In Orange County, a Republican Fortress Turns Democratic

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ROBERT GEBELOFF from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2F0FQSR

Consejos para vivir mejor en 2019

By Por MARINA FRANCO from NYT Universal https://nyti.ms/2QXpu4p

‘The Train Was So Packed That It Was Difficult For Me to Do What I Always Did’

By Unknown Author from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2SrN1ar

2 of New York’s Most Influential Offices Are About to be Held by One Person

By J. DAVID GOODMAN from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2Tllzvc

What’s on TV Monday: New Year’s Eve Celebrations and Taylor Swift

By SARA ARIDI from NYT Arts https://nyti.ms/2AmjsAe

Armed Man in Tactical Clothing Headed to a Texas Church to ‘Fulfill a Prophecy,’ Police Say

By SANDRA E. GARCIA from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2CH9f2G

Trump Digs In, Darkening Hopes for a Deal to End the Shutdown

By MAGGIE HABERMAN and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2Qdoeov

Channel migrants: No easy answers to issue, says Javid

The reasons are often "outside of our control", writes the home secretary in newspaper article.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2ApbpTc

Hammersmith stabbing leads to 39 attempted murder arrests

They are being held on suspicion of attempted murder after a man suffered life-threatening wounds.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2GMEHRd

Councils 'failing' to prosecute blue badge abusers

Figures show 62% of councils did not take action against people misusing blue badge permits.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2AhkLAj

Minority take up 'life-saving' free health check

It can pick up preventable heart problems - and more people should be getting the routine check.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2BPezPL

Stevenage shed radio DJ ready for BBC local radio slot

After years of "broadcasting" to just his wife, an amateur radio presenter's wish is coming true.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2SovyiV

Lederhosen love among Austria's millennials

Lederhosen and dirndl dresses are making a comeback in Austria.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2AmkSL1

Fishing: New EU rules could have 'grave' impact on UK industry

Fishers can no longer discard fish to avoid busting quota - but that could put boats off the water.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2ApOAyD

Syria conflict: Trump 'slowing troop withdrawal', says Lindsey Graham

A top Republican says the president remains determined to defeat the Islamic State group in Syria.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2SrBV5i

South Western Railway strike to hit New Year's Eve trains

Passengers across the South are warned to expect disruption as staff stage a 24-hour walkout.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2R1vxVu

Bangladesh election: PM Sheikh Hasina wins landslide in disputed vote

Sheikh Hasina wins a third consecutive term in a vote marred by violence and claims of vote rigging.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2EWFJbC

Mexico wall: Trump aide says concrete wall idea was dropped early on

Outgoing chief of staff John Kelly appears to contradict the US president on the border wall plan.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2EXMmcP

No-deal Brexit ferry contract sparks concerns

Seaborne Freight was founded less than two years ago and has never run a ferry service before.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2EWL0jw

Nasa's New Horizons: Final commands given to distant probe

Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft is all set for its dramatic encounter with a far-off icy world.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2Tk2vNU

The Papers: Javid under pressure and AJ shows his bruises

There's more front-page criticism of the home secretary over migrants in the Channel, while the Sun interviews battered Strictly star AJ Pritchard.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2rZrNVJ

Female fightback... 2018 in hashtags

A look at the year's most influential hashtags used by women on social media.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2RntUB7

2018 in news: The alternative end-of-the-year awards

From the ridiculous to the more ridiculous, here are the weird stories that caught our eye this year.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2s3oDAp

Spoken word poet Dylema: On a stroll through Africa in 2018

Dylema leads us through key events on the continent this year in a specially commissioned poem.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2BZzjVp

Why do we celebrate New Year on 1 January?

Why does the year begin in January?

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2SwJ6t6

Africa's key images of 2018: Reunions, tears and big lips

A selection of the best photos from across and about Africa this year.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2GIKAyK

The Instagrammer who wants to show a different side of Gaza

Instagram photographer Kholoud Nassar wants to show us a different side of Gaza.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2AmFuTb

June Whitfield: A life in pictures

Memorable moments from the life of the versatile and much-loved British actress.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2EZedcT

Bangladesh election: Voting disrupted by violence

Clashes between ruling party and opposition supporters have resulted in 17 deaths.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2Sv4fni

STEM: 'You can't be what you can't see'

Women in Science, technology, engineering and maths are still underrepresented. Here STEM women share some top tips on how to get ahead in the field.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2RroogE

The 90-year-old back-flipping daredevil

This Canadian man is being called the world's most extreme grandpa.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2AntDnS

London violence: How a bloody night became a deadly year

London has endured a year which has seen its homicide total reach its highest level since 2008.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2AmXgFY

In search of Leonard, my martyred ancestor

Eli Melki looks for traces of a relative who was killed at 33 during a wave of attacks against eastern Turkey's Christians.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2BMln0I

Bangladesh clothing factories: Are they safe now?

Are garment factories in Bangladesh safe five years after the Rana Plaza disaster?

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2s3oVat

The singer, the scientist, the comic book writer... notable deaths of 2018

The scientist, the singer, the comic book writer... notable deaths of 2018

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2BNKbpa

Why legalising gay sex in India is not a Western idea

India's decision to decriminalise gay sex has taken the country back to its roots, some historians say.

from BBC News - Home https://bbc.in/2ApBWzF

Cyber-attack disrupts distribution of multiple US newspapers

The malware, which affected papers owned by Tribune Publishing, is believed to be from outside the US.

from BBC News - Technology https://bbc.in/2Q8aWd2

Bahrain's top court upholds sentence against activist Nabeel Rajab: lawyer

Bahrain's high court upheld a five-year jail sentence against activist Nabeel Rajab on Monday for criticizing Saudi Arabia’s air strikes in Yemen and accusing Bahrain’s prison authorities of torture, his lawyer said.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LGIVsj

Italy's Salvini sees no danger to government in coming months: Corriere

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday he did not see any danger to the government in the coming months as it turns its efforts to new reforms after closing the budget for next year.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2SsesRl

High rise building collapses in Russia, at least two dead: reports

Rescue services in the Russian city of Magnitogorsk scrambled to find survivors after a suspected gas blast in the early hours of Monday caused the partial collapse of a high rise apartment building, killing at least two people, news agencies reported.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LHqd3U

Congo opposition cries foul after presidential poll blighted by mishaps

The main opposition camps in Congo's presidential election on Sunday complained of widespread irregularities after a chaotic vote disrupted by long queues, broken voting machines and torrential rain.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LH8JVk

Ebola-hit Congolese town stages mock vote to protest at ban

Residents of an Ebola hotspot in eastern Congo staged a mock presidential election on Sunday to show the authorities a decision to postpone the vote there due to health fears was unfounded.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GZSpR1

Bangladesh PM Hasina wins third straight term despite vote-rigging claims

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance won Bangladesh's election with a thumping majority, the country's Election Commission said on Monday, giving her a third straight term following a vote that the opposition rejected as rigged.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EXeduH

China to kick off year of sensitive anniversaries with major speech on Taiwan

China will kick off a year of sensitive anniversaries with a major speech on Wednesday by President Xi Jinping on Taiwan, China's most sensitive issue.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EXIysU

North Korea's Kim sent message to Trump on nuclear talks: Chosun Ilbo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a "conciliatory message" to U.S. President Donald Trump amid stalled nuclear negotiations, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Monday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2RrPlAM

Brazil moving its embassy to Jerusalem matter of 'when, not if': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro told him that it was a matter of "when, not if" he moves his country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Q7V7mF

Graham more upbeat on Syria troop withdrawal after Trump meeting

A senior Republican U.S. senator said he emerged from a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Sunday reassured that Trump is committed to defeating Islamic State even as he plans to withdraw American troops from Syria.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EUsrLX

Brexit sends Britons seeking Irish passports up 22 percent in 2018

The number of British citizens applying for Irish passports rose by 22 percent in 2018, Ireland's foreign office said on Monday, more than doubling the total of annual applications since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LETHPW