The popular Brazilian surfer Ricardo dos Santos is shot dead by an off-duty policeman outside his home in the south of the country.

A man purporting to be the leader of militant group Boko Haram says in a video that his fighters carried out a deadly raid on the Nigerian town of Baga.

Chief executives are less optimistic about the economy this year than last, a survey unveiled at the World Economic Forum by PwC suggests.

The leader of Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen says the country is at a critical moment, hours after his forces shelled the president's home.

China says four district officials have been sacked over a stampede on New Year's Eve in Shanghai that left 36 people dead.

A Palestinian man is shot and injured by security officers after stabbing at least nine people in an attack on a Tel Aviv bus, Israeli police say.

Australian authorities detain a man sentenced to death in Malaysia for the murder a Mongolian woman in 2006, local media say.

A leading Ebola scientist warns the World Economic Forum that developed nations are "vulnerable" to epidemics and must invest more in research.