2013 Pulitzer Prize Photos

It’s been a incredibly busy week in news, so in case you missed the announcement a few days ago, the above photos are this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners for photography.

From top to bottom, the photos, and the photographers behind them, are:

• Javier Manzano’s winning shot for best feature photography, taken Oct. 18, 2012. It shows rebel Syrian soldiers guarding a sniper’s nest, with light streaming through holes made by gunfire and shrapnel.
• Manu Brabo’s photo for best breaking news photography, showing Syrian refugees crossing into Turkey Dec. 8, 2012 - and this photo is just one of 20 from Associated Press photographers that comprised the prize-winning set.
• Beside Brabo’s photo is a shot by Narciso Contreras, showing a Syrian rebel fighter gesturing after firing upon troops fighting for President Bashar Assad Nov. 4, 2012.
• Another entry in AP’s Syria set is a photo by Rodrigo Abd, showing a woman, named Aida, recovering from injuries after her home was shelled by government troops March 10, 2012.

Head over to Framework for more details on the winners, and other finalists.

Obama’s first presidential visit to Israel

Amid the accolades for the “eternal” relationship between the U.S. and Israel, the tours of the Iron Dome defense system and the planting of a tree at the house of Israeli President Shimon Peres, both Palestinians and Israelis continue their protests against Obama’s trip.

Read more on Obama’s continuing travels on Politics Now.

Photos: Abed Al Hashlmoun / EPA, Bernat Armangue, Mohammed Ballas Associated Press Mahmud Hams / AFP/Getty Images

Scenes from the Iraq War

Above is a collection of some of the best work from Los Angeles Times photographers Carolyn Cole, Rick Loomis and Luis Sinco and Don Bartletti during their time documenting the Iraq War, from its opening salvos in 2003 to the subsequent insurgency, surge and draw-down.

For a deeper look, head over to Framework, or look back on the story behind Times photographer Sinco’s Pulitzer-honored “Marlboro Marine.”

Photos: Carolyn Cole, Don Bartletti, Rick Loomis, Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Iraq, a decade after the start of the war

It’s been ten years since the beginning of the Iraq War, which ended up costing the lives of an estimated 4,500 Americans and 127,000 Iraqis. Above are photos of the country, and its citizens, in the wake of the fierce combat, prolonged insurgency and the December 2011 proclamation that the war had ended.

For Iraqis, though life continues, the war’s wounds have yet to heal, as evidenced by the surge of violence this morning that killed at least 56 people.

Photos: Hadi Mizban, Karim Kadim, Khalid Mohammed / Associated Press

The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly today to upgrade the Palestinian Authority government to “nonmember observer state.” Applause broke out as the vote was announced. The U.S. and Israel were among those in opposition. Britain, Germany and the Netherlands abstained.

Photo: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, center, celebrates with members of his delegation and other supporters after today’s vote. Credit: Jason DeCrow / Associated Press

Speaking to a group of journalists in New York ahead of this week’s United Nations General Assembly session, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that Israel is only a short-lived presence among the ancient civilizations of the Middle East and would eventually be “eliminated.” More of his comments via Reuters:

“Iran has been around for the last seven, 10 thousand years. They (the Israelis) have been occupying those territories for the last 60 to 70 years, with the support and force of the Westerners. They have no roots there in history,” he said, referring to the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948.

“We do believe that they have found themselves at a dead end and they are seeking new adventures in order to escape this dead end. Iran will not be damaged with foreign bombs,” Ahmadinejad said, speaking though an interpreter at his Manhattan hotel.

“We don’t even count them as any part of any equation for Iran. During a historical phase, they (the Israelis) represent minimal disturbances that come into the picture and are then eliminated.”

“President Ahmadinejad’s comments are characteristically disgusting, offensive and outrageous,” a White House spokesman responded, Reuters notes in an update.

Video: PBS NewsHour

A new user-generated online community called Ahwaa — which translates to “passion” in English — is a place for members of the LGBT community in the Arabian Peninsula and beyond to vent their feelings and discuss just about any issue on their minds.

Photo: A screenshot of Ahwaa’s website. Credit: Ahwaa.org

“President Obama’s speech on Mideast policy was greeted mostly with derision Thursday in Sahara, a Baghdad cafe where people drink coffee and smoke flavored tobacco in water pipes. Many in the audience mocked the U.S. president’s words,” report Salar Jaff and Ned Parker from Baghdad.

reblogged via kateoplis:

“Obama’s speech is like a joke for me,” said Numan Qadis, 47, as he smoked his water pipe. He mocked Obama’s calls for Israel to give up land in the Palestinian territories based on the Jewish state’s pre-1967 war borders. “That is funny, there are tens of U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for that, and Israel is ignoring them all,” Qadis said. “He has done nothing for poor Palestinians who die every day in Gaza. He will do nothing for them or for us. Rather, he talks in mere slogans seeking to increase his popularity. I think his only achievement was killing Bin Laden, that is all, man.”

Then Qadis inhaled on his pipe and puffed out a cloud of smoke. “Look at this smoke … it is like Obama’s speech. Both vanish within seconds!” he said, letting out a big laugh.

— In a Baghdad cafe, Obama’s speech gets thumbs-down | LATimes

test reblogged from kateoplis

It’s been 96 days since Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest after his cart was seized by authorities. The Guardian has an interactive timeline tracking the protests, which have since spread throughout the Middle East and north Africa. 

Libya

The coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya is beginning to fray, as members continue to negotiate over the leadership of the campaign, despite the fact that missile and air strikes began on Saturday. Britain and Italy want NATO command, France and Turkey feel NATO sends the wrong message to the Muslim world and the U.S. just wants to scale back its involvement as quickly as possible.

Airstrikes continue against Kadafi’s forces, most recently in Misurata where his forces have reportedly pulled back while keeping snipers on rooftops, according to residents. Kadafi also made his first public appearance since airstrikes began in an address in Tripoli on Tuesday night. 

The rebels, meanwhile have formed an “interim government.” For the latest updates, follow the Libya live blogs by The Guardian or Al Jazeera.

Syria

At least four and as many as six people were killed when Syrian special forces launched an early-morning raid on a mosque in the city of Daraa, the center of anti-government protests. At least 10 have died following a government crackdown on protests for more political freedom and the release of dissidents. The Assad family has been in control of Syria since 1971. 

Israel / West Bank / Gaza

A bomb exploded at a bus stop in central Jerusalem Wednesday morning, wounding at least 25 people. It was the city’s first bus bombing in several years. In Gaza, militants fired rockets into southern Israel, continuing an ongoing exchange of rocket and mortar fire at the border, which killed four in Gaza a day earlier.

Yemen

Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Tuesday he would step down before his term ends in 2013. He originally rejected the same offer two weeks earlier, before at least 50 demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured when security forces closed in on protesters Friday. This follows the sacking of the president’s cabinet on Sunday, members of which were already expected to resign over the violent crackdown. If Saleh resigns, however, some, including the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, worry about what would come next.  

Saudi Arabia

The government announced that it would hold municipal elections — the second ever in the country — on April 23. Women will not be allowed to vote. 

Bahrain

The Bahraini government tore down the central monument of Pearl Square on Friday, after a crackdown on protesters and arrest of opposition figures. The protesters had used the square as a rallying point. 

Map reblogged via soupsoup:

Middle East Protest Interactive Timeline

Really impressive work here by the Guardian

test reblogged from soupsoup

Libya
Rebels in Misurata are surrounded by pro-government forces, as Kadafi has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the city. Further east, rebels in Ajdabiya brace for an attack, while also staging nighttime assaults on the recaptured oil city of Port Breaga. Recapturing Ajdabiya would open the road to both the opposition capital of Benghazi and the important city of Tobruk. 

Bahrain
Armored vehicles carried more than 1,000 Saudi troops and 500 policemen from the United Arab Emirates into Bahrain at the request of the ruling family. The king has declared a state of emergency for three months.   

The move, which has been called “unacceptable” by Iran, hasn’t quelled the protests, which continue to occupy the Pearl roundabout and reports continue of both protesters and a Saudi soldier killed. Qatar, home to international news organization Al Jazeera, has also supported the Saudi and Emirati troops. 

Yemen
Violence continues after six people were killed in confrontations with police in the capital of Sana on Saturday, when security forces moved in on protesters at Sana University and Tahrir Square. BBC reports that the governor of Marib province, Ahmad Naji al-Zaidi, was stabbed in the neck yesterday during an anti-government protest. The government also recently deported four Western journalists. Yemenis are protesting the 32-year rule of president Ali Abdullah Saleh. 

Israel/West Bank/Gaza
Israel’s government approved the construction of 500 new homes in the West Bank, a day after five Jewish settlers were found stabbed to death in the settlement of Itamar, near Nablus. The new construction is seen as a punitive measure by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government for the killings. Nearly have a million settlers live in West Bank territory occupied by Israel since 1967, widely seen as illegal by the international community.

Israel also intercepted an Egypt-bound ship suspected of carrying weapons to the Gaza strip. 

Photo: Men pray outside of the courthouse in Benghazi, Libya, where the opposition council is based. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

“The high cost of oil: We accept instability and even war in the Middle East to maintain our addiction.”