Colombia

Colombia's Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe Sunday, beating out contenders from the United States, Ukraine, Jamaica and The Netherlands at the world's top beauty pageant in Florida.

The 22-year-old model and business student triumphed over 87 other women from around the world, and is only the second beauty queen from Colombia to take home the prize.    

Police in Podgorica on Thursday confirmed the arrest of three international arms traffickers suspected of conspiring to sell large weaponry to FARC rebels in Colombia, a movement designated as a terrorist organization.

The two Romanians, Cristian Vintila, 44, and Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, 42, and an Italian, Massimo Romagnoli, 43, were arrested on Monday and Tuesday.

ZURICH - The Serbian men's national football team has moved up eight positions in the latest FIFA world rankings and is set to end the year in the 38th position.

Serbia now have 713 points and are behind Scotland (729) and Ghana (714), and ahead of Guinea (706) and Cape Verde (693).

The youngest son of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara has opened an agency offering two-wheel tours of the Caribbean island nation on Harley-Davidsons, in a nod to his father's passion for motorcycles.

Global homicide rates have plunged 16 percent since the beginning of the century, but nearly half a million people were still murdered worldwide in 2012, a UN report said Dec. 10.
      

Late guitar great Paco de Lucia and superstar Enrique Iglesias won top prizes Thursday at the Latin Grammys, which took a political edge as artists cheered President Barack Obama's plan to help immigrants.
      

The fate of Colombia's peace talks is in the hands of the FARC rebels, the president warned Nov. 17, after halting negotiations designed to end Latin America's longest-running conflict.        

The 33rd International Istanbul Book Fair hosts over 850 publishers from all over the world from November 8 to 16.
            
The Tüyap Fair in Istanbul's Büyükçekmece neighborhood runs with the theme of '100 years of Turkish cinema.'

The 33rd International Istanbul Book Fair will open at the TÜYAP Fair and Convention Center in Büyükçekmece on Nov. 8.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton encouraged gay rights activists to continue their push to bring down barriers Oct. 25, following recent court victories for gay marriage advocates in the United States.