Obamas send greetings to military
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama Saturday extended Christmas greetings to U.S. military personnel stuck overseas for the holidays.
In his weekly radio address recorded in Washington before the first family headed for a Hawaiian vacation, Obama lauded members of the military for their courage.
"While you may be serving far from home, every American supports you and your families," Obama said. "We're with you. And I have no greater honor than serving as your commander in chief.
"Today's soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and coast guardsmen make up the finest fighting force in the history of the world. Just like their predecessors, they do extraordinary things in service to their country. What makes that all the more remarkable is that today's military is an all-volunteer force -- a force of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives."
He added: "America's brave servicemen and women represent a small fraction of our population. But they and the families who await their safe return carry far more than their fair share of the burden. They've done everything they've been asked to do. They've been everything we've asked them to be. And even as we speak, many are fighting halfway around the globe -- in hopes that someday, our children and grandchildren won't have to."
The first lady urged Americans to reach out to the families of service personnel to help ease their burden.
Pope celebrates Christmas mass
VATICAN CITY, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI began the Vatican Christmas celebrations with midnight mass at St. Peter's.
Security was heightened this year, with guards following the pope up the aisle, the BBC reported. Two embassies in Rome were bombed this week and a mentally ill woman knocked the pope down during the mass last year.
A congregation estimated at 10,000 packed into the huge basilica, the BBC reported.
In his homily, Benedict talked of the gratitude and joy Christians feel at the birth of Jesus Christ.
"But this joy is also a prayer: Lord, make your promise come fully true," he continued. "Break the rods of the oppressors. Burn the tramping boots. Let the time of the garments rolled in blood come to an end."
Benedict is to give his Christmas message Saturday before welcoming 300 homeless people to a Christmas lunch.
Before the mass, the pope lit a nativity candle in his window.
Thousands in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Patriarch Fouad Twal, archbishop of Jerusalem, called the city the "capital of two nations" in his Christmas Eve sermon in Bethlehem.
Twal urged dialogue among religious groups, calling it "the answer to modern atheism and fundamentalism that threaten the people of God," the Los Angeles Times reported. He prayed for Jerusalem to be "not only the capital of two nations, but also a model for the world of harmony and coexistence of the three monotheistic religions."
Thousands of people, both Palestinians and visitors, packed the West Bank city. Those without tickets for midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity watched on big screens in Manger Square.
Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem were suspended for several years after a siege that began in April 2002. Palestinian militants held out in the Church of the Nativity for five weeks, surrounded by the Israeli Army.
The patriarch had to drive only a few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. But to get to the city where Jesus was born his Mercedes had to pass through a metal gate in a security wall separating the cities.
Bomber targets Pakistan food aid center
KHAR, Pakistan, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan targeted refugees gathered outside a World Food Program office Saturday, killing more than 40, police said.
The blast occurred in Khar, the major city in the Bajaur Agency, a district bordering Afghanistan, The Nation reported. The newspaper put the death toll at 45 while Geo News gave it as 42.
Scores of people were injured by the explosion. Officials said most of those killed and hurt were civilians.
No one had claimed responsibility for the bombing Saturday, police said.
More than 1,000 displaced people were gathered outside the WFP office, where food tokens were to be handed out.
Taliban fighters attacked Frontier Corps checkpoints Friday in Mohmand, which borders Bajaur on the south. At least 11 soldiers and 24 militants were killed.
Christmas Eve bombs hit Nigerian city
JOS, Nigeria, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Christmas Eve shopping in the Nigerian city of Jos was marred by at least five bombings in the commercial district, police said.
There were conflicting reports on the number of people killed, with CNN quoting a witness as saying he had seen eight bodies, while the Nigerian Tribune said there were "scores" of fatalities.
Journalist Hassan John told CNN he was coming out of an Anglican church around 7 p.m. when the first of two blasts occurred. About 5 minutes later, three more explosions shook the district, reports said.
There was no report on the number of people injured.
In recent years, the city has seen scattered incidents of violence between Muslims and Christians.
Soldiers were dispatched to boost police presence after the explosions, but no arrests were reported and no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
