Lighter
Restorers are to spend 19 years working on the stained glass of the Mariendom in Erfurt, Germany

Bethlehem visitor numbers rise this year
THE NUMBER of visitors to Bethlehem went up 96.5 per cent in the nine months to September, figures released by the Israeli Civil Administration show. The increase was the result of a “significant improvement” in the security situation, as well as the easing of restrictions on movement for visitors and residents, it said. A total of 1,123,000 tourists and pilgrims visited the two West Bank sites of Bethlehem and Jericho. The Israeli Tourism ministry had posted a representative at the Bethlehem crossing to assist pilgrims, it said. Palestinians said that they continued to experience long delays and harassment at border crossings.