(Left to right) Agnes Pachacz, Sasha Udell, Charlotte Gardiner and Andrea Taylor take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year. Picture by PA.
Our picture editors bring you the best images from the news today.
Christmas shoppers make their way along the High Street in Winchester, as the government refused to rule out introducing further restrictions to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Picture by PA.
Pauline LaMon receives her booster jab at a COVID-19 booster vaccination centre at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast. Picture by PA.
Workers continue to renovate the clock on Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, at the Palace of Westminster in London. Big Ben will bong on New Year’s Eve, with all faces of the Houses of Parliament’s famous clock tower on display for the first time in four years. Picture by UK Parliament/ Jessica Taylor.
St Paul’s Cathedral Choristers prepare for their Christmas services at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Picture by PA.
A medical staff takes the temperature to a child in a vaccine center in Sélestat, eastern France. France’s government is stepping up vaccination efforts amid fast-growing infections by the omicron variant, notably opening up injections to children under 12 for the first time. Picture by AP.
A southern white rhino calf born at Africa Alive near Lowestoft, Suffolk, on Saturday. Keepers don’t yet know its sex. Picture by PA.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Tuesday morning. Picture by AP.
In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Spencer Slate, garbed as a scuba diving Santa Claus, uses an underwater scooter to glide above the coral reef amid fish in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Picture by AP.
People ice skating at Coventry Glides, located within the grounds of Coventry Cathedral. Picture by PA.
Solstice swimmers and festive skaters: Tuesday’s news in pictures
