Christmas In Bethlehem, Famine In Sudan, The Year In Space

0:00Good morning and happy holidays. Thanks for starting your day with us. I'm Asma Khaled. Whether you're squeezing in a quiet moment before the kids wake up, or whether today's a workday for you, like it is for me, Up First is here for you, no matter what your day has in store. We're here to bring you independent reporting, context, and analysis about the biggest stories of the day. And you can give back to NPR to support this service you rely on. Sign up for NPR Plus today and join our mission of creating a more informed public. You'll also unlock sponsor-free listening to Up First and get similar perks for more than 25 NPR podcasts.

0:38If you're already a Plus supporter, thank you so much. If not, you can sign up right now at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org. Alrighty, now on to the news. It's a subdued Christmas in Bethlehem with the war in neighboring Gaza. We need to live in peace and dignity in our land. What it's like for local Palestinians and the city Christians celebrate as the birthplace of Jesus. I'm Asma Khalid, and this is Up First from NPR News. Famine has spread in Sudan, where people are experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. People are eating peanut shells, animal fodder, grasses. Nearly two years into a civil war, the hunger crisis is getting worse.

1:28And with so much going on down here on Earth, it's always good to remember to look up at the stars. We look up at the year in space. Stay with us. We'll give you all the news you need to start your day.

1:46Support for this podcast and the following message come from Strawberry.me. If you could go back and talk to your younger self, Would you tell yourself that you have a job that truly makes you happy? Many people are stuck in jobs they've outgrown or never really wanted. A career coach from strawberry.me can help you move on to something you actually love. Benefit from having a dedicated coach in your corner and claim a special offer at strawberry.me slash NPR. This message comes from Doctors Without Borders. People are living through a moment defined by unrelenting crises and need. Civilians are caught in the crossfire of violence and war.

2:26Malnutrition threatens the lives of children. Communities depend on life-saving humanitarian aid. Doctors Without Borders is meeting this moment of overwhelming need with action. But they can't do it alone. Help provide life-saving care around the world. Learn how to donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org slash NPR. This message comes from Bluehost. Bluehost can make building a great website easy and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Customize and launch your site in minutes with AI. Then optimize with built-in search engine tools. Get your great site at Bluehost.com. It's Christmas in Bethlehem, where Christian tradition says Jesus was born.

3:09For the second year in a row, official celebrations have been canceled. Palestinian leaders say they cannot rejoice as the war wages on in neighboring Gaza. In Bethlehem, which is located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, people are also hurting and tourism has plummeted since the war began. We go now to NPR international correspondent Carrie Kahn, who is in Bethlehem. Carrie, what is the mood like in Bethlehem this Christmas? Well, it's difficult to cancel Christmas, but the mood is very somber. official ceremonies have been very muted here. Usually, Bethlehem is full of lights, these amazing decorations, a huge tree in the center of Manger Square, and there are crowds, crowds and tourists and pilgrims.

3:54This year, it is empty, barren. You know, I was here last year, and if it's possible, it feels even more empty and more somber. I've heard from so many people, they're all saying the same thing. We just never thought the situation, the war, would last till another Christmas. So how are people celebrating this year? On Christmas Eve, there was the traditional parade of the Latin patriarch entering Bethlehem. It was quiet, though. There's usually these very cute scout troops that lead the procession in, and they were playing drums. No drums this year. There are no bagpipes. Some held signs reading, we want peace.

4:29Others held pictures of the destruction in Gaza. The latest figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza puts the known death toll there now at more than 45 ,000 people. But last night, of course, there was midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity, and I want to play you some of the Catholic service for you.

4:57And I also went to the grotto, the cave-like structure inside the church, where Christians say Jesus was actually born, and the faithful were singing there. It was beautiful. It was so moving. Let's hear a little bit of that.

5:21And I think the most amazing thing I just want to tell you is that I was able to go to both of those services so easily. Usually the crowds are so huge and nearly impossible to experience Christmas in Bethlehem that close. That singing is really beautiful to listen to. Thanks for sharing, Carrie. Without the crowds and tourists, what are residents, what are officials telling you in Bethlehem? How are they doing? The economy here is devastated. Bethlehem is dependent on tourism. Hotel occupancy is in the single digits. Stores have closed. Unemployment throughout the West Bank is nearly at 50%. The deputy mayor I spoke with, Hannah Haniyeh, told us Palestinians feel like the world has turned their backs on them and they're suffering.

6:01And always we are asking the international community to bring back this message to Bethlehem and to the Holy Land because we need to live in peace and dignity in our land. Since the war began after Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1 ,200 people on October 7th in 2023, Israel has imposed tough restrictions in the West Bank with new checkpoints and barring Palestinians from working in Israel. And we're seeing Palestinian groups fighting each other here too. The Palestinian Authority has launched a rare crackdown on militants in the West Bank and is making for a tense and complicated situation here.

6:39Thanks so much for your reporting, Keri. You're welcome. That's NPR's Keri Khan in Bethlehem.

6:54In Sudan, the severity of the famine has worsened. Hunger experts say the country is experiencing one of the worst starvation crises in modern times. Since April of last year, a brutal civil war between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group has fueled a near-unprecedented humanitarian crisis. NPR's West Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akanwotu, has been covering this and joins us now. Good morning, Emmanuel. Good morning, Asma. And a Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas to you. So earlier this year, famine was declared in one part of Sudan, but it's now spread to five areas. What do we know so far?

7:32Yes, in August, famine was declared in what's the largest refugee camp in Sudan, in the western region of Darfur. but now it's been confirmed in three other refugee camps in the same proximity and overall it's now five areas in Sudan affecting about half a million people and counting. And over the last week I've spoken to experts about just what this famine looks like on the ground just to make sense of it and one of them is Nathaniel Raymond. He's the executive director at Yale University's humanitarian research lab and he talked about Zamzam camp, the first region where famine was declared. Zamzam is in a condition called IPC-5, or Integrated Phase Classification 5, which is the highest level of food insecurity.

8:18And children in particular have been dying from a lack of food. People are eating peanut shells, animal fodder, grasses. The level of desperation is unprecedented in Sudan. And the number of areas suffering famine is likely to actually double. over the next six months. We were mentioning this ongoing civil war. How has the war made the humanitarian crisis more severe? Well, both sides of the war have been accused of blocking aid in the areas that they each control, and that's the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. And for example, the RSF control most of Darfur, and that's the region where there was a genocide 20 years ago, and there's been an outbreak of similar ethnic violence against African ethnic groups since the war started.

9:05There are millions of displaced people in this region, but they're almost completely isolated. I spoke to Azadeh Hassani. She is a director at Relief International, and they're one of the few aid groups still operating in Darfur, particularly in North Darfur, which is currently under a siege by the RSF. To get supplies to North Darfur has been a huge challenge. Since the conflict started, North Darfur has been completely cut off and we lost all our access from inside Sudan. So there are no official humanitarian corridors that the RSF and the Sudanese army have agreed on. And there's been really small amounts of aid coming in from the border with Chad.

9:45But the conflict makes getting that aid in so precarious. How have the Sudanese authorities responded? Well, essentially with denials. The Sudanese army is seen by most people as the de facto government in Sudan, although they've lost control of large parts of the country. But the existence of famine is really a direct challenge to its legitimacy because people will hold them accountable for why this has been allowed to happen. Famine is declared by this independent body called the Integrated Food Security Phase, or IPC, and they rely on countries to support their networks. And Sudan has now pulled out of that system.

10:22That's NPR's West Africa correspondent Emmanuel Akinwotu. Thanks so much. Thank you.

10:34Here on Earth, a lot of things happened in 2024. But for a couple of minutes, let's leave our planet and consider what happened this year in space. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfield-Boyce is here to remind us of the highlights and the lowlights. Good morning, Nell. Hey there. So I've got to imagine that a big highlight must have been that solar eclipse back in the spring. That's right. Millions of people saw the total solar eclipse, or maybe they saw this big solar storm that caused widespread auroras in the night sky. But, you know, there were also lowlights. I guess if you wanted to talk about that, the main one would have to be those astronauts.

11:10You know, those astronauts that NASA says are definitely not stranded. OK, so they are still in orbit, though, right? They are. They are. So if you recall, they went up there in June on what was supposed to be this short test flight of a spacecraft made by Boeing called Starliner. And then NASA decided it was too risky for them to come home in it. So they had to just chill on the International Space Station waiting for a return ride. And so, you know, they're there. And NASA said initially they'd be able to return to Earth in February. But they just said it's going to be longer than that, probably like March.

11:42That's a bummer for them. It is. So how are they eventually going to get home? So SpaceX. So SpaceX has this capsule that regularly takes astronauts to and from the space station. And this was a big year for SpaceX. Not only did it sort of like take over Boeing's return flight, but it finally got its mega rocket into space. This is SpaceX's starship. It's the biggest rocket ever built. So that was a big deal. SpaceX also did the first ever private spacewalk. So basically there was this orbiting capsule and two crew members opened the hatch and kind of stuck their heads outside. I mean, until then, like only national space programs had ever tried these so-called extravehicular activities.

12:20So that was a really big deal. And I understand that one of those spacewalkers might become the new head of NASA. What can you tell us about that? So that's Jared Isaacman. He's this wealthy entrepreneur. He's a private astronaut. And he's Donald Trump's pick to lead the space agency. And, you know, Donald Trump has this alliance with Elon Musk of SpaceX, who supported his campaign. And Musk and Isaacman have this financial connection through SpaceX. And so it'll probably be an interesting confirmation process in the Senate. No one knows what all of this might mean for NASA and this expensive rocket that NASA has got to try to get people back to the moon.

12:56OK, so speaking of NASA, where do things stand with its efforts to return to the moon? So NASA had been planning to send astronauts to orbit the moon next year. But a couple of weeks ago, officials announced that that trip has been pushed off to 2026 at the earliest. And so that means actually landing on the moon wouldn't happen until like 2027. At the earliest. Right. OK, so we have been talking about people in space. What about robotic missions? So this year we got the first rock samples returned from the far side of the moon. I mean, that was a robotic mission from China. And then NASA also now has this probe that's going to Europa.

13:34That's this moon of Jupiter. It launched in October. And, you know, Europa seems to have this liquid water ocean underneath a layer of ice. And so that place could have ingredients for life. So it's a cool mission. But Jupiter is so far away, spacecraft won't get there until 2030. What about 2025? What will we get to see in the new year in space? So we can look forward to SPHERE-X. So that's a NASA telescope. It's going to create like a 3D map of the entire sky, mapping hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies. And the information it will gather will tell us more about this really brief but powerful moment just after the Big Bang.

14:08That's when the newborn universe just like suddenly and dramatically expanded. That sounds really interesting, so you're going to have to come back on the show when that happens and tell us all about it. Definitely will. All right, that's NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boys.

14:24And that's Up First for Wednesday, December 25th. I'm Asma Khaled. For your next listen, consider this from NPR. Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there is no question some songs are permanent fixtures in the Christmas canon. What makes a song a holiday hit? Listen to Consider This from NPR. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Miguel Macias, Giselle Grayson, Lisa Thompson, and Ali Schweitzer. It was produced by Zied Butch, Ria Dumas, Claire Murashima, and Anna Peretz. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Andy Huther.

15:03Join us again tomorrow.

15:09This message comes from Mint Mobile. From the gas pump to the grocery store, inflation is everywhere. So Mint Mobile is offering premium wireless starting at just$15 a month. To get your new phone plan for just$15, go to mintmobile.com slash switch. This message comes from Paka. Everyone's got that one hoodie they practically live in. But the Paka hoodie? It's on another level. Softer than cashmere, warmer than wool, and still breathable, this alpaca fiber hoodie goes from airport to mountain trail to couch without missing a beat. Right now, grab a pack of hoodie and score a free pair of alpaca cruise socks.

15:48Moisture-wicking, odor-resistant, and guaranteed for life. Level up your hoodie game at go.pakaapparel.com slash NPR, code NPR. This message comes from Mint Mobile. From the gas pump to the grocery store, inflation is everywhere. So Mint Mobile is offering premium wireless starting at just$15 a month. To get your new phone plan for just$15, go to mintmobile.com slash switch.