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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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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New regulations hamper businesses in nation’s capital In the past, downtown Kampala has always been the busiest place in the nation. Usually crowded streets like Nabugabo Road, Kikuubo, Ben Kiwanuka Street and Luwum Street become impassable as pedestrians jostle to find a way through the Christmas-themed goods on display. This …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price