Christmas eve the u. S. Decision to recognize jerusalem as israels capital sees heightened tensions in the region. Plus father christmas may be on his way but where is he from d. W. Goes in search of santa claus and you might be surprised about where we found him. Im at a cost and welcome to the program some two hundred people are dead in the philippines after a Tropical Storm brought devastation to the south of the country rescue operations are underway to find dozens who remain missing tembin is the second deadly storm to hit the country this week it swept over the island of mindanao leaving destruction in its wake. Tropical storms rarely hit mindanao in the south of the philippines. Ten being proved a brutal and deadly exception. The heavy rains caused massive flooding and numerous landslides oh and tire villages were swept away. Washed up the like they used to be one hundred three houses here but when the flash flood happened everything was washed out all their homes and livelihoods gone ninety families have been affected in the least that the last. Towns were deep under water with people trapped in their homes. Across the affected region at least forty thousand people have been displaced scores a still missing. Emergency workers and volunteers have been searching for survivors and victims. Of the devastation is widespread and less mud. Flattened crops. And entire communities where people have to rebuild their homes and their lives. Staying in the philippines where people are mourning another tragedy this Christmas Eve at least thirty seven people are feared dead after a fire broke out at a four story Shopping Mall firefighters have begun recovering bodies and Authorities Say there is no chance of survival for anyone trapped inside crews have now put out the blame on the other infinity of devout its believed the fire started on the third floor the cause is not yet known. Preparations for the christian celebration of christmas are underway in bethlehem amid heightened tensions this year a perception is taking place as worshippers make their way to the charge of the negativity at the spot where christians believe jesus was born among those taking part is the latin patriarch the Roman Catholic churchs top official in the holy land who will be celebrating the Midnight Mass later. But this years festivities calm at a time of simmering anger after u. S. President Donald Trumps controversial decision to recognize jerusalem as israels capital that move has triggered clashes and has been weighing on christians as well as they prepare to celebrate Christmas Day eight pastries not too sweet these palestinian delicacies called mahmoud have a special significance would be oddly enough to make these a tista because they symbolize christs crown that this year weve decided to make them a christmas as well because the children like them so mind. The whole family joins in the man soars are christians living in bethlehem Charlie Mansour is a doctor he and his wife breda have three children as christians celebrating christmas in the birthplace of jesus is extra special but this year politics is putting a dampener on the celebrations. And. People are worried and afraid well probably go to church for christmas and then just stay at home with the family. You can see why at bethlehems town walls palestinians dressed as father christmas taunt Israeli Border guards they retaliate with tear gas its been like this for the last two weeks the tension is getting to the man soars. Elimination of bad shot christmas is different this year we can even smell the tear gas in town here all because donald trump decided to move the American Embassy to jerusalem city although we consider jerusalem an arabic city where all religions should coexist in a city to. The mores in calls the faithful to prayer in the center of bethlehem. Two thirds of the towns thirty thousand residents are muslim one third christian the two faith communities treat each other with respect and we celebrate together with our christine presence new day with those there are no differences between us. With. More and more tourists are coming to bethlehem the Palestinian Authority has stepped up security measures but a feeling of ease remains. At the grotto of the native of the where jesus is believed to have been born a group of pilgrims starts an informal choir a prayer for a peaceful christmas. Nap some of the other stories making news around the world thousands of israelis have demonstrated in tel aviv and jerusalem calling for the resignation of what they call a corrupt government and its leader Benyamin Netanyahu the protests come days after netanyahu lashed out against police hes accuse them of conducting an investigation against him aimed at ending his leadership. North korea has condemned the latest u. N. Sanctions against the country as an act of war kyung insists it will carry on developing its Nuclear Program to establish a balance of force with the United States on friday the u. N. Security Council Unanimously backed fresh sanctions against north korea in response to its test of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile the result of the. Our u. S. Judge has partly blocked President Donald Trump latest restrictions on refugees he ruled the measures could not be applied to people with a bonafide relationship to a person or entity in the u. S. The white house had effectively stopped refugee admissions from eleven countries mostly in the middle east and africa. Kremlin critic alexina vali is holding rallies in twenty cities across russia to back. His bid to run in next years president ial election hes seeking to gather at least five hundred supporters at each location to get his name on the ballot the valley is considered the strongest potential challenger to president Vladimir Putin in the march vote david versus goliath is a familiar story in human struggles but the Natural World is also the stage for some seemingly unequal battles to help contain habitat destruction in south africa conservationists are turning to one of natures smallest creatures to rein in one of the biggest. Theyre natures heavy weights and not surprisingly they need a lot of food an adult elephant will munch its way through more than a hundred kilograms a day of fruit leaves bark and grass that can be costly for landowners who react by trying to keep elephants away from their property is a general consensus that elephants are very destructive in terms of trees and there are to certain degree but its not just ellisons that cause her habitat change. And because big trees are iconic we are trying to. Find ways to protect the trees so that landowners are all happy with having elephants in the area one solution being tried here on the edge of the Kruger National park these bees elephants may be thick skinned but theyre very sensitive and they dont like being stung as a creature so small can actually scare away the elephant is no. But they sting the elephant in the trunks and that is an. Elephant like the keepers hang their beehives directly from the trees in vulnerable and plantations its a terror which the elephants can see hear and feel and one they certainly dont forget. And bees dont really go to it is moisture so they typically target big trucks which the elephants dont like at all so once theyve been stung once they pulled out the old that memory and they would return to the big project is proving successful at stopping the elephants knocking on the trees of the future spinoff could be honey produced in commercial quantities. You know. Christmas eve is finally here and while some of you are surely still doing some last minute shopping to find the perfect present others are all done and ready to hand them out including fana cloth. And many kids around the world are hoping to catch a glimpse of jolly old saint nick on his sleigh maybe with a few reindeer as he delivers billions of gifts sounds like a tough job right well this is the story most of us know but does father christmas really come from the north pole as legend has it. Set out in search of the mythical man with a bright red outfit and white beard and she found it entered. The. Its christmas time a reason to celebrate for some people here in istanbul as well and like every year curious children want to know where does santa claus come from. From somewhere in more way. From a snowy place from england. America maybe. From over there. I dont know. Unbelievable but true even many turkish people dont know that good old center is in fact one of their own so states you and we will show you where father christmas really comes from. Its right here the small town of demaris in southern turkey. In the fourth century a bearded man known for his generosity lived here children were especially fund of him because he often gave out gifts it was this man st nicholas. The reading this is the very church in democratic west saying nicholas prayed about seventeen hundred years ago he was officially called the bishop of iraq that was the name of this town back then. As is nicholas. Between st nicholas is important all over the world some of his good deeds are reflected in the first here in this church which. Like protecting those in prison and healing the sick you also mention so did we get is. Devoted his entire life to the well being of others yet show moon has. Many such stories surround the legend of st nicholas he was known for sharing his possessions with the poor and filling childrens boots with gold coins pilgrims spread the word of his miraculous deeds over the centuries the persona of st nicholas evolved into the santa claus figure we know today. The most sacred spot of the church and daimler isnt open to meet behind the glass screen people have long believed that this is the last resting place of Saint Nicholas they say his remains were stolen and taken to italy hundreds of years ago. But a team of scientists recently made a fascinating discovery to come you clues findings point to an intact burial crypt below the church you clue is convinced that this is where the real grave of st nicholas lies still. It will take some time before we can prove it but i think the chances are good. If you think. It will be a sensation importance of this place will grow a many more people would visit them. Maybe then the word will spread that the original center klaus actually comes from taki. And dont forget you can always get d. W. News on the go just down our app from google play or the apple store thatll give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for any breaking news story you can also use the d. W. App to send off photos and videos. Now if youre on the lookout for an alternative festive soundtrack this year in our region musician composer ted s. On fat could be for you hes currently on tour and well leave you now with some of his music more news at the top of the hour thanks for watching t w. He takes personally you went with all the wonderful people in stories that make the game so special. For all true fact