and projects that are changing no one's are meant for the better it's up to us to make a difference listen to each other. in the political environment magazine. long d. w. . bush this is c w news live from berlin and the countdown to christmas tensions are running high in the middle east tourists are celebrating christmas eve in the city of bethlehem ahead of midnight mass but festivities are being overshadowed by anger and the reason over washington's new middle east policy also coming up. kremlin

critic aleck son of ani has held rallies across russia to back his bid to run in next year's election he's considered the strongest potential challenger to president vladimir putin but a court conviction bars him from running. plus david versus goliath in the natural world conservationists in south africa are turning to one of the world's tiniest creatures in their effort to contain damage caused by one of the biggest. i'm maya schwager welcome to the program. we start in the vatican where pope francis is leading christmas eve mass thousands of roman catholics morale in the world have gathered in st peter's basilica for the traditional late evening service

it teleports their belief in the birth of jesus christ over two thousand years ago . and this version christians to find a quiet moment to reflect on the meaning of christmas. and christmas celebrations are also underway in the west bank city of bethlehem but among heightened tensions this year's festivities come at a time of simmering anger after u.s. president donald trump's controversial decision to recognize your wrist as israel's capital the announcement triggered clashes which has been weighing on christians as they prepare to celebrate christmas despite it all festivities are under way. christmas eve in bethlehem the town where the it is the birthplace of jesus is in

festive me and asked thousands of christian pilgrims arrive from around the world. to find something special. about to feed something special yet here we are here just full of the steps of the christ. being there what he was born. is like. reading the bible all you crucibles jerusalem's latin patriarch pierre but he stopped was a school today by israeli police through a checkpoint from jerusalem. to the west bank. arriving in bethlehem he greeted this night full but he's met. ssage of christmas peace is overshadowed by we need tension prompted by u.s. president donald trump's decision to recognize to resell him as the capital of israel. like many world leaders pizza balor has said the status of jerusalem should

not be altered by unilateral decisions palestinians both muslim and christian hope the same city will one day be their capital. rules for the british and. the continuance of the point that it is. looking for freedom for over human dignity. but it's the news of a message to the poor that it will see them is the capital of palestine jerusalem is the biggest thing in city is ok. but in jerusalem israeli prime minister benyamin netanyahu criticized palestinian leader mahmoud abbas for saying he would not work with the u.s. on any future peace deal i think once again a clear and simple thing is being shown those who do not want a resolution to the conflict are the palestinians. for

tonight christians in bethleham are trying to put the conflict to one side and remember the reason they're here to celebrate christmas. in russia kremlin critic alexei now danny has held rallies across the country to back his bid to run in next year's presidential election he's hoping the show of support well persuade officials to overturn a court conviction that parson from standing as a candidate the money is considered the strongest potential challenger to president vladimir putin who is expected to extend his term by another six years. a show of support for alexei navalny the opposition leader needed the endorsement of five hundred people to initiate a presidential bid but far more than that took to the streets on sunday here in a katherine book and in one thousand other cities across russia. russia needs

a new president and new economic policies we need to stop fighting and start working together going forward for the better or charade of the group and i came here because it's important the election is competitive. you know. because our country is stagnating and we need change. in moscow not only was cheered on by over seven hundred supporters in a marquee on the banks of the river moskva works in a valley has been banned from running in the actions until twenty twenty eight the election commission says a suspended sentence for food makes him ineligible and valerie says that was politically motivated a fierce critic of president vladimir putin who is widely expected to win reelection in march. you've lied to me a putin who turned our country into a source of personal enrichment for yourself your family and your friends. that is

why you should not be president any more you are a bad president you don't have good policies and you don't know how to run a country we will defy you in these elections and we are ready to win in the new. the files his indorsement papers at the election commission on sunday evening if his bid is rejected he has threatened to call for a boycott of the election. now to some of the other stories making news around the world raging floodwaters and landslides in the philippines have killed more than two hundred and left thousands homeless tropical storm ten been intensified into a typhoon with north mindanao badly hit people and houses were swept away the philippines suffers some twenty typhoons and storms each here making it one of the most disaster prone countries. north korea has condemned the latest u.n.

sanctions against the country as a commode act of war state media said the measures violated peace and stability in the region kyung insists it will carry on developing its nuclear program to establish a balance of force but the united states north korea's ongoing ballistic tests have prompted fresh sanctions by the u.n. security council festive celebrations in serbia have been marred by outrage after a very expensive artificial christmas tree residents of belgrade have joined protests against the mayor accusing him of corruption. tanenbaum tanenbaum how green and how ridiculously expensive are your branches that's what some residents in serbia's capital belgrade are thinking after finding out this eighteen metre high plastic christmas tree cost eighty three thousand euros now far from rock in round the christmas tree on a happy holiday some of demonstrating next to it against what they see as corruption banners take aim at the city's mayor with slogans like eighty three

thousand euros shame on you mayor sydney's a molly says he wasn't aware of the cost and would council the deal but opposition groups claim he's involved in questionable use of public funds with a tree costing four times the amount of the one outside new york's rockefeller center. this is not only the most expensive plastic christmas tree in the world it's also an insult to belgrade citizens. forget christmas spirit someone town says instead. the person who bought this christmas tree should be held responsible. but nobody it seems has yet got round to asking what the bulls and bows cost they could be in for a shock. well david and goliath is a familiar story in the human world but out there in nature it seems it's also a 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 their nature's heavyweights 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 it happens very destructive in terms of trees and there are to certain degree but it's not just a lesson said calls for 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 think 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 that 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 this moisture so they typically target the trucks which the elephants don't like at all so once they've been stung once they pulled out the bull that memory and they would pretend to be project is proving successful at stopping the elephants knocking on the trees and a future spin off could be honey produced in commercial quantities. well with soccer playing such

a big role in germany it's tough for athletes and other sports to make a name for themselves martin kaymer has been the face of german golf for the better part of a decade but his place could be threatened by a player there's barely known zander shuffle is ranked twenty fifth in the world he won the season ending tour championship in september and now could be german golf's next big thing a tale of two names in the u.s. he's known as zander saucily his name is german vogue arctic sunday show for the technically he's germany's best goal for. his father and coach stephane moved from stepped up to san diego thirty years ago and taught him everything except for the language. growing up in a household of a german father is definitely something i learned right away discipline and respect and honesty are things that you know our family values very much and you know he kind of that's how he brought me up to play golf as well as your sport runs in the

show for the family. in stuttgart a local sports hole bears the name of his great grandfather the shot shuffler nicknamed molly he was a professional footballer and athlete in the one nine hundred twenty s. later he became a city councilor and deputy mayor father stefan moved to the u.s. in tragic circumstances he was an aspiring to kathleen's hoping to compete at the olympics but lost vision in this left eye after a drunk driver hit him with his car when he was just twenty three. the dove would in your mind. has been always given it destroyed my dream of hope here so i emigrated to the us. while i was studying i lived next to a golf course and i realized it was a great school as you showed because the ball doesn't move towards you and i can all tennis or is it just me who can be but squash out of my tennis so i tried. to say so to what followed was a california dream exam that became

a professional golfer and is now faced with a difficult choice compete for germany or the usa of the twenty twenty tokyo olympics so far he hasn't decided to grow up here in the u.s. most of my friends are american of course you know my good friends my and my father's german or half at least and it's a tricky situation a situation far more complex than choosing between zander and alexandre. that's a tennis arena williams has confirmed she will make her long awaited return to the sport on the thirtieth of december she will compete at the move adalah championship and exit an exhibition event in abu dhabi the twenty three time grand slam champion has not played since winning the australian open in january taking time out from the sport to give birth to her first child in september the thirty six year old has confirmed she will also be at melbourne park early next year and is looking forward to defending her title. and before we end the show some joyful news from japan

people there are bidding farewell to twenty seventeen by laughing away the bad memories from the past months a crowd gathered at a shrine and also a copper a collective outburst of joy led by local priests the twenty eight minute laughing ritual has become an annual tradition according to shinto legend laughter at lord of the sun goddess our out of a dark cave. you're watching news i'm irish waiter more coming up at the top of the hour. they make a commitment.