A year full of surprises

2014 opened with the Seattle Seahawks capping the NFL season by whipping the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, then segued into the most expensive Olympics in history - the $50 billion Sochi Winter Games.

Palestinian leader moves to join ICC

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed on to 20 international agreements on Wednesday, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a day after a bid for independence by 2017 failed at the United Nations Security Council.

Egypt court orders retrial in Al-Jazeera case

An Egyptian appeals court ordered a retrial on Thursday in the case of three imprisoned Al-Jazeera English journalists.

Storm leaves 54 dead as it exits Philippines

Tropical storm Jiangmi exited the Philippines on Thursday, leaving at least 54 dead and 13 missing from floods and landslides as officials admitted that more extensive warnings could have saved more lives.

Professor among 4 staff fired in UNC academic fraud

North Carolina's flagship public university is trying to fire a senior professor, accepted the resignation of another faculty member and dismissed an academic counselor for athletes for their roles in the fraud scandal that rocked the school, campus officials said on Wednesday.

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UN Security Council rejects Palestinian statehood bid

The UN Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the establishment of a Palestinian state by late 2017.

Ex-Korean Air 'nut rage' exec arrested

South Korean prosecutors have arrested a former Korean Air Lines Co executive for allegedly endangering flight safety by delaying a plane because her macadamia nuts were not served the way she wanted, officials said on Wednesday.

Floods kill 21 in Malaysia, waters recede

At least 21 people have been killed and eight others are missing after the worst flooding in decades across Malaysia's northeast, police said on Wednesday, with almost a quarter of a million people displaced.

Australia prohibits commercial sunbeds over cancer fears

Most Australian states and territories are set to ban commercial sunbeds from Thursday, in a crackdown on artificial tanning in a country that has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.

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Relatives wait for flight updates

Some of the relatives and friends of affected passengers aboard the missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 arrived at the designated relatives' area at Singapore's Changi Airport for updates on Sunday.