and. you know better than unanimous. the show could do because you for a radio sort of. rush one. you know what i'm going to say but i thought going on what they're doing fronted. by mackenzie it gets us into serious it. this is deja vu news live from berlin and the countdown to christmas tensions are running high in the middle east tourists are celebrating christmas even in the city of bethlehem ahead of midnight mass but festivities are being overshadowed by anger

in the region over washington's new middle east policy also coming up. hundreds of christians attend the first christmas eve mass in mosul a sense islamic extremists were driven out almost six months ago they're hoping christian life can thrive again in the city. 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. high maya sweater welcome to the program. we start in the vatican where pope francis is leading christmas eve mass thousands of roman catholics from around the world have gathered in st peter's basilica for the traditional late evening service

it celebrates their belief in the birth of jesus christ over two thousand years ago . in his remarks pope francis compared the millions of migrants in the world today with jesus's parents mary and joseph who journeyed to bethlehem but found nowhere to stay pope francis urged catholics not to ignore the plight of refugees. the christmas celebrations are also underway in the west bank city of bethlehem amid heightened tensions this year's festivities come at a time of simmering anger after u.s. president donald trump's controversial decision to recognize to roussillon as israel's capital the announcement triggered clashes and has been weighing on christians as they prepare to celebrate christmas spited all festivities are

underway. christmas eve in bethlehem the town where the it is the birthplace of jesus is in festive mood as thousands of christian pilgrims arrive from around the world. and i hope to find something special. about to feel something special yet here we are here to fall of the steps of the christ. being there where he was born. is like. reading the bible all life was jerusalem's latin patriarch pierre but his step ysabel are was a score to buy israeli police through a checkpoint from jerusalem. to the west bank. arriving in bethlehem he greeted the faithful but his message 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 balla 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. the fuel for the british and. the continuance of the point that it is. looking for freedom for over human dignity. but its opinions have a message to the poor that digital signal is the capital of palestine jerusalem is the biggest thing in city is ok where it is but in jerusalem israeli prime minister benyamin netanyahu criticised 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 a trying to put the conflict to one side and remember the reason they're here to celebrate christmas. or just months ago the iraqi city of mosul was a stronghold of the so-called islamic state many residents fled the city to escape the violence of the extremists and now with the i asked driven out natives of muscle are coming back including christians on sunday hundreds attended the first christmas service sense the city was liberated. oh. christmas mass in mosul. a year ago it would have been unthinkable. back then the city was under the firm grip of the so-called

islamic state. but since the militants were driven night in july more and more christians have been returning home. it was said i met with or without peace there is no life after our victory over islamic state messages that we must all call for peace first in our hearts until it can be reflected on the outside. it has been six months since the iraqi army trove i.s.i. to mosul replacing the militants flag with the national flag of iraq. but the city landscape has changed little since the fighting ended large parts of mosul a still in marines. we had such a nice house not anymore. when we came back everything had been looted even our children's clothes were gone and now it's winter. this used to be

a christian orphanage before i took it over as a command post is that we're going to. it's a somber service with tribute page to those killed and i asked room. but the first christmas mass in four years also brings hope of a peaceful future for mosul. now and to some of the other stories making news around the world raising floodwaters and landslides in the philippines have killed more than two hundred and left thousands homeless tropical storm tendon intensified into a typhoon was north mindanao badly hit people and houses were swept away the philippines suffer some twenty typhoons and storms each year making it one of the most disaster prone countries. north korea has condemned the latest u.n.

sanctions against the country as a quote act of war state media said the measures violated peace and stability in the region telling insist it will carry on developing its nuclear program to establish a balance of force with the united states north korea's ongoing ballistic tests have prompted fresh sanctions by the u.n. security council germany plans to set up foster homes for miners in morocco the german interior ministry has said that talks with the moroccan government are underway the homes will be dedicated to deported north african asylum seekers and juvenile delinquents the move is aimed at helping the miners reintegration and to egypt now where a project to build two tunnels under the suez canal has been officially launched the goal is to create better transport links between the sinai peninsula and the rest of the country the aim of the project is not only to upgrade infrastructure but to improve security. tunnel boring machine is borrowing underground beneath the

suez canal the new tunnels were inaugurated on saturday and hailed as a major achievement by president abdel fatah c c the four links are intended to improve access to the sinai peninsula from the rest of egypt at the port side on the mediterranean and further south the plan is for them to deliver a long needed boost to the peninsula economy it's a volatile area where an offshoot of the so-called islamic state has a foothold the militants claimed responsibility for the downing of a russian plane in two thousand and fifteen killing more than two hundred people but the peninsula is also receiving investment the plan is for sustainable economic growth bringing jobs martin has an connects company has provided some of the know how the german engineering firm developed the huge drills used in the tunnel project as president of the egyptian president attach great importance to us giving

skills to egyptian engineers for children with trained in germany before working on the project here. president el-sisi took part in a test run on saturday up to six kilometers long and seventy meters deep the tunnels will soon be open for traffic. festive celebrations in serbia have been marred by outrage over a very expensive artificial christmas tree residents of belgrade have joined the protest against the mayor accusing him of corruption. oh 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 rocking 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 cancel 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 with soccer playing such a big role in germany it's tough for athletes in 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 barely known here zander shah fully 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 though show for the technically he's germany's best goal for. his father and coach stefan moved from step got to san diego thirty years ago and taught him everything except for the language. growing up in a household of a german father is 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 day sport runs in the

show for the family. in stuttgart a local sports hole bears the name of his great grandfather the bishop 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 decathletes 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 i was given get destroyed my dream up here so i emigrated to the us. i was studying i lived next to a golf course and i realized it was a great school and as you showed because the ball doesn't move towards you and i can all tennis or is it just me who can be bob squashed out of my tennis so i tried . to say sort of what followed was a california dream exam the 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 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. at the tennis where serena williams has confirmed she will make her long awaited return to the sport on the thirtieth of december she will compete in the movie dalat championship 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 be at melbourne park early next year and is looking forward to defending her title. before we get to the end of the show some joyful news coming from japan people there are bidding farewell to twenty seventeen

by laughing away the bad memories of the past months a crowd gathered at a shrine and also a kafir a collective outburst of joy led by local priests oh oh oh oh it's twenty minute laughing ritual has become an annual tradition according to a shinto legend laughter lurd at the sun goddess out of a dark cave. ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah you're watching the news i'm my a sweater more coming up at the top of the hour thanks for watching. i'm not proud of what will succeed in defining a shadow not succeeding taking the people.