24 Hours in pictures, 8 December 2020

Firefighters combat the fire at a chemical factory on Otto Volek Road on December 08, 2020 in Durban, South Africa. It is reported that at least eight people have been injured and the cause of the fire is unknown at this stage. Photo by Gallo Images/Darren Stewart

Lions Rugby Union player Sibusiso Sangweni interacts with five-year-old Aryay Ramgovind at the L.U.C.C.A. Special Needs Childrens Foundation, 8 December 2020, at their year end function on their last day of school. The children were introduced to the players and took part in a Lego challenge against them. Picture: Michel Bega

A woman takes a picture with her mobile phone of the Christmas lights and seasonal decoration illuminating deserted square in Pristina, Kosovo, 07 December 2020. Government of the Republic of Kosovo extended the two weeks night curfew to stem the widespread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes the Covid-19 disease. EPA-EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

Legal representatives for former President Jacob Zuma, who was not present are seen prior to a pre-trial hearing before the High Court over charges that include fraud, corruption and racketeering, in Pietermaritzburg, on December 8, 2020. Photo by ROGAN WARD

Santa Claus wearing a protective face mask entertains a child at Pavillion shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 12 December 2020. The Pavillion mall is decorated like a traditional European Christmas village to attract shoppers. Malaysia’s economy has been affected badly due to Covid-19 pandemic. EPA-EFE/AHMAD YUSNI

Damages caused by a whirlwind in Ostia (Rome), Italy, 08 December 2020. EPA-EFE/Emanuele Valeri

A view during sunny weather at the snowy Schliffkopf at the Black Forest High Street near Achern, Germany, 08 December 2020. According to weather forecasts, the next days are expected to bring temperatures at about zero degrees Celsius in south-western Germany. EPA-EFE/RONALD WITTEK

A couple poses for photos commemorating their marriage with seasonal illumination in Tokyo, Japan, 08 December 2020. A wedding information magazine explained situation of wedding ceremony in Japan in October 2020 that 90 percent of wedding ceremonies had been cancelled du to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic in May 2020. It was recovered to about 64 percent of weddings scheduled for September 2020. The wedding information magazine presumes postponed weddings are expected to decrease and impact on weddings due to the coronavirus will be very limited next year. Take and Give Needs, Japan’s biggest company of wedding hall management, has postponed 600 of the 1200 weddings scheduled for March 2020 to June. The number of weddings in the first half of 2020 was only 36.0 percent year-on-year due to the impact of the new coronavirus. EPA-EFE/KIMIMASA MAYAMA

A soldier, who moments earlier had arrived with wounded comrades, looks at a reflection of an image of Jesus Christ at the main entrance of the hospital in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, 07 November 2020. Soldiers and relatives waited for hours to learn about the wounded on the battlefront amid constant shelling. The conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis is one of the most complexes in the world, with ethnic and religious implications as well as competing international interests. The latest confrontation erupted at the end of September after months of increasing tension and the painful memories of the war in the 1990s and claims of atrocities on both sides. EPA-EFE/RICARDO GARCIA VILANOVA

Cyclists compete in the local Al-Silm cycling race in the desert outside the Gulf emirate of Dubai on December 7, 2020. Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP

Money Penny (L) and Whisper (R) compete during the annual Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour, in Sydney, Australia, 08 December 2020. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS

Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend a ‘Toast Your Own Marshmallow’ stall during a visit to Cardiff Castle in Cardiff in south Wales, on December 8, 2020, on the final day of engagements on their tour of the UK. – During their trip, their Royal Highnesses hope to pay tribute to individuals, organisations and initiatives across the country that have gone above and beyond to support their local communities this year. Photo by Jonathan Buckmaster AFP