Alabama certifies election despite last-ditch Roy Moore legal case

Doug Jones was formally declared the winner on Thursday

Democrat Doug Jones has been certified as the winner of the Alabama senate race despite a last-ditch legal case by the defeated Republican Roy Moore.

Republican state officials confirmed the 12 December special election result, one day after Mr Moore claimed election fraud and called for a re-run.

Mr Moore had been expected to win the conservative state but he was dogged by allegations of child sexual misconduct.

Justine Damond: US prosecutor delays decision on charges

Prosecutors say they are getting more information on Justine Damond's death

A US prosecutor says more work needs to be done before deciding on whether to charge a policeman who shot dead an unarmed Australian woman.

Justine Damond, 40, was killed by officer Mohamed Noor in July after she rang police to report a woman screaming outsider her Minneapolis home.

Investigations into her death are ongoing. No charges have been laid against Mr Noor.

Zimbabwean family stranded in Bangkok airport for months

Suvarnabhumi is Thailand's largest airport

No-one really enjoys a long airport stopover, but for one Zimbabwean family, Bangkok's main airport has been home for nearly three months.

According to the Thai immigration bureau, the four children under 11 and four adults arrived in Bangkok in May, but are refusing to return to Zimbabwe for fear of persecution.

Their plight came to light after someone who said he worked at Suvarnabhumi airport posted a photo on Facebook showing himself giving a little African girl a Christmas present.

Brutal cold spell sets record lows across the US

Bitter cold continues to blanket the northern United States and Canada as forecasters warn that the deep freeze will continue into the start of 2018.

International Falls in the US state of Minnesota - the self-proclaimed "Icebox of the Nation" - saw temperatures drop to -37F (-38.3C).

George Weah elected Liberian president

Former football star George Weah has been elected as Liberia's president.

With nearly all ballots from Tuesday's run-off vote counted, Mr Weah is well ahead of opponent Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the vote.

As news of Mr Weah's victory emerged, his supporters began celebrating in the capital Monrovia.