codesnippets.info

<ul>
      <?php $recentposts = get_posts('numberposts=3&category=5'); foreach ($recentposts as $post) : setup_postdata($post); ?>
      <li>
        <a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>"> <?php the_title(); ?> </a>
        <span><strong> <?php the_time('d.m.Y'); ?> </strong> in <strong> <?php the_category(' '); ?></strong></span>
      </li>
      <?php endforeach; ?>
    </ul>

You may want to check :

1. display recent posts
2. Going Even Further With Custom Taxonomies AND Post Types
3. Display the most popular posts, based on number of comments
4. Display similar / Related Posts Without A Plug-In
5. most commented / popular posts based on comments count