ATHENS, Greece – Greece is set to recognize the state of Palestine in a parliamentary vote to be attended by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, a government source said Sunday, December 20.

A solemn ceremony will accompany the vote on Tuesday, December 22, as Greece joins dozens of other countries that accord recognition to Palestine, the source said.

Abbas is expected in Athens on Sunday ahead of the vote and will meet President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Last week, the Greek parliament's foreign affairs committee unanimously approved a motion to recognize Palestine.

Tsipras travelled to Israel last month when he met with both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestine's flag was hoisted for the first time at UN headquarters in New York on September 30 in a symbolic gesture.

Abbas then took to the podium to call for universal recognition of Palestine. – Rappler.com

NEW DELHI, India (UPDATED) – The youngest convict in an infamous fatal gang-rape in New Delhi has been released from a youth correctional facility, police said Sunday, December 20, sparking street protests and angry condemnation from the victim's parents.

Only days after the third anniversary of the attack on a moving bus, Indian police confirmed that the rapist -- who is now aged 20 -- had completed his spell behind bars even though a court ruling on an appeal against his release is due to be heard on Monday.

He is now being supervised by a non-governmental agency, effectively meaning he is a free man.

The prospect of the attacker walking free has revived public anger over the attack, with fresh protests being held on Sunday near the iconic India Gate monument in the centre of the capital.

"The convict was handed over to an NGO. He is no longer under the jurisdiction of the police," Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP.

"He has been given a new identity and his criminal record has been expunged," a police source added.

News of the release was immediately condemned by the parents of the victim, who led the protest rally around the iconic India Gate monument before being briefly detained by police.

Some of the protesters including the mother of the victim were dragged away by the police who had imposed prohibitory orders in the high-security area.   

The physiotherapy student had died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital nearly two weeks after the attack on December 16, 2012.

"We want justice for our daughter," her mother told reporters at the protest site, fighting tears.

"I have come out on the streets because I am very disappointed today. We don't know if we will ever get justice now. Our justice system has left us disillusioned."

'Really upsetting'

Scores of students joined the protest holding placards and banners, in a throwback to the scenes of angry demonstrations that followed the attack three years ago.

One placard read "When will Nirbhaya get justice" referring to the nickname given to the victim by the media.

Speaking at the India Gate protest on Sunday evening, the victim's father said the release was "really upsetting".

"The fact that he has been released shows there is no justice in this country.... The government has let us down," he said.

India media said the rapist, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been handed over to a charitable organisation on Sunday but police sources said the move had actually taken place some days ago.

The name of the NGO has not been released over fears that their offices could be attacked.

News of the release came only hours before a hearing on Monday at India's Supreme Court where a women's rights group filed a petition against the release.

The parents and women's rights groups have been opposing the release of the youngest attacker, mainly on the grounds that it was unclear if he had been rehabilitated and was ready to be reintegrated into society.

The attacker was the youngest of a group of men who brutally assaulted the 23-year-old student on a bus, triggering global outrage and protests in India over the country's high levels of violence against women.

He was sent to a correctional home for three years under India's juvenile laws, while four others were convicted and given the death penalty in 2014. Their appeals against hanging are pending in the Supreme Court.

The student was publicly named by her mother on the third anniversary of her death last week, in an effort to end the stigma facing sex attack victims in India.

Under Indian law, the victim of a sex attack cannot be named even after their death. – Abhaya Srivastava, AFP/Rappler.com

PARIS, France – Air France chief executive Frederic Gagey said Sunday, December 20, that a bomb scare that prompted one of the airline's planes to make an emergency landing in Kenya had been a "false alarm".

"After analysis it has been indicated that it was a false alarm," said Gagey of the item that was found in the toilet cubicle on board the plane flying from Mauritius to Paris

"All the information we have at this stage shows that the object was not capable of causing an explosion that would damage the plane but was rather a mixture of cardboard, pieces of paper as well as a timer," he said.

The crew decided to make an emergency landing in Kenya after the suspicious-looking object was found, and passengers were evacuated using the aircraft's slides.

France is on high alert after jihadist attacks in Paris in November left 130 people dead, and is one of many countries taking extra security precautions.

Islamic State jihadists who claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks also said they were responsible for downing a Russian jet in October after smuggling a bomb onto the plane, killing all 224 people on board. – Rappler.com

CAIRO, Egypt – The Arab League welcomed Sunday, December 20, a UN-backed roadmap to end the Syrian war and vowed to support international efforts to implement a ceasefire.

The resolution, approved unanimously by the UN Security Council on Friday, December 18, foresees talks between the rebels and the regime, and a rapid truce.

"The unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council resolution offers a chance for the first time to find a serious solution to the crisis in Syria," Nabil al-Arabi, head of the Cairo-based Arab League, said in a statement.

He said the Arab diplomatic body was ready to continue co-ordinating with the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, in "removing any obstacles that impede the implementation of the resolution".

Arabi urged the UN Security Council to take necessary steps in establishing an international monitoring mechanism "to impose the ceasefire on all parties in order to end strikes and shelling against civilians".

The UN proposal has been met with scepticism by members of Syria's fractured opposition who insist President Bashar al-Assad must go to achieve peace.

The Istanbul-based National Coalition, the main Syrian opposition grouping, has described the plan as unrealistic.

The United States and Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia insist Assad must leave office as part of the process, but his backers Moscow and Tehran insist this is a decision for the Syrian people. – Rappler.com

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Air strikes on Sunda, December 20, likely to have been carried out by Russian warplanes in Syria's northwestern Idlib province killed 36 people, mostly combattants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The raids, probably Russian, targeted former regime positions now held by the Army of Conquest," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

The Army of Conquest is a coalition that includes Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front and Islamist groups such as its ally Ahrar al-Sham.

"Dozens of people, mostly civilians, were wounded" in the raids, Abdel Rahman added.

Russia began a wave of air strikes on September 30 targeting the Islamic State group and what Moscow calls "terrorist" organisations.

But the West and Syrian rebel movements accuse the Russians of focusing their raids more on groups battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Elsewhere in Syria, pro-regime forces on Sunday seized a strategic rebel stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo, the Observatory and Syrian media reported.

"The army and loyalist forces now control Khan Tuman and surrounding farms in Aleppo province," the official SANA news agency reported.

State television also reported the news, saying: "Khan Tuman and the farms near it are the most important bastion of the terrorist organisations in southwest Aleppo province."

Khan Tuman was the scene of fierce clashes between loyalist forces, including fighters of Lebanon's Shiite militia Hezbollah, and Islamist rebels, said the Observatory.

Abdel Rahman said the battle for the key site saw "heavy bombardments and at least 40 raids by Syrian and Russian warplanes on the region".

The Britain-based monitoring group said 16 Islamists were killed but it did not have details of casualties on the government side.

In March, insurgents seized arms depots in Khan Tuman after several days of fighting.

Since mid-October, with air support from the Russians, Syrian forces have recaptured several areas in the north from Islamist forces including Al-Nusra Front. – Rappler.com

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Salah Abdeslam, suspected of involvement in the Paris attacks last month, got past three police checks in France as he fled to Belgium, a source close to the investigation said Sunday, December 20.

Confirming a report in the French daily Le Parisien, the source quoted Hamza Attou, suspected along with Mohammed Amri of driving Abdeslam to Brussels the day after the November 13 attacks in which 130 people died.

At the first checkpoint Attou and Amri admitted to police that they had just smoked marijuana, but were let go, the source said.

All 3 are from the gritty Brussels suburb of Molenbeek.

Abdeslam sent a text message asking Attou and Amri to come for him, and they found him "agitated... uneasy... unwell," the source said.

Then came a threat: "He told us to take him back to Brussels or he would blow up the car," Attou said, according to the source.

To underscore the threat, Abdselam bragged about killing people with a Kalashnikov, adding that his brother Brahim blew himself up.

Seven attackers blew themselves up or were killed by police in the course of the evening on November 13. Five of them have been identified.

To avoid police checks, Abdeslam asked Attou and Amri to take minor roads, but they got lost and wound up on a motorway, Attou said.

At the first checkpoint they were asked if they had "consumed" any substances.

Abdelslam was in the back seat and said nothing, while Amri and Attou replied "yes" because they had just smoked marijuana.

"The policeman said that was not good, but it was not the priority today," Attou said, according to the source.

They were not asked for their papers, but they were at the second and third police checkpoints.

At the 3rd stop, near Cambrai in the far north of France, Abdeslam even gave his address in Molenbeek.

They stopped for petrol and Abdeslam went to the toilet, walking back with his jacket open, revealing that he was not carrying the explosives which Attou and Amri had been led to believe he had on him, the source told Agence France-Presse.

Abdeslam said he left his brother's ID card in a car -- he did not say which car -- "so that he would be known the world over like Coulibaly". 

He was referring to Amedy Coulibaly, who killed a policewoman in Paris on January 8 as part of the series of attacks that began with the massacre at the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

The following day Coulibaly took hostages at a kosher supermarket, killing 4 before being gunned down in a police operation.

The three days of horror in January left 13 people dead. – Rappler.com

ROME, Italy – Christmas shoppers and tourists were caught up in two separate bomb scares in the northern Italian city of Turin on Sunday, December 20, after anonymous callers said a museum and shopping centre would be hit.

Police evacuated the historic Mole Antonelliana building which houses the National Museum of Cinema after receiving a tip-off purportedly from a supporter of the Islamic State jihadist group that a device would explode mid-morning.

Streets were sealed off around the 19th-century building, a famous Turin monument, but a bomb disposal squad declared the threat a hoax after a thorough search of the premises turned up nothing.

Before the all clear could be given, a second call to police warned of a bomb planted at a shopping centre on the outskirts of the city, packed with thousands of people doing their Christmas shopping.

The call was traced to a phone-box in the Lingotto neighbourhood, the same area of the city the first call came from. Police decided not to evacuate but perform a sweep of the shopping centre, which again found nothing.

A bomb squad closed off streets in Lingotto last week amid reports of an explosive device in front of a shop which turned out to be fake, media reports said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Four members of the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group (PNP-Avsegroup) did not show up on Monday, December 21, for the preliminary hearing of the complaint filed against them before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The complaint was filed by Lane Michael White, one of several passengers allegedly victimized by the "bullet planting" scam at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Police Inspector Adriano Junio, SPO4 Ramon Bernardo, SPO2 Romy Navarro, and Rolando Clarin all sent their lawyers on Monday and asked for more time to review the evidence gathered by the National Bureau of Investigation which includes CCTV footages at the airport. 

Two other respondents in the case, Marvin Garcia and Maria Elma Cena of the Office of the Transportation Security (OTS), also asked for more time to see the evidence before filing their counter-affidavits. Both appeared before the DOJ on Monday. 

The prosecutor gave all 6 respondents until January 8, 2016, to answer accusations against them:

• Garcia and Cena were accused of violating Article 5, Section 38 under Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunitions Regulation Act. This refers to planting an evidence to frame up another person – a crime that merits life imprisonment for public officials.
• Junio, Bernardo, Navarro, and Clarin were accused of violating Article 293 (robbery and extortion) of the Revised Penal Code, the rights of persons arrested, detained, or under custodial investigation under Republic Act 7438, and Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

White, a 20-year-old American missionary, accused NAIA personnel of attempting to extort P30,000 from him and allegedly planting a bullet in his luggage last September. 

Instead of going on a flight to Palawan, he spent 6 days at the NAIA Terminal 1 police aviation facility, and was only able to go free after posting P40,000 bail.

The Pasay Regional Trial Court already dismissed a case filed against White, and the missionary already left the Philippines last week. 

His experience is just one of the few publicized cases of alleged bullet-planting incidents targeting passengers. The PNP-Avsegroup said at least 30 cases have already been recorded from January to early November this year.

But criticism against airport officials and public outrage over the incidents started around October, even triggering a Senate probe into the alleged scam by November. 

Aside from Garcia and Cena, at least 40 personnel from the OTS are already under investigation for various complaints. – Rappler.com 

MADRID, Spain – Spain faced an uphill struggle to form a stable government Monday, December 21, following elections that saw the incumbent conservatives win the most seats but without an absolute majority, tailed by the Socialists and upstart, far-left Podemos.

For more than 30 years, the Popular Party (PP) and Socialists had alternated power but millions of Spaniards exasperated with austerity measures and repeated corruption scandals voted relative newcomers Podemos and center-right Ciudadanos into third and fourth place.

While it took the largest share of the vote, the PP lost its absolute majority in parliament and will now have to form an alliance with other parties to lead the country, attempt to rule as a minority government – or get booted out altogether.

The results of the most-closely fought elections in modern history create huge uncertainty for a country only just starting to recover from a devastating financial crisis, and the Spanish stock market slumped 2.5% at the start of trading.

Weeks of uncertainty

As the country awoke to a new political reality, reaction was subdued with the PP struggling to savor the bitter taste of its victory, the Socialists (PSOE) assessing the damage of their worst result in modern history and the two upstart parties reflecting on their strategy.

In a bid to soothe concerns, incumbent prime minister and PP leader Mariano Rajoy said early Monday he would strive to form a government, standing on top of a tall, blue podium in Madrid marked "Gracias" ("Thank you") and speaking down to cheering supporters.

"Spain needs a government that has the support of parliament," the 60-year old said.

The polls cap a year of electoral change in southern Europe after Syriza swept to power in Greece in January and a coalition of leftist parties in Portugal pooled their votes in parliament to unseat the conservative government after an inconclusive election in October.

Sky-high unemployment, inequality, corruption and an ever-rising separatist drive in Catalonia were just some of the issues at stake in a country deeply scarred by the crisis and fed up with what many considered a staid political scene.

Official results showed Spain's ruling PP obtained 123 seats – 63 less than in 2011 when it roared to victory with an absolute majority – with 28.7% of the votes.

The PSOE followed with 90 seats and 22% of the vote, then Podemos with 69 seats and 20.6%, and finally centrists Ciudadanos got 40 seats or nearly 14%.

The results mean the parliament will be constituted of 4 main groupings of significant clout, as opposed to the usual PP and Socialists tandem – putting an end to the country's traditional bi-party system.

"This result will... likely usher in weeks of political uncertainty, as the various parties try to hammer out a working arrangement in a country that has a limited history of multi-party government," said Eurasia Group analyst Federico Santi.

Even if left-wing and right-wing parties group together – the Socialists with Podemos or PP with Ciudadanos – neither would be able to govern with an absolute majority.

One outcome could be a coalition between the Socialists, Podemos and Ciudadanos in order to lock out the PP and bring about a government of "change", though any three-way negotiations would be extremely complicated.

With the support of regional separatists from Catalonia, the Basque country and the Canary Islands, the left-wing bloc would be able to push itself over the 176 needed for a majority.

After holding talks with the leaders of each party that has won seats in parliament, King Felipe VI, the head of state, will nominate a prime minister. 

The nominated leader must then win a vote of confidence in the assembly in order to take office – a process that can drag on.

If there is still a deadlock within two months of the first vote, the king must call new elections.

'New political era'

Rajoy had positioned himself as a safe pair of hands who dragged the country away from economic collapse when he took power in 2011 and put it on the path of recovery.

But unemployment remains stubbornly high at more than 21%.

During the campaign Rajoy's rivals also pointed to glaring inequalities brought on by his drastic spending cuts, tax rises and health reforms – and none more so than pony-tailed, 37-year-old Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias.

"We are starting a new political era in our country," he gushed on Sunday as supporters looked on holding purple balloons to match the colours of the party at a rally following the announcement of the results. – Marianne Barriaux, AFP / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment has given the go signal for the minimum wage increase across the private sector in the Bicol region, just in time for Christmas.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission has affirmed Wage Order Number RB V-17 or the request of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)–Region 5 to increase the salary of wage earners in the region.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said on Sunday, December 20, that the order will be effective starting Christmas Day, December 25. 

“The Commission has unanimously affirmed Wage Order Number RB V-17, which grants an increase of P5 per day to minimum wage earners in non-agriculture establishments whose employees are more than 10 workers, and a P12 per day increase to minimum wage earners, also in non-agriculture establishments employing not more than 10 workers,” Baldoz said.

Workers in non-agriculture establishments will receive a minimum wage of P265 per day.  

Meanwhile, workers in non-agriculture establishments employing not more than 10 workers, and those working in cottage/handicraft and in agriculture establishments will receive P248 daily.

The new rates apply to all minimum wage earners in the private sector regardless of their position. 

Household or domestic helpers, persons employed in the personal service of another, including family drivers and workers in Barangay Micro Business Enterprises, are not covered by the new wage order.

Baldoz said any person, corportation, or entity which refuses to pay the prescribed wage rates shall be penalized with a fine not exceeding P25,000 and/or imprisonment of 1 to 2 years. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III promised Monday, December 21, that the P83.9 billion ($1.77 billion) allocated for military modernization projects would be spent by 2017 as the country faces a territorial dispute with China.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the armed forces, Aquino said his administration had already spent P56.79 billion of the total scheduled for full disbursement by 2017 on "big-ticket" modernization programs. (READ: The shopping list: Status of PH military's modernization)

This was more than the sum spent by the three previous administrations, said Aquino, who took office in 2010 and leaves office next year, as he bemoaned the lack of proper equipment that had long hampered the military.

"Back then, because of lack of equipment, there was a soldier in a sensitive operation carrying a purple backpack from a fast food chain. I just don't think a purple backpack is suited for an operation in the jungle," he told assembled soldiers.

The President cited the new equipment purchased in recent years, including FA-50 jets, the country's first supersonic fighter aircraft for a decade. (READ: COA questions P24 billion worth of military procurement)

Two of the 12 South Korean-made jets have been delivered and Aquino said the rest would reach the country before the end of 2017. 

He praised the military for performing difficult duties, singling out the Marines manning an outpost in the South China Sea to defend the Philippines' claims there. 

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam ,and Taiwan also have partial claims but China asserts rights over almost all of the South China Sea. It has been accused of taking aggressive actions to stake its claim, such as converting tiny outcrops or reefs into islands that can house military facilities.

The Philippines has been the most vocal in opposing China's claims despite having one of the region's weakest militaries.

As ties with China have soured, Aquino has stepped up efforts to strengthen the country's defences, by acquiring new weapons and improving defence ties with allies like the United States and Japan. – Rappler.com

US$1 = P47.43

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's Supreme Court annulled Monday, December 21, the death penalty for spiritual leader Mohammad Ali Taheri and referred his case back to the court that handed down the sentence, his lawyer said. 

"I went to court today and was told that the verdict has been cancelled," Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabayi said, quoted by Fars news agency.

The Revolutionary Court "has to examine the case again and issue a new verdict."

Taheri, who has no religious training, founded a spiritual movement and practiced alternative medicine, following what he presented as spiritual messages. 

After a brief arrest in 2010, he was rearrested in May 2011 and held in solitary confinement. He was sentenced to death in June for "insulting Islamic sanctities" and "corruption on earth".

In August, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, called for the immediate release of Taheri.

In a message posted on Facebook in the same month, Alizadeh said his client "does not deny any of the principles of Shia Islam and firmly believes in them and observes them."

Taheri apologized to the Revolutionary Court and said he was prepared to recant his beliefs if the authorities believed his thoughts deviated from Islam's teaching, according to the lawyer.-Rappler.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (UPDATED) – A motorcycle-riding Taliban suicide bomber killed six NATO soldiers near Kabul Monday, December 21, in a brazen attack as the resurgent militant group battled to seize a key southern district in Afghanistan's opium-growing heartland.

The military coalition did not disclose the nationality of the soldiers killed in the attack outside Bagram airbase, which highlights a worsening security situation a year after the NATO combat mission ended.

"Six service members were killed in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in the vicinity of Bagram Air Field," a NATO spokesman in Kabul told Agence France-Presse

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, which marks one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops in Afghanistan this year and coincides with a fierce militant offensive to capture Sangin district in Helmand province.

Local residents reported crippling food shortages in Sangin district, long seen as a hornet's nest of insurgent activity, after the Taliban began storming government buildings on Sunday.

"The Taliban have captured the police headquarters, the governor's office as well as the intelligence agency building in Sangin," deputy Helmand governor Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar told AFP.

"Fighting is escalating in the district."

Rasoolyar's comments come a day after he posted a desperate plea on Facebook to President Ashraf Ghani, warning the entire province was at risk of falling to the Taliban.

The grim assessment bore striking similarities to the security situation that led to the brief fall of the northern city of Kunduz in September -- the biggest Taliban victory in 14 years of war.

The fall of Helmand would deal another stinging blow to Afghan forces who have struggled to rein in the ascendant insurgency without the full backing of NATO forces.

The government in Kabul said reinforcements had been dispatched to Sangin, while strongly denying that the district was at risk of being captured.

But trapped residents told AFP that roads to Sangin had been heavily mined by insurgents and exhausted soldiers besieged in government buildings were begging for food rations.

- 'Huge propaganda score' -All but two of Helmand's 14 districts are effectively controlled or heavily contested by Taliban insurgents, officials said.

Insurgents also recently overran Babaji, a suburb of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, fuelling concern that the city could fall to the insurgents.

Highlighting the gravity of the situation, US special forces have been sent to Helmand in recent weeks to assist Afghan forces, a senior Western official told AFP without offering details.

Sangin, a strategically important district at the centre of Afghanistan's lucrative opium trade, has been the scene of fierce fighting for years between the Taliban and NATO forces.

British troops fought deadly battles in Sangin for four years to little effect, before US marines replaced them in late 2010 and finally pulled out themselves last year.

"The Taliban onslaught in Sangin is not just a military gain but also a huge propaganda score for the insurgents," Kabul-based political analyst Haroon Mir told AFP.

"The British and Americans bled to defend Sangin district and now Afghan forces are suffering the same fate."

This month marks a year since the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan transitioned into an Afghan-led operation, with allied nations assisting in training local forces.

President Barack Obama in October announced that thousands of US troops would remain in Afghanistan past 2016, backpedalling on previous plans to reduce the force and acknowledging that Afghan forces are not ready to stand alone. – Usman Sharifi, AFP/Rappler.com

KANO, Nigeria – A child suicide bomber detonated his explosives, killing himself, two other bombers and six people in Nigeria's northeast, in the latest bloodshed blamed on Boko Haram Islamist group, the army said on Monday. 

The attack in Beninsheikh in Borno state happened around 8.30 pm on Sunday when three suspected suicide bombers aged between 10 and 15 years, were stopped for security screening by civilian vigilantes in the area, Colonel Sani Usman said in a statement. 

He said one of the bombers, who was strapped with explosives, detonated the bomb, causing the "death of nine people while 24 others sustained various degrees of injuries." 

Usman said the three suicide bombers were among the dead. 

"The security and emergency management agents have mobilized to the scene. The bodies have been evacuated and all those injured are receiving medical attention," he said. 

Suicide bombings -- many by young boys and girls -- have fast become Boko Haram's preferred method of inflicting civilian casualties since it control of captured territory to a renewed military offensive by the military in recent months. 

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has given his military commanders until the end of the month to end the six-year violence.-Rappler.com

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis vowed Monday, December 21, to power ahead with the reform of the Curia, the Church's "diseased" governing body, throwing down the gauntlet to those fostering a climate of intrigue, greed and double-crossing in the Vatican.

His annual address to cardinals, bishops and priests running the Holy See echoed his speech at this time last year, when he suggested the Vatican's administrative hierarchy was beset by a "spiritual Alzheimer's" and a lust for power.

Though the December 2014 speech embarrassed and infuriated many of the Vatican's top figures, it appeared to have failed to convince the unruly Curia to change its ways -- with fresh scandals blotting the government's copybook in 2015.

The pope reminded the Curia he had chastised them last year for "certain temptations or maladies... diseases which call for prevention, vigilance, care and, sadly, in some cases, painful and prolonged interventions."

"Some of these diseases became evident in the course of the past year, causing no small pain to the entire body and harming many souls," he said, in a reference to a second embarrassing leaks scandal at the heart of the Holy See.

Three people accused of stealing and leaking secret papers are currently on trial at the Vatican, along with two journalists accused of publishing the documents, which depict irregularities and extravagance in the Holy See's spending.

The year has also been marked by allegations of clerical sex abuse, stories of wild Vatican parties, accusations of charity money being spent on a cardinal's apartment and rumours appearing to originate within the Church of the pope's ill health.

'Never betray trust'

The controversial or scandalous incidents were seen by some as a bid to discredit Francis, the driver behind a summit this year on the Church's approach to family values which bitterly divided conservatives and liberals. 

The start of the convention was overshadowed by the 'coming out' of a Polish priest who worked at the Vatican and was quickly followed by a scandal over priests in Rome having sex with male prostitutes and vulnerable people in a city park.

At a meeting with the Vatican's employees and their families on Monday, Francis asked "forgiveness for the scandals".

The pontiff, who was elected in 2013 on a mandate to bring the powerful but fractious Curia into line, promised cardinals, bishops and priests he would "move forward with determination, clarity and firm resolve" with his reforms.

Francis presented them with a "catalogue of needed virtues" -- a 12-point "practical aid" of guidelines including "setting an example" for the faithful and being honest, charitable and humble.

Honesty, he underlined, was key: it is "the foundation on which all other qualities rest".

"An honest and open person does not act virtuously only when he or she is being watched; honest persons have no fear of being caught, since they never betray the trust of others," he added.

Not everyone was given black marks. The pontiff expressed his "heartfelt gratitude and needed encouragement to all those good and honest men and women in the Curia".

Moreover, he ended on an upbeat note, insisting that problems were just "opportunities for growth, and never for discouragement". – Ella Ide, AFP/Rappler.com

ADEN, Yemen – A collapsing ceasefire between Yemen's warring parties was to be extended Monday night, December 21, as fighting persisted in the north and the rebels vowed more missile attacks on Saudi targets.

The truce was set to be renewed for one week, a day after the Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed rebels wrapped up peace talks in Switzerland without a breakthrough.

The 6 days of closed-door meetings were strained by repeated violations of a coinciding ceasefire aimed at calming tensions between loyalists and the rebels who control Sanaa.

On Monday, clashes continued in the north of Yemen, while there was a lull in fighting in the south, even outside third city Taez under seige from rebels, pro-government forces said.

Ten rebels were killed as loyalists pressed their offensive in Nihm, 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside the capital, they said.

Loyalists also advanced towards the Saudi border post of Baqa in northern Jawf province. 

The Saudi-led coalition backing the loyalists since March bombed rebel positions in Khawlan, east of Sanaa, witnesses said.

A halt to the violence is sorely needed in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest nation, where the UN says fighting since March has killed thousands of people and left about 80 percent of the population needing humanitarian aid.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced in Bern on Sunday that a new round of talks would be held on January 14.

The conflict has escalated dramatically since Saudi-led air strikes began in March, with more than 5,800 people killed and 27,000 wounded since then, according to UN figures.

The Huthis, a Shiite minority from Yemen's north, seized Sanaa last year and then advanced south to the second city of Aden, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia in March.

Following territorial gains by loyalist troops backed by the coalition, Hadi returned to Aden in November after six months in exile in the neighbouring oil-rich kingdom.  

Saudi intercepts missile

Before dawn Monday, Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired from Yemen into the kingdom's southern Jazan district, the coalition said, after a missile killed three civilians two days earlier.

Clashes have been common along the border with Saudi Arabia, where rebel strikes have killed more than 80 people since March, when the coalition campaign in support of the government began.

Monday's attack came a day after a spokesman for forces allied to the Huthi rebels vowed to intensify missile attacks on Saudi targets.

Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman said "300 Saudi military and vital targets" had been chosen.

The rebels and their allies still possess "about 60 to 70 missiles, including Tochka missiles", Yemeni army sources say, despite coalition claims to have neutralised their ballistic capabilities.

The Huthi's political bureau in a statement saluted "the missile strikes that inflicted unprecedented losses on the enemy" and criticised the United Nations for "not being serious in its efforts to end the aggression".

Arab diplomats noted "international pressure" to end fighting in Yemen.

"Permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, are pressing all warring parties in Yemen to end hostilities," one said.

"Washington has led intense contact with countries of the Arab coalition, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to support a permanent ceasefire in Yemen," another diplomat said.

An Iranian spokesman said on Monday that diplomatic efforts were underway to open "direct dialogue" between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia to resolve regional issues, which include the Yemen conflict. – Rappler.com

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – A 5-year-old girl was killed while 26 others, including 19 minors, were hospitalized due to alleged food poisoning in Calatrava town in this province.

Negros Occidental health officer Dr Ernell Tumimbang said that the victims ingested a coconut juice served at the Christmas party of a 2nd grade class in Dolis Elementary School on Wednesday, December 16.

The young victim died in her home at Barangay Maaslob two days after the party. The victim got the buko juice from her sister, who brought it home from the celebration. 

She had a fever and kept vomiting, but the parents didn’t seek medical help, said Tumimbang. 

The other victims, mostly aged 7 to 8 years old, were rushed to the hospital after experiencing dehydration, stomach pain, and high fever also two days after the event. They were also vomiting and defecating. 

According to the health officer, 20 patients were admitted at Calatrava District Hospital while 6 others were treated at San Carlos City Hospital. 

The patients were given fluids, electrolytes, and antibiotics after their laboratory results showed that they suffered from a bacterial infection. They are still at the hospital, continuing to feel abdominal pains. 

A report from the Calatrava Municipal Health Office showed that the coconut juice, which was made of coconut meat, condensed milk and brown sugar, was prepared at 9 am but was never chilled until it was served at lunch time.

The preparation of the refreshment was also unsanitary. The report noted that the food handlers failed to wash their hands before preparation. – Rappler.com 

SHENZHEN, China – Rescuers raced late Monday, December 21, to try to save victims of a huge China landslide which left 85 people missing after signs of life were detected under a sea of mud, state media said.

The landslide caused by the collapse of a vast soil dumpsite buried 33 factory and residential buildings in the southern city of Shenzhen, China's second industrial disaster in four months.

Rescuers using cutting gear were close Monday evening to reaching the first floor of a buried office building but were "racing against time", the official Xinhua news agency reported without giving details of the life signs.

"The rescue is extremely difficult with mud and silt filling up the excavation," it quoted firefighter Cui Bo as saying.

Witnesses described a mass of red earth and mud racing late Sunday morning, December 20, towards an industrial park in the city in "huge waves" before burying or crushing homes and factories, twisting some of them into grotesque shapes.

"I saw the houses collapse, all the factories got buried," Liu Youqiang, 45, told Agence France-Presse. 

He was heading home for a meal when disaster struck: "I could only step back and dared not step forward."

Drone footage showed waves of mud had swept through and over buildings and tossed aside trucks like discarded toys.

One weeping migrant worker told how he lost contact with 16 friends and family members after his home was buried. 

The landslide covers an area of 380,000 square metres -- about 60 football fields -- and in many areas is more than 10 metres thick, said Liu Qingsheng, vice mayor of the city bordering Hong Kong.

"It is the first time in China that we have seen a landslide on this scale," said Liu Guonan of the China Academy of Railway Sciences. 

"The soil on the slope is very high in water content so it's hard to even walk across it -- people's feet sink into it," he added. 

Xinhua said 85 people were missing, adding authorities had revised down the previous estimate of 91. Almost 3,000 people were involved in the rescue. 

The landslide was caused by the improper storage of waste soil from construction sites, according to the newspaper of the Ministry of Land and Resources.

The soil was allegedly illegally stored in heaps 100 meters (330 feet) high at an old quarry site and turned to mud during rain Sunday morning, the state-run Global Times reported.

Industrial accidents are common in China, with safety regulations often overlooked due to corruption. An explosion in August in the port city of Tianjin that killed nearly 200 people was blamed on improperly stored chemicals.

In Shenzhen about 900 people were evacuated safely and 16 people were taken to hospital, Xinhua said, adding only seven people have been rescued so far from the debris.

- Mounds of dirt - Mounds of dirt three stories high stood at the edge of the clean-up area Monday while dozens of earthmovers worked in the distance.

"I don't think there will be a chance (to save anybody)," a woman who identified herself as Qin told AFP.

She was one of a group of local volunteers who wanted to help with the rescue but were turned away by authorities.

Photos showed victims wrapped in green blankets sleeping on mattresses and eating instant noodles. 

He Weiming, a migrant worker at a temporary shelter, said he had lost contact with 16 friends and family members, including his parents, wife and two children, and had made dozens of phone calls to try to find them. All went unanswered. 

"When my brother and I drove out in the morning to go collect garbage, our home was still fine, but when we came back... the house had been buried in mud -– you couldn’t even see the roof of our four-metre-high sheet metal house," he told an online news site run by Tencent -- weeping and flipping through photos of his children on his cellphone.

"There are many other homes around mine  -- I don't know if others escaped."

A female factory worker surnamed Wang barely made it.

"Seeing the mud approaching us like sea waves, I started running at once and dared not look back. I felt I would have been engulfed in it if I were just one second late," she told Xinhua, adding that a worker who tried to retrieve his motorcycle was buried.

The slide ruptured a natural gas pipeline and triggered an explosion Sunday heard about four kilometres (2.5 miles) away, Xinhua said. – Johannes Eisele, AFP/Rappler.com

MIAMI, United States – A pair of American astronauts stepped out on a three-hour spacewalk on Monday, December 21, to move a stalled railcar outside the International Space Station, NASA said.

Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra got straight to work and swiftly accomplished their main mission less than an hour into the outing, when Kelly gave two whacks to a stuck brake handle and got the car moving again.

"That was pretty easy," Kelly said, according to a live broadcast of the spacewalk on NASA television.

The mobile transporter railcar carries the robotic arm from one location to another on the outside of the orbiting lab.

It was fully latched back into place at 8:35 am (1335 GMT), just 50 minutes after the spacewalk began.

The railcar's brake was believed to have become stuck unexpectedly last week after it moved about four inches (10 centimeters) from its starting point.

The railcar needed to be latched in place so as not to interfere with the arrival of the Russian Progress supply ship on Wednesday.

After Kelly and Kopra moved the rail car, they began routing cables to prepare for a new docking adapter for commercial cargo ships. – Rappler.com

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Nepal's foreign ministry on Monday, December 21, said the government was ready to amend the country's new constitution and resolve its long-simmering dispute with protesters in a move welcomed by neighboring India.

More than 50 people have been killed in clashes between police and people protesting against the constitution, which was introduced in September after a devastating earthquake pushed warring political parties to reach an agreement.

Demonstrators from the Madhesi ethnic minority, mainly from Nepal's southern plains, have been blockading the main Birgunj border crossing with India, saying the constitution leaves them politically marginalized.

In a statement released a day after police killed a protester in fresh clashes, the foreign ministry said the cabinet had agreed to support a constitutional amendment bill that would increase the Madhesi presence in government bodies through proportional representation.

"The process for the adoption of the constitution amendment bill tabled in the parliament will be advanced in order to ensure the participation in the state organs on the basis of proportionate inclusiveness," the statement said.

The protesters also want lawmakers to amend the country's internal borders laid out in the charter which they say will leave them under-represented in the national parliament. 

"With regard to the demarcation of provinces... a political mechanism will be constituted, which will submit its report along with recommendations within three months," the statement said.

Landlocked Nepal is heavily dependent on India for fuel and other supplies, but little cargo has crossed the border since the protests broke out, prompting Kathmandu to accuse New Delhi -- which has criticised the new constitution -- of imposing an "unofficial blockade".

New Delhi has denied the charge and urged Nepal to hold talks with the Madhesis, who share close cultural, linguistic and family links with Indians living across the border.

Protesting Madhesi parties declined to comment on the cabinet decision which was hailed by India as a "positive step that (will) help create the basis for a resolution of the current impasse in Nepal". 

"We urge all Nepali political forces to now demonstrate the necessary maturity and flexibility to find a satisfactory solution to the Constitutional issues through constructive dialogue in an agreed timeframe," India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We are confident that a return to normalcy in Nepal would create a more secure and predictable climate for unimpeded commerce between our two countries."

The constitution was meant to end years of inequality and cement peace, marking the final stage in a peace process that began when Maoist rebels laid down their arms in 2006 after a decade-long insurgency. – Rappler.com