Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas congratulates Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa , apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, during the Christmas Midnight Mass in Saint Catherine’s Church at the Church of the Nativity, on December 25, 2016 in Bethlehem, West Bank Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday night that the UN Security Council’s resolution condemning Israeli settlements was a step in the right direction for his people, asserting that it posited the “legal basics” for a two-state solution to the conflict and appealing to Israel to make peace.
Day: December 24, 2016
Six British ex-soldiers to spend another Christmas in ‘hell hole’ Indian jail
Six British ex-soldiers will spend Christmas Day in a “hell hole” Indian jail after their hopes of coming home were dashed again. The six, who a British lawyer says are victims of a miscarriage of justice, hoped their appeal in court last month would allow them to be reunited with their loved ones back home for the first time in four years.
Teens’ tales of PT3 trials and triumphs
He was among the 15-year-olds across the nation who obtained the Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga results last Monday. They are the third batch to sit for the PT3 introduced in 2014.
Chandigarh, neighbouring areas receive showers
Chandigarh, Dec 25 : Giving a break to a prolonged dry spell this winter, Chandigarh and parts of neighbouring Punjab and Haryana received rainfall early on Sunday. [NK Punjab] The rain came as a relief on the occasion of Christmas for revellers who were planning to drive to hill stations like Shimla and Kasauli in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
Sri Lanka claims world’s tallest artificial Christmas tree
A Sri Lankan family takes photographs standing near an enormous artificial Christmas tree as others gather around it in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. Sri Lanka has unveiled a towering Christmas tree, claiming to have surpassed the world record for the tallest artificial Christmas tree.
Enhanced Energy: ONR Global Seeks More Powerful Electronic Devices
Washington, DC – Groundbreaking energy research from the United Arab Emirates, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research Global , is the focus of an article published this week in the acclaimed Nature Magazine journal “Scientific Reports.” Dr. Ammar Nayfeh’s article reveals unique use of zinc oxide to improve semiconductors and energy output in electronic devices.
Faith-filled New Zealanders still keep Christ at the centre of Christmas
It was a full house at St Mary’s Peace Hall in New Plymouth with parishioners flocking to celebrate Christmas with their church community. It was the first Christmas service following the closure of the cathedral earlier this year, which stands as the oldest stone church in New Zealand but requires an extensive amount of earthquake strengthening.
The Latest: Trumps attend church services on Christmas Eve
Trump on Thursday abruptly called for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand… The president-elect and his wife, Melania, arrived Saturday night at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. The soon-to-be first couple were married at the church in 2005.
Faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather. Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.
Israela s Netanyahu lashes out at Obama over UN vote
Israel’s prime minister lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump. Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came a day after the United States broke with past practice and allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.
LDS missionary dies in South Africa
A full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from New Zealand, serving in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission, died on Dec. 23. Elder Nofo-I-Lelenga Latu, 19, from the Auckland New Zealand Tamaki Stake, Clover Park Ward, died of injuries sustained in a car accident. He was traveling with three other missionaries, who are being treated for minor injuries.
Sri Lanka claims worlda s tallest artificial Christmas tree
The tree costs $80,000 and was criticized by the Catholic Church as a “waste of money.” The church suggested that the funds better be spent on helping the poor.
Woman, teen tied to Islamist militant group blow themselves up
Bangladesh policemen cover their nose to protect themselves from the smell of teargas during a raid in a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s home minister says a woman and a teenager thought to be linked with a banned Islamist militant group have blown themselves up during a police raid on a two-story house in the nation’s capital.
Sri Lanka unveils artificial Christmas tree it claims is world’s tallest
A Sri Lankan family takes photographs standing near an enormous artificial Christmas tree as others gather around it in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016.
Thousands of faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem
To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus takes a picture on Christmas Eve in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016. BETHLEHEM, West Bank – Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.
Analysis: Egypt’s hasty retreat on its UN settlements resolution
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in the Egyptian capital Cairo on November 8. Consistency was not Egypt’s strong point in deliberations on the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity. But Cairo got through it with its relationship with the incoming Trump administration intact, and only short-term damage to its credibility.
Australia v Pakistan Test series: Here’s how Pakistan hope to curb Steve Smith
Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer View text version of this page Help using this website – Accessibility statement Join today and you can easily save your favourite articles, join in the conversation and comment, plus select which news your want direct to your inbox. Steve Smith played a crucial role in establishing Australia’s series-opening win in Brisbane but Pakistan believe they may have the necessary tactic to quell the run machine.
Sydney To Hobart shapes as fastest of all time
A favourable weather forecast has set up this year’s Sydney To Hobart to be the fastest of all time, although the smaller boats are likely to encounter harsher conditions on their final approach to Tasmania. The fleet of 89 yachts will be greeted by a north-easterly of about 15-20 knots when they turn out of Sydney, with gusts steadily increasing into the evening before a dry southerly change hits the south-east coast of Australia.
Thwarted terror plot draws Christmas crowds to St Paul’s Cathedral
The threat of terrorism at St Paul’s Cathedral was not enough to keep the community away from Christmas Day morning services. If anything, it had the opposite effect.
It was the year of living dangerously: 2016 CBD Wrap
It was a Tuesday morning, May 24, and your columnist was conferring with Angus Aitken – Bell Potter’s head of institutional trading – about an email he had sent out that morning concerning the recent appointment of Michelle Jablko as ANZ’s chief financial officer. “Former investment bankers tend to be crap at most things in the listed world,” Aitken opined to his clients of the appointment.
Letters from the Front on a frosty Christmas morning
The image of soldiers from both sides leaving their trenches for an impromptu kick about and carol concert belongs in the pages of a fairy tale, not on the bloodiest battlefield of the First World War. For most men, though, there was no fairy tale, no truce, just the hope of gifts from home and perhaps something special for lunch.
The Latest: Trump says UN vote on Israel complicates peace
President-elect Donald Trump takes a question from a member of the media at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. Trump on Thursday abruptly called for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” until the rest of the world “comes to its senses” regarding nuclear weapons.
Explosion rocks east Aleppo in Syria as residents return
Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday … . This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA shows Syrian army soldiers marching through the streets in the Ansari neighborhood, east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016.
Roxy Jacenko puts on a domestic display as she washes dishes on Christmas Day
‘Their courage allows us to enjoy the season’: The Obamas honor the military in their last holiday message from the White House Fans of Ivanka Trump flood the Amazon book page of Clinton supporter with one-star reviews after his husband ‘accosted’ the future first daughter on a JetBlue flight I MIGHT be home for Christmas? Wintry weather makes for stressful travel as 100million Americans hit the roads and airports for the holidays ‘There is one president at a time’: Obama Administration dismisses Trump’s criticism after U.S. abstains from UN Israel vote ‘Can you bring my daddy home?’: Military dad surprises his little girls just moments after one of them asks Santa for a Christmas miracle Carrie Fisher’s daughter rushes to mom’s intensive care bedside with her beloved dog, as pilot call reveals actress, 60, suffered a major heart attack on flight and ‘stopped breathing for 10 minutes’ ‘I … (more)
Top StoryThe top international stories of 2016
In this image made from video and posted online by Validated UGC on Thursday, April 28, 2016, a civil defense worker carries a child after airstrikes hit Aleppo, Syria. In 2016, repeated cease-fire negotiations failed to halt relentless warfare among multiple factions.
Germans must leave home Xmas morning as WWII bomb is defused
More than 54,000 people in the southern German city of Augsburg will have to leave their homes Christmas morning while authorities defuse a giant 1.8-ton aerial bomb from World War II. The city’s medieval cathedral and City Hall are in the area to be sealed off.
Pope says Christmas ‘hostage’ to materialism, God in shadows
Pope Francis holds the book of the gospels as he leads the Christmas night Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican December 24, 2016. Pope Francis kneels as he leads the Christmas night Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican December 24, 2016.
Super typhoon Nock-Ten to strike Philippines on Christmas Day
The U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said Nock-Ten was a super typhoon with winds of up to 240 kph late Christmas Eve local time, though it was expected to weaken before landfall. The Philippines’ own weather bureau said the province of Catanduanes was likely to see sustained winds of up to 170 kph by the afternoon as the storm reaches its shores.
The Weeknd’s 20 Best Songs: Critics’ Picks
The Weeknd performs at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at Grand Palais in Paris, France on Nov 30, 2016. If you think about it, nothing about The Weeknd should make sense.
Thousands of faithful gather in biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather. Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.
U.S. troops join displaced Iraqi Christians for Christmas Eve Mass
BARTELLA, Iraq — For the 300 Christians who braved rain and wind to attend Christmas’s Eve Mass in their hometown, the ceremony evoked both holiday cheer and grim reminders of the war raging around their northern Iraqi town, and the distant prospect of moving back home. Displaced when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria seized their town, Bartella, in August 2014, the Christians were bused into town from Irbil, capital of the self-ruled Kurdish region where they have lived for more than two years, to attend the lunchtime service in the Assyrian Orthodox church of Mart Shmoni.
The Latest: Trump to dissolve foundation before inauguration
Donald Trump says the decision by the United Nations to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “will make it much harder to negotiate peace.” The president-elect took to Twitter on Saturday, a day after the U.N. Security Council vote on the settlements.
Fears over most ‘rapid and fundamental’ taxi shake-up since ’67
People Before Profit MLA Eamonn McCann has said he fears ordinary tax-drivers feel voiceless during the most “rapid and fundamental change” in the sector since the 1960s. Mr McCann, who said he doesn’t drive and as such is a frequent taxi user, said it was important drivers don’t feel left out of the process.
Nigeria: Boko Haram is crushed, forced out of last enclave
The Boko Haram extremist group has finally been crushed – driven from its last forest enclave with fighters on the run and no place to hide, Nigeria’s president declared Saturday. His victorious statement came as the Islamic State group, with which one faction of Boko Haram is allied, claimed a successful attack on an army barracks in northeast Nigeria’s Yobe state “killed and wounded many.”
Gbese Mantse never goofed; NDC was victorious – Gbese youth
The Gbese Youth in Greater Accra have stated that there is no basis for calls on the Gbese Mantse to step down since the National Democratic Congress won in the jurisdiction of the chief. The Gbese Mantse, Nii Ayi Bonte II, had said at a public gathering before the December 7 polls that he would step down if the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress party lost the general elections.
Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out at Obama over UN vote
In this Dec. 11, 2016, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu lashed out at President Barack Obama on Saturday, Dec. 24, accusing him of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations over West Bank settlements and saying he is looking forward to working with his “friend” President-elect Donald Trump.
Arsenal target Draxler will join PSG, Wolfsburg confirm
Julian Draxler’s difficult 18 months at Wolfsburg have come to an end, with the club confirming he will join Paris Saint-Germain. The Germany international has signed a four-year deal after the Ligue 1 champions agreed a transfer fee reportedly worth a 35million, plus a further a 10m in add-ons.
Investigators seek supply network for slain Berlin attacker
In this Dec. 22, 2016, photo a police officer holds a submachine gun during an operation at the shopping centre “Centro” in Oberhausen, Germany. Two men have been arrested in Duisburg since they were suspected to plan a terror attack on the shopping center.
All bets are off after UN infamy Jack Engelhard
Jack Engelhard’s classic international bestselling novel Indecent Proposal, which later became a worldwide hit movie, has been republished to meet readers’ demands. His other major works include Compulsive: A Novel, his award-winning post-Holocaust Montreal memoir Escape from Mount Moriah, plus Slot Attendant: A Novel About A Novelist.
Outdoor programmes no longer the only option for kids
From left, Nico Bolli, 10, Nisha Hardman, 9, Jaden Collie, 11, and Ravi Jatania, 11, were up for a day of caving at the Kaniwhaniwha Reserve in Pirongia. Kids today have many more options than kids who grew up in the 1980s, says University of Waikato sport sociology associate professor Dr Holly Thorpe.