Christmas day has seen the crash of a Russian plane into the Black Sea with the loss of 92 lives. Stories sad and joyous are in the Euronews and Associated Press video budget.

This Euronews report tells of a festive time in the birthplace of Christ. The Little Town of Bethlehem is jammed. In Syria, Assyrian Christians have returned to their ransacked church in Mosul to celebrate three years after they were driven out by Islamic State. And in New York City, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity Episcopal Church are seeing large crowds Christmas Eve.

Josh Matlow greetings

Kristyn Wong-Tam and Farrah Khan

John Burnside and friends

Merry Christmas to all readers of the South Bayview Bulldog. Here are greetings from three local councillors among many good wishes including our own. The images are clickable for a larger version.

A ten-year-old girl has died on Air Canada flight 868 from Toronto to London Saturday from a medical problem which has so far not been made public. The airline says the flight was diverted to Shannon, Ireland, after the child suffered a medical problem. Air Canada says a doctor and a nurse were on board the plane and helped the flight crew to assist the child. Emergency crews met the aircraft when it landed in Ireland, but Air Canada says local medical authorities pronounced the girl dead. The details of child’s sudden death may be known to her family but no information has been reported.  CBC

Leaside’s Martha McCabe and the pride of the Toronto Beach, Penny Oleksiak, were dressed up for the traditional bit parts played by local personalities and celebrities in the annual production of the Nutcracker Saturday. The two Olympic swimmers appeared as cannon dolls for the Christmas Eve production of the National Ballet of Canada performance of the traditional Christmas musical.  “It’s awesome, it’s hilarious, we’re having a great time,” said McCabe. Oleksiak seemed to agree. .Famous faces have portrayed cannon dolls, party guests and even a moose — with previous guests including Toronto Mayor John Tory, Margaret Atwood, Rob Ford, Chris Hadfield and musician Steven Page. Other prominent Nutcracker cameos this year include Kim’s Convenience creator and star Ins Choi and actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, children’s musician Fred Penner, and Winnipeg Blue Bomber Maurice Leggett. CBC

A woman, 94, has died in a bungalow-home fire  on Phyllis Ave. in Scarborough Saturday. That’s northeast of McCowan Rd. and Kingston Road. Firefighters arrived and knocked down the blaze a short time later. The woman was found inside the home’s kitchen and pronounced dead at the scene. Her name has not  been released. Her family is aware of the circumstances.

Phyllis Avenue Scarborough — Faiza Amin Twitter

Large sinkhole and water main break. Coldstream at Bathurst (north of Lawrence) Expect road to close. Video: pic.twitter.com/tIDioO67ub

— Tony Smyth (@LateNightCam) December 24, 2016

An overnight water main break caused flooding on streets near Bathurst and Coldstream Ave. The caption on the video above should read south of Lawrence.

There was no winning ticket this week in the Lotto Max grand prize. One prize of $1 million dollars was claimed by a ticket holder in Quebec. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on December 30 remains at about $60 million, but the number of Maxmillion prizes offered will grow to 30

Bandit take off when cop speaks up — Halton Regional Police

An off-duty Toronto cop interrupted a holdup at a bank in Oakville Friday morning causing the two suspects to flee. One was armed with a gun. No one was hurt however and no money taken. The presence of police action in banks is contentious because of the presence of civilians. This officer was doing business at the bank. He struggled with one of the perpetrators but he got away. It appears the officer was unarmed. The first suspect is described as black, 25 to 30 years old, standing five-feet-10 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds. He was wearing a long, knee-length black jacket, black balaclava, black gloves and beige pants. He was carrying a black handgun. The second suspect is described as black, 25 to 30 years old, weighing about 160 pounds. He was clean shaven. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black balaclava, black gloves, black running shoes and was carrying a black duffel bag.

Breaking News

The South Bayview Bulldog has learned that the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund will make a donation of $500,000 to the Leaside Memorial Community Gardens. The official announcement and celebration of this gift is scheduled to be held in the William Lea Room at the arena on Thursday, January 19, 2017.  The Pashby Sports Safety Fund commemorates and advances the work of the late Dr. Tom Pashby. “Doc Pashby” made it his goal to forge hockey into a safer sport. The East York ophthalmologist was a life-long advocate of ice safety. He fought for protective equipment and mandatory helmets and face guards. He also led the push for penalties for cross checking and other actions that could lead to back or eye injuries. His tireless efforts won him the Order of  Canada, among other honours. To suitably recognize the donation and Dr. Pashby’s work, Rink A at the Leaside Gardens (opened in 2013) will be named the Dr. Tom Pashby Play Safely Rink. Chair of the Leaside Arena Board and the East York Foundation, Raymond J. White, has thanked the directors of the Pashby Fund Board, Bill and Bob Pashby, for making this extraordinary gift possible. He said it will be a lasting legacy to Dr  Pashby, his community spirit and important work in sports safety.

Bantam BB Coach Verkuyl's team adopted a family in need for Christmas – Way to go Wildcats! pic.twitter.com/4b0W86BXCX

— Toronto Leaside Wildcats (@TorontoLeaside) December 21, 2016