A US secondary school teacher has been disciplined after a parent says the man told his black son that Santa Claus is white.

Officials at the school in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, announced that the teacher was recently disciplined for his comments to the student, KOB-TV reported. The teacher still works at Cleveland, but the boy has been removed from his class. His father said the teacher’s comments enraged him.

The incident happened the same week that Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly said on the air that both Santa Claus and Jesus were white. Her comments drew national attention and prompted heated comments on blogs and social media sites. (AP)

Turtle doves not so common

We all know the song, but anyone celebrating the 12 days of Christmas would be lucky to see one turtle dove, never mind two.

Although The 12 Days Of Christmas merrily refers to two turtle doves, council staff who work in Nottinghamshire’s country parks have warned not to expect to see the chestnut and black-coloured songbird.

Sightings of the dainty bird around the UK in the festive season have become increasingly rare after a range of factors led to a decline in their numbers. In years past they would usually have been seen in the English countryside between April and September for the breeding season – and have migrated by the autumn. (PA)

Mountain cross must go

A US federal judge says a 43-ft war memorial cross must be removed from the top of a mountain in 90 days because it violates the principle of separation of church and state.

An appeal court ruled in 2011 that the cross on Mount Soledad, San Diego, violated the Constitution. US District Judge Larry Burns said that two years later it is time for the long-running case to end. (PA)

Rockers Bon Jovi heads tours

American rock band Bon Jovi have beaten some major British artists to record the biggest international tour of the year, attracting more than two million fans to their 90 sell-out shows.

Named after frontman Jon Bon Jovi (picture), the band raked in $205,158,370 (€150 million) during the tour, which was seen by 2,178,170 people.

Cirque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour, P!nk, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and Rihanna rounded out the top five. (PA)

Girls in single-sex schools

Girls at single-sex schools are more likely to study subjects such as science, maths and languages, new figures show.

Young women attending Britain’s fee-paying girls’ schools are 75 per cent more likely to take maths A-level, 70 per cent more likely to study chemistry, and two and a half times more likely to study physics, according to statistics of the Independent Schools Council (ISC).

Hilary French, president of the Girls’ Schools Association, suggested that girls at private single-sex schools felt less pressure to study so-called “feminine” subjects such as English while the ISC’s head of research, Rudolf Eliott Lockhart, said girls at other schools were more likely to take English and subjects like business studies, PE, media studies and sociology. (PA)