A total of 8,868 people, including 7,818 civilians, have been killed in violent attacks across Iraq in 2013, the United Nations reports – the highest annual death toll in the war-torn country in five years.

The Palestinian ambassador in Prague has died after being fatally injured in an explosion that shook his official residence on Wednesday, Czech police said. Jamal al-Jamal died several hours after being taken to the hospital, authorities said.

Reacting to the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in the Central African Republic (CAR), Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, has made the following statement:

The passengers from the Russian scientific research vessel Akademik Shokalsky may celebrate the New Year in the ice. The ship remains stuck off the coast of Antarctica as bad weather is still hampering the rescue helicopter on a nearby Chinese ship.

Okinawa officials approved the long-anticipated relocation of the US Marines Corps' Futenma Air Station on Friday, according to Japan's defense ministry. The move settles decades of often heated negotiations between Tokyo and Washington.

The crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has intensified, with the government formally listing the group as a terrorist organization and accusing it of being behind a recent suicide attack that killed 16 people.

A small team of US Marines was deployed to Uganda on Tuesday to prepare for more evacuations of Americans from the escalating turmoil in South Sudan.

Even robots have a Santa list. The world's first robotic astronaut has been talking with crew members onboard the International Space Station about the presents he wants for Christmas. It's all part of an experiment to improve man-machine communication.

President Putin has pardoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky, arguably Russia's best-known prisoner, citing humanitarian reasons. The former oil tycoon left jail hours later and flew to Germany, avoiding a crowd of journalists eager to see him.

Afghanistan is braced for an uncertain future once NATO and ISAF troops withdraw from 2014. The EU and its international partners will play an important role in ensuring the troubled country continues its transformation into a democratic state with a modern economy. The EP's foreign affairs committee organised a one-day conference on 18 December on the prospects and challenges for Afghanistan and Central Asia in the wake of next year's troops withdrawal.