24 hours in pictures

Sharr mountains, Kosovo: a bird eats corn on a cold winter's day Photograph: Hazir Reka/Reuters

New Delhi, India: protesters hold placards as they demonstrate against the brutal gang rape of a woman on a bus Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

Bethlehem, West Bank: a boy stands in front of a Christmas tree as he watches celebrations outside the Church of the Nativity Photograph: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images

Jilin province, China: fish caught during an ice fishing festival in Zhenlai county Photograph: Xu Chang/Xinhua Press/Corbis

Barcelona, Spain: an honour guard of Catalan police officers, mossos d'esquadra, during the swearing-in ceremony of the president of the Catalan regional government Photograph: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

Jakarta, Indonesia: a father holds a basin with his child sitting in it, as floodwaters hit their house Photograph: Supri/Reuters

County Meath, Ireland: the funeral of procession of the junior minister Shane McEntee in Nobber Photograph: Julien Behal/PA

Aleppo, Syria: a fighter from the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra is seen through a smashed bus window during a gun battle with government forces Photograph: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

Budapest, Hungary: a man carries a small Christmas tree as other needy people stand in a queue to receive food and children's toys donated and distributed by activists from a charity foundation Photograph: Szilard Koszticsak/EPA

Connecticut, US: candles left as a memorial for those killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Lemmer, the Netherlands: a man walks on a platform as steam rises from the boilers of a pumping station that takes excess flood water to a nearby lake Photograph: Catrinus Van Der Veen/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester, UK: a woman does last-minute Christmas shopping on Market Street in the rain Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

Caviahue, Argentina: lava spews from the Copahue volcano on the Chilean-Argentinian border Photograph: Reuters

Vatican City, Rome: the baby Jesus is seen in the nativity during the Christmas night mass held by Pope Benedict XVI at St Peter's Basilica Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Kabul, Afghanistan: US soldiers line up to get their food during a special meal on Christmas Day at Kabul international airport Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

Changchun, China: workers shape a snow sculpture before the annual Vasaloppet China ski festival at Jingyuetan Park Photograph: China Daily/Reuters