2014-01-01

Three bombs exploded within an hour outside a hotel frequented by government officials in a heavily fortified district of the Somali capital on

Reports from Israel say former prime minister and military leader Ariel Sharon’s condition has worsened and is “life threatening”. The 85-year-old

Colorado has made history by becoming the first US state to allow stores to sell pot for recreational purposes. Iraq War veteran Sean Azzariti

The United Nations has made a plea for peace as talks start between South Sudan’s government and rebels. Representatives of the two sides are in

Former Yugoslav and Croatian intelligence agent Josip Perkovic has been arrested in Zagreb. He was taken from his home in the city for questioning

Thomas Diethart of Austria is flying high. He is in first place after the second stage of the Four Hills Tournament in Germany with 296.1

A new year tradition has been upheld, as several people dived into the Tiber river from Rome’s Cavour bridge. Among those taking the plunge was

Barbara Bush is being treated in a Houston hospital for a “respiratory-related issue”, according to the office of her husband George H.W. Bush. The

South African law graduate Thando Hopa has become one of the world’s first high-profile models with albinism. People with albinism – a genetic

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong in what the organiser claimed was a rally for Hong Kong’s political future. At the core

The lifting of restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians working in several European Union countries has not seen plane loads of them heading west and

Greece, seen by many as the epicentre of the eurozone debt crisis, assumes the rotating EU presidency for the first half of 2014. Athens will

The Quadrantid Meteor Shower, the first meteor shower in 2014, started on December 28, 2013 but will peak on January 3. The meteor shower will

After a disappointing Club World Cup in December, Ronaldinho has been elected South American Footballer of the Year in the El Pais annual vote. In

Greece enters the new year assuming the six-month rotating presidency of the policy-steering Council of the European Union, as the Greeks continue to

Jamal al Jamal, the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, has died after sustaining injuries in an explosion at his Prague residence. The

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has commented for the first time on his uncle’s execution, saying the ruling party is stronger after being purged of

As the clocks struck midnight on December 31, people celebrated the new year around the world with fireworks, festivities and prayers. In New York

This is the incredible moment a drunk man was just seconds from death after lying down in the middle of a British road. A quick-thinking bus driver

Latvia has marked the new year with a new currency as it became the eighteenth country to join the euro. Shoppers out in the supermarkets on New

His African kidnap ordeal over, freed French priest Georges Vandenbeusch has flown into Paris and been personally welcomed by Francois

The latest word on stricken motor racing star Michael Schumacher is that his condition remains stable. Speaking outside the hospital in Grenoble

Vladimir Putin has paid tribute to victims of the Volgograd bombings and vowed to ‘annihilate’ terrorism in Russia. He made the comments in his new

In his televised New Year address, Ukraine’s embattled President Viktor Yanukovych said 2013 was perhaps the most difficult year in the country’s

Two Scandinavian escort ships waiting to remove Syria’s chemical weapons have returned to Cyprus empty handed. Damascus had agreed to hand over

New Yorkers did it their way! As usual, a million people gathered in the city to mark the stroke of midnight and the traditional New Year’s Eve