Countrys last rebel stronghold. And romania marks a grisly anniversary 3 decades ago its last communist dictator met his and bringing the countrys bloody revolution to a close. A mary in evanston its good to have you with us. Christians around the world are celebrating christmas marking the birth of jesus more than 2000 years ago at the Vatican Pope Francis led the Midnight Mass at st peters basilica his blessing emphasized forgiveness not just for sinners but for the church itself after a difficult year in which sexual abuse scandals continue to rock the Catholic Church francis urged christians to keep the faith. Forward i he does a ritual that dates back to the 1st centuries of the Catholic Church the Midnight Mass at some pages is a spiritual gathering there the pope is said to confide the would of god to the faithful of. Course all of that he may call who by the incarnation brought together the earth and the heavenly realm fill you with the gift of his peace and favor and may you share it with the church in heaven it is this. For the pontiff and followers of the catholic faith it has been a trying him scandal has reached the very top of the church in many places. So in his sermon the pope appealed for believers to maintain the faith. That they may we not wait for our neighbors to be good before we do good to them let us not wait for the church to be perfect before we love her let us begin with us so and receive the gift of grace. Celebrating the belief of the fight for was also one of the themes of the Midnight Mass in bethlehem there pilgrims of worship is gathered at the church of the nativity. Its a site where jesus is believed to have been born but it still listen this was led by the archbishop of jerusalem in the presence of palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas any family the act bishop appealed for believe is to overcome hatred. To move to be something to cater to accommodate misunderstandings of those who too much share their desire for encounter in peace. Is an appeal for unity and for ted to be the guy said he hoped the result will be on the christian faithful in a region where faiths mix and we believe too often causes conflict. While thousands of people flock every year to the birthplace of jesus to celebrate christmas journalist santa cycle has been following the festivities in bethlehem weve seen a Record Number of tourists and pilgrims visiting both best and jerusalem this year and what as added to the festive atmosphere is the fact that the pope francis has given a relic this size a fragment of war that has been in rome for nearly 1400 years and this is believed to have been part of the major part of the creed where jesus christ lay so it was received you with a great. Loss and the belief here is that it will draw more tourists to visit the city on the other hand israeli authorities have prevented yet again gazans from leaving and zipping the west bank visiting beslan and visiting jerusalem and even though last year they give a permission for 700 Palestinian Christians to leave the gaza strip and this is this year the number was only 300 so the disappointment in gaza was very high amidst very strong condemnations from the various churches and that was journalist semicircles speaking to us earlier from jerusalem. All right lets turn our attention now to some of the other stories making news around the world in hong kong demonstrators have clashed with police in Christmas Eve protests riot police fired tear gas as protests went through a major shopping district activist blank streets and smashed shop windows antigovernment protests in hong kong are now in their 7th month. In the libyan capital tripoli 4 people are reported dead after a projectile exploded at a Vegetable Market forces loyal to libyas internationally recognized government have blamed a rival groups answering to warlord Khalifa Haftar are attacking a civilian area taras forces have been trying to seize tripoli since april in chile a wildfire has destroyed dozens of homes in the port city of all east so thousands of people were evacuated as the forest fires spread from the surrounding hills to residential areas the blaze was fed by high summer temperatures and strong winds. Working afonso as president says 35 civilians have been killed in a militant attack near the town of our binde in the north of the country 7 soldiers also died Authorities SaySecurity Forces repelled the assailants killing 80 of them were tina faso has been battling an Islamist Insurgency since 2015. Well now to syria where there is no end in sight to the misery inflicted on civilians in the besieged province of eclipse the last major rebel stronghold russian airstrikes supporting the assad regime killed at least 8 people 5 of them children who were sheltering in a school house the United Nations is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. That till now min in egypt has become a ghost town People Living here have fled the government offensive against rebels. Shabab people are fed up fled to live on the leaf trees this is a Vegetable Market theres no one here i havent seen anyone other than journalists taking pictures of me and. Most of those fleeing are hitting north towards the turkish border. And they did not we run away from the rockets out of the barrel and explosive shells. We were asking for allows mercy and for the United Nations to see what happened to us because of Bashar Al Assad and the russian army. They are killing us. With heavy shelling. And a strikes. Syrian troops have been pushing into it live. And identified syrian colonel said the offensive is to clear the province of terrorism. Yet they do have saw i lack history in army cares about civilians lives what i do want to get the idea on the military calls upon them to leave the areas where the terrorists are. That should go to the areas under the control of the syrian army has come to save them from terrorists and terrorism and ive been with more than 40000 people have been displaced by the science in recent weeks. Well 30 years ago today romanias revolution drew to a close with the execution of dictator cesco it was the final and bloodiest chapter in the series of revolutions in 1909 that overthrew communism in europe dan voice is a retired military prosecutor who played a role in ending the tyranny and he shares his perspective on that to mulch of his time when the revolution broke out in december 1909 don was in the thick of it this barracks in tega vish to remain yes hate to dictate to nicolae ceausescu and his wife elena were on trial when a young prosecutor at the time crossexamined the couple. The thought of the couple which osha shochet school was a dictator if you consider all the atrocities he committed only one charge was possible crimes against humanity and theres only one punishment for that. Little when he took. The chance just gives were executed immediately after the trial they had no chance to appeal it had little to do with the rule of law but after the short trial broadcast life the shooting in the streets stopped the death toll in romania had already reached one sounds and prosecutor dunn valena insists the summary execution was justified he points out the bullet holes where the cheshire screws was shot against the wall but 30 years on he still waiting for a truly fresh start for remaining. Genever its time the new generation followed their feelings began to build the rule of law that the young people back then gave their lives for. Through better social. Danville and often visit the cemetery where the revolutions victims are buried most of them were under 30 teenagers students and workers many of the perpetrators have yet to be identified for the approaches to this day which are all these young people who were murdered in december 1809 there is still no justice the wounds left by remaining as communist era and the bloody revolution that ended it 30 years ago a still gaping wide well many argentinians have little to celebrate this christmas as the country endures its worst economic crisis in years the government has just introduced a package of emergency measures overcome the crisis but now one of the countrys favorite holiday treats is becoming unaffordable for many. Christmas fruit cake argentinean style. Lemon peel the nola raisins nuts run cinnamon cloves and of course lots of sugar. Pant also his red. Argentinians cant survive the days between Christmas Eve and new year without it. Italian immigrants brought it with him in the form of papa tony. And it evolved into something south american. For bakers add that means over time. To monitor but only for one dont traditionally belongs to every christmas in argentina but now it costs up to 10 euros people can hardly afford it any more but i will. Once again argentina is in the midst of an economic crisis workers are being laid off incomes are falling while inflation is rising. Prices for electricity gas rent and food are all increasing as well as the number of soup kitchens many people can barely afford to buy anything at all including the beloved christmas cake but master Baker Serafin oregano says thats not acceptable his pendle say is low priced and highly political alert then drilled hopefully well meet again in a couple of years and be able to say see we got through it its like this all over the world only if we work hard things will get better. Than the. In the past 4 years argentina was led by a probusiness president somewhat unusual for the country but since october elections a left wing paralysed is once again at the helm sarah few know already goes pondering the change in political direction with his planned also his fruit cake costs just 3 europes cheaper than the competition he donates the proceeds to soup. Kitchens. That. We have and huge. We will find solutions to overcome the crisis that weve been living with for so long. Its only been Government Policies should benefit the people the workers not like it has to be until. Only a few rich people benefit the masses but if we should get on that most of. The argentinians are probably south americas most politicized people even on Christmas Eve. And a quick reminder now of our top story pope francis has left Christmas Eve mass at the vatican after a year that the Catholic Church rocked by a scandals francis used his address to urge christians not to lose the faith. And dont forget you can always get news on the go just download are out from google play or from the app store that will give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for any breaking news you can also use there to send us your photos and videos. Thats the latest from d w news on the back again at the top of the hour with another update for you american ever seen by me and the entire news team thanks for watching. And all. The language courses. Video. Anytime anywhere