Pictures of the day from The Huffington Post brings you the very best news and sports images from around the world, chosen and created by our own photo editors, Elliot Wagland, Tahira Mirza and Michael Cripps.
pics of the day 17th Dec
(01 of29)
Nick Clegg announces more free school meals, Hallfield Primary School, London, Britain, Deputy Prime Minister seen eating a mince pie after making them with year 5 pupils (credit:REX/Ben Cawthra)
(02 of29)
Nick Clegg announces more free school meals, Hallfield Primary School, London, Britain, Deputy Prime Minister seen eating a mince pie after making them with year 5 pupils (credit:REX/Ben Cawthra)
(03 of29)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - DECEMBER 17: Pope Francis blows out the candles on his birthday cake during his general audience at St Peter's square on December 17, 2014 at the Vatican City, Vatican. (Photo by Evren Atalay/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(04 of29)
BEIJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 17: A citizen skates on the frozen lake Houhai on December 17, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images) (credit:Emmanuel Wong via Getty Images)
(05 of29)
No-Tav activists (No Tav, means No to high-speed train) react as a judge reads the sentence concerning four protesters during their trial on December 17, 2014 in Turin. A local court convicted four protesters for attacking a controversial high-speed rail construction site in the Alps between Italy and France, and sentenced them to prison terms of 3 years and 6 months each. The Turin Assize Court acquitted the four, however, of a separate charge of terrorism for the assault. Dozens of activists campaigning against the high speed railway project shouted 'freedom' and 'clowns,' as the sentence was read by the presiding judge. AFP PHOTO / MARCO BERTORELLO (Photo credit should read MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:MARCO BERTORELLO via Getty Images)
(06 of29)
Heads of so-called 'Raeuchermann' figures (wooden Christmas incense smokers) are stored in a box at the Arts and Craft Workshop in Olbernhau, eastern Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. The workshop manufactures some 250 different types of the figures, which is a traditional Christmas decoration of the Erzgebirge region and is used to burn odorant incense cones. Some 20 percent of the production are sold to the U.S. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(07 of29)
Pakistani mourners shift a coffin during the funeral ceremony for victims of an attack by Taliban militants at an army-run school, in Peshawar on December 17, 2014. Pakistan began three days of mourning on December 17 for the 132 schoolchildren and nine staff killed by the Taliban in the country's deadliest ever terror attack as the world united in a chorus of revulsion. AFP PHOTO / A MAJEED (Photo credit should read A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:A MAJEED via Getty Images)
(08 of29)
Reverend Libby Lane poses for pictures during a photo call following the announcement naming her first woman bishop by The Church of England, after a historic change in its rules, in Stockport, northwest England, on December 17, 2014. Lane was named as the next bishop of Stockport, in a dramatic new step for England's state church after years of wrangling and division over the move. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:PAUL ELLIS via Getty Images)
(09 of29)
This photo released in a statement by the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 shows the Taliban fighters who stormed a military-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, killing more than 140 people, most of them children. In an email on Wednesday, the Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani claimed the attack was justified because the Pakistani army has allegedly long been killing innocent children and families of their fighters. (AP Photo/Pakistani Taliban handout) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(10 of29)
This photo released in a statement by the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 shows the Taliban fighters who stormed a military-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, killing more than 140 people, most of them children. In an email on Wednesday, the Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani claimed the attack was justified because the Pakistani army has allegedly long been killing innocent children and families of their fighters. (AP Photo/Pakistani Taliban handout) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(11 of29)
Reverend Libby Lane poses for pictures during a photo call following the announcement naming her first woman bishop by The Church of England, after a historic change in its rules, in Stockport, northwest England, on December 17, 2014. Lane was named as the next bishop of Stockport, in a dramatic new step for England's state church after years of wrangling and division over the move. (credit:PAUL ELLIS via Getty Images)
(12 of29)
People dance tango in front of St. Peter's Square to celebrate Pope Francis 78th birthday, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Hundreds of tango dancers from all over the world gathered just next to St. Peter's Square for a milonga to mark Pope Francis' 78th birthday. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(13 of29)
Rescue workers remove debris after a five-storey residential building collapsed on December 17, 2014 in Nairobi. The building is reported to have collapsed at about 3am and most of the tenants are said to be students of the Technical University of Kenya. (credit:SIMON MAINA via Getty Images)
(14 of29)
Today, Super League have unveiled the biggest Christmas present at the Trafford Centre in Manchester – a giant action figure box containing players from Super League teams.The giant action figure box was taken over by players from Super League teams including Kyle Amor, Michael Shenton and Ryan Sutton, to celebrate Christmas and launch the next Super League season. Tickets for next year's Grand Final at Old Trafford are now on sale.
(15 of29)
Search and Rescue team search bodies after landslides at Jemblung Village on December 16, 2014 in Karangkobar, Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. Established after 5 days landslides, Search and Rescue team found 47 bodies. (Photo by Gholib/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(16 of29)
Rescue workers stand at the scene of a building collapse in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. The five storey residential building had a sixth floor that was in the process of being built, according to a survivor at the scene, and the Kenyan Red Cross tweeted that seven people had so far been rescued from the building with four being referred to a nearby hospital. (credit:Sayyid Azim/AP)
(17 of29)
Children play in a snow covered park in Sapporo in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on December 17, 2014. Northern Japan was in the grip of a blizzard as strong winds and heavy snow forced the cancellation of almost 300 flights and vehicles were buried in snow. AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS JAPAN OUT (Photo credit should read JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JIJI PRESS via Getty Images)
(18 of29)
Pakistani mourners gather around the coffin of a victim of an attack by militants on an army-run school during a funeral ceremony in Peshawar on December 17, 2014. Militants rampaged through an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar and killed at least 141 people, almost all of them children, in the bloodiest ever terror attack in Pakistan. AFP PHOTO / A MAJEED (Photo credit should read A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:A MAJEED via Getty Images)
(19 of29)
Pakistani mourners carry the coffin of a victim of an attack by militants on an army-run school during a funeral ceremony in Peshawar on December 17, 2014. Militants rampaged through an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar and killed at least 141 people, almost all of them children, in the bloodiest ever terror attack in Pakistan. AFP PHOTO / A MAJEED (Photo credit should read A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:A MAJEED via Getty Images)
(20 of29)
Morning fog engulfs a village outside Izbasesti, Romania, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. Severe fog affected large areas of Romania causing traffic disruptions. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(21 of29)
Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, wearing a blindfold, is helped to ice a cake by Fynley Gooch, aged 7, as she promotes disability awareness while meeting with children at the newly established 23rd Poplar Beaver Scout Colony in east London on December 16, 2014. The Duchess's visit supports the Scout Association's 'Better Prepared' campaign, which aims to help communities to deliver Scouting to two hundred locations across the UK where Scouting can have the biggest impact. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALL / POOL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:BEN STANSALL via Getty Images)
(22 of29)
Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge checks the blindfold of Fynley Gooch, 7, before helping him ice a cake as she promotes disability awareness as she meets with children at the newly established 23rd Poplar Beaver Scout Colony in east London, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2014, in support of The Scout Association's "Better Prepared" campaign. (AP Photo/Ben Stansall, Pool) (credit:ap)
(23 of29)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge learns about disability by wearing a boxing glove to undertake simple tasks as she meets with children at the newly established 23rd Poplar Beaver Scout Colony on December 16, 2014 in east London, England. The Duchess's visit supports the Scout Association's 'Better Prepared' campaign, which aims to help communities to deliver Scouting to two hundred locations across the UK where Scouting can have the biggest impact. (Photo by Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images) (credit:WPA Pool via Getty Images)
(24 of29)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Tulisa Contostavlos attends The British Comedy Awards at Fountain Studios on December 16, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images) (credit:Tim P. Whitby via Getty Images)
(25 of29)
DERBY, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Cesar Azpilicueta and Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea bring on a stretcher for Kurt Zouma of Chelsea during the Capital One Cup Quarter-Final match between Derby County and Chelsea at Pride Park Stadium on December 16, 2014 in Derby, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) (credit:Laurence Griffiths via Getty Images)
(26 of29)
KARACHI, PAKISTAN - DECEMBER 16: Members of Pakistani political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) hold candle vigil in Karachi, Pakistan, on December 16, 2014 in memory of the victims of the Taliban assault on an army-run school in the north western city of Peshawar. Taliban attack on an army-run school in Pakistan on Tuesday has left at least 141 people dead, most of whom students. (Photo by Qaisar Khan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(27 of29)
A house covered in Christmas lights in the Artane area of Dublin, Ireland. (credit:Niall Carson/PA Archive)
(28 of29)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Ashley Roberts attends the British Comedy Awards at Fountain Studios on December 16, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images) (credit:Tim P. Whitby via Getty Images)
(29 of29)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrives to attend a meeting of the newly established 23rd Poplar Beaver Scout Colony on December 16, 2014 in east London, England. The Duchess's visit supports the Scout Association's 'Better Prepared' campaign, which aims to help communities to deliver Scouting to two hundred locations across the UK where Scouting can have the biggest impact. (Photo by Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images) (credit:WPA Pool via Getty Images)