Berlin Christmas tree rental service aims to cut waste

Taiwan has called off its largest Lunar New Year lantern festival for the first time, as authorities rush to stem a Covid-19 cluster in one of the few places to survive the pandemic largely unscathed.

Cool or cringe? The US ambassador to Vietnam has produced an unusual Lunar New Year message to the country - in the form of a rap. Career diplomat Daniel Kritenbrink rhymed his well wishes to mark Tet, the most important annual holiday for Vietnamese.

Wuhan residents enjoy festive lantern decorations in parks and light shows along the Yangtze River on the eve of Lunar New Year.

A protest against the Dutch government and its coronavirus restrictions in The Hague was ended by police. The demonstration comes as the Netherlands readies for a parliamentary election spread over three days.

Four police officers have been arrested in Kogi following a viral video in which they were captured assaulting and extorting travellers while on patrol duty along the Adogo-Okene Road.⁣⁣ The police chief in Kogi has condemned the incident, adding that any of the officers found wanting after investigations would be dealt with accordingly.⁣⁣ ⁣

Pope Francis said that those who are indifferent to the poor "offend God." In a Christmas season overshadowed by coronavirus worries, he also urged followers to value the "little things in life."

People gathered to hear the sounds of London's Big Ben ring in the New Year for the first time since 2017 on Friday evening, despite the a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Big Ben, housed within the Elizabeth Tower that adjoins the Houses of Parliament, has been subject to restoration work for over three years.

Former Guinean dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and several co-defendants were detained Tuesday, a day before their trial opens for the 2009 stadium massacre, their lawyers said.

The ex-leader of Guinea’s military junta is jailed on the eve of his trial. He and 10 others stand accused after more than 150 people were murdered and over 100 women raped at an opposition rally in 2009.

President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump are holding rallies in Maryland and Ohio in one last ditch attempt to mobilize supporters. The outcome could see a swing toward Republicans in the Senate.

Imagine you are Santa on Christmas Eve. What feat of physics will it take to deliver presents to millions of children across the world in one night?

Security forces in El Salvador surrounded Tutunichapa, a poor neighborhood of the nation's capital, after a vow from President Nayib Bukele to root out drug gangs.