The upper chamber of Russia's parliament has unanimously voted in favor of a measure banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

China has opened the world's longest high-speed rail line, which runs 1,428 miles from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in the Pearl River delta in southern China.

Authorities in the Philippines say at least eight people are dead after two separate Christmas Day fires in the capital region. One of the blazes left about 1,500 people homeless when it razed their shantytown.

Authorities have sealed off a high-security zone in the Indian capital for a second day to put an end to a week of demonstrations against the brutal gang-rape of a woman on a moving bus.

Pope Benedict XVI wished Christmas peace to the world Tuesday, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria and urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate.

Britain's royal family is attending Christmas Day church services — with a few notable absences.

The mood is a festive one today in Bethlehem, where hundreds gathered in Manger Square under sunny skies to greet the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land.

Chinese state media say 11 children have died after a van plunged into a roadside pond.

North Korea is accusing rival South Korea of using an illuminated frontline Christmas tower to engage in psychological warfare.

More than 31,400 people have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported from the U.S. over his gun-control views.

A federal judge has delayed sentencing until late January for a pair of Iraqi nationals who pleaded guilty to conspiring to send weapons, cash and explosives to al-Qaida in Iraq.

A British newspaper is suing Lance Armstrong for more than $1.5 million after it settled a libel case over doping allegations, saying that revelations of the cycling star's use of performance-enhancing drugs show the case was baseless.

An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said.

The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land has celebrated the United Nations' recent recognition of a Palestinian state in his annual pre-Christmas remarks.

Pop star Rihanna has given $1.75 million to a hospital in her Caribbean homeland of Barbados in memory of her late grandmother.

Sweden's royal family says Princess Madeleine's wedding will take place on Saturday, June 8, at the Royal Palace chapel in downtown Stockholm.

International fishing authorities say a Dana Point man has broken a world record with a 427-pound yellowfin tuna caught earlier this year off the Mexican coast.

The leader of the world's 80 million-strong Anglican Communion has thrown his support behind stricter gun control in the U.S., saying the easy availability of powerful weapons drew vulnerable people toward violence.

Russia's foreign minister says Moscow would welcome any country's offer of safe haven for Syrian President Bashar Assad, but it has no plans to make one of its own.

Polls are closing in Egypt where voters in 17 of the country's 27 provinces have been casting ballots in the final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution.

Authorities in Puerto Rico say they have seized 3,500 pounds (1,588 kilograms) of marijuana worth $3 million.

A Greek court has imposed life sentences on two men convicted of dealing in ancient treasure worth an estimated €12 million ($15.85 million), which had been illegally excavated from a cemetery in northern Greece.

Guatemalan authorities say two female Mormon missionaries were kidnapped for two days before being freed by a special police anti-kidnapping unit helped by the FBI.

UN says UN helicopter was shot down in South Sudan and the 4 crew on board have died.

Officials say a deadly strike at a Sierra Leone diamond mine is now over.