Mass Protests in Homs as Monitors Arrive
Syrian security forces fired tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who rallied in Homs Tuesday, as Arab League observers visited the city to monitor government pledges to withdraw troops, release political prisoners and halt violence.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said about 70,000 anti-government protesters chanting calls to execute President Bashar al-Assad marched toward the city center when security forces confronted them.
The Observatory confirmed amateur video showing troops also fired live ammunition on demonstrators in Homs. It said six people were killed in the city Tuesday, among 15 protest-related deaths nationwide.
A contingent from the 12 Arab League observers visiting Homs met with the regional governor and then with opposition representatives inside the city. The delegation's head told Reuters that the first day of talks was “very good” and that “all sides were responsive.”
Sporadic fighting continued Tuesday in the hard-hit Homs district of Baba Amr, an opposition stronghold. Activists said some tanks were seen leaving the area, while others were hidden in government zones from where they could be quickly redeployed when monitors leave.
Video posted on YouTube appears to show several men pleading with observers to venture farther into Baba Amr, and to announce that they had been prevented from seeing key areas because of government sniper fire.
Rights groups have questioned whether monitors can work independently and if the relatively small number of observers will render the mission ineffective. Initially 500 monitors were to have entered Syria, but now only 150 are likely to be allowed into the country.
Fifty observers and 10 other Arab League officials arrived in the capital, Damascus, on Monday. The Arab League says the monitors also will visit several other Syrian cities, including Idlib, Hama and Daraa.
The French foreign ministry says the observers have arrived at a time when Syria's unrest has “never been as tragic” as it is now in Homs. The city has become the center of the nine-month uprising against Mr. Assad.
Activists said security forces killed at least 34 people in Homs on Monday before monitors arrived. The state-run SANA news agency reported “armed terrorists” blew up a gas pipeline in Homs on Tuesday. It also said “terrorists” clashed with authorities near the Turkish border.
The United Nations estimates 5,000 people have been killed since March in violence linked to Syria's unrest. Syria says armed terrorists are driving the revolt. It accuses them of killing 2,000 security personnel since March.
Syrian authorities agreed to the Arab League observers under international pressure and threats of Arab sanctions. The plan requires Syrian authorities to give the monitors freedom of movement everywhere except sensitive military sites.
Mission: Impossible' (the fourth one) tops 'Sherlock Holmes' (the second one) at the weekend box office
Mission: Merrily Accomplished for Tom Cruise. The fourth installment in the actor’s Mission: Impossible spy-fi franchise — this time directed by Oscar winner Brad Bird making his live-action debut — finished in first place at the box office this weekend (Friday-Sunday), beating last weekend’s top flick, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol scared up $26.5 million on 3,448 screens and has grossed nearly $59 million since its release on Dec. 16. Game of Shadows brought in $17.8 million on 3,703 screens, down 55.1% from last weekend. The sequel has tallied $76.5 million since opening two weeks ago.
In a close battle for third, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ($13.3 million; $50.3 million overall) edged the opening weekend frame of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ($13.0 million; $21.4 million cumulative).
The Adventures of Tintin grossed $9.1 million ($17.1 cumulative) for fifth place, followed by We Bought a Zoo, which brought in $7.8 million in its first three days in theaters.
11 missing after fatal capsizing in India
At least 13 people died and 11 were reported missing after a boat capsized Sunday in a southern India lake, authorities said.
Three people survived the accident on Pulicat Lake, about 36 miles north of Chennai, according to affiliate CNN-IBN.
V. Vanitha, senior superintendent of police in Thiruvallur district, said the private boat was on a pleasure trip.
Local fishermen were assisting divers and crews in the rescue and search mission, officials said.
The lake is in Tamil Nadu state, near the Bay of Bengal.
Libya to Integrate Former Rebels in Military
Senior Libyan officials have announced a program to disarm and integrate into the country's armed forces and civil institutions thousands of former rebels who helped topple Moammar Gadhafi.
Planning Minister Issa al-Tuijer said Sunday the ex-rebels – many who still are organized in disparate militia groups – will be assigned to the military as well as police and other civilian posts.
The registration period will begin after January 1 and last about one month.
Defense Minister Osama Juwaili said the plan's main focus is to fill positions such as border guards, where former fighters would police the country's porous frontier. He said key installations, including oilfields and refineries now held by rival militias, also would receive guards.
Some ex-rebels would take up high-ranking positions in the military. Talks are under way with a number of countries to train rebels inside and outside Libya for military posts.
Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali said his understaffed ministry is among those expecting large numbers of recruits. He recently estimated that 25,000 former rebels would join the interior ministry and another 25,000 would join the defense ministry.
Although rebels met a deadline imposed by the ruling National Transitional Council to withdraw this week from the capital, Tripoli, militias led by rival commanders still guard key installations and checkpoints across the city.
The lack of a fully functioning army and police force has allowed militias to fight turf wars after the uprising that ended Gadhafi's 42-year rule in August.
VOA
Suicide Bombing in Northern Afghanistan Kills 19
A suicide bomber struck a funeral procession in northern Afghanistan Sunday, killing 19 people and wounding scores more.
Among the dead was a member of the national parliament, Abdul Mutaleb Baik, who was said to be a former commander in the Northern Alliance.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack which occurred in Talaqan, the capital of Takhar province. It comes after the September suicide bombing that killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, the Afghan government's chief negotiator with the Taliban.
The past year has seen a number of attacks against prominent Afghan officials.
U.S. General George Allen, the top NATO coalition commander in Afghanistan, labeled the attackers “cowards.” He told reporters Sunday's bombing callously targeted families and friends “who had gathered to mourn a loved one.”
Nigeria Christmas Attacks Kill At Least 39
Terror attacks across Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect killed at least 39 people Sunday, with the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church after celebrating Christmas Mass as blood pooled in dust from a massive explosion.
Authorities acknowledged they could not bring enough emergency medical personnel to care for the wounded outside St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla near Nigeria's capital. Elsewhere, a bomb exploded amid gunfire in the central Nigeria city of Jos and a suicide car bomber attacked the military in the nation's northeast as part of an apparently coordinated assault by the sect known as Boko Haram.
The Christmas Day violence, denounced by world leaders and the Vatican, shows the threat of the widening insurrection posed by Boko Haram against Nigeria's weak central government. Despite a recent paramilitary crackdown against the sect in the oil-rich nation, it appears that Africa's most populous nation remains unable to stop the threat.
The White House condemned what it called a "senseless" attack, offered its condolences to the Nigerian people and pledged to assist authorities in bringing those responsible to justice.
In a statement, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said, "These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others.".
The first explosion on Sunday struck St. Theresa Catholic Church just after 8 a.m. The attack killed 35 people and wounded another 52, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.
Though billions of dollars of oil money flow into the nation's budget yearly, Luguard's agency could only send text messages to journalists asking for their help in getting more ambulances.
Those wounded filled the cement floors of a nearby government hospital, with television images showing them crying in pools of their own blood. Corpses lined an open-air morgue.
The bombing and the delayed response drew anger from those gathering around the church after the blast. The crowd initially blocked emergency workers from the blast site, only allowing them in after soldiers arrived.
"We're trying to calm the situation," Luguard said. "There are some angry people around trying to cause problems."
In Jos, a second explosion struck near the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, state government spokesman Pam Ayuba said. Gunmen later opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one officer, he said. Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed.
By noon Sunday, explosions echoed through the streets of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state where fighting between security forces and the sect already had killed at least 61 people in recent days. The most serious attack on Sunday came when a suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives at the state headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, the State Security Service.
The bomber killed three people in the blast, though the senior military commander apparently targeted survived the attack, the State Security Service said in a statement.
After the bombings, a Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in an interview with The Daily Trust, the newspaper of record across Nigeria's Muslim north. The sect has used the newspaper in the past to communicate with public.
Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 504 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
This Christmas attack comes a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded. The group also claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital Abuja that killed 24 people and wounded 116 others.
The sect came to national prominence in 2009, when its members rioted and burned police stations near its base of Maiduguri, a dusty northeastern city on the cusp of the Sahara Desert. Nigeria's military violently put down the attack, crushing the sect's mosque into shards as its leader was arrested and died in police custody. About 700 people died during the violence.
While initially targeting enemies via hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes after the 2009 riot, violence by Boko Haram now has a new sophistication and apparent planning that includes high-profile attacks with greater casualties. That has fueled speculation about the group's ties as it has splintered into at least three different factions, diplomats and security sources say. They say the more extreme wing of the sect maintains contact with terror groups in North Africa and Somalia.
Targeting the group has remained difficult, as sect members are scattered throughout northern Nigeria and nearby Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Analysts say political considerations also likely play a part in the country's thus-far muted response: President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, may be hesitant to use force in the nation's predominantly Muslim north.
In a statement, Jonathan condemned the blasts as a "unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom."
"I want to reassure all Nigerians that government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators of today's acts of violence and all others before now," Jonathan said.
However, Jonathan has made the same promises after a series of spiraling attacks by the group. His spokesman, Reuben Abati, defended the president by saying the country planned to spend more on security and had made arrests targeting the group.
"The administration is very determined to address this new threat of terrorism that seems to have slipped into our environment," Abati told the AP.
But anger continues to grow over the sect's apparent ability to strike at will – anger that could be seen at St. Theresa Catholic Church. After the blast, someone picked up a burnt piece of wood to scrawl: "Revolution now in the country" on its cement walls.
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Associated Press
Cubans Celebrate Ahead Of Pope's Visit
Cuban faithful celebrating Christmas say they have plenty to cheer this year as they prepare for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI, the first visit by a pontiff to the Communist-run island since John Paul II's historic tour nearly 14 years ago.
The visit, expected in March, coincides with the 400th anniversary of Cuba's patron saint and follows years of lobbying by Roman Catholic officials on the island.
The timing also appears to reward the larger role the church has assumed in Cuba in recent years. Havana Archbishop Jaime Ortega personally negotiated the release of political prisoners in 2010 and 2011, and church magazines have become a forum for articles offering advice to Cuban leaders on a process of free-market reforms begun by President Raul Castro.
Castro even cited Benedict's visit in announcing on Friday that Cuba would free 2,900 inmates as a humanitarian gesture, including some jailed for political crimes.
Churches across Cuba were holding Christmas services Sunday. Outside the Cathedral in Old Havana, retiree Rogelio Montes de Oca said he was counting down the days to Benedict's arrival, and praying that the pope would have the strength to go ahead with the visit amid reports the 84-year-old spiritual leader has appeared unusually tired in recent months.
"We have faith in God that we will be allowed to have this treat," said Montes de Oca, 72. "Not every country will have the chance to see him physically and receive his blessing."
Religious leaders and others who have spent time with Benedict recently say they found him weaker than they'd ever seen him. He has stopped meeting individually with visiting bishops, and has begun using a moving platform to spare him the long walk down St. Peter's Basilica.
Still, the pontiff has rallied in the past on grueling trips, and Cubans said they were hoping he will be able to see as much of the island as possible. When John Paul II visited in 1998 for a five-day trip, he was met by multitudes as he toured the eastern metropolis of Santiago and the central cities of Santa Clara and Camaguey.
"I am so happy Cuba is getting a second visit by a pope," said Gilberto Sigarti, a musician who was praying before a statue of the island's patron saint, the Virgin of Caridad del Cobre. "John Paul II's visit was a great joy."
The last papal visit to Cuba broke down walls that had existed between the church and Fidel Castro's government since the early days of the revolution, when priests were harassed and sometimes arrested, and the state formally declared itself to be atheistic. Authorities discouraged Christmas celebrations, closed religious schools in 1962 and barred Communist Party membership to people of religious belief.
A lot has changed since John Paul II's visit.
Instead of Fidel, Benedict will meet with younger brother Raul, 80, who has had a much less stormy relationship with the church and has even looked to church leaders for advice on some of the economic changes he is pushing. Benedict will also find an island much more at ease with religion than the one visited by his predecessor.
In today's Cuba, Catholicism is practiced openly – even by many Communist Party officials. Many Cuban Catholics mix the faith with aspects of the Afro-Cuban Santeria religion. Evangelical churches are also on the rise on the island.
Even with Christianity's increased role, Christmas is a subdued event in Cuba. There are no sales in state-owned shops, and virtually no Christmas ornaments or decorated trees on display in public, in contrast to the ubiquitous signs celebrating the 53rd anniversary of the revolution, which takes place Jan. 1.
Cubans traditionally get together for a family meal on Christmas Eve, though a feast of pork leg, yucca and black beans on New Year's Eve is more widely and enthusiastically celebrated.
Benedict's visit is a pilgrimage to honor the Virgin of Caridad del Cobre, the patron of Cuba. A relic of the virgin has been traveling around the island this year. The pontiff has not given exact dates for his trip, but the Vatican has indicated it will be in March, shortly before Easter. The pope also will make a stop in Mexico on his Latin American swing.
Finding Strength In Adversity: The Queen's Christmas Message
Below is the full text of Her Majesty The Queen's Christmas Message delivered today on television by her Royal Highness and broadcast to the entire Commonwealth. It is printed in full by kind permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second and Buckingham Palace.
In this past year my family and I have been inspired by the courage and hope we have seen in so many ways in Britain, in the Commonwealth and around the world. We've seen that it's in hardship that we often find strength from our families; it's in adversity that new friendships are sometimes formed; and it's in a crisis that communities break down barriers and bind together to help one another.
Families, friends and communities often find a source of courage rising up from within. Indeed, sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit.
When Prince Philip and I visited Australia this year we saw for ourselves the effects of natural disaster in some of the areas devastated by floods, where in January so many people lost their lives and their livelihoods. We were moved by the way families and local communities held together to support each other.
Prince William travelled to New Zealand and Australia in the aftermath of earthquakes, cyclones and floods and saw how communities rose up to rescue the injured, comfort the bereaved and rebuild the cities and towns devastated by nature.
The Prince of Wales also saw first hand the remarkable resilience of the human spirit after tragedy struck in a Welsh mining community, and how communities can work together to support their neighbours.
This past year has also seen some memorable and historic visits - to Ireland and from America.
The spirit of friendship so evident in both these nations can fill us all with hope. Relationships that years ago were once so strained have through sorrow and forgiveness blossomed into long term friendship. It is through this lens of history that we should view the conflicts of today, and so give us hope for tomorrow.
Of course, family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organisation or nation. The Commonwealth is a family of 53 nations, all with a common bond, shared beliefs, mutual values and goals.
It is this which makes the Commonwealth a family of people in the truest sense, at ease with each other, enjoying its shared history and ready and willing to support its members in the direst of circumstances. They have always looked to the future, with a sense of camaraderie, warmth and mutual respect while still maintaining their individualism.
The importance of family has, of course, come home to Prince Philip and me personally this year with the marriages of two of our grandchildren, each in their own way a celebration of the God-given love that binds a family together.
For many this Christmas will not be easy. With our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face Christmas without their loved ones at home. The bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard. And, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times. All this will affect our celebration of this great Christian festival.
Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: 'Fear not', they urged, 'we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.'
Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves - from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) - but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love.
In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, there's a prayer:
O Holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us we pray
Cast out our sin
And enter in
Be born in us today
It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.
I wish you all a very happy Christmas.
Knicks Beat Celtics
Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points, including a pair of free throws with the game tied and 16 seconds left, and the New York Knicks survived a seesaw season opener Sunday to beat the Boston Celtics 106-104.
Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and Toney Douglas had 19 for the Knicks, who led by 17 in the first half, trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter, then pulled out a thrilling Christmas victory in the delayed opener to the 2011-12 season.
Rajon Rondo had 31 points and 13 assists, nearly leading the Celtics back without an injured Paul Pierce. But Kevin Garnett missed a jumper just before the buzzer, the kind of shot Boston always seems to make against the Knicks.
Brandon Bass had 20 points and 11 rebounds in his Celtics debut, and Ray Allen added 20 points.
Garnett finished with 15 points. He and Allen had a sleepy Christmas start, with Rondo keeping the Celtics in the game until they got going in the second half.
But it wasn't enough against the Knicks, who withstood a potentially serious knee injury to first-round pick Iman Shumpert to beat the team that swept them out of the first round of last season's playoffs.
Pierce has a bruised right heel but hopes he can return Tuesday when the Celtics visit the Miami Heat.
Even without him, the Celtics fought back to tie it at 69 on Rondo's layup midway through the third quarter. They surged ahead by eight going into the final period after Bass scored the final six points, then extended it to 89-79 on Bass' jumper to open the fourth.
Anthony tied it at 100 on a 3-pointer with 3:25 to play, and it stayed tight until he was fouled on a drive with 16.3 seconds left, making both for a 106-104 lead. Rondo grabbed the rebound of Marquis Daniels' potential go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Celtics a final chance, but Garnett was off on a jumper, then appeared to shove the Knicks' Bill Walker away.
Coming off their first winning season in a decade, the Knicks added a defensive presence by signing Tyson Chandler away from the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks and have loftier expectations than they've seen in years. The original NBA schedule had them opening against Miami, but instead they got a chance to see if they've closed the gap against the team they hope to unseat atop their division.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers even compared the Knicks to the Lakers because of the length along their front line with Chandler in between Stoudemire and Anthony. Though the Celtics won all eight meetings last season, the Knicks have been listed some places as the favorites in the Atlantic Division, which the Celtics have ruled since their Big Three came together in 2007.
"It's possible. Right now, anybody could win the division. Everybody knows how optimism kicks in before the season starts, but then once reality sets in after the first month of the season, we'll see," Pierce said before the game. "But it's definitely a possibility. I mean, they have the talent, but we have the talent, too, So I can see that."
D'Antoni was careful to keep the expectations low, saying the limited amount of practice time before the season started means it could be a few weeks before all the new players are used to each other. The Knicks won't even have one, Baron Davis, for a while as he recovers from a herniated disc in his back.
Shumpert was expected to be a key until then, but he sprained a right knee ligament in the second half.
The Celtics are a changed team as well, with the retirement of Shaquille O'Neal and the season-ending loss of Jeff Green for surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. And they will face questions about how their veteran core can navigate the tight 66-game schedule.
But the acquisition of Bass from Orlando for Glen Davis paid immediate dividends, as he showed a nice midrange jumper when he wasn't busy keeping balls alive on the glass.
The first game since renovations began at Madison Square Garden included the usual cast of celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and John McEnroe, and some new confusion, as at least one Celtics player had to ask how to get to the court from the new visitors' locker room.
The Knicks led 34-23 after one and extended it to 49-32 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the half on a pair of free throws by Chandler. But the Celtics shot 62 percent in the quarter, getting it back into single digits before New York took a 62-52 lead into halftime.
Notes: Rivers said Pierce may come off the bench when he does return, since he's had only one practice so far. ... The Knicks were without Mike Bibby, who dressed but didn't play because of a sore back. Reserve Jared Jeffries was lost during the game to a sore right calf. ... Stoudemire provided pregame breakfast to MSG staff in appreciation of the support in his first season with the team.
HUFFINGTON
Heat Top Mavericks 105-94: LeBron, Wade Lead Miami Past Dallas
LeBron James and the Miami Heat couldn't keep the Dallas Mavericks from winning the most recent NBA championship. They did a nice job, however, of getting the Mavs' title defense off to an ugly start.
James had 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Heat beat the Mavericks 105-94 Sunday in a game that was hardly ever as close as the final score might suggest.
Maybe the pregame banner-raising ceremony left the Mavs emotionally drained or – more likely – the overhaul of their roster is slow to take hold. The newly minted champs were down by 15 after one quarter, 21 at halftime, and 35 a few minutes into the second half.
Miami made it look easy, scoring at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters. James had the top highlight, tipping an alley-oop pass to Dwyane Wade so he could have the dunk.
Wade had 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Heat cemented their status as the preseason favorite to win it all. Udonis Haslem added nine points and 14 rebounds.
Dallas hardly showed any life until newcomer Lamar Odom was ejected for something he said while arguing a charging call late in the third quarter. Soon after, Jason Terry fueled a surged that got the Mavs within 17 midway through the fourth. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle recognized how unlikely it was that they would come all the way back, so he kept Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion on the bench the entire final period.
Terry ended up leading Dallas with 23 points. Nowitzki scored 21 in three quarters. Marion scored 12, and Delonte West added 10 in his Dallas debut. West also started the second half in place of another newcomer, Vince Carter. Carter had five points, two rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes.
NBA Commissioner David Stern attended the game and took part in the banner raising ceremony. Fans greeted him with boos, perhaps showing disgust over the lockout that delayed the start of the season from Nov. 1 and shrunk the season by 16 games.