Holiday Lights Come Alive

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The U.S. soccer federation is displaying Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying it supports protesters in Iran ahead of the two nations' World Cup match Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses and aid workers say that allies of Ethiopia’s federal military are looting property and carrying out mass detentions in Tigray. The accounts raise fresh concern about alleged atrocities after the warring parties signed a truce more than three weeks ago. Diplomats and others hoped the truce would bring an end to suffering in the embattled region that’s home to more than 5 million people. Tigray is still largely cut off from the rest of Ethiopia, although aid deliveries into the region have resumed after the Nov. 2 cease-fire agreement signed in South Africa.

This is a dress with a story, and Elizabeth Emanuel wants to tell it. Shocking pink with a plunging, ruffled neckline and body-hugging shape, the gown was designed by Emanuel to wear at a party at Buckingham Palace a few days before her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981. It was a visual coming out party for the future princess, until then known for her conservative sweater-and-pearls look. But the dress was soon forgotten. Emanuel doesn’t even know where the dress is, or even if it still exists. So she has recreated it out of bolts of shiny, satin taffeta cut and stitched to match the dramatic sketches she made more than 40 years ago.

The hard realities of Ukraine’s capital are that a once comfortably livable city of 3 million people is now becoming a tough place to live. But Kyiv has hope, resilience and defiance in abundance. And perhaps more so now than at any time since Russia invaded Ukraine nine months ago. Just this summer, the living was easier. Bathers flocked to Kyiv's beaches on the Dnieper River. But the mood was somber, because news from the front lines of the war against Russia was often grim. Now it's the other way around. The city is increasingly being shorn in winter of power and sometimes water, too, by Russian bombardments. And yet there’s also hope in the air.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter made a public appearance again, this time with missile scientists and more honorific titles as her father’s “most beloved” or “precious” child. She’s only about 10, but her new, bold photos released Sunday by state media are deepening the debate over whether she’s being primed as a successor. She took group photos with scientists and others involved in what the reports called the test-launch of its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month. South Korea's spy service said last week that she is Kim’s second child, Ju Ae, who is approximately 10 years old.

Protests against China’s anti-virus controls that have confined millions of people to their homes spread to Shanghai and other cities after complaints the death toll in a fire in China’s northwest might have been worsened by the restrictions. A witness in Shanghai said police used pepper spray against about 300 protesters. They were gathered to mourn the deaths of at least 10 people in an apartment fire last week in Urumqi in the northwest. Videos on social media showed protesters in other cities including Nanjing in the east and Guangzhou in the south tussling with police. President Xi Jinping's government faces mounting anger at restrictions at a time when other countries are relaxing controls.

Argentines have breathed a collective sigh of relief as the country obtained a 2-0 victory over Mexico dissipating doubts that had emerged about Lionel Messi’s team after the shock loss against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The doubts that had emerged about the fitness of the national team at the World Cup, long considered one of the favorites, appear to have dissipated amid the jubilation over the result of a game that was crucial to decide the country's fate in the tournament. "I’m so proud. I truly loved the match,” said Luciana Medina, a 23-year-old communications student.