Better known for giving than receiving, Rio de Janeiro's Santas have been lining up for gifts for themselves: food parcels to help them through pandemic lean times. . So the school decided to hand out sponsored food parcels to lighten the load.
Qatar fought a "culture war", corruption claims and accusations over rights abuses in hosting the World Cup but experts say the Gulf state has reinforced its image everywhere except parts of Europe.. Andreas Krieg, an associate professor of security studies at King's College London, said Qatar had been caught in "a culture war" in Europe, but he thinks the criticisms had little impact in most of the world.
Ukrainians struggling to survive intense combat in the hard-hit frontline city of Bakhmut say President Volodymyr Zelensky's surprise visit this week was a non-event -- even if it lifted soldiers' morale.. And his visit gave a huge boost to the morale of those fighting in Bakhmut.
The Gambia's government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day and arrested four soldiers.. "Based on intelligence reports that some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of President Adama Barrow, the (armed forces) in a swift military operation conducted yesterday arrested four soldiers linked to this alleged coup plot," the government said.
The women filed into the yoga studio, on the ground floor of an otherwise pitch-black apartment block, for an afterwork session that was specially tailored to Ukraine's current period of deprivation.. Some of the women had even shed their extra clothing, making the studio more closely resemble how it would in normal times.
Nepal's top court ordered on Wednesday the release and deportation of Charles Sobhraj, the French serial killer portrayed in the Netflix series "The Serpent" who was responsible for a string of murders across Asia in the 1970s.. It became the title of a hit series made by the BBC and Netflix that was based on his life.
One of France's best-loved stars, Omar Sy, has returned to his Senegalese roots for a movie about colonial troops who fought for France in the World War I trenches.. More than 200,000 Africans served in the French armed forces during the first world war.
German activists chopped the top off a Christmas tree next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Wednesday, their latest protest pushing for greater action to combat the climate crisis.. A banner attached to the platform read: "This is only the tip of the Christmas tree."
Some 200,000 holidaymakers in France were scrambling Wednesday for alternatives to their cancelled trains as a rail strike caused mayhem in the run-up to Christmas.. According to the SNCF website, half or more of scheduled trains were cancelled for the weekend on key itineraries such as Paris to Rennes, western France, or Paris to Bordeaux, in the southwest.
Afghans voiced outrage on social media Wednesday over the Taliban's ban on women attending university, using the hashtag #LetHerLearn -- one of the only ways people can still protest in the country.. Many users employed the hashtags #LetHerLearn and #LetAfghanGirlsLearn to express their support for the right of Afghan girls and women to education.
