Nigerian religious clashes have killed thousands

Half the country is Muslim, a third Christian. The state where the Xmas day bomb suspect comes from has seen bloodshed

At least eight dead in Tehran street battles

Fears that protests herald bloody endgame as Iranian state TV says eight died in protests that continued through night

Yemen focus of new US al Qaeda push

Pentagon to spend $70 million over next 18 months and send teams of Special Forces to train and equip Yemeni military

American missionary held in North Korea

Christian activist Robert Park arrested after unauthorised entry into North Korea in bid to promote human rights

Time running out for death row Briton in China

Relatives of Akhmal Shaikh, due to be executed for drug smuggling, make last-minute plea for mercy to President Jintao

Five killed as street battles rage in Iran

Fears of bloody endgame as Mir Hossein Mousavi’s nephew is among those killed and more than 300 are arrested

Capital punishment still an important deterrent

China executes more people than the rest of the world combined, but the exact number of deaths remain a state secret

Abdulmutallab known as the 'Imam' to classmates

Classmates remember the son of one of Africa’s richest families as a pious youth that had high religious principles

Is this Iran’s Berlin Wall moment?

The hardline republic’s opposition green movement is the most vibrant and imaginative disobedience campaign in the world

Caving team rescued as storms cross Europe

Three men who were trapped for five days under the Pyrenees during a caving expedition managed to climb to the surface

Security lapses were a disaster waiting to happen

Concerns about lax security at Lagos airport were highlighted by the Nigerian media, which warned of worse to come

'Haunted' Afghan outpost unnerves US Marines

A remote area seized from the Taleban spawns ghostly lore by throwing up the bones of unknown fighters and terrifying soldiers

Roosters and riders take part in Colombia fair

About 5,000 horses were on display in the annual parade through the streets of the country’s third-largest city

Airport delays as bomb scare heightens security

Flights to and from the US were held up as thousands of passengers at UK airports face being subjected to extra screening

Ancient power struggle has a modern message

The emotive message of Ashura is being reinvigorated and turned against today’s Islamic leadership in Iran

We should never have written off al-Qaeda

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s alleged suicide bomb attempt shows that, despite our lowered threat level, al-Qaeda never went away

Security crackdown after foiled airline bombing

Emergency measures restricting passengers' movements on aircraft and closing loopholes in airport checks introduced

The Noughties: Ten years of farewells

We recall those who left the world stage, from the Godfather of Soul to the mother of human rights, from the first man to conquer Everest to the last...

The unstoppable rise of the public trophy wife

The new generation of sassy first ladies like Carla Sarkozy and Michelle Obama are eclipsing their men and winning votes in style