Pope issues Christmas
pardon to 'Vatileaks' butler
Pope Benedict XVI has pardoned his former butler charged
with leaking papal document to the press, the so-called 'Vatileaks' scandal,
the Vatican officials said during a press briefing
Saturday. Paolo Gabriele was also freed from the police barracks in the Vatican,
where he had been serving an 18-month jail sentence. The Pope communicated the
pardon to the ex-butler personally. Gabriele, who was taken into custody in May
and convicted of aggravated theft by a Vatican tribunal
in October, will not be able to resume his butler duties and will have to seek
employment elsewhere.
3 Westerners
kidnapped in Yemeni capital
A Finnish couple and an Australian man have been kidnapped
in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen,
officials said. One report alleged that gunmen seized the hostages at a shop in
the city's center. The demands and the identity of the gunmen are not yet
known, but kidnappings of foreigners are common in Yemen
and are usually resolved peacefully. Al-Qaeda militants groups, which are very
active in Yemen,
sometimes claim responsibility; tribes have also been known to kidnap people as
leverage to force the government to address a local grievance.
Russia, EU urge Palestinians and Israelis to enter direct talks
Russia
and the European Union have called for Palestinians and Israelis to begin
direct peace negotiations with no preconditions, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton
said in a statement adopted at the Russia-EU summit in Brussels.
The statement urged both sides of the conflict to refrain from any steps that
would undermine a two-state solution, and said they should undertake “clear and
resolute steps towards peace between Palestinians and Israelis.” Russia and the
EU also said they are ready to cooperate with their international partners and
revitalize the mediation work of the Quartet on the Middle East in order to
reach “peace, stability and prosperity” in the region.
Russia calls on S.
Sudan to fully
investigate deadly helicopter downing
Russia's
Foreign Ministry has urged South Sudan to fully
investigate the shooting down of a UN mission helicopter that led to deaths of
the deaths of the four Russians and one Sudanese national on board. The African
country earlier said its army had mistakenly targeted the Russian MI-8
helicopter, which was working with the United Nations Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS). Moscow
has demanded that Sudan
prosecute those found guilty of the Thursday incident, and prevent future such
accidents.
New Japanese PM to
send envoy to China in bid to bolster relations - report
Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed
to improve ties with neighboring China
upon assuming office next week.. His pledge followed reports that Japan
would send Masahiko Komura, the vice president of Abe's Liberal Democratic
Party, to deliver a letter to Chinese authorities next month. The move comes a
day after China
sent naval ships into the territorial waters of disputed islands in the South
China Sea.
Egyptians vote in
second round constitution polls
Egyptians are making their way to polling stations to vote
on a Shari-based constitution that has effectively polarized the nation. The
first round of voting last week saw the new charter approved by a narrow 57
percent. The opposition has condemned the new document as too routed in
Islamist doctrine and discriminatory to Egypt’s
minority groups.
4 abducted S. Korean
workers freed in Nigeria
Four South Korean employees of Hyundai Heavy Industries
have been freed after being kidnapped in Nigeria
on December 17, officials in Seoul
said. The four hostages were handed over to South Korean officials in the
African country late Friday, local media reported. No information was available
on the fate of the two Nigerians abducted along with the Hyundai employees.
Foreign companies’ workers are often a target for kidnappers in oil-rich Nigeria,
as companies are expected to pay large ransoms to secure their release.
Argentina slams UK
for renaming Antarctic region after Queen
Argentina
has issued an official summons to the UK
ambassador to explain why part of Antarctica has been
renamed for Queen Elizabeth II. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague announced
the name change to ‘Queen Elizabeth Land’ on Tuesday, inciting Argentine ire
and provoking a “strong rejection” to Britain's
claim to the territory. Both Chile
and Argentina
have claimed the 169,000-square-mile section of Antarctica.
Spin Magazine halts
print edition, going fully digital
Entertainment magazine Spin has become the latest major
publication to seize its print edition, after 27 years in business. The
periodical, owned by Buzzmedia, will now only be available online. After
Buzzmedia took over Spin in July, the company laid off a third of the
magazine's staff and announced that the October and December print issues would
be dropped. Spin's decision follows Newsweek's announcement that it would end
print operations beginning in 2013.
Mexico: abduction capital of the world-NGO report
Mexico
has seen a 51 percent hike in the kidnapping rate with 72 people being abducted
on average per day, the Council for Law and Human Rights NGO reported. The
numbers vary drastically from the government’s figures. If the figures are
accurate, it makes Mexico
the abduction capital of the world. Federal Police suggest there were 4,671
kidnapping over the past six years, an average of about two per day.
Obama sets strict
deadline for 'fiscal cliff' deal
The US
leader has called on Congress to pass the fiscal cliff agreement after
Christmas so it can come into force before New Year. President Barack Obama
says he's willing to look at a fiscal deal in stages or all at once to avoid
dropping off the cliff and to prevent tax hikes on middle class Americans and
an expiration of unemployment benefits. “Nobody can get 100% of what they
want” the president states. He has also spoken with House Speaker John
Boehner and the architect of the failed House bill Majority Leader Harry Reid,
to enact the necessary compromise.
Four UN Peacekeepers
in Sudan killed by one of their own
Four UN peacekeepers in Sudan
have been killed and one injured by shots fired by another peacekeeper in
Mukjar in West Darfur, the joint UN-African Union
peacekeeping mission's spokesman announced on Friday. The mission in Darfur
is currently investigating the “blue-on-blue” incident which took place on
Thursday. The spokesman gave no further details of the incident.
6.6 magnitude
earthquakes shakes near Australia
An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale occurred
near Vanuatu in
the pacific ocean. No tsunami warning has been issued.
Activist strips to
protest Egyptian constitution in Sweden
A 22 year old female blogger has stripped down outside the
Egyptian embassy in Stockholm, Sweden
to protest the second round of voting on Egypt's
draft constitution. Standing in sub-zero temperatures, the Egyptian Aliaa Magda
Elmahdy painted a message on her body that read "Sharia isn't a
constitution," referring to the strict principles of Islamic law. Two
members of the Swedish feminist organization Femen joined the action. The
slogans on their posters targeted Egypt’s
president Mohamed Morsi and Islamic law.
Tajikistan: Twitter, other social networks among 131 blocked sites
The Tajik government’s communication service has ordered
internet providers to block 131 websites, reports RIA Novosti. Most of the
banned outlets provide access to music and video files. The Twitter
micro-blogging service as well as the popular social network Vkontakte, which
is a Russian version of Facebook, have been banned. Internet providers are
expected to start unplugging their users from the outlets on Monday. Facebook
was blacklisted in Tajikistan
back in November for “spreading libel about the country’s leaders.” In
early December access to the network was restored following petitions from the
EU and others. However, Tajikistan
still blocks over 30 websites including several Russian news outlets.
Three tourist
kidnapped in Yemen
Three foreign tourists have been kidnapped at gunpoint in Yemen’s
capital, Sanaa. Four gunmen drove off with them to an unknown location,
according to a local security official. The nationalities of two men and a
woman is not yet known. Hundreds have fallen victim to abductions in Yemen
over the last 15 years, some perpetrated by members of the country's powerful
tribes who use them as bargaining chips in disputes with the authorities.
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