Moscow and Kiev get closer to sealing the deal over objections from protesters – A job action at Amazon gums up the works just before Christmas – And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally corrects a glaring error.

The operator of a bus that fell off of a skyway near Manila on Monday once topped a list of the Philippines “most dangerous” in 2011.  The bus landed on a van, and at least 21 people were killed.  It was not clear what caused the crash but local reports cited rain, heavy traffic and speed as possible causes.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is set to discuss closer co-operation with Russia, and the agenda will include loans from Moscow and discounts on Russian gas.  This, even though crowds still gather in Kiev to protest Yanukovich’s jilting of the European Union in favor of closer ties with Moscow.  Yanukovych admits his decision was influenced by heavy economic pressure from the Kremlin.

Internet retailing giant Amazon.com’s German workers went on strike at three sites, just a pre-Christmas orders started to peak.  More job actions are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Germany’s service sector union Verdi has been trying for months to hike the pay of Amazon's 9,000 workers in Germany to bring them in line with wages in the distribution sector.  Amazon has thus far resisted that pressure.

Where is Kim Jong-Un’s older brother?  The whereabouts of passed-over heir Kim Jong-Nam and his son Kim Han-Sol were unclear in the wake of the execution of uncle Jang Song-Thaek.  South Korea media are reporting rumors that he’s hiding from a “hit squad” that was supposedly dispatched to.. well, dispatch the Kim who blew his chance to become North Korea’s leader with an ill-advised trip to Tokyo Disneyland.  Jong-Nam has blasted his homeland’s dynastic succession as “a joke to the outside world.”

Women and children are among the 21 people killed in a grisly attack in the eastern Democratic Republican of Congo.  The UN peacekeeping mission says the victims were raped, mutilated, and beheaded.  Suspicion has fallen on the Muslim Ugandan rebel group ADF-Nalu, one of the oldest but least known armed organizations based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

UNICEF is condemning the “horrific killing, abuse and harm” inflicted on children in the Central African Republic.  The agency’s executive director Anthony Lake says the conflict is now affecting 2.3 million children, who find themselves increasingly caught up in what’s becoming a sectarian conflict.  France already has 1,600 troops there to try and restore order after a year of coups and chaos, and Paris is asking Europe for some help. 

Next year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced:  Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Peter Gabriel, Nirvana.. and.. the hottest band in the world, KISS.  Finally – after being snubbed for 15 years, museum officials admit that a massive letter writing campaign by the Kiss Army finally paved the way.  Nirvana got in on its first year of eligibility.  Peter Gabriel says he plans to attend the induction ceremony next April.  But sad news from California, Linda Ronstadt recently announced she is battling Parkinson's Disease and is unable to sing or travel.