News Desk

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have begun searching the apartment of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

One of the two agencies, anti-corruption bureau Nabu, confirmed that its investigative searches had been authorised and said further details would follow.

A corruption scandal has engulfed several figures close to Zelensky, though neither he nor his right-hand man Yermak have been accused of any wrongdoing.

Yermak has played a crucial role in Ukraine’s response to Russia’s full-scale war, and he is Kyiv’s lead negotiator in peace talks with the US. However, his position has become increasingly under threat from critics calling for him to go.

Yermak, 54, confirmed on social media that both Nabu and the specialised anti-corruption prosecutor’s office (Sapo) were “conducting procedural actions at my home” and had full access to his apartment, with his lawyers on site.

“From my side, there is full co-operation.”

The searches come at a very awkward moment for Zelensky and his chief of staff, with US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll due to arrive in Kyiv by the end of this week as US President Donald Trump pushes ahead with a draft peace plan. US officials are heading to Moscow next week.

One of the main sticking points for Ukraine is Russia’s demand for Ukraine to hand over the territory it still controls in the eastern Donetsk region. “If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force of arms,” Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

Yermak underlined his leading role in the negotiations when he told The Atlantic website hours before news of the searches emerged that “as long as Zelensky is president, no-one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory”.

However, Putin has been emboldened by minor territorial gains by Russian forces, claiming their offensive “is practically impossible to hold back”. Meanwhile, Zelensky’s own position has been weakened by the domestic corruption scandal, and Russia’s president has long questioned his legitimacy as leader.

In his interview late on Thursday, Yermak acknowledged that pressure on him to stand down was “enormous… The case is fairly loud, and there needs to be an objective and independent investigation without political influence”.

The corruption scandal has rocked Ukraine this month, with investigators linking several leading public figures to an alleged $100m (£75m) embezzlement scandal in the energy sector.

The two anti-corruption agencies, Nabu and Sapo, said they had uncovered an extensive scheme to take kickbacks and influence state-owned companies including state nuclear energy firm Enerhoatom.

A number of suspects have already been charged in the scandal that has outraged public opinion because of allegations that money was diverted from key infrastructure projects vital for safeguarding Ukrainian power supplies.

Russian attacks have badly damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and Ukrainians across the country have had to cope with only a few hours of electricity a day.

Zelensky has already fired two ministers and several suspects have been detained in the scandal. One of the president’s former business associates, Timur Mindich, has fled the country.

He was co-owner of the TV studio where Zelensky’s acting career took off before he was elected president.

A STAR from Boy Meets World has revealed he has welcomed a baby girl.

Ben Savage has shared the joyous news that he has become a dad at 45.

The actor, who played the lead role of Cory Matthews on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World and its Disney Channel sequel Girl Meets World, has shared the first snaps of his baby girl on Instagram.

Ben is married to Tessa Angermeier, whom he wed in March 2023.

And now the pair have welcomed their first child together.

Taking to the platform on Thanksgiving, Ben shared a selection of sweet photos to reveal the birth of their bundle of joy.

Alongside a carousel, Ben wrote simply: “Welcome little one.”

Fans flocked to the comments section to congratulate the actor and his partner on their arrival.

One person penned, “Girl meets world (for real).”

“Dad meets girl, congrats,” said a second.

“Awe congratulations!!! Boy meets baby. Much love to you and your sweet family,” penned a third.

A fourth then added, “Boy met his girl in this world!! Congrats!!”

“Awe how cute, so tiny. Girl meets world. Congratulations to you both,” said a fifth.

While a sixth person wrote, “Congrats man and happy Thanksgiving with the new baby.”

And a seventh added, “Congratulations! Enjoy every moment. Hope Mamma is doing well!”

Prior to Ben and Tessa’s wedding in 2023, the couple had been together for over four years.

Tessa made her first appearance on Ben’s Instagram in August 2018.

Ben’s wife is an Indiana native and currently works as a senior graphic designer.

She works for the company Ben Soleimani, a luxury furniture store in West Hollywood.

She is also the graphic designer, merchandise manager and tour manager for the band The Growlers.

William Shakespeare wouldn’t be wowed by this domestic drama about his home life back in Stratford-upon-Avon. Where’s the action? The wit? The wordplay?

The great playwright’s skill is hard to match. Instead, “Hamnet,” directed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), uses our curiosity about the Bard to spin a soggy story about love and grief with enough tears to flood the river Thames. Co-written by Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell, this tonally faithful adaptation of O’Farrell’s florid 2020 novel of the same name stars Paul Mescal as Will — the name he goes by here — and Jessie Buckley as his wife, Agnes, pronounced Ahn-yes, although the real person was more commonly called Anne Hathaway. The 16th century’s fondness for treating Agnes/Anne and Hamnet/Hamlet as interchangeable versions of the same name is part of the plot and must be endured.

The tale is set during the years that Will launched his career in London, missed being at the deathbed of one of his children and funneled his guilt and sorrow into theater’s most prestigious ghost story. Mostly, however, we’re stuck at home with Agnes, who spends half the film weeping.

“There are many different ways to cry,” wrote O’Farrell, whose book goes on to list several variations. (The novel is overripe with descriptors, rarely using one word when a paragraph will do.) Buckley’s wet and wild performance shows us each of them — “the sudden outpouring of tears, the deep racking sobs, the soundless and endless leaking of water from the eyes’’ — plus a few others I’ll call the disgorged caterwaul, the furious scrunch and the chuckle swallowed into a choke. “Hamnet” is my least favorite of Buckley’s showcase roles (I loved “The Lost Daughter”), but the dampness of it has pundits wagering she’ll finally get her Academy Award.

Christopher Marlowe truthers aside, William Shakespeare was an actual person who, historical records concur, married a pregnant woman eight years his senior and had three kids: Susanna, the eldest, and twins Judith and Hamnet. (They’re played, respectively, by Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Olivia Lynes and Jacobi Jupe.) Nearly everything else ever written about the family is conjecture spun from the scraps of information that exist, such as Shakespeare’s will leaving nothing to his wife other than “his second-best bed.”

Previous fictions have deemed Agnes a cradle robber or a shrew or the Bard’s secret co-writer. Zhao’s script goes one further: This Agnes is a witch. Not merely in the slanderous meaning, as in a difficult woman (although she’s also that). Buckley’s Agnes is actually magic. She can predict someone’s destiny by squeezing their hand, the party trick Christopher Walken did in “The Dead Zone.” Sometimes she’s wrong, sometimes she fights fate with everything she’s got, yet her faith in her foresight is rarely shaken. Her husband, who would later write witches and sorcerers and soothsayers into “Macbeth,” “The Tempest” and “Julius Caesar,” is taxed by her psychic gifts. He grumbles that it’s hard to open up to someone who can already “divine your secrets at a glance.”

Her ability to see through time and space has somehow made Agnes transparent too. Joy, confusion, fascination and despair take over her entire face instantaneously, turning Buckley’s performance into an acting exercise of being raw and present. (The crooked smile that signifies her unvarnished realness gets wearying.) The plotting doesn’t have any subterranean levels either, trusting solely in its primal display of sweat, hormones and heartbreak. This period piece almost seems to believe Agnes is inventing each emotion.

Will, a tutor, is trapped inside teaching Latin the first time he spots his future bride romping around in the grass with a hawk on her arm. Cinematographer Łukasz Żal frames the scene in a pane of window glass so that Agnes’ reflection ripples across Will’s yearning face, contrasting the earthy enchantress with the indoor bookworm. These oddballs have little in common besides their defiance of village norms and their families’ mutual disapproval. “I’d rather you went to sea than marry this wench,” Will’s mother, Mary (Emily Watson), hisses. (Her gradual thaw is genuinely affecting.)

Meanwhile, Agnes’ most supportive sibling, a farmer named Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn), can’t fathom what Will has to offer. “Why marry a pasty-faced scholar?” he asks. “What use is he?”

Their flirtation — especially Mescal’s dumb, happy, horny grin — makes Shakespeare feel freshly relatable. Perhaps his Ye Olde Tinder profile read: “Aspiring playwright seeks older woman, pagan preferred.” At times in “Hamnet,” 1582, the year of their marriage, could pass for a millennium earlier, a rustic era where neither has anything more pressing to do than canoodle under the trees. Later on, their partnership feels more contemporary, a frustrated writer hitting the bottle while his missus supports but doesn’t understand his work.

That the greatest dramatist of the last 500 years is married to someone wholly incurious about his art is, in itself, a tragedy. There’s a scene in which you wonder not only if has Agnes never seen one of his plays, but if she even knows what a play is. Our credulity would snap if Mescal’s Shakespeare was the slick talker that his early biographer John Aubrey described as “very good company, of a very redie and pleasant smoothe Witt.” But this stammering, rather dull chap doesn’t come across as a genius. He must save it all for his quill.

This isn’t Mescal’s fault. The book’s version of him is pretty much the same, perhaps because O’Farrell doesn’t reveal that this fictional grieving character is Shakespeare until the last page. (Although the title is a gimmicky clue.) At least Zhao adds scenes that show him workshopping his material. The kids prance around the yard quoting “Macbeth” a decade before he’ll stage it and Mescal gets to recite a “Hamlet” soliloquy as a little treat. I enjoyed the unremarked-upon tension of Will returning home from London with a hip haircut and an earring.

The texture of the film is impressive. Żal’s camera swivels around their home, soaking it in like a documentary. Whenever the film goes outside, he and Zhao make you feel the mystical power of the dirt and leaves. The forest rumbles with so much energy that it sounds like living next to a freeway. To keep things feeling authentic, co-editors Affonso Gonçalves and Zhao keep in flukes that other filmmakers might consider flubs, like an insect dive-bombing one of the actor’s eyelashes. The spell of “Hamnet’s” naturalism rarely breaks, save for a couple nice flourishes, like a shadow puppet depiction of the plague and a shot of the underworld as seen through a black lace curtain, a literalization of going beyond the veil.

Meanwhile, the score by the talented Max Richter is made of soft, pleasant little piano plinks and one major if beautiful mistake: a climactic needle-drop of his 2004 masterpiece “On the Nature of Daylight.” That soul-stirring number is one of the loveliest compositions of the modern era, so good at making an audience sigh that it’s been used two dozen times already, including in “Arrival,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Shutter Island” and “The Last of Us.” As soon those violins kick up here, you’re shoved out of the 16th century and feel less moved than shamelessly manipulated.

“Hamnet’s” sweetest note is 12-year-old Jacobi Jupe playing the actual Hamnet. The script hangs on our immediate devotion to the boy and he stands up to the challenge. Unlike most child actors — and unlike his on-screen parents — he never overplays his big scenes. His stoicism is wrenching. Also terrific is his real-life older brother, Noah Jupe, as the play-within-a-film’s onstage Hamlet. In a rehearsal, this young actor seems dreadful. Zhao has him whiff it so that Mescal can say the lines again, louder. But on the play’s opening night, he’s a sensation.

Shakespeare didn’t invent “Hamlet” from whole cloth. He adapted it from a Norse yarn that had been around for centuries, and Lord knows if he was more inspired by his own child or by another successful version of “Hamlet” that played London a decade before. In our century, it’s been reworked for the screen more than 50 times, and mouthed by everyone from Ethan Hawke and Danny Devito to Shelley Long.

Yet I would have been happy watching the older Jupe do the whole thing again for this lively Globe Theatre crowd, the first to discover how Shakespeare’s version will end. As this Hamlet collapses, the audience reaches their arms toward the fallen prince. The actor draws strength from the groundlings and they, in turn, find solace in his pain. That stunning image alone single-handedly captures everything this movie has struggled to say (or sob) about the catharsis of art.

At least 12 Syrians killed in Israeli attacks after two unarmed Palestinians murdered in occupied West Bank’s Jenin.

Ukraine has mounted a fierce defence of Pokrovsk for the fifth straight week since Russia’s concerted offensive began to take its eastern city, while at the same time it tries to finesse a Russian-inspired United States peace plan heavily criticised by US lawmakers.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Monday its “assault groups of the 2nd Army have completely liberated the Gornyak and Shakhtersky microdistricts in Pokrovsk.

On Tuesday, it said its forces were fighting in the Vostochny and Zapadny districts of Myrnohrad, to the east of Pokrovsk.

Both cities, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, lie within an envelope which Russian forces have gradually tried to seal shut. Supplies and reinforcements can currently only reach Ukrainian forces from the west – and Russia claims to have effective fire control over those supply routes.

Ukrainian officials insisted the defence of Pokrovsk was still very much a contest. “Our positions are held in the centre of Pokrovsk, shooting battles continue, and the enemy fails to consolidate,” said Ukraine’s head of the Center for Countering Disinformation Andriy Kovalenko on Sunday, citing the 7th Air Assault Brigade fighting there.

Ukraine has evidently strained its resources to defend the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad enclave, whereas the concentration of Russian offensive forces in Pokrovsk has not compromised their ability to assault elsewhere.

During November 20-27, Russia claimed to have seized Petropavlovka in Kharkiv, Novoselivka, Maslyakovka, Yampol, Stavki, Zvanovka, Petrovskoye, Ivanopolye and Vasyukovka in Donetsk, Tikhoye and Otradnoye in Dniperopetrovsk, and Novoye Zaporozhiye and Zatishye in Zaporizhia.

The Russian forces’ recent rate of advance has amounted to about half a dozen villages a week.

But Ukraine disputes some of Russia’s claims.

On November 20, Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov said his forces had seized the city of Kupiansk in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region, and were setting upon retreating Ukrainian units on the left bank of the Oskil River.

But Kovalenko replied on the Telegram messaging service: “Russia did NOT occupy Kupiansk. Gerasimov is just a liar,” and he repeated the claim a week later.

Ukraine has also had successes on the ground, according to its commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii. “Despite enemy pressure, the Defence Forces of Ukraine managed to carry out counteroffensive actions in the Dobropillia direction from the end of August to October this year,” he said, referring to a failed Russian flanking manoeuvre towards a town northwest of Pokrovsk.

“As a result, the units split the enemy’s offensive group and liberated over 430 square kilometres [166 square miles] north of Pokrovsk. Russian losses amounted to more than 13,000 killed and wounded.”

Russia also kept up pressure on Ukraine’s rear, launching 1,169 drones and 25 missiles at its cities during the week of November 20-26. Ukraine downed 85 percent of the drones and 14 of the missiles, but Zelenskyy called for more short- and medium-range defences.

Questionable diplomacy

Europe, Ukraine and members of the US Congress have all pushed back against a 28-point peace plan presented by the US administration of Donald Trump last week, describing it as too Russia-friendly.

In its original form, the plan granted key points that Russia has demanded. That included a promise from Ukraine never to join NATO and the surrendering of almost all the territory Russia has taken by force, along with the unoccupied remainder of Donetsk. The US and Ukraine’s other Western allies would have to recognise those annexations as legal.

Ukraine would have to hold an election within 100 days of the plan’s signature – one that Russia seems to believe would unseat Zelenskyy.

Russia has also demanded that Ukraine effectively disarm. The 28-point plan suggests reducing its armed forces by about a third, to 600,000 personnel.

“Right now is one of the hardest moments in our history,” Zelenskyy told the Ukrainian people after seeing the plan, describing it as a choice between “either the loss of our dignity or the risk of losing a key partner”.

The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator Roger Wicker said in a statement: “This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace.”

Polish Premier Donald Tusk politely said on social media: “It would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.”

The plan drew heavily from a Russian non-paper submitted to the White House in October, said the Reuters news agency.

“Trump’s 28-point plan, which we have, enshrines the key understandings reached during the Alaska summit,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.

“I would say not all, but many provisions of this plan, they seem quite acceptable to us,” Putin aide Yury Ushakov told the TASS Russian state news agency.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany drafted a counter-proposal on Sunday, and a Ukrainian delegation led by former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov met with US negotiators under Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Geneva to discuss both documents.

Europe ruled out accepting territorial exchanges resulting from aggression, and suggested territorial negotiations begin from the line of contact without prior Ukrainian concessions. It also suggested Ukraine maintain a strong army of no fewer than 800,000 people, and receive an effective NATO security guarantee.

Their joint statement on Monday simply said they would “continue intensive work”, with final decisions to be made by Trump and Zelenskyy.

Much had been done to refine the original 28 points into a workable agreement, said Zelenskyy. “Now the list of necessary steps to end the war can become doable,” he told Ukrainians somewhat cryptically, describing the work that remained as “very challenging”.

Ukraine has pushed for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump before December to thrash out the plan’s final form, but on Tuesday, Bloomberg released transcripts of a leaked telephone conversation between Trump confidant Steve Witkoff and Putin aide Yury Ushakov, in which Witkoff advised Ushakov to have Putin call Trump before Zelenskyy had a chance to meet him. Witkoff suggested that Putin flatter Trump as a peacemaker to win his favour and shape the peace plan directly with him.

That leak prompted opposition to Witkoff travelling to Moscow next week to discuss the reworked plan with Russian officials. The White House said he is to replace General Keith Kellogg, who resigned as mediator for Ukraine after seeing the original 28-point plan.

“It is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he?” wrote Republican Congressman Don Bacon on social media.

For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired. https://t.co/dxMsda0YV5

— Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ (@RepDonBacon) November 25, 2025

In his first extensive remarks on the peace proposal, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin backed away from an agreement with Ukraine, saying, “Signing documents with the Ukrainian leadership is pointless,” because Zelenskyy was a president who had outlived his mandate.

“I believe that the Ukrainian authorities made a fundamental and strategic mistake when they succumbed to the fear of participating in the presidential elections,” he said, referring to the spring of 2025, when Zelenskyy’s four-year term expired.

Zelenskyy was elected in 2019, and the parliament has twice extended his tenure under the constitutional provision of a national emergency.

Putin said the 28 points did not amount to a peace treaty, calling them “a set of questions that were proposed for discussion and final wording”.

“In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said.

A fan-favourite presenter returned to Good Morning Britain on Friday after several weeks away

Good Morning Britain fans were delighted as a beloved star made their return to the ITV show on Friday (November 28).

During this morning’s instalment of the popular show, Kate Garraway was accompanied by Rob Rinder as they brought viewers the most recent news stories from Britain and beyond. It signals Rob’s comeback to the programme following a break of several weeks.

They were accompanied in the studio by Charlotte Hawkins, who managed the remainder of the day’s bulletins, whilst Laura Tobin delivered regular weather updates live from Austria.

Upon witnessing Rob’s comeback to the programme, numerous GMB watchers swiftly flocked to social media to express their joy, reports Wales Online.

“Glad to switch on to @robrinder, best presenter on the show, go get ’em Rob,” one viewer posted on X (formerly Twitter), with another commenting: “Brilliant to have Rob Rinder on this morning.”

A third declared, “Yay, Rob’s back!” with another likewise posting: “Nice to see Rob on.”

On today’s show, Rob and Kate discussed Labour’s U-turn on a key pledge for workers after they abandoned a promise to give all employees the right to claim unfair dismissal from their first day of employment. Business groups say it’s a crucial change.

They also anticipated a decision on whether the go-ahead will be given for a nationwide programme to screen millions of men for prostate cancer.

Plus, the duo met the everyday heroes aiming to top the charts, and revealed what could be Britain’s most Christmassy house.

However, ITV viewers couldn’t help but share their complaints minutes in as they didn’t understand why Laura was presenting the weather segment from the Austrian mountains instead of the studio.

“Scores of weather presenters and accompanying TV crews have travelled to Austria to talk about climate change,” one person wrote.

Another added: “Why is Laura in Austria to tell us about the UK weather? I thought we had to watch our carbon footprint?” while a third said: “Laura flew to Austria to discuss climate change on top of a mountain.”

A fourth fan echoed the sentiment, saying: “The show’s climate activist has pointlessly travelled to Austria. Think of the carbon footprint you’ve used, Tobin.”

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am

Green card applications from ‘countries of concern’ will be reviewed after Afghan national named as suspect in shooting of National Guard members.

United States President Donald Trump said he plans to suspend immigration from “all Third World countries”, the day after an Afghan national was named as a suspect in the shooting of two members of the National Guard in Washington, DC.

Trump’s announcement marks the latest in a series of escalating restrictions on immigration to the US, after he earlier ordered the US government to re-examine all green card applications from 19 “countries of concern”, in the wake of the Washington, DC, shooting.

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

While he did not define the term “Third World,” the phrase usually refers to developing countries in the Global South.

Trump also said that he will “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country”.

He added that all federal benefits and subsidies to “noncitizens” will end, and he will “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization”.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said earlier on Thursday that, “at the direction” of President Trump, he had ordered “a full-scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern”.

“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies,” Edlow said.

Edlow did not elaborate on which countries’ applicants would be reviewed, but his office directed The Associated Press (AP) news agency to a June 4 presidential proclamation restricting citizens of 19 countries from entering the US. The list includes Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela and Yemen.

Citizenship and Immigration Services had earlier announced that it would indefinitely suspend all Afghan immigration requests “pending further review of security and vetting protocols”.

The restrictions on immigrants in the US come as Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia in Washington, DC, identified the suspect in the shooting of the National Guard members as Rahmanaullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked with US forces in Afghanistan.

Lakanwal came to the US under a programme known as “Operation Allies Welcome” following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to Pirro. She said federal authorities, including the FBI, would be reviewing his immigration history and the vetting process.

The Trump administration has already taken aggressive measures to restrict immigration to the US. In October, it announced it would accept only 7,500 refugees in 2026 – the lowest number since 1980.

The US government is also in the midst of a major review of recent US refugee arrivals, according to a memo signed by Edlow and obtained by the AP on Monday.

The memo orders the review of the approximately 200,000 refugees admitted to the US under the administration of President Joe Biden, according to the AP.

It also suspends green card applications from refugees who came to the US during that period.

The government announces the closing of all government offices and schools as weather conditions grow worse.

Sri Lanka has closed government offices and schools as the death toll from floods and landslides across the country has risen to 56, with more than 600 houses damaged, according to officials.

Sri Lanka began grappling with severe weather last week, and the conditions worsened on Thursday with heavy downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads, and triggered landslides across the country.

More than 25 people were killed on Thursday in landslides in the central mountainous tea-growing regions of Badulla and Nuwara Eliya, which is about 300km (186 miles) east of the capital, Colombo.

Another 21 people were missing and 14 were injured in the Badulla and Nuwara Eliya areas, according to the government’s disaster management centre, quoted by The Associated Press news agency.

Others died in landslides in different parts of the country.

Daily life heavily impacted

As the weather conditions grew worse, the government announced the closing of all government offices and schools on Friday.

Due to heavy rains, most reservoirs and rivers have overflowed, blocking roads. Authorities stopped passenger trains and closed roads in many parts of the country after rocks, mud and trees fell on roads and railway tracks, which were also flooded in some areas.

Local television showed an air force helicopter rescuing three people stranded on the roof of a house surrounded by floods on Thursday, while the navy and police used boats to transport residents.

Footage on Thursday also showed a car being swept away by floodwaters near the eastern town of Ampara, leaving three passengers dead.

BELLA Hadid brims with confidence as she anticipates the sweet smell of success from her new perfume.

The US supermodel, 29, wore a large titfer as she fronted up in a plunging white top and no bra to launch her fifth fragrance for her own brand, Orebella.

And it was hat’s off as she posed almost topless while clutching the golden bottle containing her new product.

She’s not short of naked ambition.

Her cowboy boyfriend Adan Banuelos, 37, would approve.

Bella and Adan have been saddled up together since October 2024, after being spotted on a date in Fort Worth, Texas.

IS BELLA OK?

Bella Hadid sparks concern as she shares tear-streaked selfies

RED HOT BELLA

Bella Hadid turns heads in red top & checked pants as she mixes with fans

Rumours that Bella Hadid was dating Adan first spread in autumn 2023.

The two made things Instagram official the following February.

Bella shared loved-up pictures of Adan and herself on Valentine’s Day 2024.

Adan is an accomplished horse rider, and trainer.

He said of Bella last year: “I didn’t know God made ’em like that.”

North Korean hacking group Lazarus is suspected to be behind a recent breach of around 45 billion won (US$30.6 million) worth of cryptocurrency from South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, sources said Friday.

According to government and business sources, authorities plan to carry out an on-site investigation at the crypto exchange with a belief that Lazarus was behind the hacking.

Dunamu, which operates Upbit, said Thursday it confirmed the transfer of 44.5 billion won worth of Solana-affiliated assets to an unauthorized wallet address and plans to cover the full amount with assets the company owns.

The hacking group had been suspected of stealing 58 billion won worth of Ethereum from Upbit in 2019.

Authorities said the methods used in the latest incident resembled those of the 2019 theft.

“Instead of attacking the server, it is possible that hackers compromised administrators’ accounts or posed as administrators to make the transfer,” a government official said.

Experts note the hacking incident came while Pyongyang is seeking to raise money amid a shortage of foreign currency.

“It is the tactic of Lazarus to transfer crypto to wallets at other exchanges and attempt money laundering,” a security official said, noting such methods make it impossible to track the transaction.

Others said hackers may have intentionally chosen Thursday for their attack, as Naver Corp., South Korea’s top search engine operator, announced its decision on the previous day to acquire Dunamu as a wholly owned subsidiary of Naver Financial through a share-swap deal.

“Hackers have a strong tendency toward self-display,” another security official said.

R&B singer Ray J was arrested early Thanksgiving morning, according to jail records and a police spokesman.

The 44-year-old artist — whose legal name is Willie Norwood — was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, according to Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Mike Bland.

Jail records show Norwood was arrested around 4 a.m. by officers from LAPD’s Devonshire Division, which patrols parts of the San Fernando Valley including Chatsworth and Northridge.

Bland could not provide details on the incident or say exactly where Norwood was arrested. He was released on $50,000 bond a few hours after his arrest, according to jail records.

The younger brother of actress and singer Brandy, Norwood is best known for the tracks “One Wish” and “Sexy Can I.” He was sued for defamation in October by his ex-girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, over comments he made in a TMZ documentary.

Ray J is married to actor and producer Princess Love Norwood, whom he co-starred with on the reality show “Love & Hip Hop,” which showcased an often contentious relationship. The two, who share two children, are in the process of a divorce, as People reported last year.

President Vladimir Putin has said he is ready to guarantee in writing that Russia will not attack another European nation, as he dismissed claims that Moscow intends to invade another country as a “lie” and “complete nonsense”.

Speaking on Thursday in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek – where he attended a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russia-led military alliance that includes some former Soviet republics – Putin branded claims Moscow is planning to attack Europe as “ridiculous”.

“The truth is, we never intended to do that. But if they want to hear it from us, well, then we’ll document it. No question,” the Russian president told reporters.

Putin’s denials that Moscow is planning another invasion have been met with scepticism from European leaders, who point to the fact that he repeatedly denied Russia would invade Ukraine before doing so in February 2022.

Responding to questions about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Putin expressed optimism about a draft United States-backed peace plan, saying it could serve as the “basis for future agreements”.

While Putin said Russia is ready for a “serious” discussion to end the war, he also warned that Moscow was prepared to fight on if necessary and take over more of Ukraine.

A basic prerequisite to end the fighting, he reiterated, was that Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, including leaving areas that Russian troops do not currently control.

“Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they currently hold – then the fighting will stop. If they do not pull back, we will achieve this by military means,” he said.

Ukraine has said that such a withdrawal would leave the way open for a Russian assault on its capital, Kyiv.

‘The president has lost his legitimate status’

Putin also suggested that he was open to a negotiated settlement with Kyiv, but once again branded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government illegitimate, adding that it was “legally impossible” to sign any agreements with them.

“Broadly speaking, of course, we ultimately want to reach an agreement with Ukraine. But right now, this is practically impossible,” Putin said, repeating previous unfounded claims that Kyiv had lost the right to govern after failing to hold elections when Zelenskyy’s presidential term expired in May 2024.

“The Ukrainian leadership made a fundamental strategic mistake when it feared presidential elections, because since then, the president has lost his legitimate status,” Putin added.

Kyiv has maintained it could not hold elections while under martial law and defending its territory against Russian attacks. In February, lawmakers in Ukraine’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution affirming Zelenskyy’s legitimacy to stay in office.

Putin also claimed that, due to the Zelenskyy government’s purported illegitimacy, any peace deal must be recognised by the international community, and that the international community must also recognise Russian gains in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reiterated on Thursday that Zelenskyy “will not sign away territory”.

“As long as Zelenskyy is president, no one should count on us giving up territory,” Yermak told US magazine The Atlantic.

Last week, the US revealed a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine that was widely viewed as extremely favourable to Russia. It called for Kyiv to make major concessions, including ceding territory and abandoning its NATO ambitions.

The plan has since been altered with Ukrainian input, Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said, nixing a 600,000-member cap on Ukraine’s army and a general war crimes amnesty.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian delegations are set to meet with Washington officials to work out a formula discussed at previous talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.

He added, without providing details, that there would be further talks next week.

US representatives, including Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, are also set to travel to Moscow next week to continue discussions on key issues, including security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe.

Putin said his delegation intends to raise its own “key issue” with the US delegation, specifically a passage in the peace plan stating that Washington only intends to recognise Russia’s de facto control over Crimea and other Ukrainian territory, which Moscow claims as its own.

“That is precisely what our talks with the American side will be about,” Putin said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko recently announced his intention to pay an official visit to Myanmar. Under other circumstances, this visit might have gone unnoticed, but amid the Myanmar crisis, every visit by a foreign leader to Naypyidaw attracts attention. According to Lukashenko, the trip will be part of a larger international tour that will also include Oman, Algeria, and Kyrgyzstan. The two leaders have already met four times in 2025: during Myanmar President Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Minsk in March, during Victory Day celebrations in Moscow in May, during the Eurasian Economic Forum in June, and at the PLA parade in Beijing in September. This is a reciprocal visit intended to strengthen relations between Belarus and Myanmar.

The signing of 18 agreements in various fields is planned, including the mutual waiver of tourist visas, a cooperation agreement between the Myanmar Space Agency and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, an agreement on mutual legal assistance, and so on. Expect Myanmar opposition media to talk about Belarusian educational programs for Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s armed forces) officers and the supply of Belarusian UAVs. For now, all of this fits the “pariah in arms” pattern: the familiar cooperation of two regimes suffering from sanctions pressure and accused of human rights violations. But could something more lie behind Lukashenko’s visit? And can Myanmar’s military leadership learn lessons from its Belarusian partner’s strategy? Let’s discuss the less obvious aspects of Myanmar-Belarus relations.

Lukashenko as a mediator in Ukraine and… Myanmar?

Lukashenko is often portrayed as a Russian proxy, but in practice, Belarusian politics is quite complex. A charismatic former collective farm director, Lukashenko came to power in the 1994 presidential election. His victory came amid a wave of nostalgia for the USSR that swept Belarusian society, which was facing the costs of establishing a free market: declining production, rising prices, rampant crime, and a profoundly uncertain future. At the time, the relatively young populist boldly criticized the nomenklatura, which the people had grown tired of.

At the same time, Lukashenko clearly declared himself a supporter of integration with Russia and an opponent of Belarusian pro-Western nationalism. He kept his promises: the population became more socially secure, organized crime groups were defeated, and the trend toward forced “Belarus-ization” was halted (most ethnic Belarusians prefer to communicate in Russian in everyday life and are skeptical of the opposition’s calls to switch to Belarusian).

At the same time, Lukashenko has always staunchly defended the independence of the Belarusian state and has sometimes even clashed with Moscow. In the 2000s, high-profile “energy wars” erupted between Minsk and Moscow. In 2006, after the Russian state-owned company Gazprom revoked preferential terms for oil supplies to Belarus, the outraged Belarusian leadership retaliated: it imposed additional duties on the transit of Russian oil and began pumping oil from the pipeline. Moscow was forced to back down.

In 2010, Russia demanded that Lukashenko pay off its natural gas debts, after which Lukashenko reminded Russia of its own debts. A series of anti-Lukashenko propaganda films was shown on Russian television. The conflict was resolved through mutual debt repayment, but Minsk could claim victory by upholding its strategic autonomy in the post-Soviet space. In his campaign against Gazprom, the Belarusian leader stoked anti-oligarchic sentiment in Russia and, as a result, gained popularity among the left-wing opposition. For a long time, dreams of a merger between Russia and Belarus were popular among this group, with Lukashenko being tipped as the president of the union state. Among older Russians nostalgic for the Soviet era, Lukashenko rivaled Putin in approval ratings.

“Multi-vectorism” has become the hallmark of Belarusian foreign policy. Minsk has responded to the growing tensions between Russia and the EU/USA head-on, maintaining contacts with all stakeholders. During the first phase of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2014-2020, Lukashenko ambitiously positioned Belarus as a neutral “Slavic” platform for Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. A Belarusian diplomatic triumph was the adoption of agreements in Minsk in 2014-2015, involving not only Russia and Ukraine, but also Germany and France. At the same time, despite his Russophile rhetoric, Lukashenko continued to sell diesel fuel (produced from Russian oil!) to the Ukrainian armed forces.

Lukashenko immersed himself in multi-vector diplomacy and overlooked the changing mood of Belarusian society – people were growing tired of the uncontested leader. Conviction that the 2020 presidential election results had been rigged brought people out onto the streets; mass protests engulfed the country, forcing Lukashenko to make temporary concessions, only to later unleash an avalanche of brutal repression on the protesters.

It was at this time, amid the threat of revolution and moral condemnation from the West, that Minsk decided to move closer to Moscow. However, domestically, Belarusian propaganda, in addition to the standard accusations against the US and EU of supporting the opposition, declared the protests a “Russian oligarchs’ plot to overthrow the legitimate president.” Even in a situation where only Moscow could ensure Lukashenko’s continued power, he preferred to retain the freedom to maneuver in his own interests.

Contacts between Washington and Minsk continue, and Trump’s team appears to be closer to mutual understanding with the Belarusians than with the Russians (the Belarusian president personally meets Americans and invariably ends negotiations with a vodka-fueled feast). At the same time, Belarus’s active diplomacy in the post-Soviet space is noteworthy, where Minsk is particularly friendly with Azerbaijan (despite its clashes with Moscow) and the countries of Central Asia. Beijing is also emphatically lenient in its relations with Lukashenko, who emphasizes that, unlike other former Soviet countries, Belarus has retained a reverence for its communist legacy.

The Belarusian multi-vector model for Naypyidaw

Lukashenko arrives in Naypyitaw at a time when the Myanmar government is desperate for international recognition. It’s hard to say whether the Myanmar generals ever considered using their Belarusian partner as a go-between to establish ties with Trump’s team. However, this approach clearly seems preferable to multi-million dollar investments in American lobbying firms, which have so far yielded no results. A new round of talks on Ukraine involving Belarus will take place in December, and Myanmar could very well use this opportunity to use Lukashenko to generate positive interest in the White House.

Beyond the short-term benefits of friendship with Minsk, Myanmar could learn from Belarus the art of multi-vector foreign policy. The configuration of Russian-Belarusian relations is reminiscent of China-Myanmar relations: both Belarus and Myanmar are “small nations” located within the sphere of influence of their larger neighbors, Russia and China, but at the same time striving for strategic autonomy. Chinese infrastructure projects in Myanmar, in particular the oil and natural gas pipeline from Yunnan Province to the port of Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State, designed to provide China with access to the Indian Ocean, can be compared to Russian energy infrastructure in Belarus (the Druzhba pipeline). Minsk can act as a senior mentor to Naypyidaw in defending its energy independence from China.

Stabilizing Myanmar Based on the Belarusian Experience: Pros and Cons

There are vast differences between Myanmar and Belarus – in history, traditions, religion, and ethnic composition. Nevertheless, Naypyidaw could borrow some Belarusian wisdom not only in foreign policy but also in domestic policy.

Mass protests in Belarus in 2020 were sparked by obvious vote rigging in favor of Lukashenko. Paradoxically, the 2020 elections in Myanmar were held under the majoritarian system adopted in Belarus and resulted in a constitutional transfer of power in favor of the military due to electoral fraud by the NLD. The political regimes of Myanmar and Belarus have different backgrounds and structures: the populist Lukashenko is more reminiscent of Aung San Suu Kyi, while the Belarusian army lacks independence and is incapable of military coups. But most importantly, Minsk and Naypyidaw are united by common challenges: internal instability fueled from abroad. Significantly, NUG representatives are simultaneously establishing contacts with the Belarusian government-in-exile of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

Lukashenko successfully overcame the critical moments of the 2020-2021 crisis and, at the cost of systematic human rights violations—something he had done before, by the way—defeated the opposition. What’s interesting here is not the moral aspect of the issue, but the regime’s survival strategy. Lukashenko alternately used carrots and sticks, and alongside repression, he recruited media opposition figures. A well-known example is that of radical opponent of the regime Roman Protasevich, who, after his unexpected arrest, found common ground with the regime and became its sincere defender. This demonstrates the potential for the Myanmar government to exploit loyal elements of the former NLD and even members of the NUG and PDF who agreed to cooperate with the regime.

On the other hand, it should be remembered that in a number of respects, the Myanmar regime is more lenient than the Belarusian one: several large-scale amnesties for political crimes were carried out by the “junta” without prior agreements with the United States. Lukashenko released several dozen of his opponents with guarantees that sanctions would be lifted; the Myanmar military has released thousands of far more dangerous convicts, guided not only by political expediency but also by the Buddhist ideal of compassion (there is no contradiction here, as Buddhism underlies realpolitik in Myanmar). This ideal is widely accepted by all Burmese, regardless of their views on current politics. Unlike the Belarusians, who underwent the brainwashing of communist atheism in the 20th century and practically lost their national identity, the Burmese have preserved their traditional culture, religion, and language and are able to resist the dual pressures of the West and China.

Conclusion

Learning from the Belarusian experience, Myanmar’s foreign policy is returning to its usual course. Long before independent Belarus appeared on the world map in 1991, Myanmar had already pursued a multi-vector policy. It is significant that even when relations with China’s Maoist regime deteriorated to the lowest point in the 1960s, due to Beijing’s support for the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), Ne Win’s government refrained from entering into anti-Chinese alliances with the United States or the USSR. This was a far-sighted decision. To a certain extent, modern Belarus could become Myanmar’s equivalent of Yugoslavia during the Cold War: both under U Nu’s democratic system and under Ne Win’s military dictatorship, the neutralist diplomacy of Titoism was admired.

While Republican and Democratic representatives repeat stereotypical misconceptions about Myanmar learned from Burmese exiles, the generals are gradually bringing the country out of isolation. The most important thing for the Myanmar people to remember is that their nation, the heir to ancient Buddhist kingdoms, has never been and never will be in the service of external powers: the Americans, the Chinese, the Russians, or anyone else. Lukashenko’s visit provides an opportunity to creatively develop the potential of Myanmar diplomacy.

I’m A Celebrity 2025 hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly gathered all the campmates for a live trial, but soon Aitch and Angry Ginge were left unimpressed by Ant

There was a live trial on I’m a Celebrity on Thursday night, and it was pure chaos.

All the celebrities learned they would take part in Cocktails of Cruelty, a head-to-head drinking trial as part of the Rivals challenge ongoing. Each celebrity was allowed to pick two jungle ingredients for their fellow rival celebrity opponent to drink.

Each star in each pair then needed to down their drinks, and the first star to down their drink the fastest would win the task. The fastest drinkers would also get immunity from the first vote off happening very soon.

As the live trial got underway, Aitch and Angry Ginge got up to have their drinking showdown. In something dubbed “controversial” and “shocking scenes” by Ant, the pair were disqualified.

Neither of them won immunity after both of them spilled too much liquid. Aitch was first to break the rules, giving Ginge the chance to win.

But when Ginge then repeated his pal’s mistake, in tense scenes that saw the guys close to bickering, crew members in the gallery had to decide how to handle the situation. It was decided, as advised by Ant, that both stars had spilled too much and neither of them won.

READ MORE: Shona and Aitch ‘very cosy’, says I’m A Celebrity co-star amid romance claimsREAD MORE: I’m A Celebrity’s Vogue and Kelly ‘no longer friends’ as they face jungle showdown

As a result, neither of them had immunity and were now both at risk in the first vote-off. Ant was quick to call out the pair though saying they deserved it, as Aitch and Ginge were clearly fuming.

Aitch called it “ridiculous” and had his head in his hands, with Ginge also not happy about it. Ant barked back though: “They both spilled loads so they both deserve to be on the bench.”

It comes as hosts Ant and Dec commented on campmates Shona McGarty and Aitch being “very cosy” amid romance rumours. On Wednesday night, scenes saw the pair messing around, and Dec was quick to comment.

After Kelly Brook suggested a pillow fight in camp, the pair were seen rolling around and falling to the floor. Shona was leaning on Aitch as the pair laughed, with fans suggesting they were “looking into each other’s eyes”.

Aitch commented on his time in camp being “lovely” with him “seeing the beauty of it”, with a smirk on his face – just as the camera panned to him staring at Shona. Fans were sure he was talking about his time with Shona.

Speaking live on air at the end of Wednesday’s episode, Dec said to Ant: “Getting very cosy aren’t they,” before smirking. Ant then said back: “Well some of them are…”

Viewers also had their say after the playful scenes. Some fans even suggested Aitch deliberatly lost to be in the loser camp with Shona, with many viewers “rooting” for their possible romance.

One fan said: “Aitch and Shona ready for that Christmas love.” Another agreed: “Are we witnessing the chemistry between Aitch and Shona? You can feel the love.”

A third fan said: “Aitch and Shona are so cute and I am SO HERE FOR IT,” as a fourth added: “I know Aitch lost on purpose to be with Shona I just can’t prove it.” A fifth said: “I’m so rooting for Aitch and Shona.”

Another fan commented: “Aitch and Shona staring into each others eyes.” It’s not just fans who seem to be rooting for the pair though, with friends and family also commenting.

Aitch’s close pal and manager said the pair could make a “nice couple”. Shona’s sister Camila had her say too, and said: “He is a nice guy… I would definitely have him around for Christmas.”

Shona broke up with her musician fiancé, David Bracken, earlier this year. Insiders say the split is amicable, and he recently wished her all the best for the jungle on social media.

Romance talk started after Aitch spoke about Shona to Ginge in the camp. He said: “I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Shona, me.” Ginge replied: “I think she’s really nice, if that’s what you mean, yeah?” Keeping things low-key, Aitch commented: “Yeah, that’s what I mean…”

I’m A Celebrity 2025 airs every night at 9PM on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Nov. 26 (UPI) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro donned military fatigues, wielded Simon Bolivar’s sword and urged Venezuelans to defend the nation against U.S. aggression during a rally in Caracas.

Maduro held the rally in Caracas on Tuesday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the nation’s liberation and told attendees that it is their duty to oppose foreign aggressors in the manner of Venezuelan hero Bolivar, who led a successful revolt against the Spanish, The Guardian reported.

The rally was held in response to the Trump administration’s military strikes against alleged drug traffickers and the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela.

“We have to be capable of defending every inch of this blessed land from any sort of imperialist threat or aggression, wherever it comes from,” Maduro said while holding Bolivar’s unsheathed sword in his right hand.

“I swear before our Lord Jesus Christ that I will give my all for the victory of Venezuela,” Maduro said.

The U.S. military has killed more than 80 while carrying out more than 20 aerial strikes on small vessels said to carry illicit drugs destined for the United States and Europe over the past four months, according to Time.

President Donald Trump also has accused Maduro of being a drug trafficker and a leader of the Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration on Monday designated as a foreign terrorist group, along with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which infiltrated the United States during the Biden administration.

The United States has placed a $50 million bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, and Trump has authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela.

He also has threatened to drop leaflets over Venezuelan cities to encourage a revolt against Maduro, who has been accused of claiming victory in the nation’s 2024 presidential election despite exit polling strongly suggesting he lost.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday accused the United States of “bullying” Venezuela and expressed support for the nation and Maduro.

Iranian leaders have accused the Trump administration of trying to destabilize the governments of Iran and Venezuela and maintain close ties with Maduro and Venezuela.

The tensions between the United States and Venezuela prompted a cautionary notice regarding international flights in the region from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Many international airlines have canceled flights to Venezuela, which has some travelers stranded in Caracas.

Aman says it will take ‘all available measures’ to stop Russian authorities from recruiting its citizens to fight in war.

Jordan has demanded that Russian authorities stop illegally recruiting its citizens after two Jordanians were killed fighting in the Russian military.

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the warning on Thursday against Moscow and external “entities” working online to recruit people on Moscow’s behalf.

The ministry did not mention Russia’s almost four-year-long war on Ukraine, where thousands of paid foreign fighters have joined Moscow’s side.

In a statement shared on X, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said it would “take all available measures” to end the further recruitment of Jordanians and called for Moscow to terminate the contracts of its currently enlisted citizens.

The recruitment is a violation of both Jordanian domestic and international law, the ministry said, and “endangers the lives of [its] citizens”.

The statement did not provide any further identifying information or say where or when the two citizens were killed, though Russia has a track record of recruiting foreigners to fight in Ukraine.

Ukraine says Moscow has recruited at least 18,000 foreign fighters from 128 countries, according to figures shared by Brigadier General Dmytro Usov. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, he said another 3,388 foreigners have died fighting for Russia.

Usov did not provide a breakdown of the foreign soldiers fighting in Ukraine for Russia, but the vast majority were likely from North Korea.

The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations said Pyongyang sent between 14,000 and 15,000 soldiers to fight for Russia in 2024, citing Western officials.

Moscow has also recruited at least 1,400 Africans from more than 30 countries, using methods ranging from deception to duress, according to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.

Sybiha said previously that signing a contract with the Russian military was “equivalent to signing a death sentence” for foreign recruits.

“Foreign citizens in the Russian army have a sad fate. Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults,’ where they are quickly killed,” Sybiha said in a November 9 post on X.

“The Russian command understands that there will be no accountability for the killed foreigner, so they are treated as second-rate, expendable human material,” he said.

THE race to crown the Christmas No1 will get under way in two weeks.

And a dark horse, or should that be lovable bear, has entered the fray.

Paddington has become a major contender with song One Of Us, which is actually sung by McFly’s Tom Fletcher, who wrote it for the new Paddington The Musical in London’s West End.

He has stiff competition in what is looking set to be the most closely fought contest in years.

Martin Talbot, chief executive of The Official Charts Company, said: “The vision of Paddington taking on this year’s diverse gaggle of new festive chart contenders, alongside seasonal classics from The Pogues, Mariah Carey and Wham!, will be something to savour.”

The winning song will be revealed on The Radio 1 Chart Show just after 5.30pm on December 19.

Lee Phelps, from bookies William Hill, said: “Wham! are our odds-on favourites to be Christmas No1 for the third year running.

“They’ve been popular in the betting and are now as short as 1/2

“Kylie Minogue is the only other single-figure price at 11/2, while Together For Palestine take third spot in our market at 12/1.

“At 14/1, Taylor Swift joins Alison Limerick and Mariah Carey to top the charts on Christmas Day for the first time in the UK.”

Associate Bizarre Editor Howell Davies casts his eye over the contenders . . .

• Odds provided by William Hill. See the full market at sports.williamhill.com.

Paddington and Tom Fletcher — One of Us

6/1

AS one of the nation’s favourite characters, Paddington has topped the box office multiple times.

Meanwhile McFly’s Tom Fletcher has scored seven No1 singles. Now they are joining forces with One Of Us, written by Tom for Paddington The Musical.

The video, which is out today along with the song, sees them appear together at Paddington train station in London and had to be filmed under the cover of ­darkness to keep the secret.

The full soundtrack to the musical will be released in March ­following rave reviews for the stage show.

Wham! — Last Christmas

1/2

WHAM!’s hit about a seasonal break-up, set against jingle bells, has reached No1 for the last two Christmases.

When it was first released in 1984, it was pipped to the top spot by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?.

It’s the third best-selling single in UK history and was already the highest ­charting Christmas song on last Friday’s rundown, when it was at No19.

The profits originally contributed to famine aid in Ethiopia, but in recent years George Michael’s estate has been dividing the proceeds between a series of other charity groups.

Roland Gift — Everybody Knows It’s Christmas

66/1

THIS number from Fine Young Cannibals frontman Roland Gift started off as a bet but has since racked up more than 86,000 views online.

It fuses glam rock with a festive, jingle bell ball and is being released on CD and 7in single, as well as streaming and download services, in a bid to boost sales.

Roland told The Sun: “It started out as a bet with my mate, who’s a big Slade fan.

“He said if I could write a Christmas song that was a hit, he’d give my car a free service and new tyres. I hope this song brings a bit of warmth, a smile and maybe a bit of that Christmas magic your way.”

Kylie Minogue — Xmas

11/2

SHE released her album Kylie Christmas in 2015 and now the Aussie star is back to spread joy with a savvy link-up.

Her new song Xmas is ­exclusive to Amazon Music, meaning it can only be downloaded there or played through its streaming service.

But it’s a clever move, because it is among the first tracks to be played when people ask their Alexa devices to play Christmas music.

The last two years have seen Tom Grennan’s It Can’t Be Christmas and Sam Ryder’s You’re Christmas To Me finish in second place in the festive chart because of the power of Amazon.

Alison Limerick — Where Love Lives

14/1

THIS track has swelled in popularity since a cover by Labrinth featured in this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert.

Alison Limerick’s pulsating house tune was originally released in 1990. It peaked at No9 in 1996 but recently re-entered the charts at No44.

Now it is being tipped to rise far higher as the TV ad gets more plays.

Alison said: “Music has always had the power to bring all kinds of peeps together, but I hope this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert will give those who see it a new, emotional connection with the song.”

Denise Welch — Slayyy Bells

100/1

THE firm festive outsider this year is actress Denise Welch with her borderline-unlistenable offering.

The track has been released as a tie-in with choc brand Celebrations – 30 years after she hit No23 with a cover of You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me.

Denise, whose son Matty Healy is lead singer for The 1975, said: “I love Christmas, but sometimes I want to shake things up a bit. We don’t always have to have turkey or play charades. We can celebrate this special holiday our way.

“This remix, apart from being cool, catchy and a sure- fire hit, is all about ­having fun.”

Mariah Carey — All I Want For Christmas Is You

14/1

AS the Queen of Christmas, Mariah is never far from the charts at this time of year.

All I Want For Christmas Is You was first released in 1994 and has returned to the Top 40 every year since 2007.

It is an unabashedly joyful belter, complete with bell chimes and lyrics about ditching a desire for materialistic gifts.

It topped the charts in 2021 and remains a strong contender for Christmas No1, finishing last year at No3.

In the US, it is even more ­popular and has been the ­festive No1 for the past six years.

Taylor Swift — Opalite

14/1

SHE already has five No1s to her name and has spent the same number of weeks at the top with The Fate Of Ophelia. But Opalite, another track from her The Life Of A Showgirl album, is poised to become a competitor after The Sun on Sunday revealed she had flown to London to shoot a festive video.

She hired out a shopping centre in ­Croydon to film the scenes, with the video believed to include cameos from singer Lewis Capaldi among others.

An updated version of Opalite is expected to be launched alongside the video, just in time for Christmas.

Together For Palestine — Lullaby

12/1

THERE have been plenty of Christmas songs for good causes. Now Together For Palestine are hoping to raise funds with their ­charity single Lullaby.

Musicians including Neneh Cherry, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Brian Eno, Bastille frontman Dan Smith and Celeste have joined forces with Palestinian musicians to appear on the track, which is a reimagining of a ­traditional Palestinian lullaby.

Speaking about the song, out on December 12, Eno said: “We have a real shot at landing Christmas No1 – and turning that moment into vital life-saving support for Gaza’s families.”