Colors: Blue Color

Tens of thousands of U.S. soccer fans traveled to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. But the ways they celebrate the world’s most popular sport — even what team they cheered — are as diverse as their home country, fans said.

“We met Iranian fans last night from Ohio. We met Mexican fans from Texas,” Chase Kania of Seattle said in Doha. “That all speaks to our unique culture.”

Having drawn thousands of people for his funeral, Pope Benedict XVI was buried in a crypt beneath St Peter's Basilica - which holds the tombs of more than 90 of his predecessors -  according to Benedict's final wishes.

Beginning in a traditional ceremony at St. Peter’s Square, in Vatican City, Benedict was named pope emeritus during the funeral, as the language of some prayers was different because he was not the reigning pope when he died.

American football star, Damar Hamlin, who had a heart attack during an NFL game is still in intensive care in a critical condition, his team has said.

The Defensive Back (DB), 24, collapsed on the field and was given CPR for about 10 minutes after he was injured after making a tackle during a match against the Cincinnati Bengals. He collided with Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins in the incident on Monday night.

Setting a new record, the OPEC Fund for International Development has approved more than US$500 million in new financing at the most recent meeting of its Governing Board and in the final quarter of 2022.

The 15 new projects approved reflect the OPEC Fund's launch of a US$1 billion Food Security Action Plan and the adoption of its first dedicated Climate Action Plan earlier this year.

A local hospital in northern Ghana told 29-year-old Sulemana Abdul Samed during one of his recent check-ups that he had reached the height of 9 ft 6in (2.89m).

This would make him the tallest man in the world, but there was a catch - the rural clinic could not be sure of his height because it did not have the correct measuring tools.

After five years, Ghanaian music and cultural festival Afrochella will not return, its organisers have said. The shock announcement was made at the very end of the two-day festival.

"This is the last Afrochella," said co-founder Abdul Abdullah to the thousands of people still in the El-Wak stadium in the capital, Accra. He did not give any reason.

New year celebrations were in full flow in parts of the world where 2023 already arrived. The Pacific nations were the first to welcome in the new year, as thousands gathered in Sydney for the Australian city's renowned fireworks display.

New Year 2023 was first welcomed by the easternmost island of Oceania first wit the tiny Pacific island nations of Tonga, Samoa, and Kiribati entered on January 1, 10 am GMT or 3.30 pm IST on December 31.

RnB singer Akon says his much-delayed plans for Akon City - an African metropolis on the Senegalese coast - are "100,000% moving". Although goats are currently grazing on the site, he says that critics will look "super stupid" in the future.

The Smack That singer also assured supporters waiting for refunds from his Token of Appreciation cryptocurrency campaign that they will receive their money back, even if he has to pay them out of his own pocket.

Weather-related flight cancellations and delays that snarled U.S. commercial air traffic over the holiday weekend dragged on through Monday, with Southwest Airlines accounting for the bulk of the lingering disruptions a day after Christmas. More than 3,800 U.S. airline flights were cancelled on Monday, including 2,800 operated by Southwest, or nearly 70% of the carrier's total scheduled for the day, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.

After two years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, travellers are planning to have lots of fun for New Years.

This New Years’ season is already breaking many records when it comes to hotel bookings. Many popular hotels in many popular city destinations are charging record room nights and are already overbooked. Resorts around the world are in party mood and sold out as well.

California is known for earthquakes. Overnight at 2.34 am the Northern part of the US State was hit by a very strong 6.3 earthquake in a relatively remote region.

A 6.3-strong earthquake was measured 10 Miles WSW from Ferndale, California at 2.34 am in the morning, followed by a 6.00 aftershock.

Dressed in camouflage and combats and with self-defence training under their belts, the Union Island wardens look prepped for battle.

They are in fact on a mission to protect one of the world's tiniest species - one so rare it exists in just 50 hectares (123 acres) in a remote corner of one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean.

At least 38 deaths have now been linked to a severe Arctic freeze that continues to pummel the US and Canada. Officials say 34 people died across the US, with the worst-hit area being the city of Buffalo, in New York state.

Four fatalities occurred in Canada when a bus rolled over on an icy road near the town of Merritt, in the western province of British Columbia. The storm has wreaked havoc for days but power has been steadily restored after earlier blackouts.

It is fair to say that the World Cup in Qatar this year has been defined by controversy like no other tournament before.

From the controversial decision to grant Qatar the privilege of hosting the event despite its poor human rights record to the very last moment when the Emir of Qatar put an Arab cloak on the shoulders of the Argentinian football legend, Lionel Messi, as he was about to lift the trophy on Sunday.