Rovaniemi (Finland) (AFP) – Santa Clause embarks on his annual journey around the world, from snowy Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle, riding his sleigh out of Lapland to deliver presents.
Prague (AFP) – At the Gothic St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, Archbishop Jan Graubner holds a mass for the victims of a deadly shooting at Prague’s Charles University. “We are all still in shock over what happened,” he says, as the Czech Republic observes a day of national mourning after a 24-year-old student killed 14 people and wounded 24 others on December 21. Church bells rang and a minute’s silence was observed across the nation at noon. Police believe the man killed three other people, including his own father and a two-month-old baby.
Tokyo (AFP) – At a Tokyo Christmas concert, three musicians with disabilities perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with a full orchestra using an AI-powered piano. The “Anybody’s Piano” tracks the notes of the music and assists players by adding whatever keys are needed but not pressed. “I play music myself, and today I was so touched,” says one audience member.
Jakarta (AFP) – “We want to spread the joy of Christmas especially in Jakarta,” says Gary Sarungu. Along with a dozen other musicians and singers, he is singing Christmas carols on a sidewalk in the capital of the world’s largest Muslim majority country.
East Flores (Indonesia) (AFP) – The Lewotobi volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted, spewing volcanic ash between 1 kilometres to 1.5 kilometres above its peak and into surrounding villages. It comes less than a month after the eruption of Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra killed 23 people.
Manila (AFP) – People take a walk through the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Philippines’ capital Manila as it lights up for its annual Christmas lights show.
Thurlow (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Emerging from the woods in a quiet corner of rural England, a small band of anti-foxhunting campaigners have just one goal: to confuse the pack of dogs chasing a fox and save its life. Fox hunts have been illegal in the UK since 2004, with trail hunting — in which packs of dogs follow a route artificially laid with a fox’s scent — permitted as a replacement. The “hunt saboteurs” say that trail hunts are used to cover up actual foxhunting and regularly gatecrash gatherings across the country, distracting the hounds and gathering evidence of lawbreaking, in what has become a fierce clash of cultures.
Prague (AFP) – People lay flowers and light candles outside Prague’s Charles University, where 14 people were killed and a further 25 injured in a gun attack on December 21. A 24-year-old student, who was known to police, carried out the shooting before turning the gun on himself. “These things don’t happen here” says Richard Smaha, a 17-year-old student, “it’s terrible.”
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Two people have been injured in a Russian drone attack that struck a residential building in Kyiv on the evening of December 21. While missiles and drones frequently target the Ukrainian capital, most are shot down by air defence systems and this incident is the first of its kind in months.
New York (AFP) – Residents and tourists in New York gather in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dyker Heights, where a homemade Christmas tradition has emerged. The area’s inhabitants put up spectacular festive lights, illuminating the streets and drawing the crowds.
