Christmas updates: Pope appeals for peace in world conflicts

King Charles III used his annual Christmas message to hail the selflessness of those who have cared for him and the Princess of Wales earlier this year after both were diagnosed with cancer. 

“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness,” said the 76-year-old monarch.

The broadcast of the pre-recorded speech came several hours after the king waved to a large crowd of onlookers who traditionally gather to see the royal family attend Christmas Day services.

A community run in Belfast, not far from the Stormont Castle seat of government in the east of the Northern Irish capital, broke its course participation record on Christmas Day.

Almost 800 people turned out for the morning jog. 

Several so-called "Parkrun" events were held around the country. 

A total of 788 runners completed the Stormont course, besting the previous course record by 12. 

"It's absolutely amazing to see so many people start their Christmas morning with us here," event director Alison Canning said. "The atmosphere here is just amazing with all the costumes and the Santa hats ... Everyone just likes to get out and spread a bit of Christmas spirit." 

Around 3,000 people in Argentina sat down for a festive Christmas open-air charity dinner in central Buenos Aires, outside the national Congress, as organizers try to draw attention to poverty under President Javier Milei. 

Showers, haircuts, manicures and other services were also on offer for some patrons. 

Turnout for the "No Family Without Christmas" event, now in its eighth year, exceeded organizers' expectations. You can watch our video on the event for more information. 

Milei has managed to curb inflation in Argentina since taking power on the back of some aggressive spending cuts, but statistics point to increases in poverty and homelessness at the same time.

Leading German clerics focused on unrest at home and abroad in their Christmas sermons.

The chairman of the Catholic German Bishops' Conference, Georg Bätzing, warned wars in Europe and the Middle East had unsettled millions. 

"Much of what we thought was reasonably safe just a few months ago has been thrown out of balance by Russia's blatant war of aggression against Ukraine and the armed conflicts in the Middle East, triggered by Hamas' cruel terror against innocent Israelis," said Bätzing, according to excerpts of the sermon distributed in advance.

Bätzing also alluded to the Magdeburg Christmas market attack,  and the knife attack in Solingen earlier in the year, albeit noting they appeared to be different in nature. He warned against the urge for a supposedly strong, authoritarian hand to ensure order. 

"God help us if such reactions to crises find more supporters in the upcoming federal elections," he said. 

The country's top protestant cleric, Kirsten Fehrs, said the holiday could be an opportunity to put "all the madness" — whether oppressive violence, political disputes or other bad news — to one side for a while. She said this did not mean being indifferent. 

"Rather, it is an invitation to recharge our batteries and take a fresh look at the challenges facing our world," Fehrs said. 

In Munich, Cardinal Reinhard Marx urged Christians to "not simply accept things," and to believe in change, improvement and the future. And in Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki called for a "mobilization for peace" the world over. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized a Russian attack focused on Ukraine's power grid involving dozens of missiles and around a hundred drones that also killed one person. 

"I condemn this ongoing assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure," Starmer said in a statement. "I pay tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the leadership of President Zelenskyy, in the face of further drone and missile attacks from Putin's bloody and brutal war machine with no respite even at Christmas." 

You can read more about Wednesday's  strikes here.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier called the attacks, and their timing, "inhuman." This year is the second in which Ukraine formally celebrates Christmas on December 25, in line with most Western countries, rather than in early January, another by-product of Russia's 2022 invasion.

King Charles III and close members of the British royal family attended Christmas Day services at a church in Sandringham, after what his son and heir Prince William has described as a "brutal" year for the family. 

Charles and Queen Camilla walked the short distance from Sandringham House in Norfolk in southeast England to the St Mary Magdalene Church, passing and waving to a crowd of well-wishers. 

They linked up with William, his wife Kate, and children George, Charlotte and Louis near the church. 

Charles is suffering from cancer and is expected to highlight health workers during his televised Christmas address later. While all details on his condition are kept private, Buckingham Palace recently said the treatment was "progressing well" and would continue in 2025.

Kate has also undergone a course of chemotherapy this year after abdominal surgery.

Absent at Wednesday's church service was Prince Andrew, dogged most recently by alleged links to a Chinese spy. He was said to be spending Christmas with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.

Pope Francis used his midday "urbi et orbi" ("to the city and the world") blessing to appeal for a halt to fighting, or at least improved conditions for civilians, in the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan. 

"May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine," he said from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. "May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace." 

Speaking about the conflict in Gaza, Francis called the humanitarian situation "extremely grave."

"May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war," he said, calling for the "doors of dialogue and peace to be flung open." 

The 88-year-old Argentine pontiff also made reference to Sudan's civil war and ensuing famine. 

"May the Son of the Most High sustain the efforts of the international community to facilitate access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Sudan and to initiate new negotiations for a ceasefire," Francis appealed. 

The previous evening, Francis had urged people at a Christmas Eve mass to think of "the wars, of the machine-gunned children, of the bombs on schools or hospitals," after another year of conflict. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended Christmas greetings in a post on the platform X.

"Wishing you all a Merry Christmas," Modi said.

"May the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ show everyone the path of peace and prosperity," he said.

Modi attended an event hosted at the center of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) in the capital, New Delhi.

Christianity, with around 28 million believers, is the third largest religion in India after Hinduism and Islam. It is the predominant religion in parts of northeastern India and practiced by substantial minorities in the west coast states of Goa and Kerala.

A strike by employees at Starbucks in theUnited States has expanded to over 300 stores on Tuesday, the workers' union said.

Starbucks Workers United said that the final day of the walkout, which began Friday, would involve more than 5,000 staff and be the largest in the coffee chain's history.

The union, representing employees at 525 stores nationwide, has called strikes across 12 major cities, including New York,Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle, over the issues of wages, staffing and schedules.

Earlier this month, the union rejected an offer of no immediate wage raises and a guarantee of a 1.5% pay hike in future years.

The company said 98% of its stores remained open Tuesday, with just 170 stores hit by the strike.

Seven residents of a retirement home in southern Germany were injured in a fire on Christmas Eve. 

A spokesman for the fire brigade stated on Tuesday that 60 people were evacuated from the historic building in central Munich.

More than 100 fire service personnel were deployed to tackle the blaze.

Details regarding the damage and the cause were not initially available.

The spokesman said that the roof and the bell tower of the building were severely damaged. 

Some residents were moved to a different, unaffected area of the building as well as to a nearby building belonging to the Technical University of Munich.

Thousands of worshippers will gather inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris at midnight on Tuesday for the Christmas mass — the first since a major fire nearly destroyed the iconic structure in April 2019.

A Neopolitan nativity scene has been installed to help tell the story of Christmas.

The Paris diocese warned that only 2,700 worshippers would be allowed in for the service — one of several on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The 12th-century monument reopened earlier this month after a five-year restoration program by France's government that cost some €700 million ($728 million).

Since the Cathedral fully reopened on 16 December, some 270,000 people have toured the site.

Christmas Eve church services were held in Syria's capital Damascus for the first since President Bashar Assad was overthrown.

The pews of Lady of Damascus Church were filled with Christian followers, holding candles and singing hymns.

The service was an early test of a pledge by Syria's new Islamist rulers to protect the rights of the country's religious minorities.

The country's de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa has told visiting Western officials that his government won't seek revenge against Assad's followers or repress other minority groups. 

However, several recent incidents have targeted Christians, including the burning of a Christmas tree, vandalism and a shooting at a Greek Orthodox church in Hama last week and the blasting of jihadi songs from vehicles in a predominantly Christian neighborhood.

In his Christmas message, Spain's King Felipe VI urged the public to draw lessons from this year's catastrophic floods.

The monarch said the disaster, which killed 231 people, was "an event difficult to accept, but from which we must all be able to draw the necessary lessons that strengthen us as a society and make us grow."

Thousands of people were made homeless in the October 29 floods. 

"We have realized -— and understood -— the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for a greater and more efficient coordination by the administrations," Felipe said in a reference to the public anger at the mismanagement of the disaster.

Pope Francis has opened the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, marking the official beginning of the Catholic Church's Jubilee 2025 year.

In a wheelchair due to a severe knee condition, the 88-year-old Francis knocked several times on the heavy bronze door, which helpers then opened from the inside. 

He was then wheeled across the threshold as bells tolled across Rome and the choir inside the basilica began Christmas Eve Mass.

Every 25 years, the Catholic Church celebrates a special Holy Year known as a Jubilee. 

During the year, the Catholic faithful can receive forgiveness for their sins through prayer and penance, including through a ritual that involves passing through the Holy Door. 

Millions of people are expected to travel to Italy over the next 12 months for the pilgrimage.

In his Christmas mass, the Protestant Bishop of Germany's northwestern city of Oldenburg, Thomas Adomeit, said that the festive season is a protest against pessimism and hopelessness.

"Despite everything that frightens us, we want and may dare to trust," Adomeit told the congregation at Oldenburg's St. Lambert's Church. "Christmas is not just an event that we celebrate. It is an invitation to let our lives be shaped by this message."

Adomeit praised those who came together to light candles, pray and mourn for the victims of the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, who he said had shown that the light of humanity is stronger than the darkness of violence.

"Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those who are suffering from this terrible act of violence," he added.