Okatana Constituency councillor Petrus Shigwedha Ashipala. (Photo: Contributed)

GROOTFONTEIN, 19 December 2025 - The accident scene where two trucks and a passenger bus were involved in a collision Friday afternoon outside Grootfontein in the Otjozondjupa Region. (Photo: Contributed)

KATIMA MULILO, 18 December 2025 - Zambezi Region Governor, Dorothy Kabula is urging residents to guard against gender-based violence and human trafficking this festive season. (Photo: Contributed)

MAPOREZA, 19 December 2025 - The Kavango West Regional Directorate of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture officially handing over construction sites to the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) at Maporeza village in the Kavango West Region on Friday. (Photo by: Lylie Joel) NAMPA

(251225) -- URUMQI, Dec. 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 20, 2025 shows a bridge on Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world's longest expressway tunnel, and the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains via the tunnel, will be open to traffic by the end of this year, enabling a new shortcut linking southern and northern parts of Xinjiang. The 22.13-kilometer tunnel will reduce the time it takes to drive across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes. Once operational, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, will be shortened from seven hours to about three hours. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

(251225) -- URUMQI, Dec. 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 23, 2025 shows a view of Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world's longest expressway tunnel, and the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains via the tunnel, will be open to traffic by the end of this year, enabling a new shortcut linking southern and northern parts of Xinjiang. The 22.13-kilometer tunnel will reduce the time it takes to drive across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes. Once operational, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, will be shortened from seven hours to about three hours. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

(251225) -- URUMQI, Dec. 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 23, 2025 shows a herdsman driving sheep on the side of Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in Hejing County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world's longest expressway tunnel, and the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains via the tunnel, will be open to traffic by the end of this year, enabling a new shortcut linking southern and northern parts of Xinjiang. The 22.13-kilometer tunnel will reduce the time it takes to drive across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes. Once operational, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, will be shortened from seven hours to about three hours. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

(251225) -- URUMQI, Dec. 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 23, 2025 shows a view of Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, the world's longest expressway tunnel, and the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains via the tunnel, will be open to traffic by the end of this year, enabling a new shortcut linking southern and northern parts of Xinjiang. The 22.13-kilometer tunnel will reduce the time it takes to drive across the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains from several hours to about 20 minutes. Once operational, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, will be shortened from seven hours to about three hours. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)