Pope's Christmas plea for 'immediate end to senseless war'

Pope Francis has made a plea for peace in his annual Christmas Day message from the Vatican.

Referencing the conflict in Ukraine, he said: 'May the Lord... inspire the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war."

While the war in Ukraine occupied much of his 10-minute speech, he also spoke of "a grave famine of peace also in other regions and other theatres of this Third World War".

He singled out conflicts and humanitarian crises in the Middle East, Myanmar, Haiti, and the Sahel region of Africa.