News Wrap: Pope Francis laments suffering from Ebola, terrorism at Christmas

HARI SREENIVASAN:

This Christmas brought all the traditional celebrations of the day, but along with them, new calls for an end to suffering. The most ardent of those appeals came from the Vatican.

The crowds who filled St. Peter's Square heard a holiday lament from Pope Francis. "There are so many tears this Christmas," he said, the ravages of Ebola, fighting in the Middle East and Ukraine, and terror attacks, like the one that killed scores of students in Pakistan.

And he decried the persecution of Christians and others by Islamic State militants. POPE FRANCIS, Leader of Catholic Church (through interpreter): I ask him, the savior of the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria, who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who, together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

But many of those beset by strife, including refugees in Iraq, still found ways to celebrate. And health care workers in Sierra Leone brought what cheer they could to Ebola patients, despite a government ban on public celebrations.

MARILYN ALVAREZ, Cuba (through interpreter):

Meanwhile, Christmas in Cuba took on a new air of hope that renewed relations with the U.S. will change lives. It is a gift. It really is a gift. I hope everything works out in the best possible way, because it would bring a lot of benefits to work in better conditions.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

In London, Queen Elizabeth took up a similar theme with her own annual message to the world.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, United Kingdom:

Even in the unlikeliest of places, hope can still be found. A very happy Christmas to you all.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

It was a sentiment that echoed high into the heavens…

MAN:

Hello from the International Space Station.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

… where astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts shared season's greetings, a miniature floating Christmas tree, and this image of a celestial sunrise on Christmas morning.

Back on Earth, some of the more unusual traditions played out, as members of the Berlin Seals winter swimming club took their annual Christmas Day plunge into a freezing lake.

Christmas Eve brought a second night of protests in Berkeley, Missouri. A night earlier, a black 18-year-old was shot dead by a police officer after he allegedly pulled a handgun. Last night, demonstrators marched down Interstate 170, blocking traffic. They also held a vigil and staged a die-in at the gas station where the shooting took place. Police say they made a handful of arrests.

The loss of a Jordanian military pilot in Syria prompted appeals from his government and family for his safe return today. He went down yesterday in a region controlled by Islamic State fighters. The U.S. military said his plane crashed and wasn't hit by enemy fire.

We have a report from Nelufar Hedayat of Independent Television News.

NELUFAR HEDAYAT:

Captured by Islamic State, the first U.S.-led coalition soldier in the hands of the terrorist organization; 26-year-old Moaz al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot, was captured by I.S. after his F-16 fighter jet crashed.

Initially, Islamic State claimed responsibility for shooting the jet down, celebrating with a macabre victory parade through the streets of stronghold Raqqa. But, of course, none of this matters much to Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh. Islamic State are well-known for brutal treatment and beheadings of the captives.

Today, his father, Safi, has added to the many voices pleading for al-Kasasbeh to be released unharmed.

MAN:

What would you say?

SAFI YOUSEF AL-KASASBEH, Father of Captured Pilot (through interpreter): I send a message to our generous brothers of the Islamic State in Syria to host my son with generous hospitality and not to be ungenerous towards my son. I asked God to fill their hearts with love and I ask for him to be returned to his family, wife and mother, to return in safety.

NELUFAR HEDAYAT:

Al-Kasasbeh has been a pilot for the Jordanian air force for six years. Jordanian warplanes have joined several other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, forming the 40-strong coalition.

MOHAMMED MOMANI, Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs: Jordan will continue in its fight against terrorism. And we know that we will win at the end, because this is the right thing to do and this is for the sake of our security and stability of this country. NELUFAR HEDAYAT: U.S.-led campaign against I.S. started back in September. This month, airstrikes have been intensifying as the mission to degrade and destroy Islamic State in Iraq and Syria continues.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

This is the first time a pilot from the coalition been captured. So far, there have been no public demands or conditions set for his release.

Islamist gunmen in Somalia attacked the main base of African Union peacekeepers today. The Al-Shabab militants struck in Mogadishu, the capital city. An A.U. military spokesman said eight of the attackers were killed in the resulting gun battle. Al-Shabab controlled much of Mogadishu for four years, until 2011, when the peacekeepers drove them out.

And in Indonesia today, thousands remembered a day of disaster; 10 years ago tomorrow, a catastrophic tsunami killed nearly some 230,000 people in 14 countries, most of them in Indonesia. Today, a church in Banda Aceh, a city that was all but wiped out by the giant wave, held a special Christmas service. And thousands flocked to a mosque that was one of the few buildings to survive.