which mission to many of us are. going with the surfers fighting against one simply. starting january seventh on g.w. . this is you know we do is live from berlin pope francis delivers his christmas day blessing as worshippers across continents and cultures celebrate the holiday the pope called for israelis and palestinians to come together and resume talks aimed at the two state solution as the path to peace in the holy land. meanwhile in his

christmas message germany's president urges germans to not lose hope in times of uncertainty as the country struggles to form a new government bungalows or steinmeyer expressed confidence that political leaders can end the deadlock over a new coalition. and that is this is the most expensive plastic christmas tree in the world on some people in serbia certainly seem to think so we'll find out how it's granted out into a full blown political controversy. her rock is great to have you along. christians around the world are celebrating christmas and as as custom pro presses as given the. blessing from the balcony of the basilica overlooking st peter's square it's one of the most sacred addresses in

the catholic calendar it's been a v. day of new putting these. it's really. hate speech to find. one just before that the pope used his christmas message to call for a negotiated two state solution to end the israeli palestinian conflict on this festive day let us ask the lord for peace for jerusalem and for all the holy lab. let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties. and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states. within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders. well on sunday pope francis led midnight mass at the vatican in his sermon

the pontiff focused on the plight of refugees comparing immigrants to mary and joseph and urge worshippers to be generous in welcoming foreigners. already known as an outspoken reformer the pope had a clear message he compared mary and joseph journey to bethlehem with the mass migration seen today the holy couple had arrived he said at a place where there was no room for them to stay. he did use a paid my son many of the footsteps he did in the steps of joseph and mary. we see the tracks of entire families forced to set down in our own day. we see the tracks of millions and you do not choose to go away. but driven from their land to leave behind that dia warned us yes but i received a dear old gaiety. face said the pope demands that

foreigners be welcomed. some ten thousand worshippers joined midnight mass amid the splendor of st peter's basilica. many more followed the service from the square outside amid heightened security. i think that the pope signifies a lot of hope for a lot of people and that he has the power to bring a lot of people together through religion and through faith and i hope that. people would be more forgiving the words one another whatever day or religion each more accepting. so that we would all live in harmony. the pope support for refugees has put him at all odds with some politicians but it's already become a key message of his tenure. well here in

germany president a funk alter steinmeyer used his christmas address to urge germans to remain calm this by political uncertainty in the country towns and america has been trying to form a new coalition government since federal elections back in september steinmeyer also encouraged germans to draw lessons from the past fast devised. by divine summer thirty years ago the christmas season was characterized by incredible or an enthusiasm thanks to the fall of the wall. although it was an unforgettable moment for all of us it also marked the beginning of uncertainty for many. looking back don't we see how much it paid off to celebrate that unique moment without fear . german president frank held his first christmas greeting as president from his residence bellevue he called on people to seize initiative in uncertain times.

because indian for help in this way not only help the situation so our future is not set in stone we can overcome the sense of powerlessness and alienation on both a large and small scale if we take action as a community if we stop calling on others to be responsible and start to realize that responsibility begins with us. each time i also addressed the delay in forming a new german government now the longest in post-war history which leaves lish not all things that are unexpected should inspire a shia this also applies when the formation of a new government takes longer than full scene. of the vote in the us but the german president gave his assurance that the country remained stable. want to tell you now about some of the other stories making news around the world. tunisia has banned planes belonging to dubai based airline emirates from landing in its capital tunis officials there say they're responding to moves by the united arab emirates to

block tunisian women from flying to or transiting through the u.a.e. for security reasons the measure has sparked an outcry among tunisians. a bus crash in the northern philippines has left twenty pilgrims dead six of them children the victims were all members of one extended family their vehicle collided with a larger bus as they were on their way to a christmas service at a popular catholic church. at least six people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the afghan capital kabul the blast occurred near an office belonging to the country's national intelligence agency during the morning rush hour the so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility. peru's president has pardoned the country's former leader. on medical grounds well throughout the one nine hundred ninety s. who mori held an iron grip on power in peru but was later given a long prison sentence for crimes committed during his tenure while the former

strongman supporters are cheering his release but others are condemning the move. more. hospital bed his son kenji reads out the text of the pardon for quote humanitarian reasons citing doctors' determination that he suffers from incurable and degenerative medical problems. but on the streets of lima outrage at the pardon among human rights and left wing activists they say he should remain in jail . where totally opposed to the pardon because fujimori is a war criminal he sterilize women against their will and had union leaders and journalists killed. in that salute indignation we will never forget what has happened and what he has done in the past that. anger to a current president pedre. he had promised not to pardon for him ari then last week

he survived a no confidence vote in congress which is dominated by for him or his supporters. this pardon is illegal the medical report that supposedly backs up this decision is a fraud it's all part of a political deal between the foci mores and kaczynski party where you reject decision your solution. but frankly mori also has a large following supporters celebrated his release at the hospital where he'd been taken on saturday straight from prison. he reportedly has cardiovascular problems it's the most part we are extremely happy just as has been done for the best president peru has ever had the man who gave us pace and defeated terrorism. seen here in file footage was president throughout the one nine hundred ninety s. he's credited with defeating the leftist shining path insurgency and restoring economic stability but he was authoritarian he once suspended the constitution and

shut down congress transparency international has ranked him among the world's most corrupt heads of state. for he maurice supporters may now be rejoicing but his release has reopened old wounds and threatens to further destabilize the country. was. now if you follow golf you'll know that martin kaymer has been long been the big name in the german game but that may be about to change he is facing a possible challenge from a player hardly known interim xander shelf away the american born twenty four year old is ranked twenty fifth in the world he won the us a p.g.a. tour championship in september and now he's pondering whether to represent germany 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 stephane moved from stepped up to

san diego thirty years ago and told 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 sport runs in the show for the family. in stuttgart a local sports hole bears the name of his great grandfather shuffler nicknames 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 his left eye after a drunk driver hit him with his car when he was just twenty three. the dove world

in your mind. was born and i was given it destroyed my dream of hope here so i emigrated to 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 for instance we too can be but squash out of my tennis and so i try to. be on sort of what followed was a california dream zandu became a professional golfer and is now faced with a difficult choice compete for germany or the usa at the twenty twenty tokyo olympics so far he hasn't decided to grow up here in the us 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 i. seasonal festivities in serbia have been marred by outrage over this extremely expensive christmas tree artificial christmas tree i should say residents in the

capital belgrade have joined protests 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 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 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 citizen. 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. are all now it's christmas day across the globe so merry christmas to everyone celebrating and santa and rudolph are still very busy at the moment as they enter the final stretch of their world tour before they set off on their travels on christmas eve they made a stop in alexandria virginia the dealer entertained families on the banks of the part of mack river at the annual christmas show before they set off on their worldwide present delivery run st nick and rudolph were joined by the grinch on a jet ski who overcame his groom to be anti holiday spirit to docile the spectators

. are at in just a reminder of the top story that we're following for you right now. pope francis has backed the two state solution for peace between israel and the palestinians delivering his christmas day message at the vatican he also urged dialogue to resolve some of the world's most intractable conflicts. you've been watching the news on the rock in berlin on behalf of all of us here thank you so much for spending this part of your day with us the news continues at the top of the hour. what does a football loving country need to reach its goals. we'll tell you how german soccer made it to the top. you know what.