Dec 24 - Every week, Reuters journalists produce scores of multimedia features and human-interest stories from around the world.
Below are some stories selected by our editors, as well as explanatory context and background to help you understand world headlines. For a full schedule of news and events, please go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect https://www.reutersconnect.com/planning.
Bethlehem's other children, and the home that cares for them
BETHLEHEM, Dec 22 - Walk out of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, across Manger Square and along Star Street and you come to a part of town where few pilgrims venture. (CHRISTMAS-SEASON/BETHLEHEM-CHILDREN (TV, PIX), by Nuha Sharaf and Stephen Farrell, 726 words)
WIDER IMAGE-China 'mines' ice from river to build frozen castles, pagoda
HARBIN, Dec 23 - For more than 300 "ice miners" in Harbin, work begins in the numbing cold before dawn every day on the frozen Songhua, a broad river that winds its way through the northeastern Chinese city. (CHINA-ICEFESTIVAL/ (PIX, TV), by Carlos Garcia and Xihao Jiang, 348 words)
Wuhan's vogue dancers embrace new freedom as COVID-19 anniversary nears
WUHAN, Dec 22 - In a converted factory building in downtown Wuhan, 22-year-old Xiong Feng, who goes by the name Daiki, struts and spins in a black sequined full-body suit and stiletto boots. (HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/WUHAN-DANCE (PIX,TV), by Cate Cadell and Thomas Suen, 425 words)
Singapore's happy 'glampers' pick airport stays for year-end holidays
SINGAPORE, Dec 22 - Staying overnight at an airport isn't unheard of, especially if you miss a flight. But choosing to spend your holidays there in a tent is something entirely different. (HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/SINGAPORE-GLAMPING (PIX, TV), by Travis Teo and Lee Ying Shan, 272 words)
Coronavirus: The board game - German sisters' invention sells out for Christmas
WIESBADEN, Dec 22 - At a loose end during Germany's first lockdown, the four Schwaderlapp sisters decided to put their long hours indoors to good use - by inventing a coronavirus board game that is selling by the thousands. (HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CORONA BOARD GAME (TV, PIX), moved, 278 words)
'My second life': California nurse walks out of hospital after 8-month COVID-19 ordeal
LONG BEACH, Dec 22 - As a veteran ICU nurse whose job is to care for the most critically ill patients at her hospital in Long Beach, California, Merlin Pambuan was well aware of the deadly ravages COVID-19 can inflict on the human body. (HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-NURSE (PIX, TV), by Steve Gorman, 714 words)
Leaving Hong Kong: A family makes a wrenching decision
HONG KONG, Dec 21 - In the tiny kitchen of a Hong Kong high-rise apartment, the air was heavy with the aromas of a mother making her daughter's favorite childhood dishes. (HONGKONG-SECURITY/EMIGRATION (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX, VIDEO), by Pak Yiu and Marius Zaharia, 3137 words)
Archaeologists recreate tiles of temple where Jesus walked
JERUSALEM, Dec 21 - When Jesus strode through the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem, his feet met hewn-stone, earth-tone tiles that were geometric in design and cool, dappled and scuffed to the touch. (CHRISTMAS-SEASON/RESTORATION (PIX, TV), by Rinat Harash, 291 words)
Restorers save Giotto frescoes in Assisi's Chapel of the Magdalene
ASSISI, Dec 22 - They are using medical syringes in Assisi these days, but it has nothing to do with the pandemic. Restorers are using them to save priceless 700-year-old frescoes by Giotto. (ITALY-GIOTTO/RESTORATION (CORRECTED, PIX, TV), by Matteo Berlenga, 401 words)
Clippings from the longest year
Dec 22 - So much has happened this year – the global pandemic, of course, but also political chaos, freak weather and wildfires, and protests everywhere. The Reuters graphics team dug through our archives to tell the only story we could: a messy one, full of contrasts and scraps of hope, loss, ingenuity, activism and so many other things we reported on this year. (https://tmsnrt.rs/34DpZFN)
UNDERSTANDING COVID-19
EXPLAINER-The new coronavirus variant in Britain: How worrying is it? HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/VARIANT (EXPLAINER)
EXPLAINER-U.S. vaccine rollout's next challenge: Verifying who is 'essential' HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/VACCINE-ELIGIBILITY (EXPLAINER, PIX)
FACTBOX-Europe's plans to vaccinate against COVID-19 HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/EUROPE-VACCINES (FACTBOX)
FACTBOX-Coronavirus hits Christmas holiday plans across Europe HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/HOLIDAYS (FACTBOX, PIX)
EXPLAINER-Australia scrambles to track a Christmas coronavirus outbreak HEALTH -CORONAVIRUS/AUSTRALIA-OUTBREAK (EXPLAINER)
What's in the U.S. COVID-19 bill? Unemployment, $600 checks, 'three martini lunch' deduction HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-CONGRESS-FACTBOX (FACTBOX)
How the novel coronavirus evolved (https://tmsnrt.rs/3nKlf8T)
Vaccine tracker (https://tmsnrt.rs/36jDuuj)
Global COVID-19 tracker (https://tmsnrt.rs/32CyMHu)
U.S. COVID-19 tracker (https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR)
The Lifeline Pipeline: the drugs, tests and tactics that may conquer coronavirus (https://reut.rs/3bhMUaE)
Prominent people diagnosed with COVID-19 (https://reut.rs/38zyAtI)
OTHER EXPLANATORY CONTENT
Wild weather, warming planet (https://tmsnrt.rs/3azTU5q)
EXPLAINER-Why can't Israel keep a government together? ISRAEL-ELECTION/EXPLAINER (EXPLAINER, PIX)
EXPLAINER-Russia's potent cyber and information warfare capabilities GLOBAL-CYBER/RUSSIA (REPEAT, EXPLAINER)
FACTBOX-List of 15 people pardoned by Trump USA-TRUMP/PARDONS-LIST (FACTBOX)
FACTBOX-What happens if the U.S. government runs out of money on Monday? HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-SHUTDOWN (FACTBOX)
FACTBOX-Where U.S. banks won and lost in the new pandemic relief package HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-BANKSFACTBOX (UPDATE 1, FACTBOX, PIX)
GRAPHIC-A (markets) journal of the plague year HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/MARKETS (PIX) (Compiled by Patrick Enright, Leela de Kretser and Tiffany Wu)
