BETHLEHEM, Dec 24: Deserted streets in the birthplace of Jesus as a new crisis rocks the Middle East, world governments on edge for fear of a repeat of Sept 11, and a deadly cold snap sweeping Europe: the world is facing a bleak Christmas this year.

Despite twinkling lights and tinsel, New York’s Christmas celebrations were dimmed by memories of the Sept 11 attacks and in Argentina, economic collapse under a mountain of debt has also put paid to festive cheer.

In Afghanistan, Christmas was making a modest comeback after five years of Taliban rule as the new government set to the task of rebuilding the war-ravaged nation.

Once a magnet for tourists and pilgrims as the cradle of Christianity, Bethlehem was preparing for another joyless holiday after 15 months of bloodletting between Israelis and Palestinians that has cost more than 1,100 lives.

“It’s sad and grim, it’s not normal,” lamented Bethlehem mayor Hanna Nasser, with memories of a deadly 10-day Israeli invasion still fresh in the minds of Palestinian residents.

Photographs of martyrs adorned shop windows full of unsold souvenirs in a town that only two years ago was given a full facelift for Pope John Paul II’s jubilee visit.

Israel is banning Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from making his traditional visit to Bethlehem for midnight mass, saying he must first arrest suspected killers of a far-right Israeli cabinet minister.

But a defiant Arafat, marooned in the West Bank town of Ramallah since earlier this month, said he would make the mass even if he had to walk.

Around the world, jittery governments remained on high alert for Christmas terror attacks after an apparent suicide bomber was arrested on a US airliner.

The man was caught on Saturday on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami as he was apparently trying to set alight explosives in his shoes.

“The message is that terrorists are going to hit us again,” said Republican senator Richard Shelby.

New Yorkers were still coming to grips with the September tragedy and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

“People don’t forget, not for one second, that this is going to be a very sad Christmas for many families,” said one.

The people of Argentina were preparing for Christmas facing economic meltdown that sparked a deadly uprising and new president Adolfo Rodriguez Saa’s decision to suspend payment on its towering 132-billion-dollar debt.

“They are saying we are on the edge of the cliff,” said Alicia Caeiro, owner of a small Buenos Aires corner store.

And President Vladimir Putin faced bitter complaints from ordinary Russians about poor pay and tough living conditions despite declaring 2001 a successful year.

“One can boldly say that the past year, 2001, was successful for Russia,” Putin said in a marathon live phone-in radio and television interview, pointing to robust economic growth of 5.5 percent.

But he had to field questions from angry Russians about their meagre salaries and pensions and problems stretching from corruption to drug abuse.

In South Africa, one AIDS association declared Tuesday a “Black Christmas” to remember the 4.7 million people living with HIV or AIDS in the country.

Festive spirit was in thin supply on European share markets as prices idled during a half-day session steeped in caution over Argentina’s debt default and renewed terrorism fears.

Analysts said few investors felt the need to deal on Christmas Eve after a wretched year which has seen equity markets drop between 15 and 25 percent.—AFP