World in focus - best photos for December 23, 2020

Take a look at some of the best images from around the world in the past 24 hours

A student (C) takes a face mask from a basket held by an elephant (L) from the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace, outside the Jirasat Wittaya School in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya. AFP

A rainbow is seen over the Chacao neighbourhood, with the iconic El Avila hill in the background, in Caracas, Venezuela. AFP

Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi eyes the ball during the Spanish league football match between Real Valladolid FC and FC Barcelona at the Jose Zorilla stadium in Valladolid. AFP

A newly-wedded couple poses for their photographer in front of the Rain Vortex at Changi Jewel in Singapore. AFP

A passenger (L) arriving from the United Kingdom receives a hug by his father after undergoing a Covid-19 test at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport on the outskirts of Amritsar. AFP

An aerial view shows lines of freight lorries and heavy goods vehicles parked on the tarmac at Manston Airport near Ramsgate, south-east England, as the Brexit contingency plan "Operation Fennel" was activated early to cope with lorries waiting to depart the UK, after France closed its borders to accompanied freight arriving from the UK due to the rapid spread of a new coronavirus strain. AFP

Two-year-old Sofia Fox is nuzzled by a donkey wearing a Santa hat on a shopping street in Galway, Ireland. Reuters

A woman wears a custom face mask in Sydney, Australia. According to the New South Wales government, over 80 cases of coronavirus have been detected recently, and the state has imposed a number of restrictions until Christmas Eve in an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19. EPA

Farmworkers throw rocks at police trying to remove them from the Pan-American South Highway as they protest the Agricultural Promotion Law in the Barrio Chino neighbourhood of Peru's Ica province. Farmworkers are demanding better pay and protesting clauses in a law that exempts them from benefits given to other workers, including annual bonuses and paid vacation. AP Photo

Nevada defensive back EJ Muhammad (4) reaches for the ball after it was tipped into the air from a pass by Tulane during the first half of the Idaho Potato Bowl NCAA college football game, in Boise, Idaho. Nevada intercepted the ball on the play. AP Photo

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