'Big Stars, Big Giving': Making the world a better place in 2012 and beyond
December 26, 2012 -- Updated 0442 GMT (1242 HKT)
(CNN) -- The holidays are a time of reflection and often a time of charity, even for some of Hollywood's biggest stars.
CNN's Alina Cho is taking a special look at how three celebrities are doing their part for causes near to their hearts in this year's "Big Stars, Big Giving," which is scheduled to air 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET December 26-28 on CNN.
Matt Damon
Academy Award winner Matt Damon is using his star power to lead the way for change and bring clean water to those who do not have access to such a basic staple.
"Every 20 seconds, a kid under the age of 5 is dying, losing their life because they do not have access to clean water. And it just doesn't have to be that way," Damon tells CNN.
The beast in Delhi's belly
Esmerelda Jelbart Wallbridge
NOT far from where I live, in a hospital in the south of Delhi, a 23-year-old woman clings to life, after a trip home from the cinema became a living nightmare. Brutally raped and beaten on a bus by a gang of six men, her naked body was then thrown from the moving vehicle. Doctors have described her intestinal and perineal injuries as life threatening. In a critical condition, she remains on a ventilator, unable to breathe unaided. Her future is uncertain.
The incident has captured the attention of the nation. There has been a collective outpouring of shock, outrage, grief and anger. "Delhi's SHAME!" screams one headline. "Save women, save India!" shouts a protester and poster at India Gate. Bollywood stars and cricket icons have weighed in on Twitter. Distressed MPs have wept openly in Parliament. There have been marches and demonstrations across the country. There have been strident calls for the death penalty for the perpetrators and a groundswell of support for the introduction of capital punishment for convicted rapists. India is in crisis.
POLITICS
Shinzo Abe elected prime minister of Japan
Shinzo Abe has been elected prime minister by Japan’s lower house parliament for the second time. Despite resigning after one year of his first term, Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party have surged back to power.
Shinzo Abe was voted in as prime minister by the lower parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday and is expected to choose his administration later in the day.
The upper house is set to vote later Wednesday, but Abe's appointment is all but guaranteed.
Abe was first elected premier in 2006 but after a one-year term troubled by scandal in his cabinet, he abruptly resigned. Abe, and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), have made a stunning comeback with a two-pronged policy of aggressive monetary easing and big fiscal spending to slay deflation.
Six killed in Christmas church attack in Nigeria
Gunmen have killed six people at a church in Nigeria, making 2012 the third year that Christmas services have come under deadly attack in the country.
The military said the strike took place after a midnight Christmas Eve service early on Tuesday outside the town of Potiskum in north-eastern Yobe state, where radical sect Boko Haram has carried out several attacks this year.
"Unknown gunmen attempted to attack Potiskum but were repelled by the troops. While they were fleeing, they attacked a church in a village known as Jiri," said military spokesperson Eli Lazarus, who confirmed that six people were killed.
Members of Boko Haram, who want to impose Sharia law in north Nigeria, have killed hundreds.
The group killed dozens in a series of bombings across north Nigeria on churches on Christmas Day last year, mirroring similar attacks in 2010 which killed more than 40.
Russia’s Desire for Cars Grows, and Foreign Makers Take Notice
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia — Sleek and glistening, the General Motors sedans creep off the assembly line here. They are as new as cars can get. And so is the assembly line, where the first test cars emerged this month.
Even as G.M. is scaling back elsewhere in Europe, the company is ramping up production in Russia, a country that is becoming a bright spot for G.M. and much of the rest of the automotive industry.
Trickle-down oil wealth and the spread of easily accessible auto financing are lifting sales, which rose by 40 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period a year ago. G.M., Ford,Volkswagen, Nissan and Renault are all opening new plants, or intend to do so soon.
As fighting rages in Aleppo, Syrians face hunger, disease and little hope of aid
By ,
In Aleppo, Syria — Darkness comes early to the streets of this ancient city, once a symbol of Syria’s richly storied past and now at the heart of the deepening nightmare that the country’s revolution has become.
By 5 p.m., people are scurrying home, down streets potholed by artillery, past piles of rubble and mountains of garbage that hasn’t been collected in months, to spend the evenings huddled in the cold without heat, light or, increasingly, food.
“We just lie under blankets because it is so cold. We have no work, no money and no life,” said Omar Abu Mohammed, 55, one of the few remaining residents of his badly bombed neighborhood, as he prepared to head indoors for the night.
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