Pope Benedict XVI has prepared to deliver his traditional Christmas Day blessing to thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square.
Spanish cyclist Roberto Heras has reclaimed his crown for the 2005 Tour of Spain after the Supreme Court overturned a positive doping test.
An airlift from Khartoum of sick, elderly and other "extremely vulnerable" South Sudanese has re-started on Christmas Eve.
Several hundred children remain separated from their parents a month after fighting over the key DRC city of Goma displaced nearly a million people.
North Korea has slammed a display of Christmas lights staged by a South Korean church group near the border as an "unacceptable provocation".
Thousands of Palestinians and tourists have been flocking to Bethlehem to mark Christmas at the site Jesus Christ is believed to have been born.
Cheap rates and zen seating: spiritual tourism has taken off in South Korea, offering foreigner and tourists alike a taste of temple life.
The Vietnamese government’s war propaganda may no longer be enough to allay citizens’ anger over the ailing economy.
South Koreans have lit a Christmas tree-shaped tower near the tense border with North Korea for the first time in two years.
While millions of Japanese have protested the use of nuclear power, Japan handed an election landslide to the most pro-atomic option on offer.
He may not be much of a doctor but the children’s faces light up when Dush The Clown shuffles onto their ward.
Psy has hailed his ascent to "Billion Style", after the South Korean rapper’s viral hit became the first video to break a billion views on YouTube.
Ceremonial fires burned and conches sounded off as dawn broke over the steps of the main pyramid at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.
Sudan’s war-torn South Kordofan state is to be divided, giving separate status to the western part dominated by nomadic Arab Misseriya tribesmen.
President Francois Hollande has acknowledged that French colonisation of Algeria was "brutal", but stopped short of apologising for it.
Israel has approved plans for the construction of 523 homes in the West Bank, despite EU warnings that this could undermine the peace process.
The European Union plans to ban menthol cigarettes and force tobacco firms to print large health warnings covering 75% of packaging.
A YouTube video of a golden eagle swooping down and lifting a toddler off the ground in Montreal could soar to internet stardom.
As Madiba remains hospitalised after undergoing surgery, the anti-apartheid leader has missed the return of his grandson from an initiation ceremony.
Serie A champions Juventus have made "significant progress" in their bid to sign Didier Drogba, who has agreed to an 18-month deal, reports said.
Six people were killed as police and troops battled armed militants in Pakistan’s Peshawar, a day after a deadly Taliban raid on the city’s airport.
Private memorials will be held in India and California for legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a publicist has said.
Thousands of Syrians have taken to the streets criticising Washington for blacklisting a rebel jihadist group.
Stone-throwing clashes have broken out in the Egyptian city of Alexandria between Islamists and opposition protesters.
Norman Joseph Woodland, inventor of the now ubiquitous bar code that revolutionised retail, has died at the age of 91.
More than 900 000 people have been displaced by violence in the strife-ridden eastern DRC region of North Kivu.
Diango Cissoko will replace Cheick Modibo Diarra as Mali’s prime minister after Diarra quit under pressure from former putschists.
Malaysian customs have seized 24 tonnes of unprocessed elephant tusks worth almost $20-million, the largest haul in the country to date.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has received the Unesco/Bilbao human rights prize for contributing towards a "universal culture of human rights".
Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao shed tears on television, saying he had let his country down in his knockout loss to Mexican rival Juan Marquez.
Washington’s marriage law has kicked in and more than 800 couples state-wide have received marriage licenses on the first day.
The UN climate talks in Doha have yet to produce a deal the day after their scheduled close, with negotiators locked in a stand-off about funding.