Grins, frowns, seriousness and levity: Faces of Trump inauguration
Washington, Jan 21: A pastor, his eyes closed, preaches his heart out for history. A former president spots an acquaintance, then grins and winks. Tech billionaires, all in a row, look on with intent expressions. Supreme Court justices scan the room.
Any crowd is, by definition, a collection of faces. But in those moments when history pivots, the expressions of the people on the scene — the grins and frowns, the seriousness and levity, the hope and trepidation — can, taken together, form their own indelible collage of the day.
And so it went with the faces captured by the lenses of The Associated Press and pool photographers at President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
In live video coverage and in still photos, those packed into the Capitol Dome for the inaugural of Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance offered up a Whitman’s Sampler of human emotions.
They weren’t exactly a cross-section of American life, to be fair, but a substantial amount of the many American emotions of the moment were offered up, triangulated by photographers and frozen in time.
For his part, Trump varied. At moments he was dead serious and looked almost glowering. At others — including when posing for phone photographs just after his speech — he grinned from ear to ear.
First lady Melania Trump was at his side, but her expressions were hard to see thanks to a wide-brimmed hat that obscured her eyes.
Joe Biden smiled graciously through it all. George W Bush seemed to be constantly grinning and enjoying himself thoroughly, bantering with everyone around him.
Barack Obama, like Trump, was equal parts smiling and interactive and completely sombre.
Bill Clinton flashed not infrequent smiles, as did Hillary Clinton — whose bare-knuckles battle with Trump in 2016 left rhetorical bruises that lasted for years. That despite Trump’s assessment of her later in the afternoon: “She didn’t look too happy today.”
The owners of faces not instantly recognisable to the world offered a range of emotions, too. (AP)
Pak man injured while shooting video with caged lion
Lahore, Jan 21: A Pakistani man was critically injured when a lion attacked him while he was trying to film a TikTok video with the big cat at a breeding farm in the country’s Punjab province, police said on Tuesday.
According to police, Muhammad Azeem who is in his late 20s, entered the lion’s cage without the farm owner’s permission to film a TikTok video with the animal in Sabzazar, a densely populated area of Lahore.
“As Azeem got closer to the lion with his cellphone, the big cat attacked him, leaving him with injuries to his head, face, and arms,” the police said.
Azeem’s cries alerted the breeding farm owner, who rescued him. He was shifted to a hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical. Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has ordered legal action against the farm owner, including the cancellation of his breeding license.
Last week, the cabinet of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz included the big cats in Schedule II of the Wildlife Act of 1974, legally regulating their possession.
“Keeping of five species of big cats – lions, cheetahs, tigers, pumas, and jaguars – have been regulated under the law. There had been no legislation for the past 70 years regarding the keeping of these animals, leading to their presence in homes,” Aurangzeb said.
“A strict ban has been imposed on displaying these animals on TikTok or other social media platforms. Violators will face legal action,” she added. “Minimum standards have been established for keeping them, and they must be housed outside city limits. Owners will be given time to relocate these animals; failure to comply will result in legal action and FIRs,” she said. (PTI)
S’pore tightens screen time rules for children
Singapore, Jan 21: Singapore has introduced stricter measures to regulate screen use among children in schools and preschools as part of a broader multi-ministry health initiative launched on Tuesday.
From February 1, preschools will enforce updated rules banning screen use for children under 18 months and limiting it to teaching and learning purposes for those aged 18 months to six years, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Social and Family Development. Educators will also be guided to prioritise “meaningful experiences” over sedentary activities such as prolonged screen time and sitting.
Primary and secondary schools have implemented similar measures, requiring students to store their phones in designated areas during lessons and restricting device use to specific times and locations, such as during recess or after school.
The Ministry of Health has also revised its recommendations for parents, advising less than one hour of screen time per day for children aged three to six and less than two hours for those aged seven to 12, excluding schoolwork. Parents are urged to limit children’s access to mobile devices and social media. (AP)