A lockdown is declared in northern Sierra Leone, with shops and travel services shut for at least three days, in a bid to contain the Ebola virus.

Pope Francis delivers his traditional Christmas Day address, denouncing violence against religious and ethnic minorities - notably in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Shabab militants attack the main African Union military base near Mogadishu airport in Somalia.

Police in Sweden say an arsonist set fire to a mosque in the town of Eskilstuna on Thursday, injuring five people.

Spain's new King Felipe VI attacks corruption in his Christmas Eve address, but does not mention his sister's forthcoming tax fraud trial.

Pope Francis speaks by telephone to Iraqi refugees in a camp near Irbil before celebrating Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter's.

A US laboratory technician is being monitored after possible exposure to the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

The mayor of the US suburb where a police officer shot dead a black teenager says the death cannot be compared to that of Michael Brown in Ferguson.