Einstein's equations first written down in 1905 and 1915 are used to correct for this time-shift, allowing GPS to work, planes to navigate safely and you to get to your relations' house at the other end of the country without getting lost this Christmas.

BBC: Meet the world's director of time

Days before Christmas, Mati lost his engineering job with Bechtel, one he'd had for nearly 30 years.

CNN: Aesha's progress: Afghan woman's nose nearly complete

The West country side, relegation candidates before Christmas, have now lost just one of their last 10 league games.

BBC: Bath 21-20 Northampton

It comes pre-loaded with satellite navigation - apparently the next killer application for mobile - so there will be no excuses for getting lost on the way to the in-laws' Christmas party.

BBC: HDTVs are high of many people's wishlists

One gem: The final Amazon Prime shipment placed in time for Christmas delivery included DVDs of Futurama, Vol. 1, Lost in Translation and Pulp Fiction.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In December, 2005, after twelve exhausting months in Iraq, during which he lost forty pounds, Johnson went on leave and met his parents for a Christmas vacation in the Dominican Republic.

NEWYORKER: Betrayed

Like Christians who gripe about the commercialisation of Christmas, many Thais feel that the original meaning of Songkran has been lost amid the increasingly rambunctious revels.

ECONOMIST: Is the Songkran festival getting out of hand?