Bittersweet Christmas for Iraqi Christians near Mosul

With Israel having closed its borders to most foreigners, Bethlehem's residents are getting ready for a muted holiday season.

‘Tis the season… for emotional manipulation. These images show children seemingly barred from a Christmas market and Father Christmas being dragged away by police. But they are being wielded to pull on people’s heartstrings as the holidays approach, with the fake news mill continuing to twist the facts.

Christmas in Bethlehem is usually a festive and colorful season. This year, festivities in the Palestinian town are set to return — but the COVID pandemic is still casting a shadow on the celebrations.

With Israel having closed its borders to most foreigners, Bethlehem's residents are getting ready for a muted holiday season.

This summer, catastrophic floods hit the Ahr valley in western Germany. Half a year later, with winter drawing in, DW reporter Peter Hille traveled there to meet people who are slowly beginning to resume their lives.

The latest polls find a majority of Americans regard the supply chain crisis as a major concern.

For this special Christmas edition of Eye on Africa, we've prepared a range of feel-good and culturally significant stories for you to enjoy. Families in Cairo of all religions drop by the city's Christmas market to enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the annual bazaar.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.⁣

Pope Francis said that those who are indifferent to the poor "offend God." In a Christmas season overshadowed by coronavirus worries, he also urged followers to value the "little things in life."

The Greek and Tunisian coast guards have also reported successful rescue missions. Nonetheless, dozens of people have died in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the past several days.

Iraq's top court has ratified the results of its October election, rejecting a case brought by an ex-paramilitary alliance.

Although Germany isn't logging record cases like its neighbors, Health Minister Lauterbach said current figures don't show the whole picture. Data reporting has slowed over the holidays — but the omicron variant has not.