Ethiopia has entered the "final phase" of a "law enforcement" military operation in the northern restive region of Tigray after a 72-hour deadline to surrender expired, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted in a statement on Thursday.

2020 has been far from festive, but as the year comes to an end, many of Europe's governments are scrambling to avoid stringent lockdowns over the Christmas holidays.

The South Korean leader of an online sexual blackmail ring that targeted minors and young women was sentenced to 40 years in jail on Thursday, marking the end of an explosive criminal case that sparked outrage across the country.

French restauranteurs have been hit hard by two nation-wide lockdowns. Unions say that two out of every three establishments in the hotel and restaurant sector could go out of business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, the British-Australian academic detained by Iran for more than two years on espionage charges, has been freed in an apparent prisoner exchange for three Iranians.