Thousands flee Malaysia floods Floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains in Malaysia forced almost 14,000 people to flee their homes and seek shelter at relief centres.
27 December 2012
Russia's brutal early winter claims 123 lives A bitter cold snap in Russia has claimed 123 lives in the past 10 days, an official said Tuesday, with the early freeze testing authorities in a country used to notoriously tough winters.
26 December 2012
In Xmas mass, Holy Land patriarch urges peace efforts Addressing the faithful in his Christmas Eve midnight mass in Bethlehem on Tuesday, Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal urged "men of good will" to seek peace amid "the sufferings in the Middle East."
25 December 2012
Christmas misery in Haiti camp, three years after quake While people around the world celebrate the arrival of Christmas, residents of a refugee camp in Haiti say hunger and want will mark the holiday, like every other day of the year.
24 December 2012
Media outnumber doomsayers in Turkish 'apocalypse haven' As the village of Sirince waited for what some say is an apocalypse from which the tiny Turkish hamlet will be spared, its streets were teeming not with doomsayers but a hoard of disappointed journalists.
21 December 2012
More doomsday sect arrests in China China has detained more than 100 further members of a Christian sect accused of predicting doomsday, state media said Friday, taking the total held beyond 1,000 as officials denied cold weather was apocalypse-related.
21 December 2012
Hunger, homelessness on rise in US: study Hunger and homelessness are on the rise in the United States, and cash-strapped cities and social services are being forced to turn needy people away empty-handed.
21 December 2012
US shooting fuels bullet-proof backpack sales On the heels of the deadly shooting tragedy in Connecticut, parents' anxiety is driving a surge in sales of bullet-proof backpacks, in the hope the armored bags can give their kids a safety edge.
20 December 2012
Love online challenges Pakistan taboos Sania was just a schoolgirl when she logged onto an Internet chat room and met a young college student called Mohammad. They fell in love and decided to get married.
20 December 2012
Earthlings head to nearest bunker, or bar, at 'world's end' Diehard doomsayers will be scurrying to the nearest shelter in fear of a Mayan prophecy of the world's end Friday, but many more from Delhi to Sydney will ring in the date by partying like there's no tomorrow.
19 December 2012
Christians most populous of world's religions: report Christians are the world's biggest religious group, numbering some 2.2 billion people, according to a study released Tuesday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
18 December 2012
'How are my people?' Chavez asks post-surgery Hugo Chavez's first words after emerging from surgery were "How are my (Venezuelan) people?" according to officials, who proclaimed here Friday that the ailing leader is on the road to recovery.
Samoa cyclone kills two, knocks out power The Pacific nation of Samoa faces up to two weeks without electricity, officials said Friday, after a cyclone that killed two people and sent hundreds fleeing to safety destroyed its main power station.
14 December 2012
Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar dies, aged 92 Legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a major influence on Western musicians ranging from The Beatles to Yehudi Menuhin, has died at the age of 92.
13 December 2012
New Yorkers live longer than other Americans: mayor New Yorkers are living longers than Americans overall, and the margin is increasing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday as he praised his administration's health policies.
12 December 2012
December 21: End of Mayan calendar, or end of the world? Gonzalo Alvarez, who had just arrived in Cancun for two weeks of revelry linked to a major milestone in the Mayan calendar, seemed reasonably cheerful for a man about to swallowed up by the Apocalypse.
12 December 2012
Impoverished Greek families facing uncertain future Blue-eyed Angelina had the misfortune of being born in Greece in 2010, just as the country became engulfed by an economic crisis that has deprived her parents, like so many Greeks.