Tokyo / AFP Heavy snow in northern Japan caused transport chaos over the holiday weekend, with flights and train services cancelled and thousands of passengers forced to camp out at a regional airport for three straight nights. Sapporo on Hokkaido island had up to 96 centimetres (38 inches) of snow as of Friday night, the city’s heaviest snowfall in half ...

  Sydney / AFP A Sudanese refugee held at an Australian offshore detention camp has died after a “fall and seizure”, officials said, with the incident reportedly sparking a protest at the controversial facility. The 27-year-old, named by refugee advocates as Faysal Ishak Ahmed, died in a Brisbane hospital in eastern Australia after being flown to Queensland from Papua New Guinea’s ...

  Vatican City / AFP Pope Francis urged peace in the Middle East as tens of thousands gathered to hear his Christmas address on Sunday, while offering comfort to victims of terrorism after a year of bloody extremist attacks. The 80-year-old Argentine called for guns to fall silent in Syria, saying “far too much blood has been spilled” in the nearly ...