>> this is dw news, live from berlin. russia reports a drone attack hundreds of kilometers from the front lines. the drone is shut down before it can strike interbase according to the russian defense ministry -- ministry, it killed three people. also on the show, entering thomas airbase, china claims provocations for the united states and taiwan.

the presidents of the united states and canada bettel to store power after a huge storm goes dozens of people across those two countries. and according to the story, jesus was born in bethlehem but which one? an israeli archaeologist believes he has found a real birthplace of the christian messiah. welcome to the program. russia says a drone attack on one of his airbases has killed three people. according to moscow, the fatalities were caused by falling debris after its air defenses destroyed the drone. the airbase is used by long-range bombers. quick security cameras near the airbase recorded the moment of the explosion. russia says the drone used in the attack failed to hit its

target. the airbases hundreds of kilometers from the iranian border. these are the consequences of russian aggression. if the russians think they won't reach deep in their territory, they are wrong. it is more than 300 days until the war in ukraine but in the bitterly contested city here, no one is counting anymore. the front line said become a fortress. russian forces have targeted them completely. the situation in the city is very loud. constant explosions. but we have to survive and we will survive. the struggle has been costly on both sides. analysts say dozens of soldiers are dying everyday. many colleagues treat when the

ukrainians. they say it is more than a job, it is their purpose in life. >> i thought the atmosphere would be more festive over the holiday. i was wrong, we are still dealing with human suffering every day. ukraine's president has warned of continued russian attacks in the coming days. >> maria explained the significance of the attack on the airbase in russia. >> the angle is by far away from ukraine. about 700 kilometers to be precise. many military experts say that choosing angles based -- based on target is not essential. there are two key reasons.

it is a base for russia. secondly, just to remind you, it was exactly from the airbase that russia launched massive attacks on ukraine two weeks ago. i would say that these factors make many observers believe that this attack was part of the comeback from the ukrainian military. >> however russian authorities responded to this attack deep into their territory? >> the attack from the russian side was white strained. the russian ministry of defense claimed that the drone was actually taken down by air defense. according to their statement, no military equipment was damaged. it was not a big deal despite all the casualties. >> what does this attack seem to mean in moscow?

>> according to military experts, this incident does not carry much of a military significance but more of a psychological and political one. certainly this is a blow to moscow and we can say that it is victory forgive. ukrainians seem to be getting more confident to target strategic facilities inside russia. maybe for moscow, this attack is not as big and devastating as an occupied crimea breach. the main question is how they can make itself far away without

being detected and shot down before they proceed. >> the government of taiwan says more than 70 chinese military aircraft have entered its airspace over the last 24 hours. taiwan's defense ministry says that against across the median line which acts as an unofficial divide. beijing says it has conducted drills in response to provocations from taiwan and the united states. let's get more on this from elizabeth, she is the president at the pacific forum in washington dc. very good to have you with us on dw. let's look at the show of force. it is by no means the first one china has done.

how seriously should we take these kinds of actions? >> we always need to take this type of action from china seriously. the timing of it is interesting on christmas day. sending a message that if you want to have peace across the taiwan strait, you need to quit enhancing your support of taiwan. this is in response to president biden signing that national defense authorization act which includes in it the taiwan enhanced resilience act which for the first time specifies a defense monetization program for taiwan. it gives a billion dollars in annual presidential authority. what that means is president biden can draw down from pentagon stockpiles to send defensive missiles to taiwan.

china sees that as a provocation. there is a lot more in the national defense authorization act that supports taiwan. we do need to take this pretty seriously. >> you mentioned that drawdown authority. how is china looking at the war in ukraine as it sizes up its options in taiwan? >> what xi jinping sees is that since the collapse of the soviet union in 1991, over those 30 years, ukraine moved out of the orbit of russia. china does not want the same thing to happen to taiwan. taiwan has been moving out of china's orbit. xi jinping wants to prevent a situation where it has to use

force against taiwan. better to prevent taiwan from moving so far away that china has to resort to force. in china's view, when the united states does strengthen military officials with taiwan, china sees that as taiwan moving more and more out of the orbit. it does not want to get to the point of no return. that is that it needs to use force as a response. >> taiwan is outgunned and outmatched by a much larger foe across the taiwan straits. what options does it have in encountering these kinds? >> taiwan does not have a lot of options. the balance of military power has shifted from taiwan to mainland china in the past 20 or so years. it relies heavily on the united states. he will probably notice that japan will be doubling its defense budget because japan is

very concerned about threats to taiwan as well. one thing taiwan has done is it has lengthened the compulsory military service. previously, taiwan had compulsory to your military service for all males. they had to do it between graduation and college. then they went to four months compulsory training which just is not enough. now they lengthen it to one year. the problem is it is not significant training. it is not hard-core training. taiwan needs to help the anti-there. >> we will leave it there for now. thank you for those views. turning now to some other

headlines, china is set to scrap his covid-19 commenting -- quarantine requirement beginning january 8. they have to quarantine for at least five days at a hotel and another three days at home. travelers still need or will still need a negative virus test 48 hours prior to departing for china. south korea scrambled military jets and attack helicopters after five north korean drones crossed its airspace. south korean officials say the military fired warning shots at the drones and set surveillance aircraft across the border. flights were temporarily suspended at two airports in the south korean capital. a second group of exhausted muslims have landed on a beach in indonesia's province after weeks at sea. at least 185 children and adults

this -- moved off the boat. emergency workers are battling to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the united states and canada after an unprecedented winter storm. in some areas, the death toll keeps on climbing as missing people are confirmed dead. more than 50 people across those two countries have been killed in other regions, locals are focusing on cleanup efforts. >> the deadly blizzard brought several meters of snow, heavy wind and misery to millions across north america despite the power outages and freezing temperatures, people in many cities across the continent are being asked to stay indoors as snowplows get to work clearing roads and pathways when the vehicles themselves aren't stuck in snow drifts.

workers are also out in force, repairing downed power lines in cities across the continent. today, many of the deaths have been in hard-hit buffalo new york. >> individuals who died as a result of a blizzard died outside from exposure, died in a snow shovel or a cardiac event regarding the snow blowing or found in the home. >> that number is expected to rise in the coming days. in canada, four people were killed and several more were injured after a bus rolled over on an icy road in the western province of british columbia. the scope of the storm is unprecedented, stretching from canada as far south as texas. in florida, frozen stiff iguanas dropped from the trees, unable to move and in a catatonic

state. not only did the deep arctic freeze keep people trapped in ice and snow encrusted homes, it also disrupted holiday travel plans for millions of people. several weather advisories remain in effect across the continent. >> earlier i asked matthew if he was surprised by the high death toll. >> to an extent, i am. i am just more disturbed than anything else. this storm was well forecast. we knew for days with the impact would be. we knew exactly how we would go. we knew everything about it. people still ventured out and defined what we were urging people to do. it is very disheartening. what is happening in buffalo is much more localized. we are having winds out of the

west and southwest. picking up moisture from the warmer waters and lakes and just depositing it as very heavy snowfall. we have about 150 plus centimeters followed so far and plenty of wind. very significant impacts. " dramatic images. even for places used wild winter weather. what can you tell us about what people in the hardest hit areas can expect coming up? >> conditions are beginning to get better right now. things can finally wind down fully there in buffalo. one thing that struck me with this particular system was the wind. when we talk about lake effect snow, we get dusty at about 30 or 40 kilometers per hour. this time around, the wind was on the heels of temperatures

dropping out at 20 or 30. one other thing is that the heavy snow, combined with the wind dabble at about five meters at times. blizzard conditions require visibility. they normally get them once every year or twice every year or so. they wound up getting 12 hours. that is something i have never seen before. never mind buffalo. >> exactly. can we expect major winter events like this again this season? >> the pattern does seem right for this. buffalo has already outpaced its

average annual snowfall in just the first two months of the season. it gets pretty concerning. some people have wondered if there is a connection to climate change. when it comes to lake effect snow, the fact that we are seeing warmer water temperatures into the air and less ice on the lakes due to climate change might be a connection we are to explore in the future. there could be some length. >> that is a worrying trend that cities all around the world would have to deal with. thank you so much. massive snowfall also on the others of the world. large parts of japan have seen more than 17 people dead and dozens injured due to winter storm there. thousands of homes are without power. japan's weather agency urging residents to avoid travel after hundreds of cars got stuck on roads in heavy snow. >> in the northeast of japan, harsco fronts have battered the

country for 10 days now. authorities have warned that groups might collapse from snow but they have also warned about the dangers of removing snow. many people have all while clearing their ribs. some buried under thick snow piles that had slid north. -- slid off. >> this is torture. i have to wrap up in a blanket to keep warm. >> hundreds of people left their cars stranded on freeways during the heavy snowfall. many households have been left without electricity and delivery service has been met with extreme delays. dozens of flights and trains have also been canceled. so far, northeastern japan has racked up three times the usual amount of snowfall for this time of year. >> bethlehem is widely celebrated as the birthplace of jesus. drugs of pilgrims visit the

palisade city to see the greta that believers think is this what would jesus was born. his team spent years collecting artifacts and more in bethlehem. it is just down the road from the ancient city of nazareth. he says his findings prove that joseph and heavily pregnant mary walks just 7 km, not 150 two the manger where the christian messiah was born. >> it is a well-known tale of a young family in need of a boy whose birth founded an entirely new religion. joseph and heavily pregnant mary traveled from their home in nazareth to the city of bethlehem new jerusalem or so the story goes. not everyone agrees on the details. >> what are the chances that a nine month pregnant woman would

write on a donk from nazareth to bethlehem? >> this archaeologist spent 11 years excavating another bethlehem of the galilee. not far from nazareth. three key findings prove this is the real birthplace of jesus. according to him. >> this is it because justinian built a wall abound -- around bethlehem in the 16th century. >> the juice who settled in this area during that time were here. >> we know that jesus was born as a jew, lived as a jew and died as a jew. there are no traces -- archaeological traces of inhabitants in the roman.

>> he believes this bethlehem was once an important place for christians. his thesis has not gained much traction. >> here in the traditional bethlehem, there is more at stake than historical truth. for centuries, this has been a place of pilgrimage, tourism and big business. that is not what is important to religious leaders here. >> it is by belief and by faith. this is the most important thing. >> he is committed to his theory and as to keep promoting it. he claims it is supported by fact and logic. but ultimately, he agrees that for the billion plus christian ithful, whether there were

here, it will all come down to a matter of faith. >> a multinational tbc was created and produced in africa has won a prestigious international emmy award. my world was broadcast across five african countries. with the reach of more than 140 million people. it follows a six africa teenagers. >> welcome to my better world. my name is abby. this is the start of a journey that is all about improving your life. >> the series with its positive message and relatable characters has proved a hit with millions of young africans. >> i like my better world because it encourages african kids to do their passion and what they want to be in the

future. when i see girls doing this amazing stuff, it keeps me inspired. my favorite character is rosa because she is a scientist. i want to be a scientist and their scientific things. >> it teaches me math, teamwork, having good friends, incorrect swahili and critical thinking. >> one of the creative directors explains why the series is a first for the continent. quick to date, there has not been something to that size made in africa -- in animated series specifically. also, the collaborations that occurred across five african

countries. >> the show aims to empower and inspire the young generation. by featuring real people, pursuing their dreams. it uses entertainment to get his message across. and in some cases, it has brought about concrete change. >> when this a restarted broadcasting, we were hearing from communities that they were really enjoying it but we actually have data now. the community's that have watched the series have increased. there has been more girls enrolling in school. what this shows is you can actually make a social impact with entertaining programming. >> the hope is that my better world will animate teenager to do the best they can for themselves and others. >> welcome to my better world. >> a new movie about hollywood called babylon is out starring brad pitt and marco robbie.

the film is set in the debugger is 1920's. it is directed by damien giselle -- chazelle, the creator of lala land. >> what we have here in hollywood is high art. >> babylon looks at 1920's tinseltown. >> when i first moved to l.a.. the signs on all the doors read no actors and dogs allowed. >> margo robie as the towns knew it grow. it is a crazy ride through the roads number one film town before hollywood was hollywood. >> it was the wild wild west. they were figuring out movies, there were not respected, they were making up the rules as they went along. sex drugs and rock 'n' roll was

-- i think they did a better than the 60's and 70's even. >> the director shows the dark side of the dream factory. people chewed up and spit out by the movie business. >> admitted on my terms, not theirs. -- i made it on my terms, not theirs. >> she has no idea what is next. >> fans of lala land might find this version of old hollywood a bit too dark, too cynical. that could hurt the film at the oscars but there could be no doubt that babylon knows how to put on a show. >> nothing like a hollywood film about hollywood. finally, let us turn over to the yacht race that has kickoff in sydney. the 77th addition of the event,

it got us to effect -- it got up to a fast and dramatic start off of australia's east coast. some of the front runners were quickly kicked out due to penalties. those that remained have a downwind to thank. the first post could cross the finish line as early as tuesday night. look at those beautiful boats. look at him go. we will limit their for now. is our science show. tomorrow today. stay tuned for that. you for watching.

narrator: funding for this program was provided by the minerva nolte estate. woman: people are getting water in their home. [man speaking spanish] woman: we need gender equality and we need this reflect in national priorities. man: if you cross the border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. woman: amid an outcry over the treatment of detained migrant children. man: trump administration's zero tolerance policy and resulting separation of family. woman: the spanish coast guard has rescued more than 200 migrants from the mediterranean sea in the last 24 hours.