US President Donald Trump seized on the occasion of Christmas Eve to assail opposition Democrats, branding them "radical left scum" as he sent out holiday greetings.

Tarique Rahman, the eldest son of Bangladesh's former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is returning to the country after nearly 17 years in self-imposed exile.

President Trump marked Christmas Eve by quizzing kids calling in about what presents they were excited about receiving, while promising to not let a "bad Santa" infiltrate country and even suggesting that a stocking full of coal may not be so bad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Wednesday of violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement after a military officer was wounded by an explosive device in Rafah and Israel vowed retaliation.

Nasry Asfura, a conservative businessman backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared winner of the Honduran presidential vote Wednesday, weeks after a razor-thin election marred by delays and allegations of fraud.

Pope Leo XIV held the first Christmas mass of his pontificate on Wednesday, greeting thousands of faithful in St Peter's Square before the service in an usually informal style.

An explosion ripped through a mosque in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri and killed at least seven worshippers Wednesday, witnesses and security sources told AFP.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that finishing the release of all of the Jeffrey Epstein files could take a "few more weeks," further delaying compliance with a Dec. 19 deadline set by Congress.

Scouts marched under a clear blue sky in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the Palestinian city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years.

On the eve of Christmas, President Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh blast of vitriol at late-night comedy talk shows, saying comedian Stephen Colbert is a "pathetic trainwreck" who should be "put to sleep."

A man was killed on Wednesday evening after a group threw a crude explosive from a flyover in the Mogbazar area of the Bangladeshi capital, police said.

Amid mounting concerns over press freedom in Bangladesh, a fresh intimidation episode has surfaced just days after violent attacks on leading newspaper offices drew international outrage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the country would invest $110 billion over the next 10 years to develop an independent arms industry.

As the ongoing military conflict between the two nations drags on, New Delhi said that such "disrespectful" acts hurt sentiments of followers around the world and "should not take place".

Precious and industrial metals are surging to record highs as the year ends, driven by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, robust industrial demand and, in some cases, tight supply.

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, imprisoned for attempting a coup, was temporarily released Wednesday to undergo surgery in the capital Brasilia, a source at the clinic told AFP.

As supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) celebrate the return of Tarique Rahman to the country after 17 years, attention has shifted to the policies the party is likely to pursue under his leadership.

A Pentagon report submitted to the US Congress has flagged China's claim over Arunachal Pradesh as part of its stated "core interests". The document states that China is not open to negotiation or compromise on these interests.

Russia plans to put a nuclear power plant on the moon in the next decade to supply its lunar space programme and a joint Russian-Chinese research station, as major powers rush to explore the earth's only natural satellite.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has recounted a sequence of events that placed him in close proximity to one of the Middle East's most high-profile assassinations in recent years -- the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.