China pretends its smog isn’t a problem – Europe’s newest nation could be founded next year – South Africa’s magnificently incompetent sign language claims he was suffering from schizophrenic hallucinations while standing inches away from world leaders.

China is ordering commercial airline pilots to depend on cockpit instruments and “land blind” in the thick, choking smog plaguing the industrial northeast to help ease chronic flight delays.  Shanghai recently cancelled 200 flights in one incredibly smoggy day.  Beijing and Shanghai already are among the worst airports for on-time departure rates. 

The South African sign language interpreter accused of not knowing ANY sign language says he is schizophrenic and was hallucinating visions of angels while standing a few inches from world leaders during the official memorial for Nelson Mandela, gesticulating nonsense during the entire service.  Thamsanqa Jantjie is begging the world for forgiveness.  A government official is admitting Jantjie is having a hard time with English.

Kenya is celebrating 50 years of independence from Britain. President Uhuru Kenyatta and other officials praised the progress the country has made since gaining its freedom.  Many citizens are lamenting that things would be a lot better if not for widespread official corruption.

The European Union is dangling a possible loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in front of Ukraine’s leaders, “if” Kiev signs the trade cooperation agreement with the bloc it backed away from last month.  That decision to jilt the EU sent tens of thousands of anti-government protesters into the streets, demanding the administration step down.  Cops tried to clear out those protesters earlier this week, but their camps are back up and running in Kiev’s main square.

Spain’s government is vowing to block an independence referendum that Catalonian officials plan to hold next November.  Catalonia's President Artur Mas says voters will be asked if Catalonia should be a state and, if so, should it be independent.  Spain’s constitution says only the central government can put such a referendum on the ballot, but Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy isn’t saying what measures Madrid could or would take to prevent the poll.  Many want their region to break off the rest of Spain, which is not doing as well economically.

Over the objections of the United Nations, Bangladesh has executed Islamist leader Abdul Quader Mollah for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 war for independence.  UN Human rights experts claimed he did not receive a fair trial.  As many as 3 million people were killed in Bangladesh’s struggle for independence from Pakistan.

More than 2,000 people are displaced because of flooding in and around Rio de Janeiro.  As many as eight people are reported dead as a result.  Torrential rain began Wednesday night, and within a day had deposited more rain than the region had been expected to get for the entire month of December.  Transportation in Brazil’s second largest city is severely disrupted, and officials are urging people to stay home if they can.

A newspaper reporter will sue crack-smoking buffoon Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, Canada, for implying that the reporter is a paedophile.  Ford made his ill-advised comments in a television interview in 2012, and is for some reasons tanding by them even though they were proven by police to be false.