Spain - Sex store depicting the iconic biblical scene gets vandalised

It’s not unusual for stores across Spain to get into the seasonal spirit with their own special version of a nativity scene in the shop window.

But when Non Sit Peccatum, a sex shop in the town of Talavera de la Reina near Toledo chose to display sex toys depicting the iconic biblical scene, it caused somewhat of fuss.
READ MORE:  12 weird and wonderful Christmas traditions celebrated in Spain
Shop owner Héctor Valdivielso commissioned an artist to paint the figures of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus on ceramic dildos.
At first, the display proved popular and people would pause outside to take photos of the unusual nativity scene.
But it wasn’t long before it started to draw negative attention and the owner was subjected to angry outbursts by people claiming to be offended.
"A man with his wife ordered me to remove the offending scene and said that if I didn’t he would remove it himself," Valdivielso recounted on his Facebook account, adding that he was subject to a barrage of insults and had to call the police.
Next the shop sign was vandalised with the word ‘pecadores’  - sinners – and the owner discovered a group calling themselves the Children of the Virgin Mary had launched a boycott on the store.
One day a crowd of around a dozen people gathered outside the shop to harangue customers.
"It was affecting my business," explained Valdivielso. "Who wants to come to a store like this to hear a sermon?".
Last week, he withdrew the window display and replaced it with a poster inviting passersby to vote on whether he should reinstate it.

Japan’s Empress Michiko Diagnosed with Acute Bronchitis

TOKYO – Japanese Empress Michiko, 82, canceled her schedule for last weekend after she was diagnosed with acute bronchitis on Friday, a spokesman for the Imperial House said on Monday.

Emperor Akihito’s wife was expected to attend a national karate championship in Tokyo on Sunday, but instead took repose at her residence at the Imperial Palace.

After a cough and fever, Empress Michiko was diagnosed with acute bronchitis on Friday, but she does not need to be hospitalized, according to the Japanese Imperial Household.

Despite a cardiac test last year and the cancellation of some events in 2010 after suffering what was suspected to be an asthma attack, the empress seems to be in good health.

However, the health of her 82-year-old husband Emperor Akihito has been more fragile since a heart bypass operation in 2012.

Millions of Believers Gather at the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY - Carrying large idols of the dark-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe on their backs, millions of devotees of all ages on Monday visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, breaking any previous attendance record.

As every Dec. 12, the Calzada de Guadalupe Avenue of the capital was flooded with the tide of pilgrims who formed long lines to enter the church with excitement, faith and exhaustion.


"She is everything to us and she is so miraculous. And that's why we come here to pray for a miracle. We come to ask for a baby. I already have babies, I have three, but (...) now I want (another)," 32-year-old Noemi excitedly told EFE during her first visit to the church.

2016 marks the 485th anniversary of the Virgin Guadalupe's appearance to indigenous Juan Diego on the Tepeyac hill several times, the last time on Dec. 12.

As reported by the Secretariat of Public Security of the capital, more than 7.11 million pilgrims have come to the church this year.

The pilgrims came from all over and arrived on foot, by car or bus and even by air. Pierre Gondard came from the south of France together with a group of devotees from his country.

His emotion was evident within a few meters of being able to see the Virgin closely, with which Pope Francis shared some 20 minutes of prayer alone in February.

"We are in a march of humility and God gives what he wants to give," he reflected shortly before entering the basilica.

Around the basilica, many of the believers spent the night lying on the street on cardboard boxes.

Covered with blankets, Jorge Antonio, 11, rested a few hours after riding a bicycle for six hours to visit the virgin and "pray for the family."

With an empty stomach, he said how difficult it was to be part of this tradition of his town, Atotonilco de Tula, Hidalgo, in central Mexico, which performs the pilgrimage on bicycle since 35 years.

The group of 150 people from his town spent a few hours to sing to the dark-skinned Virgin at six o'clock in the morning and then returned to the village.

Many devotees came as a family, such as the family of Luis Martinez, who said that he came walking from the town of Amecameca, Mexico State, to pray for the health of his wife, who had undergone operations at her knee several times.

The Ministry of Public Security of Mexico City mobilized 3,200 agents and 800 auxiliary police to receive the believers.

Three "Dirty cops," Found Burned to Death in Mexico

MEXICO CITY – Three members of Mexico’s federal police were found burned to death inside a vehicle in the southern state of Guerrero, the Attorney General’s office said Friday.

The murders took place on the highway linking the Pacific coast cities of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, the AG Office said in a statement “profoundly lamenting” the deaths.

Authorities “will carry out an exhaustive investigation to identify and detain those responsible for such regrettable deeds,” the statement said.

Mexican media outlets said the triple-murder took place around 5 pm Thursday, when a group of armed men set the officers’ vehicle on fire with the cops inside.

Left next to the burned-out vehicle was a message from the killers accusing the slain cops of ties to organized crime.

Corruption is rampant in Mexico and it is not uncommon for members of law enforcement to be on the payroll of drug cartels and other criminal outfits.

Man punches a kangaroo in the face to rescue his dog

Sherri Papini Case - Real or hoax ?

A woman at the local sheriff’s office said a hoax had not been “ruled out,” but the sheriff later said they believe the abduction was real.

In a Wednesday interview with NBC’s “Today” show, Bosenko said it appeared Papini’s cellphone and earbuds had been “neatly placed.”

“They had been set in some grass with the screen facing up, and then the earbuds to the phone were loosely coiled and appeared to be placed on the screen,” he said. “It did somewhat appear to be that it was placed there purposely.”

German Islamist spy was Spanish gay porn actor

The bizarre story of a spy for Germany's domestic secret service who was revealed to be an Islamist got even stranger when media reported on Wednesday that he was also once a gay porn star.

Both Bild and the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the 51-year-old former employee of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) had appeared in gay porn movies before his conversion to Islam in 2014.
According to Bild, agents found the pornographic films in which he appeared while searching his home. The material is not of relevance to the investigation, but will remain a footnote to what is fast becoming the most surreal spy scandal in modern German history.
DPA reports that this is the first time that the BfV has found an Islamist among its agents.
Bild reports that the man was originally from Spain, but had later become a German citizen. Also a father of four children, he had hidden his radicalization from his family.
The agency said on Tuesday that the man had "made Islamist remarks online under a false name, and had offered internal information during online chats".
His chat partner was believed to be another BfV employee. According to the Washington Post, he gave away such precise information that the agents were quickly able to identify him and arrested him the next day.
German media had reported that he was believed to have been planning a bombing at the BfV headquarters in the western city of Cologne.
Der Spiegel and Die Welt said the suspect had partially admitted to the allegations by making references to bomb attacks carried out "in the name of Allah".
But a BfV spokeswoman told AFP that she could not confirm media reports that he was plotting an attack, saying there was no "evidence of a real danger to the office or its workers".
The Washington Post reported that a senior official from the BfV said those who interviewed the man say he may have been mentally ill, and perhaps even had multiple personalities, raising questions about how he could have been employed in the first place.