An elephant festival in Nepal puts pachyderms to the test with races, a football game and even an elephant beauty pageant.

This was the scene this morning at the Cooks Beach campground. Video / A Westbrook

A winter storm is causing serious flooding in southern England. Thousands of people are without power on Christmas Day. Some roads are also closed due to flooding. Two dozen motorists were rescued from their vehicles overnight.

In her annual Christmas message Queen Elizabeth II calls upon people of faith to take time in the new year to pause for reflection and contemplation. She acknowledges the birth of a new child and the joy the occasion brings.

The push to reduce U.S. greenhouse gases is pairing clean coal technology with oil production _ highlighting the environmental trade-offs President Barack Obama is willing to make in his quest to curb global warming.

Two Muslim fanatics were found guilty Thursday of murdering a British soldier whom they butchered in broad daylight on a London street.

Footage from inside the Hamas tunnel network which was exposed shortly after the October 7 attack. Video / The Telegraph

South Africa's government was confronted Friday with a new and chilling allegation about the bogus sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial: He was reportedly accused of murder 10 years ago.

Authorities say a Kansas man accused of planning to detonate a car bomb at the Wichita airport has been arrested.

One man is in a stable condition in Christchurch hospital after an assault in Addington overnight.

Canadian Airline WestJet created a Christmas miracle for thier passengers recently, Santa asked them what they wanted for Christmas and then WestJet staffers went on a wild shopping spree to buy everything that the passengers had asked for... courtesy WestJet/YouTube.

Warning: the above video may be upsetting to sensitive viewers. During a circus act in Madrid, an animal trainer was viciously attacked by the performing tiger he was working with. He was then rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

Nelson Mandela presents the William Webb Ellis Trophy to South African captain Francois Pienaar after the 1995 final. Courtesy: YouTube/jaiarc

As the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela, nzherald.co.nz remembers the life of the anti-apartheid campaigner and the first black President of South Africa. He was imprisoned for 27 years, controversial for much of his life, he received international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance. He was held in deep respect within South Africa, and has been described as "the father of the nation".

This montage of time-lapse photography from the International Space Station is collected from many taken in Expeditions 29, 30 and 31 The goal with this sequence was to bring a bit more attention to the station itself, including the humans aboard it, particularly Don Pettit (appearing in the final shot) who took many of the sequences. courtesy YouTube/David Peterson

A Japanese tyre company has come up with a novel way of getting viewers to stand up and pay attention to their adverts - by making them jump out of their skins. If terrifying your target audience was proven to also make them buy your product, the marketing team behind this offering from Autoway Tires would deserve a great deal of credit. courtesy YouTube/AutowayTire

A brazen bird snatched a video camera that was recording crocodiles in northwest Australia and captured fascinating footage of its 110-kilometre journey across the country's remote landscape.Courtesy: Gooniyandi rangers

Once billed as the comet of the century, Comet ISON apparently was no match for the sun. Images from NASA spacecraft showed the comet approaching for a slingshot around the sun, but nothing coming out on the other side. "It does seem like Comet ISON probably hasn't survived this journey," US Navy solar researcher Karl Battams said in a Google+ hangout.

Freelance photographer Denis Sinyakov and Greenpeace activist Andrey Allakhverdov are released on bail from St Petersburg detention centre SIZO 1. They were arrested in September 2013 by Russian authorities following a Greenpeace protest against oil drilling in the Arctic waters of the Pechora Sea.

Channing Tatum spoofs Van damme's 'epic splits' from the Volvo truck ad. Courtesy: YouTube/Channing Tatum

A lion and a lioness gave birth to two cubs at a zoo in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia.

One of the two New Zealand Greenpeace protesters jailed in Russia on hooliganism charges has been told he will be released on bail. they would be released from jail if they could provide financial surety of 2 million rubles (NZ$73,224). It was not yet known when New Zealander David Haussmann would be released.

Shocking eyewitness footage has emerged of Typhoon Haiyan, showing a huge wave wiping out a house. The clip was shot by a worker for the Plan International charity in the Philippines. Nickson Gensis was sheltering on the second floor of a house, in Hernani, Eastern Samar, and continued filming while other onlookers resorted to prayer.

Watch Jean-Claude Van Damme carry out his famous split between two reversing trucks. Never done before, JCVD says it's the most epic of splits. Courtesy: YouTube/Volvo Trucks

Aftermath of Israel airstrike on Khan Yunis. Video / AP

Herald reader Lauren Vosper contacted @nzherald after seeing the Elephant v Croc pictures in today's (19/11/13) New Zealand Herald and shared her filmed experience from her trip to Botswana in 2011 that now has had almost 3.5m views on YouTube. courtesy LozV100/YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6PvMZy3BxI

An Atlas V rocket lifts off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.The mission is to send the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft on a 10-month journey to explore the Red Planet's climate history. Courtesy: NASA Kennedy Space Center

Residents in several US midwestern cities sifted through piles of rubble Monday as they recovered from violent tornadoes that ripped through the region, killing at least six and injuring scores.

Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has erupted again, lighting up the sky over much of eastern Sicily and shooting up a towering column of ash.

What happens when you've got 'one chance to dance'?. Courtesy: YouTube/José Durán