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Australian firefighters tackle bushfires as heatwave briefly eases

A brief period of milder conditions are giving South Australia's Country Fire Service a chance at bringing a 25,000-hectare blaze to heel.

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Berlin swimmers take the plunge for Christmas

They took a dip in a lake near Berlin, but some said it was too warm.

World News

Pomp, politics & prayers as world leaders offer their Christmas wisdom

World leaders and others took to social media at Christmas to offer their words of wisdom.

France

Rector: '50 percent' chance Notre Dame structure might not be saved

Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said the fire-damaged Notre Dame is so fragile that “there is maybe a 50% chance that it will be saved."

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Mexicans visit giant baby Jesus statue to toast Christmas

Thousands of Mexicans have paid a visit to one of the world's largest baby Jesus figures to celebrate the birth of Christ.

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Queen and her heirs bake festive treats together

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and her heirs spent time baking festive treats together in the run-up to Christmas.

Ireland

Priest on wheels scoots out of Christmas Eve mass

Doug Leddin, one of several congregation members to film the priest's Christmas departure on a scooter, said it was a "great fun moment."

Italy

'I think of the children in Yemen' says Pope in Christmas message

"There is darkness in human hearts but the light of Christ is greater," Pope Francis told the crowd at St Peter's Square on Christmas morning.

West Bank

Watch: Christians celebrate midnight mass in Bethlehem

"Celebrating Christmas also means celebrating those who still have a desire to love mankind and put themselves on the line for it. Here in the Holy Land, and not only today but every day of the year, there are still many people who celebrate the Christmas of Jesus in this way, not only Christians.

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Bethlehem welcomes pilgrims for Christmas celebrations

Bethlehem welcomes pilgrims for Christmas celebrations, Iraq protesters create Christmas tree out of flags and elephants in Santa Claus outfits make a season greetings’ performance in Thailand.

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Watch: Indoor sky-diving elf draws Christmas lottery numbers

The elf showed off some killer acrobatics and collected some last-ditch letters for Santa Claus.

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Clashes erupt at busy Hong Kong shopping centre

It happened as people were making last-minute Christmas purchases.

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Special Christmas delivery for US troops in Syria

Troops taking part in 'Holiday Express' transported stockings stuffed with gifts to five bases in the country's east. A military band also travelled by helicopter, playing Christmas carols as the troops received their presents.

United Kingdom

Watch again: Queen delivers Christmas message after 'bumpy' 2019

Health scares, embarrassments and political turmoil - 'bumpy' may be an understatement but the Queen is also keen to celebrate the spirit of D-Day in her Christmas message to the Commonwealth.

World News

Watch: Santa Claus gets ready for Christmas 2019 in Lapland ceremony

Santa and his elves are getting ramped up for the final festive push in Finland.

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Santa Claus gets ready for his busiest time of year

At peak times, Santa Claus gets 32,000 letters every day

United Kingdom

Chinese card-maker says Tesco forced prison labour claims 'fabricated'

A girl in London reportedly opened a card to find a message inside claiming to be from inmates at Shanghai's Qingpu Prison.

Spain

Winners cash in €400,000 in Spain's traditional Christmas lottery

This year, the incredibly popular Spanish lottery, known as El Gordo or "The Fat One", handed out a total of €2.24 billion in prizes.

Germany

Berlin Christmas market, attacked in 2016, evacuated in false alert

The report of a "possibly suspicious object" leading to the evacuation of the market was a false alert, the Berlin police said.

Europe News

2019 ends as it began, in political turmoil

We look back at the week in Europe where MEPs called on the Maltese leader to resign immediately, protests took place in the Czech Republic and Poland. A tumultuous end to a rollercoaster year in EU politics. Our journalists sum it up in their words of the year.