After two years of subdued Christmas celebrations due to war in Gaza, thousands of people have flocked to Bethlehem's Manger Square on Christmas Eve.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told reporters that he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces.

French prosecutors say a pro-Russian hacking group has claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack on France’s national postal service.

Search teams in Turkey have recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from the jet that crashed and killed western Libya’s military chief and seven others.

World shares are mixed after the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 closed at another record high following a report that the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3% annual rate in July to September.

The State Department is barring five Europeans it accuses of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

Pope Leo XIV says he's “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois has approved medically assisted suicide.

Venezuela's National Assembly has approved a measure criminalizing activities that hinder navigation and commerce, like the seizure of oil tankers.

A private jet carrying Libya’s military chief and four other military officers has crashed after takeoff from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, killing all on board.

Venus Williams and Andrea Preti are married.

Yemen’s government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels have agreed to release 2,900 detainees in the largest swap during the 11-year civil war.

France's parliament has approved an emergency bill to prevent a government shutdown next week.

A former close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, he was ordered to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach.

Officials say Russia fired more than 650 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday.

Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community is trying to capture some of the Christmas spirit under a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Wall Street closed at another record following a surprisingly strong report on economic growth over the summer.

The U.S. military says it has conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person.

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration must give legal due process to Venezuelan migrants flown to a notorious prison in El Salvador, either by providing court hearings or returning them to the U.S. Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to come up with a plan within two weeks.

The U.S. government has signed health deals with at least nine African countries.

President Donald Trump has announced a bold plan for the Navy to build a new, large warship that he is calling a “battleship” as part of a larger vision to create a “Golden Fleet.”.

Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky.

Brown University has placed its campus police chief on leave as it reviews security policies following a tragic shooting.

Banksy appears to confirm a new mural in London is his latest work.

President Donald Trump has delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Chris Rea, the singer-songwriter best known for “Driving Home for Christmas,” has died at 74.

U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv's demands, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Clashes have erupted between Syrian security forces and Kurdish fighters in the city of Aleppo.

A suspected cyberattack has knocked France’s national postal service and its banking arm offline during the busy Christmas season.

China has announced provisional tariffs of up to 42.7% on dairy products imported from the European Union.

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland are insisting that the U.S. won’t take over Greenland after President Donald Trump announced the appointment of a special envoy to the semi-autonomous territory.

A car bomb has killed a Russian general.

India and New Zealand say they have reached a free trade deal to deepen economic ties amid global trade uncertainties.

NATO-nation intelligence services believe Russia is developing a weapon to target Starlink satellites.

A former Wall Street Journal reporter in Hong Kong has begun testifying against the newspaper.

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street at the start of what’s expected to be a relatively calm holiday week.

Ukraine is rapidly deploying low-cost interceptor drones to counter Russia’s evolving aerial attacks on cities and power infrastructure.

President Donald Trump has announced he is appointing Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to serve as the U.S. special envoy to Greenland, the vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark that Trump has said the U.S. needs to take over.

Thailand’s foreign minister says Thailand and Cambodia will resume talks to work toward a more durable ceasefire along their border.

Australian police documents reveal that a man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach conducted firearms training with his father.

Dickson Ngome's farm at Lake Naivasha in Kenya's Rift Valley has been submerged due to rising water levels.

The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the U.S. diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities.

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea.

Dozens of energy developers, experts and politicians say there were some highs amid a lot of lows in a roller coaster year for clean energy as President Donald Trump worked to boost polluting fuels while stymying wind and solar.

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been drawn back into the foreign policy fold like he was during Trump's first term.

Prince William and his son, Prince George, have helped make Christmas lunch at a homeless shelter.

Thousands of people have gathered at Stonehenge to celebrate the winter solstice.

Israel’s far-right finance minister says the Cabinet has approved 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Three men are set to stand trial next year after a silver steward at the French president's residence was arrested for stealing silverware worth thousands of euros.

Authorities report that nine people have died and at least 10 others are injured after a shooting at a South African pub.

A White House envoy says he held “productive and constructive” talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives to end the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

Thousands of mourners have gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach to mark a week since two gunmen targeted a Jewish festival, killing 15 people.

U.S. forces have stopped a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters.

The Australian state of New South Wales is proposing a ban on public displays of Islamic State group flags and extremist symbols.

Jordan confirms its air force joined U.S. strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria.

Originally a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, Christmas has evolved into a global cultural event.

Pope Leo XIV has summoned the world’s cardinals for meetings to help him govern the church, marking the unofficial start of his pontificate.

A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa has killed eight people and wounded 27, according to Ukraine’s emergency service.

Taiwanese authorities says the suspect who killed three people and injured 11 others in knife and smoke-grenade attacks in the island’s capital had planned the assaults and set fires at other locations earlier in the day.

Ecuadorian police have arrested two suspects in the killing of soccer player Mario Pineida, who was shot in an attack this week that also killed his partner and wounded his mother, underscoring the rising violence in the Andean nation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin fielded many questions at his annual news conference.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hopeful but clear about the challenges facing the Trump administration’s Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas peace efforts.

Bolivia's largest cities La Paz and Santa Cruz have been brought to a standstill as public transportation workers strike against a 100% fuel price increase ordered by the new government.

Sony is taking control of the beloved comic strip Peanuts.

The Brazilian film “The Secret Agent” is opening nationwide in U.S. theaters.

The Department of Justice has released some of its records related to its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein.

Animals that navigate extreme conditions and environments have evolved to sleep in extreme ways.

Pope Leo XIV has made another high-profile appointment that signals a generational shift in the English-speaking Catholic hierarchy.

Taiwan's national news agency and the city government say a man with a knife and smoke grenades attacked crowds indiscriminately in Taiwan’s capital.

The world’s leading authority on food crises says the spread of famine’s been averted in the Gaza Strip.

The Ukrainian and Polish presidents have met in Warsaw to emphasize unity against Russia and progress on historical reconciliation.

President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Moscow’s troops are advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine and has voiced confidence that the Kremlin will achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv doesn't agree to Russia’s conditions in peace talks.

Thousands of people have returned to Australia's Bondi Beach in the first full day of opening since a mass shooting killed 15 people.

Stocks gained ground on Wall Street as AI stocks like Nvidia turned higher again.

European Union leaders have agreed to provide a massive interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years.

President Donald Trump’s “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast is raising new concerns about the legality of his military campaign in Latin America.

A British baker's critique of Mexican bread has sparked outrage on social media, leading to a public apology.

The U.S. military has amassed an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off the coast of Venezuela since this summer, when the Trump administration first began to shift assets to the region as part of its anti-drug trafficking operations.

Tens of thousands of people have filled the streets of the capital and other major cities in Bulgaria calling for fair elections and an independent judiciary able to effectively fight widespread corruption.

A court in Romania has sentenced American rapper Wiz Khalifa to nine months in jail on drug possession charges.

Belarus’ authoritarian president says that Russia had deployed its latest nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system to the country, a move that comes as talks to end the war in Ukraine have entered a crucial phase.

A U.S. official says a Kremlin envoy will travel to Florida to discuss a U.S.-proposed plan to end the war in Ukraine.

The U.N. Human Rights Office says in a new report that more than 1,000 civilians were killed in a three-day attack by the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces on Sudan's largest displacement camp.

Thailand has helped launch a global effort to fight the spread of online scams that include criminal enterprises based largely in Southeast Asia.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors.

The parent company of President Donald Trump’s Truth Social media platform announced Thursday it is merging with a fusion power company, an unusual pairing of the Trump name with a futuristic clean energy venture that aims to power the next wave of artificial intelligence.

The U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon says the U.S. lifting sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return.

The Bank of England has cut its key interest rate for the first time in four months as stubbornly high inflation that has plagued British consumers and businesses starts to ease.

Pope Leo XIV has made a significant U.S. appointment by naming Bishop Ronald Hicks as the next archbishop of New York.

Israel has carried out airstrikes on southern and northeastern Lebanon.

The European Central Bank is leaving interest rates unchanged for the fourth meeting in a row as the economy in the 20 countries that use the euro increasingly looks strong enough to get by without the stimulus of lower borrowing costs for businesses and consumers.

Rainfall this week on Iran's Hormuz Island has briefly transformed the coastline of the famed Red Beach into a striking natural scene.

The European Commission says the European Union is delaying a massive free-trade deal with South American countries after fiery protests by farmers and last-minute opposition by France and Italy.

U.S. stocks rose following an encouraging report on inflation that could help the Federal Reserve keep cutting interest rates next year.

Arab female film directors are reshaping Arab cinema by telling untold stories and claiming space in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

The past year wasn't all doom and gloom; there was plenty to smile about, too.

Bushfires are deadly, they can break out in the blink of an eye and last for days in the vast desert of Mauritania.

EU leaders are working into the night to reassure Belgium about protection from Russian retaliation if it supports a major loan for Ukraine.

Hundreds of mourners have gathered in Sydney for the funeral of a 10-year-old girl killed in an antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration.

President Donald Trump's administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion, including medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones.

India’s air-quality crisis is deepened by unreliable data.