24 hours in pictures

Riwoto, Sudan: A woman from the Toposa tribe of southern Sudan. Opponents of a referendum on independence for south Sudan are threatening legal action and spreading confusion to try to disrupt the vote, say officials Photograph: Reuters

24 Hours in Pictures: A woman looks at trees decorated with Christmas lights at Ibirapuera Park

Sao Paulo, Brazil: A woman looks at trees decorated with Christmas lights at Ibirapuera Park Photograph: Nacho Doce/Reuters

24 Hours in Pictures: A man looks up inside a six-storey high Christmas tree

Orchard, Singapore: A man looks through a magnifying glass inside a six-storey high LED-based Christmas tree in front of a shopping mall on Orchard Road Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

24 Hours in Pictures: A man downtown after riots over the conduct of the presidential election

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: A man walks downtown after riots over the conduct of the presidential election Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AP

24 Hours in Pictures: A worker holds a handful of palm oil seeds

Serba Jadi, East Aceh, Indonesia: A worker holds a handful of palm oil seeds. Rampant deforestation, which makes way for palm oil and acacia plantation areas, makes Indonesia the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitters, according to some estimates Photograph: Sutanta Aditya/AFP/Getty Images

24 Hours in Pictures: An Afghan woman walks towards a market in the old city of Kabul Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan: An Afghan woman walks towards a market in the old city Photograph: Ahmad Nazar/AP

24 Hours in Pictures: Animal rights activists hold up some 200 animal carcasses

Madrid, Spain: Animal rights activists mark International Animal Rights Day by holding up some 200 animal carcasses to protest against the treatment of animals Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters

24 Hours in Pictures: Florence and the Machine performs at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo

Oslo, Norway: Florence and the Machine performs at the Nobel Peace Prize concert Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

24 Hours in Pictures: Hadri Zainal Abidin of Malaysia competes in the Men's Windsurfing

Muscat, Oman: Hadri Zainal Abidin of Malaysia stands on the rocks after competing in the Men's Windsurfing at Al-Musannah Sports City during day four of the second Asian Beach Games Photograph: Lucas Dawson/Getty Images

24 Hours in Pictures: People gather to protest the shooting of football fan Yegor Sviridov

Moscow, Russia: Hundreds of people gather to protest against the shooting of football fan Yegor Sviridov who was killed earlier this month in an attack on soccer supporters Photograph: Misha Japaridze/AP

24 Hours in Pictures: Revelers dressed as Santa Claus at the annual Santacon event in New York

New York: Revellers celebrate Santacon, a mass gathering of people dressed as Santa Claus who take to the streets in cities across the world before Christmas Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

24 Hours in Pictures: The Choir of King's College Cambridge rehearse their Christmas Eve service

Cambridge, England: The choir of King's College Cambridge conduct a rehearsal of their Christmas Eve service at King's College Chapel Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images