Pontiff calls for peace in Ukraine and Sudan, and expresses concern over ‘extremely grave’ situation in GazaPope Francis has urged the world “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions”, in his traditional Christmas message, using his address to call for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, and express concern over the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza.Francis directly addressed the conflict in Ukraine in his Urbi et Orbi message, calling for “gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace”. His message came hours after Russia launched a massive aerial attack, using cruise missiles to target energy infrastructure across Ukraine. Continue reading...

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Before he has taken a single executive decision, countries around the world are positioning themselves for his impact“A revisionist state has arrived on the scene to contest the liberal international order, and it is not Russia or China, it is the United States. It is Trump in the Oval Office, the beating heart of the free world. The incoming administration contests every element of the liberal international order – trade, alliances, migration, multilateralism, democratic solidarity and human rights.“The narrative now at home and abroad is that the US is not what we thought it was. Trump was not an aberration, not a bug, but a feature of American politics and of America’s story.” Continue reading...

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From an exuberant mountaineering woman to a boy representing unheard refugees, here are some of the brave individuals that gave us hopeNine years ago, Cecilia Llusco was one of 11 Indigenous women who made it to the summit of the 6,088 metre-high Huayna Potosí in Bolivia. They called themselves the cholitas escaladoras (the climbing cholitas) and went on to scale many more peaks in Bolivia and across South America. Their name comes from chola, once a pejorative term for Indigenous Aymara women. Continue reading...

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A candid look at the toxic force of envy that drove his musical career but turned a talented musician into a deeply unhappy man. But why the CGI?Robbie Williams – only he is a chimp! This is a pretty trad music biopic, coming with the accepted U-shaped narrative arc of humble beginnings, big break, superstardom, drugs, drink, shallow sex, dark-night-of-the-soul slump and redemptive comeback, here topped off with an unendurably protracted performance of My Way at the Royal Albert Hall in London. But the whole thing is given a cheeky high-concept twist by portraying the singer as an ape – a shrieking, scowling, capering CGI chimp – while all around are humans. Actor Jonno Davies plays the part in motion capture and Williams himself supplies the voiceover.The idea supposedly comes from Williams’s fear that he is immature and unevolved, stranded emotionally for ever at the age he became famous: 15. And this chimp figure runs counter to his 2001 song Better Man, with its poignant, maybe ...

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Award-winning São Paulo songwriter who grew up in football - and music-loving family has shot to stardom since 2015 debut The house lights were dimmed in one of Rio’s top music venues and, as the star of the show prepared to take the stage, thousands of enraptured fans cried out their idol’s name in the darkness: “Liniker! Liniker! Liniker! Liniker!”It was not, however, the England striker turned Match of the Day host Gary Lineker the sellout crowd was here to see. It was Lineker’s Brazilian namesake: a Grammy-winning pop sensation whose mesmerising performances and soul-stirring songs have captured the hearts and minds of millions. Continue reading...

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This mouth-watering Christmas breakfast treat takes minutes to prepare and will certainly impress your guests this festive season. And you just need four ingredients...

Events

Latest transfer news and rumours from Old Trafford as Manchester United prepare for the January transfer window, which is set to open next week

Events

Many of us enjoy a fry up, egg-based dishes, or something sweet like pancakes on Christmas morning, but why not change it up this year with a simple yet delicious treat?

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Missile strike targets residential building in Kryvyi Rih; Christmas celebrations across Ukraine shrouded in grief. What we know on day 1,036See all our Ukraine war coverageA ballistic missile struck an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring 15, four of them seriously, officials said. Ukrainian officials denounced the Christmas Eve attack on the city, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s home town. “While other countries of the world are celebrating Christmas, Ukrainians are continuing to suffer from endless Russian attacks,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, wrote on Telegram.Nearly three years into the Russian invasion, Christmas celebrations across Ukraine are shrouded in grief. “Not all of us are home, unfortunately. Sadly, not everyone has a home. And tragically, not everyone is still with us,” Zelenskyy said in an address. This will be the first Christmas that Lyubov spends without her son Taras On...

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Max George was preparing to reunite with his girlfriend Maisie Smith on Christmas Eve as he finally returned home after being discharged from hospital following emergency heart surgery.

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