Lagos (AFP) – The dress code is plastic bottles and the dance floor is the street – welcome to a ‘slum party’, a yearly dance performance which seeks to bring cheer to Orowonshoki, one of the poorer districts of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital.
Pidgirtsi (Ukraine) (AFP) – Mountains of overflowing and noxious garbage at Landfill No.5 outside the Ukrainian capital Kiev are plaguing residents. Covering 63 hectares (156 acres), the sprawling dump outside Kiev is one of the largest in Ukraine and part of a network of more than 6,100 landfills.
Moscow (AFP) – In Russia, patients diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder are fighting for access to a costly treatment to stop their condition from getting worse and which can help save them from dying young. The two medications so far registered in Russia to treat spinal muscular atrophy – Spinraza (Nusinersen) which is injected into the spine several times a year and Risdiplam (Evrysdi) which is taken orally every day – are among some of the most expensive drugs in the world.
Reykjavik (AFP) – A Christmas beer made from green peas and marinated red cabbage is a festive hit in Iceland, paying homage to the traditional holiday feast.
Bruzgi (Belarus) (AFP) – Migrants take temporary shelter in a logistics centre building near the Belarusian village of Bruzgi on the border with Poland, after being moved there from camps where they were exposed to freezing cold temperatures. Poland has extended emergency measures restricting access to its border with Belarus which is at the centre of a migrant crisis the West blames on Minsk. Polish media estimate that at least 12 migrants have died on the two sides of the border since the crisis began in the summer.
Kabul (AFP) – Haji Mirzaman was just a teenager when he started taking photos using a homemade wooden box camera in his cousin’s studio in downtown Kabul. Now in his 70s, he says the instant camera has survived wars, invasions and a Taliban ban on photography, but is now in danger of disappearing due to the digital age.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli police commander Doron Turjeman hails the “sharp” reaction of the Jerusalem district police after a gunman opened fire in the Old City of Jerusalem, killing one person and wounding three others.
Riyadh (AFP) – Members of the Saudi national women’s team train with their coach at a Riyadh stadium as Saudi Arabia’s launch of its first women’s football league on Monday will clear the way for girls who dream of turning professional — and maybe even playing in a World Cup.
Khartoum (AFP) – Nearly a month after Sudan’s top general ousted the prime minister, they signed a breakthrough deal to reverse the military takeover that had sparked international condemnation and mass protests.
Novosibirsk (Russia) (AFP) – Monika the Russian rescue dog is ready for her new life after she was fitted with four prosthetic titanium paws after being found abandoned in a forest with four stumps. Luckily, she ended up in the caring hands of Alla Leonkina, a volunteer from Krasnodar, who fundraised to get Monika the pricey and complex operation she needed.
