Washington, United States | AFP | It’s the question every good little girl and boy asks on Christmas Eve: When is Santa coming? As it has done every year since 1955, a Canadian and American defense agency is tracking the jolly old man’s path around the globe in his reindeer-powered …
Read More »Pope pleads for migrants at Christmas mass
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis in his Christmas eve mass Sunday urged the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics not to ignore the plight of migrants who are “driven from their land” because of leaders willing to shed “innocent blood”. “So many other footsteps are hidden in the …
Read More »Dense fog disrupts UAE flights ahead of Christmas
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Thick fog on Sunday disrupted flights at major airports in the United Arab Emirates as thousands of foreign residents rushed to travel home for Christmas and the New Year. Dozens of flights were cancelled, diverted or delayed at the three main airports in …
Read More »Jerusalem tensions cast shadow over Holy Land Christmas
Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Preparations were under way in Bethlehem on Sunday for Christmas, with tensions still simmering in the city and the region following Washington’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The controversial December 6 announcement by President Donald Trump unleashed demonstrations and clashes, including in …
Read More »Hamleys opens its largest toy store in Beijing amid Christmas debate
Beijing, China | AFP | British toy retailer Hamleys opened its largest store in the world in Beijing on Saturday, just two days before Christmas as debate played out over whether the holiday should be banned in the Communist country. Christmas elves, a teddy bear parade and a curiously slender …
Read More »WWII bomb forces 54,000 Germans from homes on Xmas
Berlin, Germany | AFP | An unexploded British bomb from World War Two forced 54,000 people out of their homes in Germany on Christmas Day, the country’s biggest such evacuation since the end of hostilities. The huge operation on Sunday in the southern city of Augsburg took 11 hours, involved …
Read More »Pope Francis urges compassion for children at Christmas
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis urged the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to feel compassion for children, notably victims of war, migration and homelessness in his Christmas Eve mass but also those “not allowed to be born”. Addressing a 10,000-strong crowd late Saturday, the pontiff urged worshippers …
Read More »Website charts Santa’s journey around the globe
Washington, United States | AFP | An online Santa tracker run by a Canadian and American defense agency mapped the jolly old gift-giver’s path around the globe Saturday, in what has become a Yuletide tradition. Every Christmas Eve since 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been tracking …
Read More »Pilgrims in Bethlehem, fears in Europe on Christmas Eve
Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Pilgrims on Saturday thronged Bethlehem for Christmas Eve as Europeans worked up some holiday spirit despite tight security in the shadow of the Berlin market attack. Crowds of Palestinians and tourists flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity, ahead of …
Read More »Price surge in basic commodities ahead of Christmas
Festive season and prolonged drought push prices high This year’s Christmas may not be merry as many could hope as prices for specific basic commodities increases ahead of the big day, The Independents analysis shows. The price of sugar has increased from Shs 3, 200 to Shs 5,000 per kilogramme …
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