• A man walks in downtown Los Angeles during heavy rain on December 24, 2025. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution. " (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP)
    A man walks in downtown Los Angeles during heavy rain on December 24, 2025. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution. " (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP)
  • Hiba Ghalia is living with a relative in Aleppo city's Al Shaar district, six months after leaving Al Hol camp, but hopes to be able to find her own home. Ahmed Fallaha for The National
    Hiba Ghalia is living with a relative in Aleppo city's Al Shaar district, six months after leaving Al Hol camp, but hopes to be able to find her own home. Ahmed Fallaha for The National
  • Worshippers of all ages attend Christmas Eve Mass at St Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
    Worshippers of all ages attend Christmas Eve Mass at St Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
  • Filipinos attend Simbang Gabi masses, a series of Christmas celebrations, at St Mary's Catholic Church in Dubai. Antonie Robertson/The National
    Filipinos attend Simbang Gabi masses, a series of Christmas celebrations, at St Mary's Catholic Church in Dubai. Antonie Robertson/The National
  • A mother and daughter outside their obliterated home in Jabalia, northern Gaza. The toddler was injured when a neighbouring house was targeted by Israeli bombers. AFP
    A mother and daughter outside their obliterated home in Jabalia, northern Gaza. The toddler was injured when a neighbouring house was targeted by Israeli bombers. AFP
  • Christian pilgrim at Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, which has a column with five holes said to represent the five wounds of Jesus and forming the shape of a cross. EPA
    Christian pilgrim at Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, which has a column with five holes said to represent the five wounds of Jesus and forming the shape of a cross. EPA
  • Spectators watch a match at the Buzkashi league in Kabul, Afghanistan. Buzkashi is a traditional sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. EPA
    Spectators watch a match at the Buzkashi league in Kabul, Afghanistan. Buzkashi is a traditional sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. EPA
  • Security is beefed up at Christian sites in and around Damascus ahead of Christmas. AFP
    Security is beefed up at Christian sites in and around Damascus ahead of Christmas. AFP
  • 'Silence please', auditors are instructed as Niigata Assembly lawmakers take part in a vote of confidence to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, which was shut after 2011's earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Reuters
    'Silence please', auditors are instructed as Niigata Assembly lawmakers take part in a vote of confidence to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, which was shut after 2011's earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Reuters
  • A volunteer helps firefighters battle a blaze at a shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Reuters
    A volunteer helps firefighters battle a blaze at a shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Reuters
  • Tourists attired for the conditions float in the ice of the Erguna section of the Jirbugan River, experiencing 'ice floating' at minus 40°C in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. AFP
    Tourists attired for the conditions float in the ice of the Erguna section of the Jirbugan River, experiencing 'ice floating' at minus 40°C in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. AFP
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the fabrication shed of an 8,700-tonne nuclear-powered guided missile submarine somewhere in North Korea. AFP
    North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the fabrication shed of an 8,700-tonne nuclear-powered guided missile submarine somewhere in North Korea. AFP
  • A cloudy winter sky reflected in the World Trade Centre towers in Abu Dhabi. Scott Chasserot / The National
    A cloudy winter sky reflected in the World Trade Centre towers in Abu Dhabi. Scott Chasserot / The National
  • Models present creation of a designers Asifa & Nabeel during the Bridal Couture Week' fashion show, in Lahore, Pakistan. AP
    Models present creation of a designers Asifa & Nabeel during the Bridal Couture Week' fashion show, in Lahore, Pakistan. AP
  • Judges watch the men's Individual Gundersen Normal Hill/10km event at the Nordic Combined World Cup, in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria. AP
    Judges watch the men's Individual Gundersen Normal Hill/10km event at the Nordic Combined World Cup, in Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria. AP
  • Mountain climbers in Santa Claus outfits scale Bukhansan mountain in Seoul, South Korea, during a charity event. Getty Images
    Mountain climbers in Santa Claus outfits scale Bukhansan mountain in Seoul, South Korea, during a charity event. Getty Images
  • Catholic faithful at the candlelit Missa Aurea, known as the Golden Mass, to mark the fifth pre-dawn mass in anticipation of Christmas at Saint Peter of Alcantara Parish in Pakil, Philippines. Getty Images
    Catholic faithful at the candlelit Missa Aurea, known as the Golden Mass, to mark the fifth pre-dawn mass in anticipation of Christmas at Saint Peter of Alcantara Parish in Pakil, Philippines. Getty Images
  • Protesters at Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Protesters rallied across Bangladesh for a second day in a row to call for the arrest of the gunmen who shot and killed a leading figure in last year's pro-democracy uprising. AFP
    Protesters at Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Protesters rallied across Bangladesh for a second day in a row to call for the arrest of the gunmen who shot and killed a leading figure in last year's pro-democracy uprising. AFP
  • A girl lights a candle during a Christmas Eve service at the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
    A girl lights a candle during a Christmas Eve service at the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
  • People jump into Lake Geneva during the 87th annual Christmas swimming 'Coupe de Noel' in Switzerland. More than 4,200 swimmers completed the 100-metre course in water temperatures of 8.8°C. EPA
    People jump into Lake Geneva during the 87th annual Christmas swimming 'Coupe de Noel' in Switzerland. More than 4,200 swimmers completed the 100-metre course in water temperatures of 8.8°C. EPA
  • Sydney Opera House illuminated by candlelight on a national day of reflection honouring the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in Australia. AFP
    Sydney Opera House illuminated by candlelight on a national day of reflection honouring the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in Australia. AFP
  • Destroyed statue of Saint George and the Dragon in Al-Ghassaniya, a mainly Christian town in central Syria, as residents who fled during the civil war begin to return. AFP
    Destroyed statue of Saint George and the Dragon in Al-Ghassaniya, a mainly Christian town in central Syria, as residents who fled during the civil war begin to return. AFP
  • A petrol bomb explodes behind Albanian Police as they face demonstrators in front of the Prime Minister Edi Rama's office during an anti-government protest in Tirana. AFP
    A petrol bomb explodes behind Albanian Police as they face demonstrators in front of the Prime Minister Edi Rama's office during an anti-government protest in Tirana. AFP
  • A child carries a block to help municipal workers repair a damaged road at Nuseirat camp for displaced Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
    A child carries a block to help municipal workers repair a damaged road at Nuseirat camp for displaced Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
  • Passengers enter a railway station in dense smog on a winter morning in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state. AFP
    Passengers enter a railway station in dense smog on a winter morning in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state. AFP
  • Turkish soldiers and rescuers search for the remains of a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and seven others that crashed after taking off, killing all on board, in Ankara, Turkey. AP
    Turkish soldiers and rescuers search for the remains of a private jet carrying Libya's military chief and seven others that crashed after taking off, killing all on board, in Ankara, Turkey. AP
  • Prayers in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
    Prayers in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
  • Young dancers warm up for an annual Christmas ballet in a settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP
    Young dancers warm up for an annual Christmas ballet in a settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. AFP
  • A couple on the shores of the Caspian Sea outside the port city of Bandar Anzali, Iran. AP
    A couple on the shores of the Caspian Sea outside the port city of Bandar Anzali, Iran. AP
  • Spectators follow a camel race from their vehicles, next to the track in Al Shahaniya, Qatar. AFP
    Spectators follow a camel race from their vehicles, next to the track in Al Shahaniya, Qatar. AFP

News

Pictures of the week: From rain in Los Angeles to camel race spectators in Qatar

The National picks the most striking images from around the world

The National

December 26, 2025

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Updated: December 26, 2025, 6:02 PM
Photography