New York is ‘safest city’ despite downturn

New York City is set to end the year with the lowest number of murders since record-keeping began almost half a century ago

Briton told he will be executed within hours

Notification of death coincided with first visit from relatives since Akmal Shaikh was arrested in China two years ago

Is this the end of the movie star?

Which studio executive, having seen the triumph of Avatar, would consider the $20 million-plus needed to secure big stars

‘Hit squad shot Mousavi's nephew’

Iranian opposition say Seyed Ali Mousavi was not a random victim but targeted in an attempt by Tehran to silence his uncle

Stuntman parents set their children on fire

A Canadian couple set up a blazing spectacle so they could film it as a pilot programme for a proposed reality TV show

This will be remembered as the YouTube revolution

The Iranian regime will eventually fall because of the growth of internet bandwidth and tech-savvy protesters

Scars that remain after 40 years for the Hmong

Reverberations from Vietnam continue as California prosecutors charge a group with plotting to overthrow the Lao Government

Intelligence of whales let down in hunt for prey

The pilot whales that beached themselves in New Zealand may have been in fatal pursuit of their prey into shallow waters

Wasted land where al-Qaeda and US square up

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up a US airliner, is said to have received training in the lawless country

Putin unveils oil gateway to the East

Russian leader opens oil terminal in the Far Eastern port of Kozmino that will serve as a gateway for energy exports to Asia

Brave work made decision easy

The courage of the late Sergeant Olaf Schmid and his colleagues makes them a noble choice for Times Team of the Year

Iran is moving close to revolution

For the moment President Ahmadinejad appears secure, for he has the support of the basij militias and Revolutionary Guard

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

Sex scandal embroils 86-year-old Indian leader

Narayan Dutt Tiwari, governor of Andhra Pradesh, resigns after video footage allegedly showed him in bed with three women

Skier’s body found after Christmas Day avalanche

Nigel Jackson, 43, is said to have skied between two pistes in the French Alps and found himself caught in a small avalanche

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