in a regimented society. an exclusive peek behind one of the last iron curtain is. a north korean dial starting december twenty eighth on d w. this is news live from berlin the philippines reels from a deadly typhoon before christmas more than two hundred people are known to have died after the storm devastated southern parts of the country rescuers are scrambling to find dozens more missing. and

a shadow over the holy land on christmas eve the u.s. decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital c. heightened tensions in the region. and the u.s. plans to supply anti-tank missiles to ukraine to provide it with quote and hence defensive capabilities russia says the move though is fueling a war. also coming up to help us all have a merry little christmas twenty eight thousand fans throng to a neon verlyn soccer stadium to sing carols and what has become an annual holiday tradition. and welcome to the program some two hundred people are dead in the philippines after a tropical storm brought devastation to the south of the country rescue operations are underway to find dozens who remain missing tembin is the second deadly storm to

hit the country this week it swept over the island of mindanao leaving destruction and its wake. tropical storms rarely hit mindanao in the south of the philippines ten being proved a brutal and deadly exception. the heavy rains caused massive flooding and numerous landslides. entire villages were swept away. washed up the like they used to be one hundred three houses here but when the flash flood happened everything was washed out all their homes and livelihoods gone ninety families have been affected in a list that can last for. towns were deep under water with people trapped in their homes. across the affected region at least forty thousand people have been displaced scores are still missing. emergency workers and volunteers have been searching for survivors and victims. the devastation is widespread

endless mud flattened crops. and entire communities where people have to rebuild their homes and their lives. for more on the situation on the ground let's bring in philippine senator dick orgon he's the chairman of the red cross there mr gordon can you tell us about the current situation unfolding now following a storm. well we're slowly but surely getting to the bottom of how many people actually die right now there are questions about a hundred and sixty before are dead and these and there are twenty provinces affected from the pacific side to do what's going to bring seaside or the china sea the chevrolet you want to quality and that's about eight hundred miles of land and most of the areas are printed on whom he has tried to get to on business

a lot of boulders a lot of mud and people dying mares everybody in areas where rivers suddenly overtopped and conquered practically those living that were in there and the river side and also on the mountain side people are very thin much and so it's quite a while the warnings these are who are in areas that cannot be reached you can eat like communication and these are very poor families and families exam the communications equipment to be able to get the warning and so we have all these we will on a lot of the same amount of me here a lot of miles this is sorry another big one i've been flogged is a father who has mothers as are the children and they are not he leaves with a very pernicious fact that is going to see. a magnification of the cycle of poverty and these are syrian our country to corn in the philippines thank you for

taking the time to speak with us. staying in the philippines where people are mourning another tragedy this christmas eve at least thirty seven people are feared dead after a fire broke out at a four story shopping mall firefighters have begun recovering bodies and authorities say there's no chance of survival for anyone trapped inside crews have now put out the blaze in the southern city of devout it's believed the fire started on the third floor the cause is not yet known. tensions are still simmering in the middle east following washington's decision to recognize your as the law as israel's capital u.s. president donald trump controversial announcement earlier this month triggered demonstrations and clashes across the region including in the israeli occupied west bank city bethlehem it's cast a shadow over christmas festivities as christians prepare to celebrate midnight mass date pastries not too sweet these palestinian delicacies called

mahmoud have a special significance it would be oddly enough i'm going to make these a tista because they symbolize christ's crown that this year we've decided to make them a christmas as well because the children like them so mine. the whole family joins in the man soars are christians living in bethlehem charlie mansoor is a doctor he and his wife breda have three children as christians celebrating christmas in the birthplace of jesus is extra special but this year politics is putting a damper on the celebrations. and. people are worried and afraid we'll probably go to church for christmas and then just stay at home with the family as. you can see why at bethlehem's town walls palestinians dressed as father christmas taunt israeli border guards they retaliate with tear gas it's been like this for

the last two weeks the tension is getting to the man stores. in mn a. christmas is different this year we can even smell the tear gas in town as well because donald trump decided to move the american embassy to jerusalem to see if we can say the jerusalem an arabic city where all religions should co-exists message to. the more as in calls the faithful to prayer in the center of bethlehem two thirds of the town's thirty thousand residents are muslim one third christian the two faith communities treat each other with respect and in the end of the we celebrate together with our christiane presence and day with those there are no differences between us. was. more and more tourists are coming to bethlehem the palestinian authority has stepped up security measures but

a feeling of ease remains. at the grotto of the native of the where jesus is believed to have been born a group of pilgrims starts an informal choir a prayer for a peaceful christmas. now to some of the other stories making news around the world thousands of israelis have demonstrated in tel aviv and jerusalem calling for the resignation of what they call a corrupt government and its leader benjamin netanyahu the protest days after netanyahu have lashed out against police he's accuse them of conducting an investigation against him aimed at ending his leadership. north korea has condemned the latest u.n. sanctions against the country and an act of war young insists it will carry on developing its nuclear program to establish a balance of force with the united states on friday the u.n. security council unanimously backed fresh sanctions against north korea in response

to its test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. my people in japan are getting ready for two thousand and eighteen with a belly roar this lapping ritual at a shrine in osaka is meant to cast off the bad memories of the past year the ritual stems from a tale of shinto davies using laughter to lure the sun goddess out of a dark cave ah. ah ah ukraine's president petro poroshenko has thanked the united states for its decision to provide his nation with lethal weapons u.s. officials have confirmed washington is planning to provide kiev with anti-tank missiles and missile launchers ukraine has been battling russian backed separatists in the east since two thousand and fourteen but russia insists the move will only fuel hostilities. cleaning up after the attacks has almost become a normality in eastern ukraine neither side is willing to concede is they continue

to shift the blame on to each other. president poroshenko was fond of saying that the war cannot be won with radar and night vision goggles alone. while joint exercises with the west boost troop morale now says ukraine needs arms more than anything else. and the united states is expected to deliver washington has agreed to provide forty seven million dollars worth of weapons including the u.s. made anti-tank missile system javelin. russian president vladimir putin has said his country would react quote appropriately and adequately speaking to a congress of his united russia party he briefly touched on the matter but. we are not looking for confrontation with anyone however we will never sacrifice the well being of our citizens and the interest of our nation. critics warn the move would have consequences. but this undermines the peace process and prevents efforts for

the implementation of the minsk treaty. a cease fire has been in effect since saturday due to last until the new year past agreements have been shaky at best. david versus goliath is a familiar story human struggles but the natural world is also the stage for some seemingly unequal battles to help contain habitat destruction in south africa conservationists are turning to one of nature's smallest creatures to rein in one of the biggest. they're nature's heavy weights and not surprisingly they need a lot of food an adult elephant will munch its way through more than one hundred kilograms a day of fruit leaves bark and grass that can be costly for landowners who react by trying to keep elephants away from their property is a general consensus that elephants are very destructive in terms of trees and there

are to certain degree but it's not just elephants that cause her habitat change. and because big trees are iconic we are trying to. find ways to protect the trees so that landowners are all happy with having elephants in the area one solution being tried here on the edge of the kruger national park these bees elephants maybe thick skin but they're very sensitive and they don't like being stung as a creature so small can actually scare away the elephant. but they sting the elephant in the trunks and that is an. elephant like the keepers hang their beehives directly from the trees in vulnerable kids and plantations it's a terror which the elephants can see hear and feel and one they certainly don't forget. and bees don't really go to it is moisture so they typically

target big trucks which the elephants don't like at all so once they've been stung once they pulled out the old that memory and they would return to the big project is proving successful at stopping the elephants knocking on the trees and a future spin off could be honey produced in commercial quantities. you know. now second division german soccer team money and berlin have been battling to reach the bundesliga for many years but it just hasn't happened yet still every christmas the club makes headlines. because of a much loved tradition twenty thousand fans packed their stadium to think festive carols. that was. passed by nothing and started back in two thousand and three now ballin fans make the annual pilgrimage to their stadium not for football but for singing their moms would do

exactly like we did at the start all or all music all in fans wrote amateurs on the stage and in the crowd really come that's all part of the charm only all have become synonymous with christmas in germany not just because they kit has the same color as santa. who knows where this will lead. you under the. christmas carols have become a marketing tool for the club. all. of. the take is that this sounds and lives are wonderful them it is not about a flight the few young here is like family that's why it is great to experience it my eight. people come from all around the world to take part in the singing like mad to atari's she's from mexico was.

was really like it's a great atmosphere and i really enjoy it is that the fan way to celebrate christmas . if the team plays as well as their fans sing in could well be in the bond as they go this time next year now wouldn't that be a great christmas present was was was was. the . if you're watching the news on. a live to surf. danger lurks in the mall we were. surfing ways and.