More than a dozen people are killed in an explosion in Egypt – Thailand’s opposition protesters fail at a self-appointed task – A dictator goes on trial today.

At least 14 people are dead and more than 150 are hurt after a blast at a security checkpoint in Egyptian Nile Delta town of Mansoura, north of Cairo.  A police building is heavily damaged.  Officials say it’s unclear what caused the explosion, although they’re looking for evidence of a car bomb, possibly a suicide bombing.  Attacks on soldiers and policemen have sharply risen in Egypt since the Egyptian army ousted elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July.

Thailand’s anti-government protesters have failed to stop candidates from registering for the 2 February snap elections.  They surrounded a stadium where registration was to take place – But the candidates walked to a nearby police station are carried out registration there.  Registration is scheduled to continue for two weeks, and protesters have pledged to keep trying to obstruct the campaign.

The treason case against Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf starts on Tuesday in civilian court.  The Islamabad High Court dismissed Musharraf’s claims that only a military tribunal could try him.  He is the first Pakistani former military ruler to face trial for treason, specifically for his decision in 2007 to suspend the constitution and impose emergency rule.

Cops fired water cannons and tear gas at protesters in Turkey, as the protesters denounced Prime Minister Erdogan's government over corruption.  The huge rally recalled protests from earlier this year.  Two dozen people, including the sons of two ministers and a state-owned bank's chief, have been arrested as part of a wide-ranging graft probe.  Erdogan denounced the protesters and claims the corruption probe is a conspiracy to discredit his government.

New York City’s Empire State Building, looking good for the holidays.

No leaks or injuries are reported after a train carrying nuclear waste derailed in a suburb of Paris, France.  The national fire service said experts carried out radiological tests after the incident in Drancy, and found no leaks.  But noting that about 4,000 freight wagons carrying radioactive or chemical waste pass through Drancy Station each year, Mayor Jean-Christophe Lagarde called the incident, “intolerable.”

Argentina's former president Fernando de la Rua has been acquitted of ordering the payment of bribes to senators in 2000.  A former legislative aide alleged that bribes were paid so that the senators would approve a disputed labor reform bill, which had been demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  De la Rua’s term came to an abrupt end during the economic crisis of 2001 when he was forced to flee the presidential palace by helicopter.  The controversial labor law was struck down by his successor President Nestor Kirchner.

18 men who posed as journalists to smuggle more than A$10 Million in drug money into Nicaragua have been sent back home to Mexico to serve their 18-year prison sentences.  Nicaraguan authorities arrested the gang in six vans marked with the logo of Televisa, Mexico's largest broadcaster, which denies any connection to the incident.

Zookeepers in San Diego, California are probing why a male Malayan tiger killed a four-year-old female tiger it had only just met.  The two big cats were brought together for breeding, and at first everything appeared to be fine.  But on Saturday morning before zoo visitors arrived, Connor the male bit down on the neck of female Tiga Tahun, killing her.  They were really hoping for success, as the Malayan Tiger is an endangered species, thanks to poaching and loss of habitat.