Europe

Vladimir Putin's popularity soared after the Winter Olympics and the annexation of Crimea. But his year is ending on a bitter note, with Russia in a deep recession and isolated internationally.

Despite tensions between Russia and the West, Moscow is forging links with far-right, anti-EU parties in Europe. They're attracted to the traditional social values of Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used 2014 to assert new powers but found no clear path for handling the militant threat next door in Syrian and Iraq.

The first-ever stage production of the 1951 Hollywood film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, with a Gershwin score, is getting rave reviews during its premiere in the city that inspired it.

World War I had just begun and the battles were blazing in the winter of 1914. But on Christmas Eve, something strange and unexpected happened. The soldiers in the trenches decided to call a truce.

Despite detractors within the church, Pope Francis' emphasis on humility and mercy has won him strong support worldwide. He has addressed thorny issues such as Vatican finances and clerical sex abuse.

Andrei Kemenici, who was a colonel then, says he still thinks about the 4 days he held Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife in custody before their execution 25 years ago on Christmas Day.

In Russia, they are not celebrating lower oil prices. The price of oil could mean the difference between prosperity and recession. The ruble has lost about 45 percent of its value this year.