Birds, businessmen and a Christmas ballet: photos of the day – Monday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

A view of the destruction in the Eastern Ghouta neighbourhood after the collapse of 61 years of the Ba’ath regime

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Weapons surrendered by members of the army and pro-government militias after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad

Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

A woman is comforted outside the Nasser hospital morgue as she mourns by the body of a relative killed in an overnight Israeli bombardment

Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images

Palestinian boys inspect the remains of a car after an Israeli strike

Photograph: Hatem Khaled/Reuters

Tributes left outside St John’s Church to the victims of the attack on the town’s Christmas market on Friday

Photograph: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/AP

A cargo ship lies on its side after an accident during loading at Ambarli port

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

An anti-government rally outside parliament

Photograph: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP

Young dancers perform a Christmas ballet in the Kibera shantytown

Photograph: Brian Inganga/AP

A burnt-out car at the scene of a fire in the Sparkhill neighbourhood

Photograph: Jacob King/PA

The chief executives of Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi attend a press conference on their companies’ merger talks

Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Choristers at St Paul’s Cathedral practise for the Christmas Day service, the first to include girls in the choir

Photograph: Victoria Jones/Rex/Shutterstock

A man climbs a tree for a better view of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave surfing event at Waimea Bay

Photograph: Marco Garcia/Reuters

A flock of migrating birds flies over wetlands at the Yellow River Delta national nature reserve

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images