Authorities on the Canary Islands declared an eruption that started in September officially finished following 10 days of no lava flows, seismic activity or significant sulfur dioxide emissions.
Our most popular stories not about the pandemic included: advice on raising helpful kids, boy band BTS's U.N. appearance, why South Africa banned alcohol — and a very scary virus called Nipah.
With the usual throngs of foreigners absent, Palestinian Muslims and Christians gathered in Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas.
Ukraine and the West are still worried about Russian military aggression. Russian president Vladimir Putin addressed the situation during his end-of-the-year press conference.
Pope Francis celebrated Christmas Eve Mass before an estimated 2,000 people in St. Peter's Basilica, going ahead with the service despite the resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
From Bethlehem and Frankfurt to Boston, the surging coronavirus put a damper on Christmas Eve for a second year, forcing churches to cancel or scale back services and disrupting travel plans.