A former soldier dies after setting himself on fire outside the Senegalese president's residence, apparently as part of demands for compensation for military injuries.

Yoweri Museveni looks certain to extend his 25 years in office as Ugandan president as the election count continues.

The Cuban government frees a jailed dissident journalist who refused to go into exile in Spain as a condition for release.

Brazil's Catholic bishops criticise the country's popular reality TV shows, claiming they have a low moral level and are "an abusive and immoral exploitation".

Thousands of people rally in the Basque city of Bilbao in northern Spain to demand the legalisation of a new separatist party.

Nearly 70,000 protesters take part in new demonstrations in the US state of Wisconsin over planned budget cuts.

Heavy winds blow down the US national Christmas tree, a 42-foot blue spruce standing near the White House since 1978.

At least 104 people have been killed in Libya since protests erupted, Human Rights Watch says, after troops reportedly use heavy weaponry.