Philippines
Crowd parades with statue
A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Roman Catholics on Monday joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ held under tight security due to fears of a possible attack following the killing of a suspected Islamic extremist leader. The U.S. and British embassies asked their citizens to take precautions, and the police warned that local Muslim militants trying to align themselves with the Islamic State group may try to attack the procession of the wooden Black Nazarene along Manila’s streets. National police chief Ronald Dela Rosa says authorities have not monitored any specific threat.
South Korea
Monk is in critical condition
A South Korean Buddhist monk is in critical condition after setting himself on fire to protest the country’s settlement with Japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves, officials said Sunday. The 64-year-old monk suffered third-degree burns across his body and damage to vital organs. He’s unconscious and unable to breathe on his own, said an official from the Seoul National University Hospital, who didn’t want to be named citing office rules. The man set himself ablaze late Saturday during a rally in Seoul calling for the ouster of impeached President Park Geun-hye, police said.
ENGLAND
Strike likely to halt subway
London Underground station staff have begun a 24-hour strike that looks set to shut down much of the subway network for the morning rush hour. The walkout began at 6 p.m. Sunday. Transport for London says most stations in the city center will close and services will be “severely reduced” Monday, when millions return to work after the holiday season. Unions are protesting job cuts and ticket-office closures, which they say could harm safety.
RUSSIA
Cyclists shiver through ride
For hundreds of Muscovites, the fact that the temperature had plunged to minus 17 was no reason to avoid going for a group bicycle ride. About 500 cyclists, many equipped with fur hats and other nonstandard gear, held a ride of about five miles along the Moscow River on Sunday. The roundtrip ride from a residential area to the Kremlin was the second annual iteration of a winter ride aimed at demonstrating that bicycles can be year-round transport. The popularity of cycling in Moscow has soared in recent years as city authorities improve paths for two-wheelers to navigate the notoriously traffic-choked city.
Compiled from wire reports.