this is plan. 77 percent this weekend on d w. this is d w news live from berlin christmas celebrations begin in bethlehem. thousands of people are in the west bank city to take part in christmas eve festivities also coming up . asian leaders meeting as north korea threatens a christmas surprise that might be a missile test china south korea and japan hold a special summit to boost cooperation over north korea's nuclear program. and no

christmas mass had not spent on cathedral in paris for the 1st time in over 200 years there will be no christmas service in the landmark because of work being done to repair the massive fire damage. spicer thanks for being with us. thousands of christian pilgrims and tourists are gathering in the west bank city of bethlehem to mark christmas bethlehem is regarded by christians as the birthplace of jesus christ and each year a midnight mass is held in the church of the nativity senior officials from the catholic church will preside over the christmas eve festivities palestinian president mahmoud abbas is also expected to attend.

and for more on that we are joined now by journalist sami so-called in jerusalem thanks for joining us the celebration of the birth of jesus christ trucks millions of christian visitors to bethlehem each year can you walk us through these celebrations. yes well i can tell you it's a sunny day. and. the day began with. the in jerusalem leaving the old city of jerusalem and going to. manger square and over there in the manger square we've set abrasions with the participation of christians who came and gathered pilgrims but also at other stimulants from the west bank who came here also those who belong to other christian denominations like the orthodox and the others and it has been there quite a festive i can tell you i've been listening this morning to the mayor of him and

he was saying that there will be a traffic jams in the city because of the number of the this is this year and. this celebration is going on ok we're looking. at some live pictures. in bethlehem pilgrims gathering for the situation for the events are describing but we understand that there are fewer palestinians in attendance this year why is that. when i speak the specific we're talking about the palestinians from the gaza strip in this should be we had some and 900 palestinians from the gaza strip who said that they want to attend the service. they want to come through and they want to visit their families many of them have relatives in. them and in other places in the us by.

that would give a permit oh you took $100.00 who was it. according to the israeli authorities to get more and then israel said that it would enable more. but if. you only see how good we give it this means that actually. this is very unfortunate. we understand as well that a relic has been returned to bethlehem which is lending special importance to celebrations this year can you tell us about that one is it. took about a very small. part of. the early one. years. of christmas.

and i can tell you that people were very much joyce. ok reporter do you know you sokol reporting for us from bethlehem. the leaders of china japan and south korea have agreed to work together to promote dialogue between the united states and north korea chinese premier league japanese premier shinzo of a south korean president in held a summit in chengdu china against the backdrop backdrop pardon me of increasing threats from pyongyang north korea has said it will take unspecified action if sanctions against it are not lifted by the end of the year. they called it the 3 kingdoms police of china japan and south korea met for talks but the only just setting the agenda at the summit was not at the table. north korea's kim jong il

after the latest tests that when this earlier this month regional powers are concerned appearing young is supposed to do efforts to ease tensions. we agreed that peace on the korean peninsula was in the common interest of the 3 countries we also agreed to make efforts together to help promote north korea u.s. dialogue for denuclearization and peace. the possibility of north korea turning into serious nuclear threat has become more tangible after february summit between kim and us president on a trump fails to deliver any results to come and threat of a north korean attack has forced to pan and south korea to overcome their own bilateral tensions over their colonial history. i am willing to improve this important relationship between japan and south korea by all means today i would like to have a frank discussion. china north korea's only ally supports the call for peace on

the korean peninsula beijing is interested in easing tensions in the region also for economic reasons china's premier used the opportunity to promote a new free trade zone between the 3 countries. the prospect of more diplomatic and economic unity in east asia is cause for optimism but the dawn of a new era depends on substantial jeev minutes after the talks. time now to take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. at least 24 people were killed after their bus plunged off a cliff on the indonesian island of sumatra rescuers are still searching for any survivors trapped inside the vehicle which veered off the road into a 150 meter deep ravine. a german student studying in india says he has been ordered to leave the country after taking part in protests against the government's new citizenship law demonstrators say it discriminates against muslims

linden tall said authorities summoned him and told him that he had violated the terms of his student visa. australia's prime minister scott morrison says volunteer firefighters from the public sector will be compensated with paid leave firefighters have been battling wildfires for months weather forecasters say very hard conditions are set to continue and the flames could burn for several more people have been donating christmas gifts to those made homeless by the fires. and we turn now to the central american state of hunder us which is in shock after 2 deadly prison riots in 2 days the death toll has reached almost 40 in clashes between gangs authorities have declared a state of emergency but that has failed to stop the violence and may even have provoked more. the spam written on their faces relatives gather the morgan to go seek out the one juror

says capital their loved ones died in one of the most violent places in the most crime ridden country on earth one dear says giles on the tourist but even by those standards the past few days have been grim indeed. if the family is to mourning today. and the country is in mourning. after a weekend of violence many are also outraged that the authorities found you to prevent the massacres the prisons was supposedly high security. when the government to create emergency measures last wake it did side to stop the killing there but instead more violence followed. the will of my brother's death hurts he had already served 10 years in a maximum security jail why did he have to die. the authorities are defending their policies they say gangs are trying to stop them cleaning up the prisons. and since

the massacres they have promised to the ploy even more troops to the country's high security giles to fight the mafia's influence they. call the scales was planned on behalf of all ghanaians to crime. by any to avoid us implementing our reforms. but it's not clear if getting even tougher will stop the killings or rather few further anger and violence the united nations is calling for an investigation into these massacres it says the state must guarantee the human rights of prisoners especially their right to life. terraces iconic notes that i'm cathedral will not be holding a christmas mass this year for the 1st time since the french revolution the french government pledged to rebuild it immediately after

a fire earlier this year devastated the cathedral that work however will take years to complete and the building is too unstable to hold religious services. to the landmark cathedral of paris still a skeleton of its former self. the work underway now focuses on stabilizing notre dame and preventing its collapse. the fire that ravaged the church's roof and spire broke out on april 15th. tons of poisonous lead melted during the blaze that spells health hazards and good reason to delay holding christmas festivities inside i think it's incredibly sad that they will be able to celebrate mass especially because it's such a revered monument for catholics probably many many families have that tradition of going every year for christmas services it is quite a break in tradition quite honestly as long as the renovation work is carried out quickly and well it is not the right moment to open at one time i think people are

aware of that and can go to at the church of. notre dame has held a christmas mass every year since $803.00 even during the horror of world war 2. the last interruptions to the mass came amid the anti catholic fervor of the french revolution. this year worshippers are being sent to nearby sites for services including the church of sun so peace. to think that i was ill last christmas and i missed christmas and thinking that it would go again this year with no profit and. i'm missing that already. in years past thousands of worshippers and tourists gathered inside notre dame daily it's still unclear when they'll be able to congregate inside again. and stay with christmas in recent years christmas markets have grown to become one

of the most popular features of the german holiday season in berlin there are over 70 to choose from attracting people from across the globe we paid a visit to one of britain's most popular christmas markets to find out what international guests love most about them. in the center of berlin at the sion diamond market christmas market there is no shortage of artists in all crafts. there are butchers and bakers. even candlestick maker but the principle offering is an atmosphere. that's hard to find anywhere else. you see that one 1st i mean determining by name but i believe and this is our 1st time experiencing christmas market it's really nice it's just. it wasn't what i was expecting it's better and i said it just cheese. is what it is like very can we all have these 3 kind of markets in spain it's unlike anything we

have in the states so it's kind of a it's a nice time here it's warm cozy you have warm and hot drinks it's my 1st day here in beijing and this market is so nice this is the best what. i wonder what's your favorite part about this market to eat everything. i think i love it's that so. if the goal is crowd to mary mint then diamond marked has it in abundance where a simple stroll also offers a chance to learn holiday greetings in half a dozen different languages you know you that. pretty much damn it wasn't. really much of an automatic research job you know we were you comfortable with the finger in your corner that. fate is not our. right. so i don't know having obama. to find out.

and you are of course watching the news live from berlin more coming up at the top of the hour up next a documentary about a mexican american conductor along. i don't forget you can get all the latest news and information around the clock on our web site that's t w dot com thanks for joining together. 50 years of religions for peace people from many different faiths all working together toward a common goal

a peaceful resolution of religious conflicts. now all female members of religions for peace from the middle east are demanding the larger.