egypt, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is to blame for fuel shortages that have led to a major electricity crisis in Gaza, sources told AFP. The impoverished Palestinian strip's power outages have gotten worse in recent months, leaving hospitals on the verge of a disaster and residents enduring rolling blackouts lasting up to 18 hours a day.

    Read more about the Mideast and North Africa.

  • Abir Sultan / EPA

    Preparing for Passover

    Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men are silhouetted against the late afternoon sky as they gather at a mountain spring outside Jerusalem on March 27 to collect water for the making of matza, or unleavened bread, prior to Passover.

  • Mahesh Kumar A / AP

    Indian separatists detained by police

    Indian police detain activists from the youth wing of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata party, during a protest at Osmania University demanding a separate state of Telengana in Hyderabad, India, March 27, 2012. Telengana supporters say the drought-prone northern area is underdeveloped and ignored by powerful politicians from southern Andhra Pradesh. Opposition to the split comes primarily because the proposed Telengana area would include the state capital, Hyderabad.

    Read more news from around the globe in World Blog.

  • Esteban Felix / AFP - Getty Images

    Pope Benedict XVI on 2nd day of historic visit to Cuba

    A gust of wind lifts Pope Benedict XVI's cape during a visit to the Church of Charity, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba on March 27. The pontiff, on his second day of a historic visit to Cuba, headed to Havana where he is to celebrate mass and possibly meet with the island's most famous inhabitant - former president Fidel Castro.

    Related content:

  • Nature's Best Photography: Polar bears in Manitoba, Canada

    Thomas D. Mangelsen / Nature's Best Photography

    A polar bear family takes an afternoon nap cuddled up together in Manitoba, Canada.

    Photographer’s comments: “After being woken up by its squirming, sleepy sibling, this polar bear cub is wide-awake and ready to play. Greeting the wintry world, he waves his soft paw from the warm haven of his mother’s arms.”

    Photographic information: Nikon D3X; 600mm lens; 1/800 seconds at ƒ/14; tripod. See more photos at: www.mangelsen.com

     

    Each year “Nature’s Best Photography” magazine hosts the Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition. Msnbc.com and and Nature’s Best are sharing some of the 2011 competition results with our readers here in PhotoBlog.

    A print exhibition of the winning images and other entries will be displayed from March 30, 2012 to Jan. 6, 2013, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

    Competition overview: The Nature's Best Photography concept began with simple yet dynamic goals: to celebrate the beauty and diversity of nature through the art of photography, and to use this far-reaching medium as a creative tool for encouraging greater public interest in outdoor enjoyment and conservation stewardship. The annual Windland Smith Rice International Awards program evolved from this ambitious mission to become one of the most highly-respected and visually compelling nature photography competitions in the world. More than 25,000 entries are received and judged each year in the International Awards. See more in the "Enter Photos" section.

    See another photo from the 2011 Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition

    See more photos from the 2010 Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition

    Related content

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Belfast museum offers a glimpse onboard the Titanic

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    Visitors look down on a projection showing images of the wreck of the Titanic on the seabed at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction on March 27 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    Computer video projections of a passenger and a crew member are displayed in a recreation of a first class cabin at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction on March 27, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Titanic Belfast Experience is a new £90 million visitor attraction opening on March 31, 2012.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    Visitors walk through the atrium of the Belfast Titanic visitor attraction on March 27, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The panels lining the walls of the atrium are the same size and texture as those fitted to the hull of the ship.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    A recreation of the Harland and Wolff shipyard is dominated by a large computer generated image at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction on March 27, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Titanic Belfast Experience is a new £90 million visitor attraction opening on March 31, 2012. One hundred years ago the maiden voyage of the ill-fated passenger liner Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic on the night of April 14, 1911 with the loss of 1517 lives.

    David Moir / Reuters

    An exterior view shows The Titanic Belfast building in Belfast, Northern Ireland March 27. The six-floor building which opens in April, will tell the story of the Titanic from the ship's construction in Belfast to her sinking in the Atlantic on her maiden voyage one hundred years ago.

     

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Eerie snapshots from a quintuple space shot

    NASA

    Snaky clouds of tracer chemicals hang in the sky over Virginia after today's five-rocket ATREX launch. The rockets released a stream of trimethyl aluminum, which is considered nontoxic but hazardous because it can ignite in the atmosphere. At high altitudes, the chemical trails took on a luminous glow that allowed scientists to track anomalous wind patterns in the jet stream.




    A combination fireworks show and UFO invasion played out in the skies over the U.S. East Coast this morning, thanks to the five-rocket fusillade launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rocket blasts were part of a $4 million mission called the Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment, or ATREX.


    The five suborbital sounding rockets were fired off over the course of five minutes, starting just before 5 a.m. ET, to track what's happening in the upper atmosphere. ATREX was designed to help scientists get a snapshot of strange ultra-fast wind patterns in the jet stream by releasing chemical tracers at different times on the edge of outer space, more than 60 miles high. Those tracers created milky white clouds that could be seen from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Here are just a few of the spooky snapshots. For more about the mission, check out the full story.

    NASA Wallops

    A time-lapse picture taken from near the launch site at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia shows the blazing ascent of the five suborbital rockets, plus the release of the chemical tracers at high altitude.

    NASA Wallops

    A wide-angle view shows ghostly clouds hanging over Virginia early this morning after the launch of five suborbital rockets for NASA's ATREX mission. The rockets released clouds of chemicals that were used to monitor wind patterns at high altitudes.

    Jack Fusco via Space.com

    Skywatcher and photographer Jack Fusco snapped this photo of the glowing clouds created by NASA's five-rocket ATREX launch from Seaside Park, N.J., north of the rockets' Virginia launch site.

    Jeff Berkes Photography

    Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes captured this view of the glowing cloud from West Chester, Pa. Berkes says he's driven hundreds of miles over the past week hoping to get pictures of the launch, which was delayed repeatedly. This time he had to stay at home, but he got an "amazing" view nevertheless. "Watching the rockets scream through the night sky was amazing," he said in an email. "It was even better to watch the tracers spread out from the rockets into the atmosphere. The colors were very intense for a short period and lasted about 30 minutes." For more of Berkes' work, check out his website.

    NASA launched five rockets in Virginia on Tuesday. The rockets are part of a mission to better understand jet stream winds. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

    More about the mission:


    Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

  • Health care debate rages on outside of the Supreme Court

    Alex Wong / Getty Images

    Members of Bound4Life pray in front of the U.S. Supreme Court of March 27 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court continued to hear oral arguments on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

    Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images

    Supporters and opponents of recent health care reforms rally outside the US Supreme Court March 27 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court dives into the heart of President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law Tuesday, taking up its most divisive requirement -- that Americans maintain insurance or be fined. The nine justices appeared satisfied Monday they had jurisdiction in the blockbuster case, clearing the way for a legal review that has huge implications for the nation and the 2012 elections.

    Jason Reed / Reuters

    An opponent of U.S. President Barack Obama's health care reform watches as supporters march past him at the Supreme Court in Washington on March 27 during the second day of legal arguments over the Affordable Care Act. President Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul on Tuesday went before the U.S. Supreme Court where the nine justices continued hearing arguments in a historic test of the law's validity under the U.S. Constitution.

    Jason Reed / Reuters

    An opponent of U.S. President Barack Obama's health care reform wears a glove outside the Supreme Court in Washington, March 27, during the second day of legal arguments over the Affordable Care Act. President Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul on Tuesday went before the U.S. Supreme Court where the nine justices continued hearing arguments in a historic test of the law's validity under the U.S. Constitution.

    Mark Wilson / Getty Images

    Richard Mondale, left, yells at a Obama health care supporter, Will Oneil, right, during a protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building on March 27 in Washington, DC. Today is the second of three days the high court has set aside to hear six hours of arguments over the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

     

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • Government plan to raise fuel prices sparks protests in Indonesia

    Dita Alangkara / AP

    A tear gas canister fired by Indonesian police officers explodes in the air during a protest against the government's plan to raise fuel prices in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 27. The Indonesian government plans to raise fuel prices by about 33 percent next month to avoid a budget deficit due to expensive fuel subsidies.

    Dita Alangkara / AP

    A police officer fires a tear gas launcher to disperse student protesters during a protest against the government's plan to raise fuel prices in Jakarta, Indonesia March 27. The Indonesian government plans to raise fuel prices by about 33 percent next month to avoid a budget deficit due to expensive fuel subsidies.

    Dita Alangkara / AP

    A student protester throws a rock at police water cannon during a protest against the government's plan to raise fuel prices in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 27. Police fired tear gas and water canons to disperse thousands of rock-throwing Indonesians protesting plans to push up fuel prices by more than 30 percent.

    Dita Alangkara / AP

    A student protester runs from tear gas fired by riot police during a protest against the government's plan to raise fuel prices in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 27. Police fired tear gas and water canons to disperse thousands of rock-throwing Indonesians protesting plans to push up fuel prices by more than 30 percent.

     

    Sign up for the msnbc.com Photos Newsletter

  • High-five! Obama fist bumps on his way out of South Korea

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    President Barack Obama greets members of the military and their families during his departure at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Tuesday, March, 27, 2012. Obama is returning to Washington after attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.

    Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

    President Barack Obama greets U.S. soldiers and family members before boarding Air Force One at Osan Air Base in Osan outside Seoul on March 27, 2012 after attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit.

     

  • Fear of heights? Not for this job

    China Daily via Reuters

    Cleaners prepare to clean windows outside the 101st floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center March 26, 2012. More than 30 workers on the window-cleaning team of the skyscraper work in pairs every day. The cleaners have to obtain a license for high-rise operations and must not have high blood pressure or a fear of heights. They are not allowed items which could fall, such as cell phones or wristwatches, and must stop working in heavy winds.

    China Daily via Reuters

    Window cleaners outside the 101st floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center March 26, 2012.

    China Daily via Reuters

    Yang Bo cleans a window outside the 94th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center March 26, 2012.

     

  • Outside the Supreme Court in the early morning hours

    Mark Wilson / Getty Images

    Media crews set up for coverage outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 27, 2012 in Washington, DC. Today is the second of three days the high court has set aside to hear six hours of arguments over the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

     Story: States prep a "Plan B" as they wait the health care ruling

    Story: High court considers cornerstone of health care reform law

  • Cold or hot mic? Obama covers up the microphone

    Susan Walsh / AP

    President Barack Obama covers the microphone as he arrives at the plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit at the Coex Center in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. At left is Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

    Apparently President Barack Obama is able to joke about the open mic gaffe he made yesterday after he was overheard discussing missile defense with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

    Cliff Owen / AP

    The president's fourth year at the White House in pictures — follow along as it happens.

    Watch the video.

     

     

Jump to March 2012 archive page: 1 2 3 4 5 ... 19