The world's oldest mummies have just had an unusual check-up.

Stroll down almost any street in Ghana and you are sure to find churches, religious billboards and biblically-named shops.

Inside Aleppo's crumbling Saint Elias Cathedral, Nehme Badawi and his brother Bashir rummage through the snow-covered rubble for wood and scrap metal to make a crude Nativity scene for Christmas. 

Many precious stones have a blood-soaked history, but a new book reveals the world's most famous diamond the Koh-i-Noor surpasses them all, with a litany of horrors that rivals "Game of Thrones".

Preparations for Christmas are in full swing at the site of Jesus' birthplace, with Bethlehem shops, hotels and church officials planning for more visitors than 2015, when violence put a damper on celebrations.

Having to live with deserted streets, road blocks and the constant fear of jihadist attack, Christians in the Syrian town of Qamishli have little heart for Christmas this year.

A Christmas-themed train on Thursday set out on a journey to criss-cross Pakistan in an effort to promote tolerance in the overwhelmingly Muslim country.

Ali Hribish stands by the Arch of Septimius Severus which dominates Libya's ancient city of Leptis Magna, brandishing letters of thanks for his efforts to protect the site. 

The Eiffel Tower reopened to the public on Sunday after a labor strike closed the Paris landmark for five days.

An Egyptian court ordered on Sunday the release of jailed novelist Ahmed Naji as he appeals a two-year sentence for writing a sexually explicit passage in a book.