More than one hundred Santas gathered for an annual convention in Berlin on Saturday to prepare for their duties over the forthcoming festive season. (Nov. 28)
A ferry carrying hundreds of people has capsized in Bangladesh. Officials say at least 37 are dead and scores of others are missing. (Nov. 28)
Australia welcomed two giant Pandas from China with gifts of bamboo before settling them in to their new home at the Adelaide Zoo. The 4-year-old male and 3-year-old female are on loan to the zoo for 10 years. (Nov. 28)
A train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed late Friday, killing at least 39 people and injuring many more, emergency officials said. The railway company said the derailment could have been the result of sabotage. (Nov. 27)
The lawyer for the family of dead British student Meredith Kercher is seeking 25 million euros in damages. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, accused of her murder, are expected to learn their fate next week. (Nov 27)
Vast crowds of pilgrims cast stones at walls symbolizing Satan on the third day of the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Around the world, Muslims have begun celebrating the Eid al-Adha holiday. (27 November 2009)
Asian markets have followed Europe in a slide amid fears about Dubai's massive debt, which have also driven the U.S. dollar lower. South Korea's KOSPI lost 4.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 4.8 percent. (27 November 2009)
U.S. troops serving in Iraq took time out to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. They say while the festivities aren't what they are used to at home they are glad they can share this meal, with their new, extended family. (Nov. 26)
Israel's foreign minister said Thursday it is up to the Palestinians to decide whether to resume Mideast peace talks now that Israel has announced a settlement freeze. (Nov. 26)
Mumbai, India residents took time Thursday to remember that area's worst terror attack. 166 people died last year when 10 Pakistan-based gunmen fanned out across Mumbai, attacking hotels and train stations. (Nov. 26)
A Swiss adventurer has gone into the sea Wednesday while trying to fly from Morocco to Spain using a jet-powered wing strapped on his back. Yves Rossy's team says he will try again in the future. (Nov 25)
In Nepal, a Hindu festival calls for a mass animal sacrifice. Some 200,000 buffaloes, goats and chickens will be killed as art of the blood-soaked festival held every five years to honor a Hindu goddess of power. (Nov. 25))
Millions of Muslims have been arriving in Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. They are taking part this year despite rain and the threat of swine flu dampening the rituals. (Nov 25)
Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients. (Nov. 24)
A Belgian man, thought to be in a vegetative state for 23 years, says he was alert but unable to communicate. The doctor who discovered Rom Houben's normal brain activity said Tuesday that he will scan other purported coma cases. (Nov 24)
China executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman Tuesday, the only two people sentenced to death in a scheme to water down infant formula with an industrial chemical that left at least six children dead and sickened more than 300,000. (Nov. 24)
Google is documenting the artifacts of Iraq's national museum. Google chief Eric Schmidt toured the museum Tuesday, and said the photographs would be available for viewing online in 2010. (Nov 24)
As a mother and her son, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, walked through Somalia's capital last September, she saw a bullet tear through her 8-year-old's cheekbones, nose and mouth. Ahmed is struggling to heal. His is a lost face of Somalia's war. (Nov. 23)
The Philippine president has declared an emergency in two provinces after dozens were gunned down in an election-related massacre. Police and soldiers found 22 bodies in a hillside mass grave Tuesday, after 24 were found Monday. (24 November 2009)
Some 25 hours after a crowded ferry sank off Indonesia's Sumatra island, a woman has been pulled from the choppy waters. At least 29 people drowned and 20 others are missing after the ferry was hit by towering waves during an inter-island trip. (Nov. 23)
Bulls broke free from a film set in the southern Spanish town of Cadiz Sunday. "Knight & Day" stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz hadn't arrived in town yet. Two women were slightly hurt, and filming has been suspended. (Nov 23)
A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression said she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun. (Nov. 23)
Residents of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca held an unusual beauty pageant celebrating a group of homosexual men who don elaborate makeup, wear traditional dresses and crown a queen, all with the support and excitement of the local community.
Police and army experts are inspecting about 1,800 bridges in northern England, after floods destroyed several river crossings. A police officer was swept to his death Friday when a major bridge collapsed near Cockermouth, the hardest-hit town. (Nov. 22)
In Duzkoy, Turkey, a man watched in despair as a building collapsed in front of him. Local media report at least four people died in the northeastern part of the country on Saturday as a result of heavy flooding. (Nov. 22)
Rescuers saved more than 240 people aboard a crowded Indonesian passenger ferry that sank Sunday in rough waters off Sumatra island, but 29 people have died and at least 17 others were missing, officials said. (Nov. 22)
Prosecutors on Saturday requested life in prison for an American student and her ex-boyfriend accused in the fatal stabbing of her British roommate during a drug-fueled sex game. (Nov. 21)
Italian prosecutors have begun their closing arguments in the trial of American exchange student Amanda Knox, who is accused of killing her British roommate more than two years ago. (Nov. 20)
The European Union is heading into a new era with unknowns named to the bloc's new presidency and foreign policy post. Early reaction Friday seems to show EU residents taking the selection in their stride. (20 November 2009)
Police say a gang in the Peruvian jungle has been killing people and draining fat from the corpses to sell on the black market for use in cosmetics, although medical experts say they doubt a major market for fat exists. (Nov. 20)
The dairies kept by Claretta Petacci, mistress of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini between 1932 and 1938, were published in a book on Wednesday entitled 'Secret Mussolini.' (Nov. 19)
A gem in the Vatican art collection has gotten a new look after a two-year restoration. The 6th century Crux Vaticana is purported to hold fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. (Nov 19)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term in office Thursday. In his address, he pledged to fight corruption and ensure that Afghanistan takes control of its own security. (Nov 19)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is encouraged by Afghan President Hamid Karzai's pledge to battle corruption and get his security forces sufficiently trained to take the lead within five years. (Nov. 19)
A suicide bomber has killed 19 people by detonating explosives on his body outside a courthouse in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. The blast in Peshawar Thursday was the seventh in less than two weeks in the region. (Nov 19)
A man appealing his conviction for murdering a British student in Italy has testified that he heard her arguing with her American roommate, Amanda Knox, just minutes before she was murdered. (Nov. 18)
U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Seoul on the last stop of his eight-day trip to Asia. Protesters have been demonstrating in the streets against the Afghan conflict, but Obama is pledging to find a strategy that can end it. (Nov 18)
The Vatican has released a new volume of books pairing Bible stories with paintings from the Sistine Chapel. (18 November 2009)
Some conservative commentators seized on President Barack Obama's deep bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito over the weekend, accusing the U.S. commander in chief of groveling before a foreign leader. (Nov. 17)
A Russian icebreaker carrying more than 100 tourists, scientists and journalists on a cruise around Antarctica was struggling to free itself from sea ice about 5 miles from clear water on Tuesday, a shipping company said. (Nov. 17)