The day in pictures

1 of 10 The 150,000-ton transatlantic cruiser Queen Mary II, built in the French port of Saint Nazaire, sets sail for her home port of Southampton, England.

2 of 10 Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher is whisked away from Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque. Witnesses say Muslim extremists, possibly Palestinians, threw shoes at the minister.

3 of 10 US soldiers eat an early Christmas dinner at their base in Baghdad.

4 of 10 Female Indonesian soldiers apply camouflage paint to their faces, as they prepare for a parade to commemorate the 58th anniversary of the Indonesian Army in Jakarta.

5 of 10 Russian families smile in delight as Grandfather Frost - Russia's equivalent of Father Christmas - greets them at his residence in the northern town of Velikiy Ustyug.

6 of 10 Dog costume designer Hui Xin dresses her pet in his own special Christmas coat at her dog clothing shop in Beijing, China.

7 of 10 A woman talks on her mobile phone in front of an advertising poster in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one of South East Asia's fastest growing economies.

8 of 10 Colombian President Alvaro Uribe [centre] takes a dip in the Guatapuri river in Colombia - he had apparently been passing by and decided to jump in to fulfil a childhood dream.

9 of 10 A military ceremony in Romania marks the 14th anniversary of the uprising that toppled the country's communist regime and dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

10 of 10 A Spanish woman celebrates her win in the El Gordo (The Fat One) lottery. The lottery aims at spreading the winnings among millions of people.