Christmas celebrated around the world under shadow of coronavirus

Christmas celebrated around the world under shadow of coronavirus

Christmas celebrated around the world under shadow of coronavirus

an hour ago

A family pose for a photo on Christmas Day at Sydney's Bondi Beach, Australia, on Friday. AP

Hundreds of millions across the world celebrated pared-down Christmas festivities on Friday due to coronavirus restrictions, as Pope Francis appealed for people to show "fraternity" faced with crises aggravated by the pandemic.

"At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters," Francis said in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message.

Girls take selfie after attending a Christmas mass at St.John's Cathedral in Peshawar. AP

The pontiff, who just celebrated his 84th birthday, gave his eighth Christmas message "to the city and the world" by video from the apostolic palace, to prevent a crowd from gathering in St Peter's Square.

The battle to halt the pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.7 million lives, is far from over despite the launching of mass vaccine campaigns.

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video message that "vaccines are offering the world a way out of this tragedy" but one