News Headlines - 19 December 2011

▽Kim Jong-il dead: uncertainty and instability in Korean peninsula - Telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8965783/Kim-Jong-il-dead-uncertainty-and-instability-in-Korean-peninsula.html
Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, died aged 69 of a heart attack, plunging the nuclear-armed and deeply isolated nation into a second dynastic succession and the region as a whole into diplomatic uncertainty and instability.

▽Kim Jong-il: The cinephile despot - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174
One of the more surprising facts about Kim Jong-il was his love of cinema. He reportedly owned more than 20,000 videos and DVDs and counted Elizabeth Taylor among his favourite actresses.

▽Czechs bid farewell to anti-communist hero Havel - CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/19/world/europe/czech-republic-vaclav-havel/index.html
The former dissident playwright helped topple communism in eastern Europe through the power of his words, insisting, "Truth and love triumph over lies and hate."

▽Saab Automobile Files for Bankruptcy - Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204791104577107812414053178.html
Former owner General Motors had objected to potentially life-saving investment from Chinese partners. Saab Automobile said GM's refusal to approve a rescue plan with China's Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. Ltd. had forced it to file for bankruptcy, the Swedish company said.

▽Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows shoots to No. 1 at US box office - Metro
http://www.metro.co.uk/film/885329-sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-shadows-shoots-to-no-1-at-us-box-office
The sequel, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, took $40 million (￡25.8m) while its 2009 predecessor raked in $62.3m (￡40.2m).