Image copyright Reuters Dozens of people have been killed in air strikes and a suspected gas attack near the Syrian city of Palmyra, monitoring groups say. The targeted area is controlled by the so-called Islamic State group and has been under heavy bombardment from government-aligned forces. Dozens of people are …

Image copyright Twitter / @PaolaAudrey There was the Ice Bucket Challenge, then there was the Mannequin Challenge, now from Cameroon comes the Bidoung Challenge. When Cameroon’s Sports Minister Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mpkatt bowed and shook the hand of President Paul Biya, the image of the greeting went viral. The hashtags …

Image copyright EPA Image caption Senator McConnell (R) appears to be at odds with President-elect Trump over the intelligence report Senior Republicans in Congress have said they will support further investigation of findings that Russian hackers meddled in the US election. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority leader Mitch …

Image copyright Reuters Image caption These Free Syrian Army fighters remained in the rebel-held area Syria’s army says the battle for Aleppo is in its final phase, after major gains by troops in the city’s south left rebels on the brink of defeat. Lt Gen Zaid al-Saleh, head of the …

Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption “So now I’ve graduated, how do I pay off all my student debts?” It’s tough being a student these days. Debt levels are reaching crisis proportions in many developed countries, the World Bank says. And in many developing countries, aspiring students can’t get finance at …

Media captionSending a postcard from Timbuktu How many handwritten letters and personal postcards did you send this year to friends and family? How many have you received? We’re in a world where billions will log on to social media and chat apps so they can communicate instantly with friends and …

Following the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic forecasts, which accompanied the Autumn Statement, Iain Duncan Smith accused the official forecaster of “utter doom and gloom”. Is that fair? There were particular challenges in making these forecasts, which we have discussed before, involving having to make forecasts for the economy post-Brexit …

Image copyright Chris Gardner When Chris Gardner and his young son were sleeping rough on the floor of a public toilet, he could never have dreamt that his life story would be turned into a hit Hollywood movie. It was back in the early 1980s that Mr Gardner, then aged …

The claim: The cost of Christmas dinner this year will either be the cheapest ever or 14% up on last year. Reality Check verdict: The two pieces of research look into the cost of buying different things at different shops so it is no great surprise that they get different …

Image copyright Sumi Senthinathan / BBC Image caption Our illustrator Sumi Senthinathan drew this image representing the aftermath of the Brexit vote It’s been a year where the business world has not had a second to breathe. From the results of the UK’s EU referendum and the US election to …