Syria's de facto leader has reached an agreement with the heads of rebel factions to dissolve their groups and work under the country's defence ministry, his new administration says.

Shipping containers have fallen into the sea after a cargo vessel tilted sideways off the Turkish coast.

The conviction of dozens of civilian supporters of Imran Khan, the former Pakistani leader, in the country's military courts is of "deep concern" to the UK and the US, officials have said.

A huge snowstorm has left tens of thousands of homes in Bosnia without power on Christmas Eve and caused traffic chaos.

Hong Kong has imposed arrest warrants and HK$1m bounties on six pro-democracy campaigners, including a 19-year-old living in the UK after fleeing the city.

UN investigators say Syria's new authorities are "very receptive" to their request to probe possible war crimes that may have occurred during the Bashar al Assad regime.

Hundreds of people have protested in Christian areas of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a video emerged showing hooded fighters setting a Christmas tree on fire elsewhere in the country.

A Russian cargo ship that Ukraine claims was sent to Syria to collect weapons has sunk in the Mediterranean Sea, according to officials in Moscow.

A blast at an explosives factory in Turkey has killed at least 12 people, a government minister said.

A man has been charged over the death of a woman who was set on fire on a New York subway train.

The preserved remains of a juvenile mammoth have been discovered in thawing permafrost after more than 50,000 years.

In early December 1955, the phone rang at an air base in Colorado Springs. The officers on the watch floor of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) - who were defending the skies above the US and Canada - stiffened.

In a year of very serious political shifts, there were still a load of very unserious WTF moments to gawk at.

Slovakia's prime minister has drawn criticism from across Europe and from his own people after his surprise visit to Moscow for face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

The sister of a British man who has been missing in Spain for nine days has said "panic" is setting in.

Sir Keir Starmer is to head abroad over the New Year after spending Christmas Day at Chequers in Buckinghamshire.

Moscow has denied claims Bashar al Assad's wife is seeking a divorce and a route out of Russia, where the couple are staying.

The iconic crocodile who starred in hit film Crocodile Dundee has died, his zoo has announced.

Japanese car giants, Honda and Nissan, have announced plans to merge.