A polar bear and her playful cubs — and other news in pictures

, The TimesChildren dressed as a pope, cardinals, and Vatican Swiss guards.

Children dressed as a pope, cardinals and Swiss guards await the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to the De la Croix hospital in Jal el Dib, Lebanon

DOMENICO STINELLIS/AP

Aerial view of the Cerne Abbas Giant landmark carved into a grassy hillside.

The Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset is Britain’s largest chalk hill figure. The National Trust is raising £330,000 to help care for the surrounding grassland and threatened species

JAMES BECK/NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/PA

Participants in Santa Claus costumes take part in a 4.5 km Santa Dash in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Suitably-attired runners and walkers set off on the 10th annual 4km Santa in the City event, which starts and finishes in Paternoster Square, beside St Paul’s Cathedral in London

MARCIN NOWAK/LNP

A Buddha statue in a glass enclosure is partially submerged in floodwaters at a temple.

A Buddha statue in a flooded temple compound in Wellampitiya on the outskirts of Colombo, the largest city in Sri Lanka, which has been hit by deadly flooding and landslides

ISHARA S. KODIKARA /AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A recently born white lion cub with its mouth open, resting in a black tub with a light gray blanket.

A white lion cub is one of three recently born at a zoo in Maracay, Venezuela. The global population of the endangered subspecies barely exceeds 100

JACINTO OLIVEROS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Members of the German federal police anti-drone unit.

Members of Germany’s new federal counter-drone police unit attend its inauguration in Ahrensfelde, Germany. The country has recently experienced multiple drone fly-overs at military bases, critical infrastructure and airports

SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES

Aerial view of blooming Ceylon palms in Aterro do Flamengo park, with Rio de Janeiro's Sugarloaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay in the background.

Talipot palms (Corypha umbraculifera) bloom for the first time since they were planted in Aterro do Flamengo park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the 1960s. The species blooms only once in its lifetime and dies shortly after

PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Two police officers in bright yellow high-visibility jackets and helmets ride a white and a brown horse on a wet street.

For the first time in 26 years, police horses are patrolling streets in the West Midlands after an operational decision made by Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police

WEST MIDLANDS POLICE/SWNS

People walking their dog by Chesterton Windmill in Warwickshire.

Dog walkers at Chesterton’s 17th-century windmill during a mild morning in Warwickshire

JACOB KING/PA

Maiko from the Gion Kobu district attend the annual Kaomise performance in Kyoto, Japan.

Apprentice geishas, known as maiko, from the Gion Kobu district, at the annual kaomise “face-showing” performance in Kyoto, Japan

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN/GETTY IMAGES

Three ballerinas in purple tutus and white tights perform en pointe in falling snow at Covent Garden.

Azusa Tanaka, Helle Flood and Sophie Schulten from the Royal Ballet School dance under one of Covent Garden Piazza’s snow flurries, a scattering of faux snowflakes that will occur hourly throughout December

PAUL GROVER/COVENT GARDEN

Tourists in life vests ride a purple jet car boat across the Arabian Sea with a cargo ship in the background.

Tourists ride a Rolls-Royce-inspired jet car boat across the Arabian Sea off the coast of Juhu, Mumbai’s most popular beach

INDRANIL MUKHERJEE /AFP/GETTY IMAGES

People watch as drifters perform in the desert of Umm Al Quwain.

Children gather to watch drifters perform in the desert of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates, where car drifting has been popular since the 1970s

FADEL SENNA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Man in glasses and an orange vest takes a selfie with a swan sitting in the passenger seat of a car.

A swan that brought cars to a standstill by waddling onto the M1 is rescued by Adrian Woods of National Highways, who later dropped the confused bird off at a small lake off junction 16 at Northampton

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS/PA

Artist Endless sitting on a blue bin in front of a large-scale mural in Brighton featuring a portrait of Luke Evans and the words "Vision + Belief + Endure + Create."

Endless, a British street artist, unveils a mural dedicated to creativity on Jew Street, Brighton, that he made by collaging the likeness and quotes of the Welsh actor Luke Evans with his own face

NOEL SHELLEY

A supporter holds a "Super Bigote" action figure and a Venezuelan flag during a ceremony in Caracas.

A woman holds up an action figure of Super Bigote (Super Moustache), a superhero inspired by President Maduro of Venezuela, during a ceremony at Miraflores Palace, Caracas, where Maduro swore in community-based organisations

LEONARDO FERNANDEZ VILORIA/REUTERS

Laotian service members in white uniforms march with Lao National Day flags and communist flags.

A military parade commemorates 50 years of communist rule in Laos during the country’s national day, with service members marching near the national assembly in Vientiane

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

For more pictures from The Times, follow us on Instagram