Christmas: News Stories From Around the World - Page 19

Joker Sends Holiday Cards From Afterlife

Dec 25, 2007 1:37 PM CST

Joker Sends Holiday Cards From Afterlife

88-year-old pulls one last prank on family and friends

(Newser) - Chet Fitch got the last laugh on family and friends again, this time from beyond the grave. The 88-year-old, who died in the fall, arranged to have 34 Christmas cards sent this year, all marked with a return address of Heaven. "I asked Big Guy if I could sneak...

A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem

Dec 25, 2007 6:09 AM CST

A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem

West Bank town sees its first calm Christmas in years; tourism rebounds

(Newser) - This Christmas a huge number of tourists and pilgrims have made their way to Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The mayor of the town of Jesus' birth predicted at least 65,000 visitors this Christmas, quadruple the figure just two years ago, CTV reports. The...

Pope Ushers in Christmas

Dec 24, 2007 8:02 PM CST

Pope Ushers in Christmas

Pontiff uses midnight Mass to speak out against harm to environment

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas with a traditional midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, using his homily to speak out against the degradation of the environment and man's selfishness, reports Agence France Presse. The leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics lamented our "polluted world whose future is...

E-Cards Spread Holiday Cheer, Viruses

Dec 24, 2007 7:44 PM CST

E-Cards Spread Holiday Cheer, Viruses

Online greeting cards rising in popularity; paper still preferred

(Newser) - Online greeting cards are all the rage this holiday season. They're mostly free, and can feature funny, interactive subjects ranging from elf tossing to reindeer arm wrestling. E-cards are also delivered instantly, an advantage for the forgetful around Christmas. But traditional cards are still the preferred way to spread holiday...

'I Don't Have Cancer,' Giuliani Reiterates

Dec 24, 2007 5:24 PM CST

'I Don't Have Cancer,' Giuliani Reiterates

Presidential hopeful says he's 'perfectly healthy'

(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani sought to allay renewed concerns about his health today following his brief hospitalization last week. "I'm perfectly healthy. I don't have cancer," he said during a stop in Harlem. Giuliani, who checked into a St. Louis hospital because of a severe headache and flu symptoms, said...

Retailers Await Last-Minute Gift From Shoppers

Dec 24, 2007 9:17 AM CST

Retailers Await Last-Minute Gift From Shoppers

Procrastinators find big sales, long lines

(Newser) - Last-minute shoppers navigated long lines over the final pre-Christmas weekend, nudging retailers toward the modest growth in sales they’d expected. Deep discounts cut into profits, but retailers like Macy's and Kmart stayed open around the clock to accommodate shoppers, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The procrastinators finally got...

Rampaging Bad Santas
Shut Down Movie Theater

Dec 24, 2007 2:47 AM CST

Rampaging Bad Santas Shut Down Movie Theater

It's Santa anarchy as drunken vandals trash cinema & trip fire alarm

(Newser) - What the ho? Moviegoing New Zealanders were forced out of a theater when some 50 drunken hooligans dressed as Santa invaded a cineplex, trashing posters and other property, shouting "Ho f---ing ho!" and setting off a fire alarm before running off. Police think the troublemakers were college students,...

Docs Try to Diagnose Tiny Tim

Dec 23, 2007 3:39 PM CST

Docs Try to Diagnose Tiny Tim

Dickens gave scant evidence, but the web is full of theories

(Newser) - Armchair physicians across the web are trying to solve one of literature’s greatest mysteries: what the heck was wrong with Tiny Tim? All we know is that Dickens’ wretch was a small, sick, crutch-wielder, who was prone to weakness and doomed unless ol’ Ebeneezer loosened his purse strings. It’...

Queen of YouTube

Dec 23, 2007 8:24 AM CST

Queen of YouTube

Christmas message to be broadcast on new Internet 'Royal Channel'

(Newser) - Look who's using YouTube. The British Royals have just joined the ranks of YouTube users with the launch of a "Royal Channel" on the video-sharing Internet site that showcases recent and historical clips of the queen and her family. On Tuesday the queen will broadcast her 50th anniversary Christmas...

Fateful 1963 Xmas Card Missing on Tour

Dec 22, 2007 7:44 PM CST

Fateful 1963 Xmas Card Missing on Tour

Greeting never sent out after JFK assassination

(Newser) - Visitors on a White House Christmas tour have noticed something missing—a rare 1963 greeting card that John F. Kennedy signed before his fateful trip to Dallas, Reuters reports. President and Jacquelyn Kennedy signed fewer than 30 of the cards, which were never sent out. "They are the most...

McCanns Make Christmas Plea for Maddy

Dec 22, 2007 6:37 PM CST

McCanns Make Christmas Plea for Maddy

Parents release video appealing for their daughter's return

(Newser) - The parents of Madeleine McCann issued a video message today telling their daughter that "our only Christmas wish is for you to be back with us again" and pleading that anyone with information about her disappearance come forward. The video includes footage of the toddler unwrapping presents last year,...

Tree That Survived
A-Bomb Sees 70th Christmas

Dec 22, 2007 1:10 PM CST

Tree That Survived A-Bomb Sees 70th Christmas

Japanese family kept tree through calamities

(Newser) - A Japanese soldier's Christmas tree has stayed with his family through dark times, and even survived the atomic bomb that killed his brother in Nagasaki. This year marks the 70th Christmas that Warren Nobuaki Iwatake has put up the fragile, three-foot tree, which he calls "a shining light, because...

Starbucks Patrons Spread the Cheer

Dec 21, 2007 5:02 PM CST

Starbucks Patrons Spread the Cheer

Pay-it-forward treat proves contagious at Washington store

(Newser) - In what's being hailed as a true display of holiday goodwill, customers at a Starbucks in Marysville, Wash., have been "paying ahead"—paying for the next car in the drive-through order—in a “chain of cheer” more than 800 lattes long. The Seattle Times reports that the...

Calif. Rescue Was a 'Miracle'

Dec 20, 2007 1:03 PM CST

Calif. Rescue Was a 'Miracle'

A few seconds made the difference between life and death

(Newser) - When he heard the helicopter, Frederick Dominguez went running—and not a moment too soon. The helicopter was seconds from leaving the area when it spotted the barefoot running man, whose Christmas tree hunt had resulted in his family being stranded for three days on a snow-covered California mountain. ...

Mountain Rescue for Dad, Kids

Dec 19, 2007 7:44 PM CST

Mountain Rescue for Dad, Kids

They were stranded in snowstorms for three days

(Newser) - A father and his three children are safe and sound after surviving three days of snowstorms and subfreezing temperatures on a mountain in northern California, the AP reports. The four, who went up the mountain Sunday to cut down a Christmas tree, were rescued by helicopter. They took shelter in...

Video Spoofs Jews on Christmas

Dec 18, 2007 11:20 AM CST

Video Spoofs Jews on Christmas

Baltimore teacher strikes a chord with song about Chinese food

(Newser) - A band teacher at a Baltimore yeshiva is the latest YouTube celebrity thanks to his holiday spoof on the Jewish dilemma of what to do on Christmas. His video, "Chinese Food on Christmas," in which a rock band of faux Hasidic Jews jams for fellow members of the...

Christmas Opens in Bethlehem

Dec 16, 2007 5:07 PM CST

Christmas Opens in Bethlehem

Resumed peace talks give holiday tourism a bump to 65K tourists

(Newser) - The lighting of a four-story tree yesterday in Bethlehem kicked off a joyous season of increased tourism, reports the AP, amid a backdrop of resumed Mideast peace talks. Some 65,000 foreigners are expected to visit the West Bank town this season, the AP reports; only 16,000 visited the...

Go Green on Christmas, Tree Huggers Say

Dec 15, 2007 12:20 PM CST

Go Green on Christmas, Tree Huggers Say

Greenies call real trees more eco-friendly than plastic variety

(Newser) - You can be eco-friendly this holiday season without turning into Scrooge, the Smithsonian reports. For those considering Christmas trees, environmentalists claim real trees are actually better for the environment than the plastic variety, which emit harmful dioxins when created or when on fire.

Overlooked Christmas Movies

Dec 15, 2007 10:28 AM CST