Brits devour about 800 million mince pies, but moves to jazz up the festive sweet treats made of dried fruit and pastry are stirring anger among purists.

In post-Assad Syria, stand-up comedians are re-emerging to challenge taboos, mocking the former president and his regime and even testing the waters with Damascus's new rulers.

Anna Holubtsova was getting ready to sing at the concert organised in Kyiv by the Bakhmut administration, exiled since Russian forces devastated and seized their eastern Ukrainian city.

In his small Freetown workshop, engineering student James Samba tinkered with batteries and electrical parts he hoped could help clean up Sierra Leone's polluting public transport system.

Japan Airlines on Thursday reported a cyberattack which it said could impact domestic and international flights, but later announced it had identified and addressed the cause.

The quiet resumption of operations at a desalination plant in the Gaza Strip last month marked a small but significant step ...