Nelson Mandela will be buried today, and one of his closest allies will be there after a attempted snub – Iran sends a simian into orbit while China hops onto the moon – North Korea pulls yet another ominous move – And why have one Santa Claus when you can have thousands?

Mourners are preparing for Nelson Mandela’s burial later on Sunday in his ancestral village of Qunu on South Africa’s eastern cape.  An embarrassing situation has been resolved; Mandela’s friend and ally Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be at the ceremony.  Earlier, Tutu said he wouldn’t attend because the South African government did not invite him, a snub that proved widely unpopular.  It threatened to be another demerit on the South African government’s performance, after President Jacob Zuma was booed at Mandela’s memorial at Soccer City, and the official government sign language interpreter turned out to be completely unqualified.

Egypt is setting a referendum on a new draft constitution for one month from now, 14-15 January.  Interim President Adly Mansour is urging people to vote “yes” on the document and set the nation back on course towards democracy.  The new charter would replace the one drafted by an Islamist-led panel that critics said gave religion too much influence and eroded hard-won freedoms.

Iran says it has sent its second monkey into space (although the success of the first attempt is disputed).  President Hassan Rouhani said the monkey, named Fargam, returned from space in perfect health.  Meanwhile, China’s robot rover “Jade Rabbit” is rolling around the surface of the moon, collecting and analyzing mineral samples.  It makes China the third nation to successfully reach the moon.  Okay, the third “earth nation”, the aliens might have already gotten there, too.

North Korea is recalling its business people home from China, following the surprise purge and quick execution of Jang Song Thaek, the uncle leader Kim Jong Un.  South Korean sources believe that Kim is trying to consolidate power with a reign of terror, and is attempting to round up all associates of the late Uncle Jang.  Another source claims Pyongyang is withdrawing ALL officials from China, its only ally. 

Japan is laying out billions of dollars, buying friends in Southeast Asia.  It’s a response to China’s new assertiveness in the East and South China Seas, where the Communist-in-name-only country is claiming territory that the international community generally recognizes as belonging to these countries.  Tokyo this weekend pledged A$21.5 Billion for disaster preparedness, economic development, and transportation projects in the region.

Colombia’s chief prosecutor is opening two investigations into the dismissal of Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro, a presumed presidential candidate in the next election.  This, as thousands of Petro’s supporters fill Bogota’s main square on a daily basis since Monday’s ouster.  The Attorney General wants to know if a prosecutor violated the law by dismissing Petro over difficulties with trash collections a year ago; and the AG wants to know if trash collections were deliberately sabotaged to make Petro look bad.  Many have rushed to Petro’s defense, with everyone from Marxist guerrillas to the incoming US ambassador to Colombia insinuating that the decision to dismiss was pretty bogus.

Venezuela grounded an Air France flight after being tipped off by French authorities that a terrorist group may be planning to detonate an explosive device in midair.  60 technicians are examining Flight 385 to Paris, and depending on the outcome, it will take several hours to reprogram the plane to resume its scheduled journey.  Several soldiers stationed at the airport in Caracas were arrested in September after Paris cops seized 1.4 tons of drugs on a plane from Venezuela.

Actor Paul Walker’s family interred his remains in Hollywood’s Forest Lawn cemetery, two weeks after he was killed in a fiery car wreck with his friend Roger Rodas.  Afterwards, his “Fast & Furious” costars gathered at the Universal Studios lot for a tribute at which Ben Harper sang a song.  Castmates Tyrese Gibson, Chris Ludacris Bridges, and Michelle Rodriguez used social media to say goodbye.  Hollywood’s rumor mill says the unfinished “Fast & Furious 7” will eventually be completed, with Walker’s look-alike younger brother serving as a body double for final shooting.

One year after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle lit candles for each of the 20 first graders and six adults killed.  The gunman also died in the attack.  America hasn’t passed any meaningful anti-gun legislation since then.

Thousands of revelers dressed as Father Christmas have invaded London for the annual “Santacon” celebration.  It’s 50 percent flash mob and 50 percent pub-crawl, with the British capital transformed into a world of Happy Santas.  Starting in Trafalgar Square, the Santas usually bring plenty of alcohol to keep up the festive cheer, before heading off to bars elsewhere around London.