Cities worldwide hold subdued Christmas Eve celebrations amid conflicts

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza.

The cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists.

Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them.

The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income — almost all from the Christmas season. The number of visitors to Bethlehem plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry.

A surge of violence in the West Bank, where more than 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and dozens of Israelis have been killed in militant attacks, has greatly stalled tourism. Palestinian officials do not provide a breakdown of how many of the deceased are civilians and how many are fighters.

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Pope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis kicked off the 2025 Holy Year on Tuesday, inaugurating a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in a test of the pope's stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them.

From his wheelchair, Francis knocked a few times and the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica swung open. He was wheeled across the threshold as bells tolled across Rome and the choir inside the basilica began Christmas Eve Mass.

In his homily, Francis said the Holy Year is an opportunity to relieve the debt of poor countries and commit to protecting the planet. The aim of the Jubilee, he said, is “to bring hope to the interminable, dreary days of prisoners, to the cold and dismal lodgings of the poor and to all those places desecrated by war and violence.”

The ceremony inaugurated the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee, in which the Catholic faithful make pilgrimages to Rome.

Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope, and he will underscore that message when he opens a Holy Door on Thursday at Rome’s Rebibbia prison in a bid to give inmates hope for a better future. Francis has long incorporated prison ministry into his priestly vocation, and has made several visits to Rebibbia and other prisons during his travels.

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Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions.

Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!”

Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department's operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.”

He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden.

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After 20 years, the post-tsunami generation stays vigilant for future disasters

LHOKNGA, Indonesia (AP) — Qurrata Ayuni, a 28-year-old survivor of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated her hometown two decades ago, has transformed her resilience into purpose. Defying Aceh's male-dominated coffee culture, she runs a café that serves as a welcoming space for everyone, especially women, by employing and empowering them in the region worst hit by the tragedy.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake, off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 160,000 of those were in Aceh, at the northwestern tip of Indonesia.

Ayuni survived the tsunami by chance, staying at her aunt’s house in Banda Aceh instead of her family home in Lampuuk, Aceh Besar district. However, the disaster shattered her childhood, claiming the lives of her parents and younger sister, who was only 6 when their home was hit by the giant waves.

Infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now stronger than before the tsunami. Early warning systems have been set up in areas closer to shores, to warn residents of a potential tsunami.

About 14 kilometers (9 miles) from Ayuni’s coffee shop, in a public high school in Lhoknga, students regularly take part in disaster simulations, especially when there is a warning of an earthquake, and get ready to evacuate ahead of a possible tsunami.

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21 dead as Mozambique erupts in violence after election court ruling

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Violence that engulfed Mozambique after the country's highest court confirmed ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo as the winner of disputed Oct. 9 elections killed at least 21 people, including two police officers, authorities said Tuesday.

Mozambique Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told a news conference in Maputo late Tuesday that a wave of violence and looting was sparked by the court's announcement a day earlier. He said it was led by mostly youthful supporters of losing candidate Venancio Mondlane, who received 24% of the vote, second to Chapo, who got 65%.

“From the preliminary survey, in the last 24 hours, 236 acts of violence were recorded throughout the national territory that resulted in 21 deaths, of which two members of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique also died," Ronda said. He said 13 civilians and 12 police were injured.

Ronda said 25 vehicles were set on fire, including two police vehicles. He added that 11 police subunits and a penitentiary were attacked and vandalized and 86 inmates were freed.

Tensions were high in the country ahead of the The Constitutional Council ruling on Monday and violent protests started immediately after the announcement was made.

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Ecuadorian police probe if bodies found are of missing children allegedly taken by soldiers

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorian police on Tuesday found an undisclosed number of bodies in an area close to a military base, officials said, and were investigating whether the bodies could be of some of the four children who were last seen taken by men in military uniform earlier this month.

The case of the children, aged 11 to 15, who went missing on Dec. 8, has profoundly shaken Ecuador, with rights groups and the public demanding information about their whereabouts and asking that the case be investigated as a forced disappearance.

Under pressure for answers, authorities said 16 soldiers had been placed in custody and were being investigated for the disappearance of the minors.

Also Tuesday, prosecutors said they are looking to charge some members of the military with forced disappearance in the case. They did not provide further details and no charges have yet been raised.

According to a police official who spoke with The Associated Press, the bodies discovered Tuesday were found in a mangrove area near the western city of Taura, where the military base is located.

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A Haiti gang attack on the reopening of a main hospital kills 2 reporters and a police officer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two reporters were killed and several were wounded Tuesday in a gang attack in Haiti on the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s biggest public hospital, Haiti’s online media association said. A police officer was also killed in the attack.

Street gangs forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year and authorities had pledged to reopen the facility in Haiti's capital on Christmas Eve. But as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire.

Robest Dimanche, a spokesman for the Online Media Collective, identified the killed journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. Dimanche said an unspecified number of reporters were also been in the attack, which he blamed on the Viv Ansanm coalition of gangs.

The Haitian Association of Journalists confirmed two reporters and a police officer were killed, and seven reporters were wounded in what it called “a macabre scene comparable to terrorism, pure and simple.”

Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the attack. He did not specify the casualty numbers or provide a breakdown.

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Stunning photos show lava erupting from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

HONOLULU (AP) — One of the world's most active volcanoes spewed lava into the air for a second straight day on Tuesday.

The eruption of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has stayed within the mountain's summit caldera inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. No homes were threatened.

Molten rock began shooting from the volcano before dawn on Monday when fissures opened in the caldera floor and propelled lava 295 feet (90 meters) into the air. The red liquid formed tall fountains and then spread across 650 acres (263 hectares). The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory estimated the lava was about 1 yard (1 meter) thick.

Scientists expect activity to fluctuate in the coming days. The lava paused Monday afternoon but fountains reemerged Tuesday morning.

The eruption occurred in an area that's been closed to the public since 2007 due to hazards including crater wall instability and rockfalls. Visitors to the park were able to watch the foundations at a distance from an overlook spot.

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Hurricane-force winds bear down on California, latest in stretch of extreme weather

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Record-setting flooding over three days dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of northern California, a fire left thousands under evacuation orders and warnings in Los Angeles County, forecasters issued the first-ever tornado warning in San Francisco and rough seas tore down part of a wharf in Santa Cruz.

All of this extreme weather has hit California in the past several weeks, showcasing the state’s particular vulnerability to major weather disasters.

Strong storms Tuesday produced waves that forecasters said could reach 35 feet (10.7 meters) around Santa Cruz. The National Weather Service issued a high surf warning until early evening, cautioning people to stay out of the ocean and away from piers.

For Chandler Price, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, these extreme weather events are both typical and unusual for a La Niña winter, a natural climate cycle that can cause extreme weather across the planet. In California, it means a wetter than average northern region and a drier south.

“So far we’ve seen that pattern play out pretty well,” he said, but added, “obviously, you know, the tornado in the Bay Area was atypical. ... We haven’t seen that before, at least not for a very long time.”

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Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights

WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday because of a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive.

Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop for the airline. The order, which prevented planes from taking off, was issued at the airline's request after it experienced trouble with its flight operating system, or FOS. The airline blamed technology from one of its vendors.

As a result, flights were delayed across American’s major hubs, with only 36% of the airline's 3,901 domestic and international flights leaving on time, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Fifty-one flights were canceled.

Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, a union representing American Airlines pilots, said the airline told pilots at 7 a.m. Eastern that there was an outage affecting the FOS system. It handles different types of airline operations, including dispatch, flight planning, passenger boarding, as well as an airplane's weight and balance data, he said.

Some components of FOS have gone down in the past, but a systemwide outage is rare, Tajer said.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024