Week in pictures: 15 - 21 December 2018 - BBC News

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EDGAR SU/REUTERS
Zhao Jian Wen feeds a stingray while dressed as Santa Claus during SEA Aquarium's Christmas festivities in Singapore.




DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
Weary passengers await announcements at Gatwick Airport after its runway closed just after 21:00 on 19 December when two drones were spotted flying over the perimeter fence and into the airfield. It did not reopen until Friday morning. Thousands of people's flights were cancelled because of what police called "a deliberate act to disrupt the airport".




GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS
A mother of a child who died from suspected Ebola cries near the coffin in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo.




MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP
Residents stare at the remains of Educandos neighbourhood the day after it was ravaged by a massive fire in Manaus, Brazil. No deaths were reported in the blaze, which authorities said might have been caused by a pressure cooker.




SUSANA VERA/REUTERS
Workers put the finishing touches to a statue, entitled Julia, designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa in Madrid.




ZOHRA BENSEMRA/REUTERS
A street vendor sells Christmas decorations on a street in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.




SHAMIL ZHUMATOV/REUTERS
A search-and-rescue team approaches the Soyuz MS-09 capsule, carrying International Space Station crew members, shortly after its landing in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.




MATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGES
People gather to take photos of the latest piece of artwork by guerrilla artist Banksy, in Port Talbot, Wales. The British artist, who keeps his identity a secret, used his verified Instagram account to confirm the graffiti piece was his.




OBAMA FOUNDATION/CHUCK KENNEDY/AFP
Former US President Barack Obama delivers gifts and greets patients and their parents at the Children's National medical centre in Washington DC.




HANNAH MCKAY/REUTERS
Choristers take part in a rehearsal at St Paul's Cathedral in London.