The Indian Ocean tsunami remembered by those who survived it
The Indian Ocean tsunami remembered by those who survived it
The story of how the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami unfolded, by those who survived.
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News
Pope Christmas message urges softening of ‘self-centred hearts’
Pope Christmas message urges softening of 'self-centred hearts'
In his Christmas Day message, Francis says a more compassionate attitude can help end suffering.
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For Trump Organization, Office Skyscrapers Make Up for Lagging Hotels
For Trump Organization, Office Skyscrapers Make Up for Lagging Hotels
Office towers in New York and San Francisco — centers of political resistance — are offsetting revenue downturns in the president’s glitzier Trump-branded hotels.
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Ruslan Shaveddinov: Russian opposition activist ‘kidnapped’ by army
Ruslan Shaveddinov: Russian opposition activist 'kidnapped' by army
Ruslan Shaveddinov's forcible conscription to serve in the Arctic is condemned by his allies.
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Revealed: thousands of children in care placed in unregulated homes
Revealed: thousands of children in care placed in unregulated homes
Lack of facilities to house vulnerable children in UK has led to rise in unsafe placementsThousands of children in care are increasingly being placed in homes that are illegal or unregulated, in what critics have labelled a national scandal, a Guardian investigation has found.A lack of places to house vulnerable children in the UK is prompting a surge in placements that are less safe. These include those that are unregulated or not registered with Ofsted. Continue reading...
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Notre Dame Cathedral stays dark for first time in 200 years
Notre Dame Cathedral stays dark for first time in 200 years
French Catholics go to nearby church in Paris for Christmas mass following fire in AprilNotre Dame Cathedral was unable to hold Christmas Eve mass for the first time in more than 200 years after a fire ravaged its structure in April.French Catholics instead gathered at the church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, a few hundred metres away from the Paris landmark, for a service celebrated by the cathedral’s rector Patrick Chauvet. Continue reading...
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Queen acknowledges ‘bumpy’ year as royal family attends Christmas services
Queen acknowledges 'bumpy' year as royal family attends Christmas services
Prince Andrew attends celebrations but not main service, while Queen acknowledges young people’s action on climate crisisThe royal family was out in force in a public show of Christmas unity as the Queen dwelt on the themes of friendship and reconciliation in her annual message and acknowledged a “quite bumpy” path during a turbulent year for both the monarchy and the nation.The beleaguered Duke of York joined other members of the family for the traditional celebrations at Sandringham in Norfolk in his first appearance since he was forced to step down from official royal duties over his friendship with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...
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Shoppers expected to spend more than £4bn on Boxing Day
Shoppers expected to spend more than £4bn on Boxing Day
In-store takings will be down, analysts say, as Black Friday eclipses post-Christmas salesShoppers are expected to spend more than £4bn in the Boxing Day sales on Thursday, but the annual discount extravaganza is likely to be dampened after a month of price cuts.Sales in stores are expected to be down by just over 12% to £3.2bn, according to VoucherCodes and the Centre for Retail Research, while bank holiday queues are expected to be up to 2% shorter than they used to be as the post-Christmas sales have been eclipsed by November’s Black Friday promotional stint. Continue reading...
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2020 set to be year of the electric car, say industry analysts
2020 set to be year of the electric car, say industry analysts
Mini, Vauxhall Corsa and Fiat 5oo will join rapidly expanding European EV marketEurope’s carmakers are gearing up to make 2020 the year of the electric car, according to automotive analysts, with a wave of new models launching as the world’s biggest manufacturers scramble to lower the carbon dioxide emissions of their products.Previous electric models have mostly been targeted at niche markets, but 2020 will see the launch of flagship electric models with familiar names, such as the Mini, the Vauxhall Corsa and the Fiat 500. Continue reading...
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Allee Willis, songwriter behind Friends theme tune, dies aged 72
Allee Willis, songwriter behind Friends theme tune, dies aged 72
Willis penned hits for Earth, Wind & Fire, and wrote score for musical The Color PurpleAllee Willis, the US songwriter behind the Friends theme tune as well as hits such as September by Earth, Wind & Fire, has died aged 72.She had suffered a sudden heart attack and Willis’s partner, Prudence Fenton was described as being “in total shock” over the news. Continue reading...
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Notre Dame Cathedral cancels Christmas mass for first time in 200 years
Notre Dame Cathedral cancels Christmas mass for first time in 200 years
French Catholics worship at nearby church in Paris following fire at cathedral in AprilNotre Dame Cathedral was unable to hold Christmas Eve mass for the first time in more than 200 years after a fire ravaged its structure in April.French Catholics instead gathered at the church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, a few hundred metres away from the Paris landmark, for a service celebrated by the cathedral’s rector Patrick Chauvet. Continue reading...
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Erdoğan arrives in Tunisia for surprise talks with president
Erdoğan arrives in Tunisia for surprise talks with president
Turkish leader’s visit comes as Ankara moves to strike deals with Mediterranean nationsThe Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has arrived in Tunisia on a surprise visit for talks with his Tunisian counterpart, his office has said.The visit, the first by a head of state since the Tunisian presidential elections in the autumn, comes as Turkey has ramped up efforts to strike deals with nations on the Mediterranean, where Ankara has been at odds with Greece over resources off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus. Continue reading...
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Pope in Christmas message urges softening of ‘self-centred hearts’
Pope in Christmas message urges softening of 'self-centred hearts'
In his Christmas Day message, Pope Francis says a more compassionate mankind can help end suffering.
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Valparaíso fires: Dozens of homes destroyed in Chilean city
Valparaíso fires: Dozens of homes destroyed in Chilean city
Valparaíso's mayor says the forest fires were started deliberately, prompting a mass evacuation.
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Burkina Faso: Many women killed in suspected jihadist attack
Burkina Faso: Many women killed in suspected jihadist attack
Burkina Faso declares two days of national mourning after 35 people, 31 of them women, were killed.
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‘I sent my seven-year-old across the border alone’
'I sent my seven-year-old across the border alone'
More parents are sending their children across the US-Mexico border alone to get around asylum rules.
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Crisis Looms in Antibiotics as Drug Makers Go Bankrupt
Crisis Looms in Antibiotics as Drug Makers Go Bankrupt
First Big Pharma fled the field, and now start-ups are going belly up, threatening to stifle the development of new drugs.
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Sadiq Khan urges PM work with him to end rough sleeping
Sadiq Khan urges PM work with him to end rough sleeping
London mayor speaks at Christmas Eve event for 100 homeless people at City HallOne hundred homeless people spent Christmas Eve afternoon at City Hall in London, where the mayor, Sadiq Khan, said society was letting down those without homes. Related: Britain's homelessness crisis: 'It didn't need to be this way' Continue reading...
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Three members of British family die at Spanish resort
Three members of British family die at Spanish resort
Father, son and daughter were found in pool at Costa del Sol holiday complexThree members of the same family have died at a holiday resort on the Costa del Sol on Christmas Eve.The incident occurred after a nine-year-old girl got into difficulties in a swimming pool and her brother, 16, and father, 52, attempted to rescue her, it has been reported. It is understood the father and daughter were British citizens, while the son was American. None has yet been named. Continue reading...
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Pope: God loves even those who make ‘a complete mess of things’
Pope: God loves even those who make 'a complete mess of things'
Pontiff holds midnight Mass after pilgrims gather in Bethlehem, while Justin Welby will reflect on London Bridge attackPope Francis has delivered midnight Mass by saying the celebration of Jesus’s birth reminded humanity how “God continues to love us all, even the worst of us”.The pontiff told crowds gathered at the Vatican on Christmas Eve: “You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you.” Continue reading...
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UK weather: Christmas Day bright though not white, says Met Office
UK weather: Christmas Day bright though not white, says Met Office
Early frost and fog to give way to sunshine in most places, say forecasters, with rain and wind to follow on Boxing DayThose dreaming of a white Christmas will have to wait until at least next year, with the Met Office predicting plenty of frost and sunshine but no snow for Christmas Day.Much of the UK will wake up to frosty and foggy conditions on Christmas morning, before the wintry weather lifts to make way for sunshine later in the day. Continue reading...
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Thousands flee north-west Syria amid fierce assault by Assad
Thousands flee north-west Syria amid fierce assault by Assad
Up to 30,000 leave area of Idlib province as government forces push to reopen road from Damascus to AleppoA mass exodus of civilians from the last rebel-held stronghold in Syria has begun as thousands of people flee towards the Turkish border in the face of a fierce new military assault by Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies.As many as 30,000 people have left the area around the town of Maarat al-Numan after four days of airstrikes and heavy shelling paved the way for Syrian government troops to push deeper into north-western Idlib province. Continue reading...
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Pope Francis: God still loves us all, even the worst of us
Pope Francis: God still loves us all, even the worst of us
The comments at Christmas Eve Mass are seen as a reference to Church scandals, including sex abuse.
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Valparaíso wildfire: Raging forest fires engulf Chilean city
Valparaíso wildfire: Raging forest fires engulf Chilean city
All Valparaíso's firefighters have been deployed, and a mass evacuation is now under way.
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Michael Bloomberg says his presidential campaign used prison labour
Michael Bloomberg says his presidential campaign used prison labour
The billionaire Democrat said he didn't know prisoners were hired to call voters on his behalf.
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Brexit discourse contributed to death of Jo Cox, says bishop
Brexit discourse contributed to death of Jo Cox, says bishop
Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, says damaging rhetoric has harmed society as a wholeThe Church of England’s first black female bishop has said the debate around Brexit damaged society and contributed to the death of the MP Jo Cox.Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the former chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, said the arguments around Brexit had had a harmful effect both on parliamentarians and on society as a whole. Continue reading...
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Labour election inquiry must listen to lost voters, says Nandy
Labour election inquiry must listen to lost voters, says Nandy
Khan defends Miliband involvement after Wigan MP warns against talking ‘amongst ourselves’ in WestminsterAn inquiry being co-led by Ed Miliband of Labour’s election campaign is in danger of drawing the wrong conclusions by failing to listen to the people who refused to vote for the party, the potential leadership candidate Lisa Nandy has said.Nandy said the review set up by a group called Labour Together was adopting a misguided approach by being based too much in Westminster. Continue reading...
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Christmas travel chaos as Northern railways cancels trains
Christmas travel chaos as Northern railways cancels trains
High levels of sickness blamed for disruption affecting Lancashire, Liverpool and ManchesterRail passengers have faced chaos on Christmas Eve due to the Northern’s cancellations and delays, which the franchise blamed on “unprecedented” sickness levels and drivers on leave.The affected services include Lancashire, Liverpool and Manchester, with passengers advised to check online before travelling. Continue reading...
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Meghan and Harry send Christmas greetings by email
Meghan and Harry send Christmas greetings by email
Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s e-card to friends and colleagues stars baby ArchieThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex have opted to break with tradition and chosen a more eco-friendly way of sending festive wishes, releasing an e-card with their son Archie at centre stage.The card reads: “Merry Christmas and a happy new year”, and at the bottom ends: “From our family to yours”. Continue reading...
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Hong Kong police fire teargas to disperse Christmas Eve protests
Hong Kong police fire teargas to disperse Christmas Eve protests
Hundreds of officers guard main roads as thousands of shoppers and tourists look onHong Kong riot police fired rounds of teargas at thousands of anti-government protesters, many wearing masks and reindeer horns, after scuffles in shopping centres and a tourist district on Christmas Eve.Demonstrators inside the malls threw umbrellas and other objects at police who responded by beating some with batons; one pointed his gun at the crowd, but did not fire. Continue reading...
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