Office Christmas party ends in tragedy as two die in Melbourne balcony collapse
Fatal balcony collapse in Melbourne, Australia, kills two women including Cheryl Taylor and injures 17 others as people gathered for office Christmas photo.
Celibacy in spotlight as Australia slams Catholic Church for child sex abuse
Australian commission publishes report that finds "catastrophic failures" by Catholic Church to address child sex abuse allegations and calls on Vatican to overhaul celibacy rule.
Schiphol Airport attack: Dutch police shoot knife-wielding man and evacuate passengers
Dutch police shoot man with knife at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and evacuate all passengers.
Acid thrown in man's face in shocking 'targeted' doorstep attack
Man has acid hurled in his face in shocking doorstep attack in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Police recently revealed that UK has one of highest rates of acid attacks in the world.
'Ridiculous': Miss France pageant slammed for trying to promote women's rights
'Ridiculous' Miss France contest organisers Sylvie Tellier and Geneviève de Fontenay mocked for dedicating beauty pageant to denouncing violence against women.
Kremlin-linked network of slush funds allegedly funnelled money to Syrian regime and Isis
Russian money made its way to Assad regime's chemical weapons programme and the oil trade with Isis, BuzzFeed investigation into slush funds reveals.
El Salvador upholds 30-year homicide sentence for woman who suffered 'stillbirth'
El Salvador upholds 30-year aggravated homicide sentence of Teodora del Carmen Vásquez in stillbirth case. El Salvador has one of most draconian abortion laws in the world.
One of Kim Jong-un's top aides has disappeared as bribery and execution rumours swirl
Disappearance of Kim Jong-un's top aide General Hwang Pyong-so sparks rumours that he may have been executed for receiving kickbacks in exchange for promotions at Politburo.
Paedophile barred from boarding flight in Sydney under new sex tourism law
Paedophile barred from boarding flight in Sydney under new Australian sex tourism law, which aims to stop sex offenders abusing children in developing countries.
Another North Korean 'ghost ship' with a dead body on-board washed up in Japan
The ship washed up on a beach in Kashiwazaki in north Japan, prompting concerns that Pyongyang has launched a spy campaign.
Pop singer jailed in Egypt for eating banana 'in a suggestive manner'
Shyma's risque pop video in deeply conservative country lands her two-year jail sentence for inciting debauchery.
Oscar Pistorius beaten in prison brawl for 'spending too long on the phone'
Oscar Pistorius injured in prison brawl for 'spending too long on phone', 10 days after Supreme Court more than doubled his prison sentence for murder Reeva Steenkamp
Isis-inspired New York bus terminal bomber Akayed Ullah charged with terror offences
New York bus terminal bomber Akayed Ullah charged with terror offences after detonating explosive device at Port Authority in Manhattan.
Grammy-nominated pianist 'kicked off Spirit Airlines flight for breastfeeding'
Mother Mei Rui barred from entering Spirit Airlines flight from Houston to New York after breastfeeding her son on plane during three-hour delay.
Bermuda becomes first country in the world to abolish same-sex marriage
Bermuda set to become first country in the world to abolish marriage equality, just six months after gay couple Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche won Supreme Court ruling to marry.
Manhattan attack: 'Isis' suicide bomber sets off explosion at busy New York bus station
Police responding to "pipe bomb" explosion at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan where suicide bomber detonated explosive vest.
Roy Moore cited Hitler in an interview to push the debunked Obama birther conspiracy
Alabama's Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore cited Hitler during a 2011 interview about Barack Obama's birth certificate and said he would be interested in "new 9/11 hearings".
Psychotherapist recalls childhood trauma of father electrocuting her to make her 'superhuman'
Psychotherapist Maude Julien writes in memoir The Only Girl in the World about childhood trauma inflicted by abusive father who gave her electric shocks and alcohol.
Brit jailed in Dubai after cannabis traces found in blood says he smoked drug in UK
Brit Connor Clements jailed in Dubai for two years after cannabis traces found in bloodstream claims he smoked the drug in UK.
Temperatures in parts of UK may plummet to -10C
Heavy UK snowfall causes flight delays, train disruptions and chaos on roads as Met office issues amber weather warning and temperatures plummet to -10C.
'Devil' paedophile founds private school in Paris after leaving prison
Paedophile Julien Bertrand has been working at schools in Paris since his release from prison in the UK for child sex offences.
Grooming gangs are '84% Asian', counter-extremism group warns
Members of grooming gangs convicted since 2005 were 84% Asian, counter-extremism organisation Quilliam warns after Rochdale child sex abuse scandal.
The Indian hospital that mistakenly pronounced newborn dead has lost its license
Max Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, India, has lost its license after mistakenly pronouncing a newborn baby boy as dead.
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi may receive royal pardon 5 years after being jailed for 'insulting Islam'
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi may receive royal pardon 5 years after being jailed for 'insulting Islam', his wife Ensaf Haidar was told by MEPs.
Somerset school abbots 'encouraged child abuse and sheltered paedophiles'
Adrian Bellenger, former abbot of Downside Abbey, accuses predecessor Father Richard Yeo of encouraging sex abuse and sheltering child sex offenders.
Italian man 'murdered unclean grandparents with rat poison'
Italian man Mattia del Zotto arrested after police accuse him of using thalium, ingredient in rat poison, to murder his grandparents and aunt in Monzo, near Milan.
Trump's Jerusalem move sparks violence: Man with Palestine flag vandalises Dutch kosher restaurant
Man with Palestinian flag smashes windows of kosher restaurant in Amsterdam after Donald Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israeli capital.
North Korean spies feared to be hiding on 'ghost ships' near Japan
North Korean spies feared to have infiltrated 'ghost ships' off north western coast of Japan as Pyongyang advances nuclear programme.
Burkini ban: Women must show bare legs and arms at Geneva swimming pools
City votes in favour of banning Muslim women's swimwear and topless bathing but critics warn it could fuel arguments of Islamaphobe extremists.
Syrian refugee boys as young as 10 being 'raped and electrocuted' says UN
New UNHCR report reveals 10-year-old Syrian refugee boys and gay, transgender, intersex individuals are being raped and tortured in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.
