Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

As allegations of sexual abuse of child pupils by Catholic clerics pile up in Europe, the Vatican has moved to defend the practice of priestly celibacy.

"Priestly celibacy is a gift of the Holy Spirit which must be understood and experienced with a fullness of feeling and joy, in a total relationship with the Lord," Cardinal Claudio Hummes was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency.

The Red Cross has urged for more global donations, highlighting the suffering of more than 2.17 million Zimbabweans who are in dire need of food.

The organization has warned that the figure, which makes up close to one-fifth of the southern African country's population, is likely to rise because of an expected poor harvest this year.

The National Portrait Gallery is to reveal a life-size portrait of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, in the British capital of London.

Claimed to be the largest painting of the Mughal empire, the picture will be displayed during an exhibition called Indian Portrait 1560-1860, which will kick off on March 12, 2010.

Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal has snatched a 3-1 victory against Mes FC in the Asian Champions League Group D at the King Fahd International Stadium.

The hosts, coached by Erirc Gerets, took an early lead through Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson who broke the deadlock after just three minutes on Wednesday night.

Real Madrid has been knocked out of the Champions League following a 1-1 draw with France's Olympique Lyon at the Bernabeu Stadium.

The nine-time European champion took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo who netted the opener after six minutes on Wednesday night.

One person has died, and one more is missing, after a fire broke out overnight destroying one of Moscow's most famous nightclubs. The Opera nightclub was completely gutted by the blaze. According to a preliminary investigation, the building underwent recent renovation which may have left the venue in violation of fire safety rules. More than 200 people were evacuated from adjoining buildings. The club had been closed for a short period due to poor safety standards but was later re-opened. This followed nation-wide checks after a nightclub fire in the city of Perm in Central Russia in December 2009, that claimed the lives of 155 people.

While acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine had long been thought to be effective in increasing the chances of conception through IVF, a new study voices doubt about the belief.

Previous studies had reported that acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine improve blood flow and subsequently increase the chance of an embryo implanting. Many infertile couples were therefore advised to use the therapy in different stages of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

The sex scandals seem to be endless for the Catholic Church as new allegations of child abuses are surfacing in a Roman Catholic convent in Germany.

The Vatican said Tuesday that local churches had "acted swiftly and decisively" to address the issue.

Iran's Sepahan was held to its second successive draw in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday, failing to score against bottom-placed Al Ain.

"We were lucky not to concede a goal in the first half but [we] dominated the game in the second half thanks to some technical changes," Sepahan manager Amir Qalenoi said.

The United Nations Council of Human Rights is intended to condemn a move by Switzerland to impose a ban on the construction of new minarets in the Alpine nation, characterizing the measure as "Islamophobic."

A draft resolution proposed by the Muslim states for consideration in the 47-member council, "strongly condemns ... the ban on construction of minarets of mosques and other recent discriminatory measures," AFP said.