Thousands gather to watch the lighting ceremony of Trafalgar Square's Christmas tree in London -- a gift from Norway in a yearly tradition going back to 1947. Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe says the 20-meter spruce is "a symbol of friendship."

🇸🇦 Nuts and beer: booze-free bar offers Saudis a pub vibe

In Riyadh, women in niqabs and men in traditional white robes sip alcohol-free pints, with no expectation of a hangover. The incongruous scene signals the changes under way in the conservative kingdom which banned alcohol in 1952.

🇵🇰 Winter smog blankets Pakistan's capital

Pakistan regularly ranks among the world's most polluted countries. Experts say the pollution is primarily caused by factory and traffic emissions, worsening in winter as cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds trap the deadly pollutants.

🇬🇳 Guinea's youth risk everything to migrate to Europe

Safiatou Bah, 33, has made her decision. She will leave behind her young children to try to secure their future by migrating to Europe from the Guinean coast - a new, perilous migration route emerging in West Africa.

🇷🇼 The Rwanda camp giving a second chance to genocidal enemies

Former fighters of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), among them recent recruits and those who participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, take part in a rehabilitation camp.

🇺🇸 The US town powering the digital world

The once-quiet town of Ashburn in Northern Virginia, near Washington, has transformed into the heart of the world's digital infrastructure, handling an estimated 70% of global internet traffic and earning the moniker Data Center Alley.

🇲🇾 Malaysian scientists recruit bed bugs as crime scene sleuths

Long-loathed as itchy household pests, the blood-sucking bed bugs have revealed a darker, more intriguing potential as Malaysian scientists have discovered they can be turned into unlikely crime-busting allies.