A senior Israeli army officer tells the BBC that another Gaza War is "a question of when, not if" should Hamas continue to control the Gaza Strip. (BBC)
Arts and culture
Pope Benedict XVI announces a BBC Radio 4 Christmas Eve message, the first such message for one of the countries he visited last year. (BBC)
Business and economics
Thousands of students march peacefully through Rome as part of nationwide demonstrations in Italy prior to a Senate vote which threatens education funds. (BBC)
A new global poll of 64,000 people in 53 countries indicates that power and prosperity are shifting to the east, towards countries such as Brazil, China and India. (BBC)
Disasters
A UN Development Programme report concludes that Aceh's recovery from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami is "beyond anything imaginable six years ago" but that more needs to be done concerning poverty and natural disaster impact. (BBC)
Documents are released outlining pressure the U.S. used in an attempt to stop Italy from indicting the CIA agents who kidnapped Abu Omar in Milan, then flew him to Egypt to be tortured. The documents show Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi to be on the American side and recorded him "vent[ing] his rage at his own country's judicial system." (Der Spiegel)
U.S. diplomats applied pressure on Bangladesh to allow the London-based Global Coal Management company to reopen a large open-cast coal mine in the Phulbari area that was closed due to violent protests over foreign ownership of Bangladeshi resources succeeded in closing the mine. (The Guardian)
The European Commission rejects efforts by several ex-Soviet bloc countries for the European Union to legislate against the condoning or denial of totalitarian crimes. (BBC)
Mauritius sues the United Kingdom due to prevention of the the return of 2,000 residents forced out of the Chagos Islands during a 1960s lease to a U.S. air base. (BBC)
British millionaire Tory MP Zac Goldsmith is not to be reported to police over his election spending allegations but some other concerns are expressed by the Electoral Commission. (BBC)
