AFP UK

Kabul (AFP) – A mobile library bus chugs to a Kabul orphanage and opens its doors for the first time since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, eliciting beaming smiles from children.

New York (AFP) – New York City will enact a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for the private sector starting on December 27, Mayor Bill de Blasio says during a news conference.

Kunming (China) (AFP) – Boxes of roses, lilies and carnations pile up as influencers speak into their smartphones at Asia’s biggest flower market — with thousands of customers eagerly awaiting their views on the best deals.

Blagnac (France) (AFP) – After three successful editions in Gaillac, the Lantern Festival opens in Blagnac in southwestern France. The event expects to welcome up to 600,000 visitors and is one of the largest of its kind outside of China.

Lumajang (Indonesia) (AFP) – Images of clouds of smoke and a darkened sky as Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts spewing out a tower of ash that has plunged local communities into darkness and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. There were no immediate reports of casualties, accroding to the country’s disaster mitigation agency.

Baghdad (AFP) – Twice a week, a small football pitch in Iraq offers the 25-member national squad of little people a chance to dream big. Omar Abdel Rahman’s team has set its sights on an ambitious goal: to travel to Argentina for their first international tournament.

Berlin (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who leaves office next week, makes a renewed plea for vaccination against Covid-19 in the latest in a series of more than 600 podcasts in which she has made a habit of addressing her fellow citizens directly.

Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) – Gambians are casting their ballots in the first presidential election in the tiny West African nation since former dictator Yahya Jammeh fled into exile. Jammeh ruled for 22 years after seizing power in a bloodless coup in 1994, before being forced into exile in January 2017 after Adama Barrow, then a relative unknown, defeated him at the ballot box.

Abidjan (AFP) – Changing the way society looks at disability is the challenge that some twenty disabled models in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, have taken up by stepping onto the podium.

Seoul (AFP) – An aquatic Santa swims with the fish and performs tricks for visitors at an aquarium in South Korean capital Seoul in a bid to bring festive cheer amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

Kiev (AFP) – During an address to parliament, Ukraine’s Defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov says that Russia will likely be ready for a potential large-scale attack on the country in late January. Western powers have been sounding the alarm for weeks about Russia gathering troops along the border with Ukraine, further stoking tensions in an area where a long-running conflict has already left 13,000 dead.

Vienna (AFP) – Austria’s ruling OeVP party has nominated Interior Minister Karl Nehammer to lead the country, hoping to draw a line under corruption allegations that cost Sebastian Kurz the top job two months ago. The president is expected to accept Nehammer’s nomination and set a date for the swearing-in.