Night curfew will be reimposed in New Delhi, India from tomorrow amid a steady rise in Covid-19 cases and the outbreak of the Omicron variant, joining a number of other Indian cities and states to clamp the curb to check the spread of the infection.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa's struggle against white minority rule, has died aged 90, the presidency said on Sunday.

President Joe Biden was trolled by a caller Friday who said “Let’s Go Brandon” -- a coded insult that has become a rallying cry for supporters of Donald Trump -- during a White House Christmas Eve event.

Pope Francis yesterday called for dialogue to counter the isolation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic as billions around the world marked a second Christmas under the shadow of the coronavirus.

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital Khartoum yesterday as the opponents of military rule marched towards the presidential palace, a Reuters witness said, while internet services in the city were also cut.

Greek coast guards scoured for survivors in the Aegean Sea yesterday after the latest in a series of migrant boat accidents that have killed at least 30 people in just days.

The Saudi-led coalition yesterday launched a “large-scale” assault on Yemen after missiles fired by Iran-backed Huthi rebels killed two people in the kingdom, the first such deaths in three years.

The world’s most powerful space telescope yesterday blasted off into orbit, headed to an outpost 1.5 million kilometres (930,000 miles) from Earth, after several delays caused by technical hitches.

(From top) A child runs towards a man dressed as  dressed as Santa Claus in a slum of Iraq’s southern city of Basra, Iraq; people wearing Santa Claus costumes surf at Cocoa Beach,

Ethiopia’s government said on Friday that its troops would not advance further into the war-torn region of Tigray but warned that the decision could be overturned if “territorial sovereignty” was threatened.

Ten people were killed and more than a dozen injured in Iran yesterday when a truck collided with a minibus transporting workers in southwestern Khuzestan province, state media said.

The governor of Iraq’s Najaf province resigned on Friday, a day after another governor also quit following demonstrations against living conditions and corruption.

Russia has blocked the website of a rights monitor tracking political persecution, saying it promoted terrorism and extremism, amid an unprecedented official crackdown on dissent.

War games conducted this week by Iran in the Gulf were intended to send a warning to Israel, the country’s top military commanders said on Friday, amid concerns over possible Israeli plans to target Iranian nuclear sites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is bent on destroying Ukraine but there is no major risk of an imminent invasion, a senior Ukrainian security official said on Friday.

Pope Francis yesterday urged dialogue on both personal and political levels as he celebrated a second Christmas under the shadow of a coronavirus pandemic that was pushing people into isolation.

The US and four European powers on Friday urged war-torn Libya to quickly set a new date for delayed presidential elections.

Iran has no plans to enrich uranium beyond 60 percent if nuclear talks in Vienna fail, the head of the country’s atomic agency said yesterday.

1492 - 1st Spanish settlement La Navidad in the New World is founded by Christopher Columbus (modern Môle-Saint-Nicolas in Haiti).

Father Ricardo Virtudazo stands in a pool of water in his typhoon-hit church in the southern Philippines delivering Christmas Day mass to dozens of devotees whose wishes this year were for new roofs, food and fine weather.