Christians on Tuesday gathered at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to mark a solemn Christmas overshadowed by war, while Pope Francis led mass in the Vatican.
In Bethlehem, festive decorations were missing for a second consecutive year.
The crowd of several hundred paled in comparison to the throngs of tourists and pilgrims of Christmases past — a reflection of the somber mood as the war between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip churns on.
Photo: AFP
At St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis urged people to think “of the wars, of the machine-gunned children, of the bombs on schools or hospitals,” days after he reiterated his condemnation of the “cruelty” of Israeli strikes, prompting objections from Israeli diplomats.
At Manger Square, the heart of Bethlehem dominated by the church that marks the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, a group of scouts held a parade that broke the morning’s silence.
“Our children want to play and laugh,” read a sign carried by one of them, as his friends whistled and cheered.
Traditionally in Bethlehem, a grand Christmas tree would light up Manger Square, but local authorities opted against elaborate celebrations for a second year.
Prayers, including the church’s midnight mass, were still held in the presence of the Catholic Church’s Latin patriarch, but the festivities were of a more strictly religious nature.
The patriarch, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told a crowd in Bethlehem that he had just returned from Gaza, where he “saw everything destroyed, poverty, disaster.”
However, “I also saw life — they don’t give up,” he said. “So you should not give up either. Never.”
In war-ravaged Gaza, which is separated from the West Bank by Israeli territory, hundreds of Christians gathered at a church to pray for an end to the war.
“This Christmas carries the stench of death and destruction,” said George al-Sayegh, who for weeks has sought refuge in the 12th-century Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City. “There is no joy, no festive spirit. We don’t even know who will survive until the next holiday.”
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
RSS