Despite increased efforts in treatment and prevention, the ebola outbreak in West Africa is ongoing. As of press time, the estimated number of deaths from the virus in West Africa was 8,000, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with an estimated 20,000 infected.

The last patient to have the disease in Mali was declared cured on Dec. 16. If no new infections occur for a month, it will become the third country, after Nigeria and Senegal, to become ebola-free after having native...

More than 5,000 protesters took to the streets in Athens, Greece, on Dec. 6 to mark the sixth anniversary of the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos, shot in 2008 by a police officer who in 2010 was subsequently convicted of homicide for the shooting.

Protests became violent when some protesters smashed windows, looted stores and threw firebombs at police. There also were protests in Thessaloniki. At least 100 people in Athens were arrested, but no injuries were reported at...

On Dec. 14, a combination of international sanctions and low oil prices caused the value of the Russian ruble to fall from about 50 rubles to the US dollar to, at its lowest exchange rate, a bit more than 64 rubles to the dollar, a record low. The ruble bounced back the next day to less than 60 per dollar.

Overall, since the start of 2014, the ruble has lost 45% of its value. 

In November, in an effort to stabilize its value and stave off stagflation, Russia’s central bank...