On the eve of the planned arrival of Arab League observers, 10 people died and scores were injured in volatile Syria on Sunday, according to the opposition movement.

Bomb blasts struck two churches in Nigeria on Sunday as worshippers were attending Christmas Day services, stirring memories of strikes against Nigerian churches during last year's Christmas season.

An Egyptian judge ordered the release Sunday of a prominent revolutionary blogger, pending further investigation.

Pope Benedict XVI prayed for peace in Syria, reconciliation in Myanmar, and comfort in flood-stricken Thailand and the Philippines in his annual Christmas message "To the City and the World" on Sunday.

On the eve of the planned arrival of Arab League observers, at least two people died in volatile Syria on Sunday as government forces continued to besiege parts of the activist hotbed of Homs, according to the opposition.

A suicide bomber targeted a funeral procession Sunday in the northeastern Afghan city of Taloqan, killing about 20 people, police said.

Pope Benedict XVI prayed for peace in Syria, reconciliation in Myanmar, and comfort in flood-stricken Thailand and the Philippines in his annual Christmas message.

Bomb blasts struck two churches in Nigeria on Sunday as worshippers were attending Christmas Day services, stirring memories of strikes against Nigerian churches during last year's Christmas season.

A wave of explosions across Baghdad killed dozens of people Thursday and spread fears that Iraq's government could collapse in the wake of the U.S. military's departure.

The wife of an U.S. subcontractor jailed in Cuba said Saturday she is devastated that Cuba is not including her husband among the nearly 3,000 prisoners being released on humanitarian grounds.

The Peace Corps is slashing operations in Honduras and scaling back in El Salvador and Guatemala, citing security concerns in a region beset by violence linked to the lucrative drug trade.

The Taliban are claiming responsibility for a suicide car bombing Saturday that struck a military housing area in northwest Pakistan, a spokesman for the group said.

At Zenana hospital in the western Indian city of Jaipur, Nasroon Bano died after giving birth. Her family blamed it on the absence of doctors.

Dozens of people have been killed during two days of clashes between Islamist militants and Nigerian security forces in a northeastern town, an army commander said.

The office of the British prime minister on Saturday wished 90-year-old Prince Philip, who underwent surgery, a speedy recovery.