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As troops stood guard and a choir sang carols Tuesday, South Koreans lit a massive steel Christmas tree that overlooks the world's most heavily armed border and is within sight of atheist North Korea. The lighting of the tree after a seven-year hiatus marked a pointed return to a tradition condemned in Pyongyang as propaganda. The provocative ceremony — which must receive government permission — was also a sign that President Lee Myung-bak's administration is serious about countering the North's aggression with measures of its own in the wake of an artillery attack that killed four South Koreans last month.

As the U.S. Senate inches toward a vote on a pivotal arms treaty with Russia, officials and lawmakers in Moscow are anxiously awaiting the outcome of a debate that may shape U.S.-Russian ties for years ahead. The Senate's failure to ratify the New START treaty would deal a harsh blow to the still fragile rapprochement between Moscow and Washington and could push the Kremlin to challenge U.S. interests across the globe.

President Barack Obama has the votes for Senate ratification of a new arms control treaty with Russia, all but assuring a major foreign policy victory. At least 10 Republicans have announced publicly that they will vote for the accord, with several Republicans coming on board Tuesday. "I think it's going to pass and more than just pass," Bob Corker, one of the Republicans backing the treaty told reporters.

Police in Britain arrested 12 men Monday in early morning raids that police said were necessary to head off a potential terrorist attack. John Yates, the assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard, declined to give details of any alleged plot but said that the men were all detained "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism" in Britain.

The Senate plans a critical vote today on the Obama administration's nuclear arms treaty with Russia, as Russia warned lawmakers not to alter the treaty's terms, and the White House stepped up lobbying. Most Senate Republicans on Monday continued their so-far unsuccessful effort to try to change the pact -- and deny President Barack Obama a major foreign policy victory.

Amid political gridlock, endemic corruption, infrastructure breakdowns and persistent violence, ordinary Iraqis often feel that the chaos drowns out their voices. On television and online, however, there’s plenty of space to be heard.

President Barack Obama tried to sway reluctant Republican senators on Monday to back a new arms control treaty with Russia as GOP aversion to giving a politically damaged president another victory intruded on his national security agenda.

North Korea backed off threats to retaliate against South Korea for military drills Monday and reportedly offered concessions on its nuclear program -- signs it was looking to lower the temperature on the Korean peninsula after weeks of soaring tensions. But Pyongyang has feinted toward conciliation before and failed to follow through.

Frustrated travelers in Europe expressed fury Monday at transportation officials' inability to clear snow and ice from planes, runways and high-speed train tracks, failings that have caused holiday travel chaos and fears that many will not get home in time for Christmas.

Seoul launched fighter jets, evacuated hundreds of people from its tense border with the North and sent residents of front-line islands into bunkers in case of attack. But none came.

'Twill be nights before Christmas and high overhead, the moon will turn brown or maybe deep red. The Earth and the sun with celestial scripts will conspire to make a lunar eclipse. Weather permitting, sky gazers in North and Central America and a tiny sliver of South America will boast the best seats to this year's only total eclipse of the moon.

South Korea said it was going forward today with live firing drills from a front-line island despite North Korea's threat to retaliate, sharply ramping up tensions as the U.N. failed to find any solution.

The Guatemalan military declared a state of siege Sunday in a northern province that authorities say has been overtaken by Mexican drug traffickers. The government initiated the monthlong measure in the Alta Verapaz province to reclaim cities that have been taken over by the Zetas drug gang, Ronaldo Robles, a spokesman for Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, told radio station Emisoras Unidas.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, announced Sunday that he will vote against a new U.S.-Russia nuclear-arms accord, a move that could pressure other Republicans in what is likely to be a close vote in the next few days.

A culture war has broken out at the United Nations over whether gays should be singled out for the same protections as other minorities whose lives are threatened. The battle will come to a head on Tuesday when the General Assembly votes to renew its routine condemnation of the unjustified killing of various categories of vulnerable people.

Much of Europe remained paralyzed Sunday as a new wave of heavy snow and ice swept the continent as far south as Italy, closing airports, highways and train routes.

The shared housing of key Army witnesses in a war-crimes case may have made sense in Afghanistan, but defense attorneys now contend that the soldiers used that time to work out their stories. The attorneys have been challenging the sworn statements the three key witnesses gave to Army investigators from May 11 to 13 on the grounds that they're filled with hearsay.

As Iraqi politicians put the final touches on a long-awaited new government, a U.S.-sponsored proposal to curb the powers of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is still taking shape. The plan aims to create a national strategic council to guide policy decisions. But after months of haggling, Iraqi lawmakers remain divided over how much power the council should have, who should sit on it and what it should be called.

Unseasonably early and heavy snow blanketing northern Europe caused widespread travel disruptions Saturday, with hundreds of flights cancelled and many passengers left stranded in airports.

PERUGIA, Italy-- Amanda Knox won an important victory in her appeals trial of her murder conviction in Italy on Saturday, when a court ruled that it will allow an independent review of crucial DNA evidence after defense claims that samples were inconclusive and possibly contaminated.