News Desk

AN unreleased track by rock legends Queen that “no one has ever heard” will be played publicly for the first time today.

Guitarist Sir Brian May, 78, will broadcast Not For Sale (Polar Bear) on radio station Planet Rock.

It was originally recorded during the sessions for the band’s 1974 album, Queen II, but did not make the final cut.

This remastered version will feature in the 2026 re­release of the album.

While a “bootleg” version of the song by May’s pre-Queen band Smile may already have circulated, he says “no one” has heard this version.

It will be played during Sir Brian’s Planet Rock Christmas Special at 6pm — featuring his favourite seasonal tracks.

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He said: “It’s a song that goes back a very long way, but to my knowledge no one has ever heard this version.

“It’s a work in progress and will appear on the forthcoming rebuild of the Queen II album.

“But I’m sneaking this into my Planet Rock special because I’m fascinated to know what people think about it.”     

Formed in the 1970s, Queen was made up of guitarist Sir Brian, drummer Roger Taylor, late frontman Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon.

The group has since had six UK number one singles and 10 UK number one albums with some of their best known songs including Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and We Are The Champions.

Dec. 21 (UPI) — Seven days after a mass shooting devastated Bondi Beach, Australians gathered on Sunday for a national day of reflection.

The commemorations come as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces intense public scrutiny and has ordered an urgent investigation into the nation’s intelligence and police frameworks.

The tragedy, which claimed 15 lives during a Hanukkah seaside event, is the deadliest mass shooting Australia has seen in nearly three decades.

Authorities have officially classified the massacre — which killed a 10-year-old girl, a British rabbi and a Holocaust survivor, among others — as a terrorist act aimed at the Jewish community.

As the clock struck 6:47 p.m., marking the exact moment the first shots rang out the previous Sunday, a minute of silence was observed. Mourners at Bondi Beach and across the country stood in unison to honor the fallen, according to the BBC.

The atmosphere in Sydney was one of high alert, NBC News reported, with a massive security detail involving rooftop snipers and water patrols.

The Sydney Opera House also paid tribute, illuminating its iconic sails with candle projections to mark the day of mourning.

Despite the somber occasion, Albanese met a hostile reception, NBC News reported. Sections of the crowd booed the prime minister upon his arrival, a sign of the growing friction between the government and the grieving Jewish community.

The BBC also reported that one protester shouted, “Blood on your hands,” while security personnel had to intercept an individual attempting to approach the prime minister.

In an acknowledgment of the criticism, Albanese said during the observation that he accepts his share of responsibility as the nation’s leader.

Addressing the crowd, David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, delivered a eulogy.

“Like the grass here at Bondi was stained with blood, so, too, has our nation been stained,” Ossip said, per NBC News. “We have landed up in a dark place.”

Ossip also shared a message of resilience from Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian shop owner who was injured while heroically disarming one of the gunmen.

From his hospital bed, al-Ahmed’s message to the mourners was, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted. Today I stand with you, my brothers and sisters.”

Unlike Albanese, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns was met with applause, the BBC reported.

Minns offered a blunt apology for the state’s inability to prevent the shooting, stating, “The government’s highest duty is to protect its citizens. And we did not do that one week ago.”

He further warned that the tragedy exposed a “deep vein of antisemitic hate” that the country must now confront.

After the ceremony, the federal government pivoted toward legislative action.

Albanese announced a comprehensive review of federal intelligence and law enforcement to determine if current powers are sufficient for the modern security landscape. He characterized the “ISIS-inspired” attack as proof of a shifting threat environment.

Additionally, the government has committed to a massive national gun buyback initiative, the scale of which has not been seen since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.

Fireworks lit the stage and the audience roared as pop star Nicki Minaj walked out hand-in-hand with Erika Kirk Sunday in a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s annual convention in Phoenix.

“I love this woman; she is an amazing woman,” said Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, who headed the right-wing student organization until he was killed in September. “Words are words, but I know her heart.”

Minaj, who has surprised some fans in recent months by embracing the MAGA movement, praised President Trump and mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj said. “I don’t know if he even knows this but he has given so many people hope that there is a chance to beat the bad guys and to win and to do it with your head held high.”

Minaj then read some of her former social media posts mocking Newsom, calling him “Newscum” and “Gavie-poo.”

“Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids, haha, not even a trans adult would run on that,” she said. “Normal adults wake up and think they want to see healthy, safe, happy kids — not Gav.”

Minaj then urged boys to “be boys.”

“There is nothing wrong with being a boy,” she said. “How about that? How powerful is that? How profound is that? Boys will be boys and there is nothing wrong with that.”

Minaj praised Turning Point USA, saying the organization is encouraging youth to connect with God.

“There has been a lack of that in our media, in our everyday conversations,” she said. “Christians have been being persecuted right here in our country in different ways.”

Minaj drew attention from the Trump administration in November, when she publicly backed the president’s assertions that Christians face persecution in Nigeria, a claim the Nigerian government has disputed.

The country has seen a wave of recent mass abductions, as it suffers from multiple interlinked security concerns.

Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 130 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school in November, according to a presidential spokesman, after 100 were freed earlier this month.

“Another 130 Abducted Niger State Pupils Released, None Left In Captivity,” Sunday Dare said in a post on X on Sunday.

In late November, hundreds of students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger State.

The attack came amid a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok.

The West African country suffers from multiple interlinked security concerns, from armed groups in the northeast to armed “bandit” gangs in the northwest.

The exact number of children taken from St Mary’s has been unclear throughout the ordeal.

Initially, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that 315 students and staff were unaccounted for after the attack in the rural hamlet of Papiri.

About 50 of them escaped immediately afterwards, and on December 7, the government secured the release of about 100 people.

That would leave about 165 thought to be still in captivity before Sunday’s announcement that 130 were rescued.

However, a UN source told the AFP news agency that all those taken appeared to have been released, as dozens thought to have been kidnapped had managed to run off during the attack and make their way home.

The accounting has been complicated because the children’s homes are scattered across swaths of rural Nigeria, sometimes requiring three or four hours of travel by motorbike to reach their remote villages, the source said.

The source told the AFP that “the remaining set of girls/secondary school students will be taken to Minna”, the capital of Niger State, on Monday.

“We’ll have to still do final verification,” Daniel Atori, a spokesman for CAN in Niger State, told the AFP.

Mass kidnappings

It has not been made public who seized the children from their boarding school, or how the government secured their release.

Kidnappings for ransom are a common way for criminals and armed groups to make quick cash in Nigeria.

But a spate of mass abductions in November put an uncomfortable spotlight on the country’s already grim security situation.

Assailants kidnapped two dozen Muslim schoolgirls, 38 church worshippers, and a bride and her bridesmaids, with farmers, women and children also taken hostage.

The kidnappings also come as Nigeria faces a diplomatic offensive from the United States, where President Donald Trump has alleged that there have been mass killings of Christians in Nigeria that amounted to a “genocide”, and he threatened military intervention.

Nigeria’s government and independent analysts reject that framing, which has long been used by the Christian right in the US and Europe.

One of the first mass kidnappings that drew international attention was in 2014, when nearly 300 girls were seized from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok by the Boko Haram armed group.

A decade later, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry” that raised some $1.66m between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a recent report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy.

Royal Variety Performance viewers were left stunned to see Westlife on stage at the ITV special, claiming the Irish boyband hadn’t aged a day

Royal Variety Performance viewers were left gobsmacked to see Westlife take the stage, insisting they hadn’t aged a day.

The ITV spectacular made its return this evening, with presenter Jason Manford welcoming an array of acts including Jessie J, Paddington The Musical and Sir Stephen Fry.

During the early stages of the programme, Irish boyband Westlife delivered a medley of their biggest anthems, sending fans into raptures.

One gushed: “Westlife haven’t aged in 25 years,” whilst another declared: “The gorgeous Westlife fellas!”

A third person raved: “Westlife still the finest boy group,” while someone else exclaimed: “3 ‘Benjamin Buttons’ right there! Looking incredible boys! ! !”, reports Wales Online.

Another spectator remarked: “Well those Westlife lads are looking and sounding as good as they always did.”

Yet another agreed: “These boys from Westlife literally look the same.”

The performance saw Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan take to the stage. The Irish band formed in 1998, consisting of the three bandmates as well as Mark Feehily.

Brian McFadden was also a member of the band before he left to pursue a solo career in 2004. Westlife disbanded in 2012, but later reunited in 2018.

Mark has not joined the band in recent performances, with the group launching an upcoming world tour and releasing four songs this year.

He recently shared the health setbacks he’s faced, including a pneumonia diagnosis in 2022.

In June, Mark’s absence from Westlife’s shows was announced as part of their anniversary plans. The band said in a statement: “Sadly, Mark will be unable to join the celebrations. We hope he can join us back on stage when he is ready and able. He sends his love and positivity to you all as always.

“The four of us can’t quite believe its been 25 years. We could only have dreamt of the continued love and loyalty you have consistently shown us around the world.

“We are so lucky to have all of you with us and we can’t wait to celebrate together! Happy 25th To Us All! Love, Kian, Mark, Nicky and Shane x.”

Last year, Mark had announced a temporary departure from the band, ahead of their first American tour.

He said: “Hello and much love to you all! It’s Mark here.. Most of you are aware that I have had some health challenges over the past while.

“It actually all started 3.5 years ago in August 2020 when I had surgery. Within a few days of this surgery I was in severe pain and was rushed into A&E.

“I eventually ended that awful day in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) where I was informed that due to a complication with the surgery, I had developed severe ‘Sepsis‘, a life-threatening infection that would require immediate emergency surgery to rectify the problem and basically save my life.”

He went on: “It was physically and mentally a very difficult time, not to mention traumatic having to spend so long in ICU.

“In late 2021, I became very ill in Newcastle before a concert and ended up back in A&E, this time being told I had pneumonia. I was told I had to go straight home to recover and regrettably miss the rest of the concerts that December.”

He continued by explaining other surgeries he required, saying he “tried my best to soldier on” for fans, but “the physical demands of the concerts and extensive travel were proving too much for me”.

After developing a “incisional hernia” and requiring his fourth major surgery, Mark confirmed his temporary hiatus from the band, saying: “It is with the upmost level of regret that I must now temporarily stand down from all Westlife touring until a time ote: that I have had the chance to fully recover from the turbulent journey I have been through as an individual.

“Believe me, I wish things could be different! I would like to thank you so very much for your support and understanding of me and my health over the past few years.”

The Royal Variety Performance is airing on ITV1.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website

Yury Ushakov’s remarks come a day after US and Russian officials held talks on the US proposal in Florida.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide says that changes made by European countries and Ukraine to the United States’ proposals for an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine did not improve prospects for peace.

“I am sure that the proposals that the Europeans and Ukrainians have made or are trying to make definitely do not improve the document and do not improve the possibility of achieving long-term peace,” Yury Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies on Sunday.

The US-drafted proposals for an end to the nearly four-year ⁠war, leaked to the media last month, raised European and Ukrainian concerns that they favour more of Russia’s wartime demands ​and that US President Donald Trump’s administration could push Kyiv into conceding too much.

Since then, European and ‍Ukrainian negotiators have met with Trump envoys in an attempt to add their own proposals to the US drafts, though the exact contents of the current proposal have not been disclosed.

The remarks from Ushakov came after Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, met in Florida on Saturday with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Dmitriev said the talks would continue ​on Sunday.

The Miami meeting followed US talks on Friday with European and Ukrainian officials.

In the wake of those talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his team should hold more talks with European allies.

“There is a shared sense that after the work by our diplomatic team in the United States, we should now hold consultations with European partners in a broader circle,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Sunday.

Three-way talks?

Zelenskyy had said on Saturday that Ukraine ‌would back a US proposal for three-way talks with the US and Russia if it facilitated more exchanges of prisoners and paved the way for meetings of national leaders.

Ushakov ‌said that a proposal for three-way talks had not been seriously discussed by ⁠anyone and that it was not being worked on.

Russia says that European leaders are intent on scuttling the talks by introducing conditions that they know will be unacceptable to Russia, which took 12-17 square kilometres (4.6 to 6.6 square miles) of Ukrainian territory per day in 2025.

Ukraine and European leaders say that Russia cannot ‌be allowed to achieve its aims in what they call its imperial-style land grab.

Ukraine battles attempted Russian breakthrough

In Ukraine, fighting continues with the Ukrainian army battling an attempted Russian breakthrough in the Sumy region, it said on Sunday, following reports that Moscow forcibly moved 50 people from a border village there.

This marks a renewed Russian advance in the part of the region previously largely spared from intense ground fighting since Ukraine regained land there in a swift 2022 counter-offensive.

“Fighting is currently ongoing in the village of Grabovske,” Ukraine’s joint task force said, adding the troops were “making efforts to drive the occupiers back into Russian territory”.

Zelenskyy said that over the week, “Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and nine missiles of various types” against Ukraine.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in the country’s east.

The vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order, according to US officials cited by US media.

The United States is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, US media reported, in what would be the second such operation in two days and the third in less than two weeks.

“The United States Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion,” a US official told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

“It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.”

Another official told the agency that the tanker was under sanctions, but added that it had not been boarded so far and that interceptions can take different forms – including sailing or flying close to vessels of concern.

The officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, did not give a specific location for the operation or name the vessel being pursued.

The pursuit of the tanker was also reported by The Associated Press news agency, which cited an official briefed on the operation separately.

The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Sunday’s pursuit involved “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”

The official also said that the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.

Two tankers seized

The pursuit comes after the US seized an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday as part of a “blockade” ordered by US President Donald Trump.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Saturday that the coastguard apprehended the vessel with support from the Pentagon.

“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” she wrote.

“We will find you, and we will stop you,” she added.

The operation marked the second time in recent weeks that the US has seized a tanker near Venezuela, and it comes amid a large US military build-up in the region.

Trump, whose administration has continued to ramp up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, ordered on Tuesday a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the South American country.

Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro has also included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in the attacks.

The two oil tankers that were seized were operating on the black market and providing oil to countries under sanctions, Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said in a TV interview on Sunday.

BROOKLYN Beckham blocked his family on social media after mum Victoria “liked” a post of his about roasting a chicken, The Sun can reveal.

The budding chef, 26, saw red after Posh showed her approval of a self-shot video in which he discusses beer-brining a bird to give it extra flavour.

Former Spice Girl Posh’s response was soon followed with comments from fans urging estranged Brooklyn to build bridges with his family.

But it is believed that he got annoyed at his worried mum’s public display of affection as she bids to heal the family rift.

David and Victoria are understandably heartbroken by what’s gone on here

Source

Within hours of her olive branch, Brooklyn had blocked Victoria, 51, dad David, 50, brothers Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, and his 14-year-old sister Harper.

It means they cannot see any Instagram posts he uploads from his LA home where he lives with actress wife Nicola Peltz, 30.

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It was initially thought that the Beckham family had “unfollowed” Brooklyn’s account, as The Sun on Sunday reported yesterday.

Cruz soon put things straight.

Pulling no punches, he shared a post which read: “Not true.

“My mum and dad would never unfollow their son.

“Let’s get the facts right.

“They woke up blocked  . . .  as did I.”

It marked the first time any of the image-conscious Beckhams had directly addressed the family feud.

Despite wall-to-wall coverage of the row, it was business as usual until Cruz’s blunt contribution.

Unsurprisingly, Cruz and Romeo are furious

A source

A source said: “David and Victoria are understandably heartbroken by what’s gone on here.

‘PUBLIC ATTACK’

“This came out of the blue for them, and in the lead-up to Christmas when families are supposed to come together, it’s devastating.”

The source added: “All they want is for things to be fixed but with every week they just seem to be getting worse.

“Unsurprisingly, Cruz and Romeo are furious that Brooklyn would make such a public attack.

“As for Brooklyn, he wants things fixed in private and not played out on social media, although his actions have resulted in quite the opposite.”

Brooklyn, who married Nicola in a lavish wedding in April 2022, has had nothing to do with his family since the start of the year.

It is thought the feud may have somehow been triggered during the lead-up to Brooklyn and heiress Nicola’s big day.

He swerved his dad’s 50th birthday celebrations in May and the proud ex-England football captain’s knighthood investiture at Windsor Castle last month.

In between, none of the Beckhams were present when the couple renewed their wedding vows in August.

The Beckhams have not been pictured together as a family since Boxing Day last year.

Dec. 21 (UPI) — The head steward responsible for formal silverware has been arrested for stealing fine cutlery and porcelain from Élysée Palace, the official residence of French President Emmanuel Macron, reports said.

The man, identified by French media as Thomas M., is suspected of stealing more than a hundred pieces of porcelain used for state dinners and other banquets over the course of months, Le Parisien reported.

Authorities have also charged his romantic partner — an antique dealer — as well as an acquaintance from Versailles, both accused of receiving stolen goods, the newspaper reported. The three men, who have all reportedly confessed to their crimes, are expected to stand trial in February 2026.

“My client acknowledges the charges against him and has fully cooperated with the investigators,” Thomas Malvoti, the lawyer for the Versailles man, told French television network TF1.

“He is a 30-year-old man with an atypical profile, gifted, a history buff and passionate about the porcelain of the Sèvres Manufactory; he was even about to write a book on the subject. He unfortunately let himself be blinded by his passion and regrets it today.”

The items stolen include various porcelain dishes manufactured by the prestigious Sèvres factory, some of which were part of a 2018 order placed by the palace for around half a million dollars.

Authorities allege that the steward’s Versailles acquaintance convinced him to steal the tableware. After taking the dishes home, the steward allegedly falsified the official inventory of the objects.

The thefts went unnoticed for nearly two years, only coming to light once the number of missing items became large enough to trigger an alert from palace security.

A large number of the missing items were recovered from the home of the Versailles man, whom Le Parisien reported is an employee of the Louvre Museum.

The disclosure comes weeks after the Louvre reported a separate theft involving Napoleonic jewels worth some $102 million, underscoring renewed security concerns at French cultural institutions.

A French court has banned the Versailles man from continuing his work at the Louvre, Le Parisien reported. And the silverware steward resigned from his work at Élysée Palace last month.

The three suspects have agreed to return the rest of the stolen tableware, which is still in their possession.

High-profile thefts at museums and cultural sites have made headlines since the Louvre Museum heist in October, drawing international concern and attention to security practices.

Syria’s Culture Ministry said Friday that suspects had been arrested in connection with the theft of six Venus statues from the National Museum of Damascus, Urgent Matter reported. Syrian officials said they recovered surveillance footage after reactivating a monitoring system that the thieves assumed was not functioning.

The heightened attention to security has also led to criticism levied at authorities in cases like the recent theft of artifacts from the Bristol Museum’s British Empire and Commonwealth collection in Britain.

That theft occurred on Sept. 25, but police did not publish photos of the suspects or release information about the theft until Dec. 11.

Authorities board vessel off Swedish coast after it suffered an engine failure.

Sweden’s customs service has said that authorities boarded a Russian freighter that anchored in Swedish waters on Friday after developing engine problems, and were conducting an inspection of the cargo.

The owners of the vessel, the Adler, are on the European Union’s sanctions list, Martin Hoglund, spokesman at the customs authority, said on Sunday.

“Shortly after 0100 (00:00 GMT) last night we boarded the ship with support from the Swedish Coast Guard and the police service in order to make a customs inspection,” Hoglund said. “The inspection is still ongoing.”

Hoglund declined to say what the customs service had found on board the ship.

According to ship-tracking service Marine Traffic, the Adler is a 126-metre-long, roll-on, roll-off container carrier. It is anchored off Hoganas in southwest Sweden.

EU and US sanctions

In addition to the Adler being on an EU sanctions list, the vessel and its owners, M Leasing LLC, are also both subject to US sanctions, suspected of involvement in weapons transport, according to OpenSanctions, a database of sanctioned companies and individuals, persons of interest and government watchlists.

Hoglund said the ship had left the Russian port of St Petersburg on December 15, but he said customs did not have any information about its destination.

The night-time operation was led by the Swedish Customs Administration along with the coastguard, National Task Force, Swedish Security Service and prosecutors.

In a previous incident, the Adler was boarded by Greek forces in the Mediterranean in January 2021. The operation was carried out under the auspices of the EU’s Operation Irini, which monitors the United Nations arms embargo on Libya.

The Na’vi won the battle of the box office this weekend, as “Avatar: Fire and Ash” hauled in a hefty $88 million in the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend.

The third installment of the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios’ “Avatar” franchise brought in an estimated total of $345 million globally, with about $257 million of that coming from international audiences. The movie reportedly has a budget of at least $350 million.

Box office analysts had expected a big international response to the most recent film, particularly since its predecessor “Avatar: The Way of Water” had strong showings in markets like Germany, France and China.

In China, the film opened to an estimated $57.6 million, marking the second highest 2025 opening for a U.S. film in the country since Disney’s “Zootopia 2” a few weeks ago. (That film went on to gross more than $271.7 million in China on its way to a global box office total of $1.1 billion.)

The strong response in China is another sign that certain movies can still do well in the country, which was once seen as a key force multiplier for big blockbusters and animated family films but has in recent years cooled to American movies due to geopolitics and the rise of its domestic film industry.

Angel Studio’s animated biblical tale “David” came in second at the box office this weekend, with an estimated domestic gross of $22 million. Lionsgate thriller “The Housemaid,” Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies’ “The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants” and “Zootopia 2” rounded out the top five.

The weekend’s haul likely comes as a relief to theater owners, who have weathered a roller coaster year.

After a difficult first three months, the spring brought hits like “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners” before the summer ended mostly flat. A sleepy fall brought panic to the exhibition business until closer to the Thanksgiving holiday, when “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” drew in audiences.

Three people arrested in connection with suspected theft of items worth between 15,000 and 40,000 euros.

France’s presidential silverware keeper and two other men are set to stand trial over the alleged theft of porcelain and other tableware worth thousands of euros, the Paris prosecution office has said.

Prosecutors said the silverware keeper Thomas M and ‍his partner Damien G were arrested on suspicion of theft on Tuesday. Another man, Ghislain M, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods. Their full names were not given due ‍to French ⁠privacy customs.

The Elysee, the president’s official residence, had reported the disappearance of silverware and tableware pieces used for state dinners and other events, with the ⁠value of the missing items estimated between 15,000 and 40,000 euros ($17,500 and $46,800), the ​prosecution office said.

Interviews with presidential staff pointed suspicions at Thomas M, whose suspected downward inventory adjustments appeared to anticipate future thefts, prosecutors said.

They said about 100 objects were discovered in Thomas M’s personal locker, his vehicle and home, including copper pots, Sevres porcelain and Baccarat champagne glasses.

Investigators found an air force-stamped ​plate and ashtrays that Thomas M was selling on the online marketplace Vinted, prosecutors said, items that are not available to the general public. ‌

The three suspects appeared in court Thursday on charges of jointly stealing moveable property listed as part of the national heritage – an offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a 150,000-euro ($175,000) fine, as well as aggravated handling of stolen goods.

The trial was postponed to February 26. The defendants were placed under judicial supervision, banned from contacting one another, prohibited from appearing at auction venues and barred from their professional activities.

French paper Le Parisien, which first reported the case, said Ghislain M worked as a guard at the Louvre museum, citing his lawyer as ‌saying that his client’s motivation for his suspected involvement was his “passion” for rare antique goods.

In October, the museum experienced its own robbery when thieves disguised as construction workers ‌stole priceless pieces from France’s crown jewels, prompting a debate about security standards at the country’s landmarks.

The Sevres porcelain factory, one of the Elysee’s main suppliers, identified a ‍number of items on auction websites, prosecutors said, adding that some items had been returned.

This is the moment Robbie Williams made a 94-year-old fan’s wish come true.

Norma, a resident of Humberston Care Home in North East Lincolnshire, told staff she had followed the singer from when he was in Take That and had always wanted to see him.

The home organised for her to see a Robbie Williams tribute act and then went one step further by organising for her to speak to the singer, who admitted he was urged to call her by his daughter, who had seen Norma’s story online.

Norma said: “I was absolutely amazed. I really was surprised.

“Nothing like this has happened to me before.

“He was in America, laid out on the bed. I nearly said to him you could have got done up for me!”

The moment was organised by Bailey Greetham, who holds fitness and wellbeing sessions with residents, and films videos on behalf of the home.

He added: “She said I was off to a Robbie Williams tribute but I am a little bit upset because it’s not the real Robbie.

“I had the camera with me so I said let’s film something and we put it on the internet and it got a million views and Robbie was tagged 5,000 times.”

Celebrated actor Will Sharpe is taking the lead in a must-watch new Sky drama, so what do we know about his life away from the screen?

British actor Will Sharpe stars alongside Paul Bettany in one of Sky’s biggest new shows of the year, Amadeus.

A brand new, star-studded interpretation of the classic Peter Shaffer play, this sumptuous five-part drama reimagines the fierce rivalry of two iconic composers; Antonio Salieri (played by Bettany) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Sharpe).

Created by Joe Barton, the series is set to catapult the star to even loftier levels of fame after already landing acclaimed roles in The White Lotus, A Real Pain and Too Much.

But, did you know the actor, writer and creator already won himself a BAFTA nomination over a decade ago and is married to an equally familiar name from the world of streaming TV?

Let’s take a look at what we know about Will Sharpe’s life and career so far.

Early Life

Will Sharpe is half-Japanese on his mother’s side and, despite being born in London, was raised in Tokyo until he was eight. The family then settled in Surrey.

After schooling at Winchester College, he went on to study classics at the University of Cambridge and became the president of the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe.

However, his first attempts at a showbiz career didn’t go as planned. Upon graduating, Sharpe moved to London and began performing at open-mic comedy nights in Whitechapel.

Speaking to GQ, he recalled: “The thing that I’d sometimes do was see how long I could act as if I wasn’t sure about the performing space, like moving chairs around and adjusting the mic, before it stopped being funny for them. And then seeing if I could do it for so long it became funny again.”

Unfortunately, he was eventually approached by a comedy agent who admitted she couldn’t represent him because it was unclear if he was actually performing comedy. He opted for a different approach instead, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company for its 2008-2009 season.

Career Success

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Sharpe’s talents to be recognised as his 2011 film Black Pond, co-directed by Stath Lets Flats and Ghosts’ Tom Kingsley, was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. They had previously worked together on the 2009 short film, Cockroach.

A few years later, Sharpe received more awards recognition for his Channel 4 comedy-drama series Flowers, starring Olivia Colman, Julian Barratt, Daniel Rigby and Sophia Di Martino, as well as himself. This won Sharpe his first BAFTA, for best scripted comedy.

A few years later, he won his first acting BAFTA for his critically acclaimed turn in Amadeus writer Barton’s hit crime drama Giri/Haji. He went on to have similar success in Hollywood for his Emmy-nominated turn in The White Lotus season two. Sharpe also directed the biopic film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular troubled artist.

Mental Health Struggles

Many of Sharpe’s projects tackle mental health issues and the actor/director has drawn from his own experiences to bring those personal stories to life.

Following the release of the second season of Flowers in 2018, the creator revealed he had been diagnosed with type two bipolar disorder.

Writing in a blog for the mental health charity mind, he shared his wish for the series was for “the audience to get a sense of how helpless you can feel in the face of mental illness, of how relentless and confusing it can be, and how painful it is to love somebody who is suffering.

“Because, for me, the only way to feel truly hopeful is to look at that stuff head on and still feel like there’s a way through.”

He added: “My experience of mental illness is that it can sell you an overpoweringly compelling – and fictional – narrative about your life, to which it can eventually start to feel like there is only one possible conclusion.

“The final episode of the second series of Flowers, I hope, challenges that and offers, if you like, a break in the narrative.”

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Sky has cut the price of its Essential TV and 300Mbps fibre broadband bundle, but the deal expires on October 15.

Famous Spouse

Sharpe is married to his Flowers co-star Sophia Di Martino, with whom he has had a relationship since 2009. The pair met while filming Casualty, in which they were both main cast members. They have two children born in 2019 and 2021.

The actress is perhaps best known for portraying Sylvie, an alternate female version of Tom Hiddleston’s iconic Marvel villain Loki, in the Disney+ superhero drama based on the fan-favourite character.

She has also appeared in Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and reunited with him again in an episode of Netflix’s Too Much. Di Martino will also star in her husband’s upcoming Apple TV series Prodigies, alongside Ayo Edebiri.

Amadeus is available on Sky and streaming service NOW.

After years of support from the United States for the Ukraine war to continue “as long as it takes”, the Trump administration is now pushing to end Europe’s war – quickly and imperfectly.

While details are still under negotiation, they include issues such as ensuring Ukraine never joins NATO and Russia’s control over about 20 percent of Ukraine.

To understand the implications for Europe, the US and their relations, host Steve Clemons speaks with Kurt Volker, Trump’s former special representative for Ukraine negotiations, and retired Colonel Heino Klinck, former director of US Army international affairs.

KYLE Chrisley, the son of Todd and Julie Chrisley from Chrisley Knows Best, has been arrested for an array of charges including domestic assault.

The 34-year-old was taken into custody by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee on Saturday night.

His charges include domestic assault, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assaulting a first responder, according to TMZ.

He was arrested at around 7 pm and later booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.

The circumstances surrounding his arrest and charges have not been given by police.

But it comes after he was arrested last year for aggravated assault which sparked a lawsuit after he sued Rutherford County and two sheriff deputies for $1.7 million over claims it was an unfair arrest.

read more on the Chrisleys

‘TREATED UNFAIRLY’

Donald Trump’s true feelings on pardoning Todd & Julie Chrisley revealed

Back in May, his parents Todd and Julie were pardoned by President Donald Trump after they ran into their own problems with the law.

The reality TV stars were found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion in June 2022 and sentenced in 2023.

Multimillionaire real estate developer Todd, 56, was given 12 years behind bars, while his wife, 52, was sentenced to seven.

However, they were pardoned by the President on May 27 this year and released from prison the following day.

“President Trump recognized what we’ve argued from the beginning: Todd and Julie were targeted because of their conservative values and high profile,” their attorney Alex Little said at the time.

“Their prosecution was tainted by multiple constitutional violations and political bias.”

Chrisley Knows Best ran for 10 seasons on USA Network after first airing in March 2014.

The pair now host the Chrisley Confessions 2.0 podcast.

Kyle is married to Ashleigh Nelson and the pair have two children.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to his attorney for comment on the latest arrest.

Dec. 21 (UPI) — Power has been largely restored after a widespread and unexplained blackout left swaths of San Francisco without electricity on Saturday, just days before Christmas.

Pacific Gas and Electric said in a statement Saturday afternoon that the blackout was affecting about 130,000 businesses and homes. At the time, the company said it had “stabilized the grid” and did not expect the blackout to further spread.

Late Saturday night, the company said crews restored about 95,000 customers. Of the 35,000 customers still without power Saturday night, another 10,000 have since had their service restored.

“We apologize for the delay in getting your power back on,” Pacific Gas and Electric said in a notice on its outage map around 3:45 p.m. local time Saturday. “Unforeseen issues can cause unexpected delays for our crews.”

Mayor Daniel Lurie said on social media that Muni lines — the diverse network of public transportation including buses, light rail, and historic street cars and cable cars — was affected by the blackout. The outage also affected city street lights, he said.

Because of that, Lurie said the city would increase its police presence overnight. The San Francisco Police Department later posted on social media that officers would be working to keep the city safe.

Meanwhile, emergency management officials urged residents to “stay home if you can, avoid all unnecessary travel, and check on neighbors safely.”

The Bay Area Rapid Transit system also said that it had closed its Powell Street and Civic Center stations downtown, which have since reopened.

The cause of the outage was not immediately clear but a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department told The New York Times that a fire at a large Pacific Gas and Electric substation in the South Market neighborhood contributed to the blackout.

From a Russian air strike in Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine to demonstrations calling for the removal of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from Minnesota, here is a look at the week in photos.

A worried mother working miles away from her family frantically tries to get her three children out of harm’s way as an out of control fire ravages their community. Firefighters do everything they can, but strong winds are working against them to make the destruction go from bad to worse.

This scenario is reminiscent of the heroics that are portrayed weekly on the CBS firefighter television drama “Fire Country,” which follows the dedicated Cal Fire station in Northern California where an abundance of wooded areas make fire a common hazard. However, this particular story is very real and comes from actor Diane Farr, who plays Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon Leone and mother to firefighter Bode Leone (Max Thieriot, also a co-creator and executive producer) on the series. Farr remembers how in January she was on the show’s set in Vancouver while the wildfires were wreaking havoc in Los Angeles.

“My house was inside the evacuation order and I had to start flying my children out as fast as I could from L.A.,” she says of her La Cañada Flintridge home, which survived. “We were evacuated for eight days and the wind just went toward Altadena as opposed to coming toward our house. It was terrifying and was very eye opening for us.”

The horrific Los Angeles fires were eventually contained after catastrophic damage to the city, with some heroic firefighters leaving with jarring stories they were able to share with the “Fire Country” cast and crew. “Two of our consultants are L.A. firefighters, Matty and Marty Mullen, who had shown me a lot of videos of real firefighting of what was going on in L.A. that we were able to infuse into our [Season 3] finale,” says executive producer Tia Napolitano. “It felt important that we could show real authenticity inspired by the L.A. fires that we all lived through. I can’t believe it’s only been a year.”

Diane Farr as Sharon Leone in “Fire Country.” The actor’s home was in the evacuation zone during the L.A. wildfires in January.

(Sergei Bachlakov / CBS)

That dedication to authenticity has helped “Fire Country” become one of the sturdiest series on CBS’ prime-time schedule since premiering October 2022. Currently in its fourth season, “Fire Country” has won its time slot every week this season except when it aired against Game 6 of the World Series. It is now the veteran drama on Friday nights sandwiched between two new successful procedurals, “Sheriff Country” starring Morena Baccarin at 8 p.m. and “Boston Blue” starring Donnie Wahlberg at 10 p.m. Pacific, both spinoffs that have quickly caught the attention of audiences since their October debuts.

Farr believes the success of these shows is akin to the huge popularity of genres like true crime and their basic storytelling structure. “There is a good guy and a bad guy that’s very clear and very binary,” she says. “If you can create a situation that feels a little bit unsafe, if you can show me how people would make me safe in it, how they would solve the problem, it’s slightly relieving on a nervous system level.”

“Fire Country” delivers on all those components with the Station 42 crew performing regular acts of heroism as they keep their community safe, a reflection of real-life firefighters, says Thieriot. “People who have to do this job day in and day out are really a special breed. For me, a big thing has always been trying to capture that and trying to portray that the best way possible,” he says. “It’s television, so obviously there are more moments when we’re trying to find the drama, but at the end of the day, it’s really important that we focus on the real and we find the real in there.”

Eve (Jules Latimer) and Bode (Max Thieriot) in “Fire Country.” “People who have to do this job day in and day out are really a special breed. For me, a big thing has always been trying to capture that and trying to portray that the best way possible,” Thieriot says. (Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)

Part of the real comes in knowing that where there are heroes, there are also villains and, as its midseason finale is set to air on Friday, “Fire Country” currently has a frightening one in the form of Landon (Josh McDermitt). Initially seen as meek and even-tempered, the layers have been pulled back to show something different.

“Landon is a threat to our people and that’ll go forward for a few episodes,” teases Napolitano. “You feel like this guy is out there and he has nothing to lose.”

That’s because Landon has already lost the trust of his girlfriend Chloe (Alona Tal) and her teenage son Tyler (Conor Sherry), who recently revealed to Bode that Landon set the tragic Zabel Ridge Fire. That’s the L.A.-inspired blaze from the third-season finale that not only destroyed homes and land but also took the life of Cal Fire battalion chief Vince Leone (Billy Burke), Sharon’s husband and Bode’s father.

In Friday’s episode, a vengeful Landon isn’t happy about being investigated or the fact that Bode and Sharon have made sure that Chloe and Tyler are staying away from him. “Landon’s a small man with a very big ego and a big victim complex and that’s going to manifest in a scary way,” Napolitano says.

It also may not help matters that Chloe and Bode were once romantically involved and a spark may still exist, especially since Bode has been mentoring the troubled Tyler. Is the single Bode’s heart open to a second chance at love? “He’s getting there,” says Thieriot. “Leading up to this season, Bode had so many obstacles and I think this journey with Tyler [as mentor] is a big part of that.”

Bode (Max Thieriot) and Chloe (Alona Tal) were once romantically involved. (Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)

Hearts are also healing on the show in the aftermath of Vince’s shocking death, an event that was never in the show’s plan to quickly sweep under the rug. “We really want to be the show that everyone knows and loves, which is a comfort to a lot of our viewers,” says Napolitano. “It’s a show of joy and levity but also honors the fact that we are missing a core character who did die a hero’s death and honoring him by keeping his memory alive.”

That memory exists for Farr in several rings she regularly wears representing Sharon’s marriage and family with Vince, but she added another piece this season based on a suggestion from director Sarah Wayne Callies.

“Vince’s bracelet is heavy and regularly bumps the smaller bones in my hand,” Farr says. “Just like my former scene partner Billy, who would debate any word or line or blocking or intention with me to get to the truest take on anything we did together. Losing him is always going to be loss.” Farr said she doesn’t want to play grief forever but upcoming episodes will continue to show Sharon “trying to figure out who she is as a ‘one’ instead of a ‘two.’”

Though everyone hopes Los Angeles won’t see more fires like the ones from nearly a year ago, “Fire Country’s” creators and cast will continue to shine a light on firefighters and all the life-and-death work they do on a daily basis and, above all else, entertain.

“It’s not always easy to continue to surprise the audience and come up with this stuff that’s just really captivating and fresh and new but I believe that we can,” Thieriot says. “I’m really eager to accomplish that.”

‘The scale of needs is so huge.’ As Gaza’s displaced Palestinians suffer from winter storms after surviving two years of genocidal war, UNICEF’s Jonathan Crickx explains how many clothes, blankets and tents are needed to save children from dying.