Christmas was observed across the world on Thursday as people around the world in prayers and traditional festivities with religious devotion and celebrations.

With churches lit up and decorated with Christmas trees, worshippers took part in services

Pope Leo XIV held the first Christmas mass of his pontificate, greeting thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square before the service.

During the mass, Leo said Christmas was a feast of “faith, charity and hope” and criticised a “distorted economy” that “leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise”.

Before, he spoke in front of St Peter’s basilica to offer Christmas wishes and thank those who had come to follow the mass on outdoor screens despite rainy weather.

“St Peter’s is very large but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you,” he told the crowd of around 5,000 people.

The US pope has adopted a more discreet and moderate style to that of his charismatic predecessor Francis, who died on April 21.

The mass was attended by high-ranking Church figures, diplomats and around 6,000 faithful.

Leo stuck to a very religious homily without any direct reference to current affairs.

The ceremony celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and is one of the most important days in the Catholic Church calendar.

The service combines traditional music with symbolic gestures such as placing a statue of the baby Jesus in a cradle.

• Rahman’s return energises BNP supporters for February elections.
• Rahman cleared of corruption charges following Hasina’s ouster.
• Attacks on media and violence spark fears for peaceful vote.
  

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka on Thursday after nearly 17 years in exile, a homecoming the party hopes will energise supporters with Rahman poised to be the top contender for prime minister in the February 12 elections.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters lined the route from the capital’s airport to the reception venue, waving party flags and carrying placards, banners, and flowers, while chanting slogans welcoming Rahman, as senior BNP leaders received him at the Dhaka airport under tight security.

Rahman, 60, the son of ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has lived in London since 2008 and led the BNP as acting chairman since 2018.

Dressed in a light grey, finely checkered blazer over a crisp white shirt, Rahman waved to the crowd with a gentle smile.

He had been unable to return while facing multiple criminal cases at home. Rahman was convicted in absentia on charges that included money laundering and in a case linked to an alleged plot to assassinate former prime minister Sheikh Hasina but the rulings were overturned after Hasina was ousted last year in a student-led uprising, clearing the legal barriers to his return.

His homecoming also carries personal urgency, with Khaleda Zia seriously ill for months. Party officials said Rahman would travel from the airport to a reception venue before visiting his mother.

The political landscape has shifted sharply since Hasina’s removal from power, ending decades in which she and Khaleda Zia largely alternated in office. A December survey by the U.S.-based International Republican Institute suggested the BNP is on course to win the largest number of parliamentary seats, with the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party also in the race.

Hasina’s Awami League party, which has been barred from the election, has threatened unrest that some fear could disrupt the vote.

Bangladesh is heading into the polls under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. While authorities have pledged a free and peaceful election, recent attacks on media outlets and sporadic violence have raised concerns, making Rahman’s return a defining moment for the BNP and the country’s fragile political transition.

• Lawyers review files around clock to protect victims: DOJ.
• New disclosures fuel political pressure ahead of midterm polls.
• FBI and Manhattan prosecutors locate vast cache of records.
  

The US Justice Department has found more than a million more documents potentially tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, delaying a full release for weeks while officials redact details to protect victims, DOJ said on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump’s administration began releasing files related to criminal investigations of Epstein, the late American financier who was friends with Trump in the 1990s, to comply with a law passed by Congress last month.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress passed the law over Trump’s objections, requiring that all documents be released by December 19 while allowing partial redactions to protect victims.

Releases so far have contained extensive redactions, angering some Republicans and doing little to defuse a scandal threatening the party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

In a message shared on social media on Wednesday, the Justice Department said more than a million additional documents potentially related to Epstein had been uncovered by the FBI and the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan, without elaborating on when or how the documents were found.

“We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the department said. “Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”