AFP UK

Al Khor (Qatar) (AFP) – Fireworks are seen over the Al Bayt stadium as the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar takes place. IMAGES

Kherson (Ukraine) (AFP) – Kherson’s oil terminal is still burning a day after it was shelled by Russian forces who fired across the Dnipro river. IMAGES

Doha (AFP) – I feel “Qatari”, “Arab”, “African”, “gay”: world football boss Gianni Infantino says in a bizarre attack on critics of Qatar’s human rights record on the eve of the opening of the football World Cup. He added: “Of course I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against], to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country. As a child I was bullied – because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian, so imagine.”

Al Khor (Qatar) (AFP) – Ecuador fans sing, dance and play music in front of Al Bayt stadium before World Cup kick-off against host nation Qatar. IMAGES

Doha (AFP) – Images of Ballon D’Or winner Karim Benzema during his last training with France in Doha before being ruled out of the World Cup with a left thigh injury dealing a serious blow to defending champions France’s hopes of retaining the trophy. IMAGES

Buffalo (AFP) – Huge snowfall has fallen on the city of Buffalo and many parts of the State New York. The governor has advised residents to remain prudent.

Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) – The UN’s COP27 climate summit approved on Sunday the creation of a special fund to cover the losses suffered by vulnerable nations hit by the impact of global warming. SOUNDBITE

Tymovskoye (Russia) (AFP) – Rescue workers are on the scene after a suspected gas explosion in a five-storey residential building killed nine people in Russia’s northeastern Sakhalin island, according to the local governor.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Kyiv, for the first time. IMAGES

Kherson (Ukraine) (AFP) – The first passenger train arrives in Kherson since Russian forces withdrew from the city on November 11. Arriving with a one hour delay, the train from Kyiv pulled in at ten o’clock as people waved flags from a bridge and relatives waited with flowers on the platform. IMAGES

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vows his country will “stand with” Kyiv during his first visit to the Ukrainian capital as PM.

Yavas (Russia) (AFP) – Images of the Russian penal colony in remote Mordovia, where Basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to start serving her 9-year sentence for possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil.