Courts in Belarus have sentenced about 20 participants in protests against closer integration with Russia to brief jail sentences and fines.

9 people have been killed and more than 950 homes destroyed by the fires

Internet services have been disrupted in parts of Iran amid reports it is being cut off ahead of planned anti-government protests on Thursday.

At least 10 people have died after a powerful typhoon hit the central Philippines on Christmas Day, with the death toll likely to rise.

Israeli military says rocket was shot down by an Iron Dome air defence interceptor

An annual report charts the growing wealth and inequality around the world.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have ended a nearly five-year-long dispute over shared oil fields and have agreed to resume oil production from the divided Neutral Zone between their land borders.

Leaders from China, Japan and South Korea have reiterated their commitment to ending North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The trilateral summit in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on Tuesday comes against the backdrop of increasing demands by Pyongyang for sanctions relief by the end of the year.

China plans to reduce tariffs Jan. 1 on more than 850 foreign products including frozen pork, asthma and diabetes medications and some high-tech components.