Christmas Day –
Top News Stories –
Christmas Truce remembered –
100 years since the famous Christmas truce when soldiers from England and Germany fighting in France laid down their weapons and played games of football. The English Football Association has held a number of events to commemorate the event.
This is going to go well –
In the US, 300 independent cinemas screen “The Interview”, a film depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, turned up to a screening of the movie at a theater in Los Angeles.
Seth Rogen
Evan Goldberg
Sony hit again –
Hackers calling themselves Lizard Squad take down Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox servers following threats to do so if the film was released.
Putin cancels Christmas –
Russian President Vladimir Putin cancels Christmas, at least for his government, but setting a meeting on Christmas day.
Vladimir Putin
Video of the Day –
UEFA marks 100th anniversary of World War One truce
Top Twitter Trends –
Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Libyan civil war
- Somali civil war
- Al-Shabab militants attack AMISOM‘s headquarters in Mogadishu, leaving three peacekeeping soldiers and a civilian contractor dead. Five of the attackers are also killed. (Al Jazeera)
- Pakistani forces report the killing of the “mastermind” behind the Peshawar school massacre during a gun battle in the Khyber Agency tribal area. (The Telegraph)
- Arts and culture
- Urbi et Orbi
- Pope Francis condemns the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria for violence against women, children, and ethnic minorities. (CNN)
- Iraqi Christians defy persecution and celebrate Christmas in Baghdad. (The New York Times)
- 2014 Ebola epidemic
- In her Royal Christmas Message, Queen Elizabeth II praises aid workers for fighting ebola in West Africa. (CBS)
- United States President Barack Obama praises U.S. troops and reflects on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan during his annual Christmas message from Hawaii. (Toronto Star)
- Businesses and economy
- 2014 Russian financial crisis
- Vladimir Putin announces price controls on vodka to reduce bootlegging and moonshining. (New York Daily News)
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