At 3 p.m. on Christmas Day, the nation gathers for the first Christmas message from the King since 1951.

That year, more than seven decades ago, George VI, the late Queen’s father, delivered his last such message to the nation while recovering from a serious illness – specifically the removal of a lung.

He thought he was getting better, although there were a few people who knew his time on Earth was limited.

The 1951 message was broadcast on radio, not television, but so much of what George VI said then seems appropriate today.

At 3 p.m. on Christmas Day, the nation gathers for the first Christmas message from the King since 1951

“In bad times, what we value most is the support and sympathy of our friends,” he said. “At Christmas we feel like the old simple things matter most. They don’t change no matter how much the outside world seems to do.’

We live, as he put it, “in hard and critical times.”

This has certainly been a turbulent year. Even the joyful platinum anniversary, which peaked in June, was tinged with a touch of sadness. A momentous change was already underway. There have been many occasions when the Queen’s appearance was expected but not possible.

Then came September and a death like no other. The end of the longest reign in Britain’s history. The final conclusion of the long post-war period that shapes so many of us. And the beginning of a new and difficult time of national reflection.

Christmas Day will be the first time we hear directly from the new king since his compassionate and moving address to the nation on the night after his mother’s death. It will be important – an opportunity for him to update us on how he is doing, outline his plans for the new year and possibly say how he will approach his coronation on May 6th. More than that, it will be a chance to set your own style for the reign to come.

Not that the show will be easy. His mother’s absence will be clearly felt. We will all miss the Queen’s reassuring words that we have become so familiar with. It is, as they say, a difficult deed to follow.

In her last Christmas speech, the Queen remarked that Prince Philip, her late husband, will be absent from the family celebrations. Now we’ve lost her too. However, I am confident that the new king will take things forward gradually and in his own way.

Pictured: King Charles III during a visit to London’s Community Kitchen in Harrow to meet students and volunteers and tour the facilities

His political skills were shown at the anniversary celebrations. Standing in for his mother, he conducted Trooping the Color with perfect precision. He was the center of attention – but as soon as the Queen appeared on the balcony, he stepped back and focused on her. It was a time of transition, but one that was handled with skill and dignity on all sides.

This Christmas, the king will preside over a traditional family reunion at Sandringham, the house the queen gave him a few years ago.

Sandringham is important. Charles was there when his grandfather George VI died. He still remembers him.

The new king will have great respect for George VI’s calm demeanor. who earned the respect of the nation during a short but difficult reign.

The Queen had great respect for her father, his ways and his memory. A big element in her philosophy was that she wanted to be a good daughter to him so that when they met in the afterlife, he would acknowledge that she couldn’t have done better. George VI – and continuity – will remain in his grandson’s mind as he prepares for his coronation, the defining event of the year to come.

I hope the courtiers don’t dumb down the ceremony.

Rituals must be performed, important elements that confirm a hereditary monarch in his role as constitutional king.

The spectacle will count. It will be a televised event and Britain will once again be the showcase of the world.

It was striking how fully Britain embraced the rituals of the monarchy at the time of the Queen’s funeral – lying in state, the extraordinary queuing for those wishing to show respect. These ceremonies, occasionally dismissed as irrelevant in 21st-century Britain, instead proved to be a source of unity and, for many, a comfort.

Pictured: King Charles leaves the Together at Christmas Carol service at Westminster Abbey on December 15, 2022 in London

We hope Charles isn’t trying to change too much too quickly. I am confident that he accepts the power of the role and the tradition into which he was born.

I hope we shall see the coming coronation performed with full majesty. It can and should be a time that brings us all together in times that are once again difficult – politically and economically.

Unity was at the heart of that 1951 broadcast. “We are such a big family of nations,” said the Queen’s father. “We all have our own ideas, but we have learned that disagreement is not the same as argument. If we have anything to offer the world today, it may be the example of tolerance and understanding that runs like a thread through the large and diverse family of the British Commonwealth of Nations.’

Finally, George VI thought. to the “absent from the family circle” – a moving thought for today.

He referred primarily to the young men in the overseas combat and trade services. He still had to deal with the dark years of the war and their aftermath, but there was also a narrower resonance. Within his own family, he had to grapple with the lingering shadows of the abdication and the continued interventions of his brother and predecessor, the Duke of Windsor.

We have been reminded time and again over the last few days that the new king’s family is also broken, although the ‘home team’ is doing its best to keep it together.

With quiet dignity, Charles and the royal family have kept silent as angry arrows are hurled at them from a luxurious estate in Montecito, California, where his son Harry and Meghan have made their home.

In recent days we’ve seen a united royal family attend snowy carols at Westminster Abbey. With such displays, they set a tone for the new Carolean era, leaving the recent turmoil behind.

After years of Covid restrictions and concerns, this is a chance for families everywhere to be together and celebrate more freely – although the challenges we face today, particularly the cost of living crisis, are severe in other ways.

The queen is gone and we look to our king for reassurance. The Christmas show is a chance for a quiet message of unity and optimism. It is badly needed in a new and increasingly uncertain world.

An Australian A-League soccer match between local rivals Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory came to an abrupt end on Saturday after Victory fans stormed the field and attacked City goalkeeper Tom Glover.

Fans set off flares and small fireworks throughout the game, particularly in the 11th minute to celebrate an opening goal from City midfielder Aiden O’Neill.

Chaos ensued in the 20th minute when Glover threw a flare that landed near him off the field and back to the Victory fans.

The violent scene unfolded as Victory fans stormed the field and Glover was hit in the head by a metal bucket filled with sand, reportedly designed to extinguish flares hurled in his direction. Teammates tumbled him off the field as blood dripped from the side of his head.

City officials said Glover required stitches and suspected a concussion following the incident.

Referee Alex King also suffered a bleeding head injury from the bucket thrown and an unnamed referee coach was pushed against the fence.

Victoria Police estimated that 150–200 Victory supporters stormed the field, according to ESPN.

After a long delay, the match was abandoned for security reasons, a first in A-League history.

Victory issued a statement on Saturday condemning the actions of fans and apologizing. “This behavior will not be tolerated and the club, together with AAMI Park and Victoria Police, will be conducting a full investigation into the incident,” the statement said.

“Melbourne Victory would like to reiterate that there is no place in football for what was witnessed tonight.”

Melbourne Victory issued an official apology after an opposing goalkeeper suffered a concussion and required stitches. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

A protest turned violent

City and Victory fans were seen exiting the stadium throwing flares, one of which appeared to hit a Network Ten cameraman.

The exits were part of an ongoing strike demonstration in protest at the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) decision to sell the hosting rights of the leagues’ men’s and women’s major finals to Sydney for the next three years.

Fans on Twitter cited previous demonstrations where fans walked out of multiple games peacefully, even leaving signs with messages like “Fans > Money.”

The story goes on

Rosengård goalkeeper Teagan Micah responded to the violence at the Melbourne Derby on Twitter, citing her own experiences with Victory fans.

“Fans threw GLASS BOTTLES at us and all I got was an ‘apology’ and remarked that the fans HAVE ALREADY BEEN BANNED FOR LIFE AND STILL MAKE INCOME FROM GLASS BOTTLES,” she wrote. “Melbourne Victory continues to ALLOW their fans to get away with this behavior! It’s a shame!!”

She sent love to Glover and City, adding that “players should feel SAFE coming and playing.”

In Washington they are known under the street where most of the offices or institutes dedicated to lobbying are located, K Street. In Brussels, they don’t have a nickname, but they do have brawn: more than 12,000 registered lobbyists – a figure that some studies say could be double that since not all lobbyists carry the label – mingling with European officials in the Belgian capital to make out to promote policies that are conducive to the interests they represent: a cause like the environment or human rights; but also powerful corporations or, as has now been shown with Qatargate, the interests of countries outside the Community Club. And they don’t always do it according to the rules, as the scandal surrounding the alleged bribery of MPs and senior officials by Qatar and Morocco shows.

Since the first arrests and recordings of what is already the biggest corruption scandal in the Eurozone, the Qatargate conspiracy has revolved around an alleged NGO, Fight Impunity, almost a week ago. Its founder, former Italian MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, is the prime suspect and remains in custody on charges of corruption, money laundering and involvement in a criminal organization.

At first glance, the organization with the impeccable name (who doesn’t want to fight impunity?) had no less impeccable letters of recommendation: their headquarters are on Rue de Ducale, one of the most elegant streets in central Brussels, on the same block as the US -Embassy and the residence of the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo. And it’s two steps away from the so-called European neighborhood, home to the community institutions he’s suspected of trying to influence with money from states outside the Union.

In addition, the Board of Directors includes well-known names such as former French socialist Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, or prominent former EU personalities such as former High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica an Mogherini, also Italian Emma Bonino or the former Greek immigration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Since the scandal broke, one after the other quickly distanced themselves. “I don’t know Panzeri, I haven’t seen him in my life,” Cazeneuve told Radio Franceinfo. “I accepted this volunteer role two or three years ago but never heard from it again. I asked for my name to be removed,” added the French politician, whose request was not granted: names were removed, yes, but not his, but those of the workers’ list, which included another of the defendants in Qatargate. Francesco Giorgi, the partner of Eva Kaili, who is also in prison and until this week Vice-President of the European Parliament, is also in custody, like her partner and like Panzeri (CIS), Luca Visentini.

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In recent days, the “Fight Impunity” plaque has also disappeared from the portal where it was based, along with 15 other NGOs, including No Peace Without Justice, which until this week was owned by another defendant in the conspiracy, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca. This Italian, the fourth defendant on probation since Wednesday, appears on several of the boards of the other organizations with which they share headquarters and which have remained strictly closed this week.

According to Belgian newspaper Le Soir, which uncovered the scandal, there is no trace of Fight Impunity in official records, apart from their charter of incorporation as a non-profit company in September 2019 – shortly after Panzeri resigned his post as MP. His name is also not found in the transparency register of the European Commission, in which NGOs such as Oxfam or Human Rights Watch appear.

Despite this opacity, nothing prevented Panzeri’s NGO from receiving funds from the European Parliament: according to Le Soir, at least two MEPs from the Socialist and Democrats (S&D) Group, chaired by Spain’s Iratxe García, supported a request for funding of 175,000 euros , of which they received at least 43,750 last year. They are Belgian Marie Arena, who has been suspended from her duties in S&D for her alleged involvement in the case (although she has not been charged at the moment), and Portuguese Isabel Santos, another honorary member of Fight Impunity.

The facade worked, at least until last Friday’s police coup in which their headquarters were raided and their chief leaders arrested. Among the activities they organized this year is an “International Conference on the Future of Human Rights” held in the Eurochamber in mid-June, presented by Panzeri and Figa-Talamanca and with the President of the European Parliament as prominent speakers occurred, the conservative Roberta Metsola or the Congolese Mukwege. Prominent personalities from the human rights movement also took part in the sessions as speakers and were moderated by MPs of different persuasions.

Fight Impunity, which is believed to have been used as a pretext for Panzeri’s alleged deals to influence “the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament,” as Belgian prosecutors said when exposing the operation, has visibly exploited a favorable environment as in Brussels in the presence of lobbyists who, at least up until now, have been walking quietly through the corridors of the European institutions.

One of the problems denounced long before Qatargate was their sheer numbers and opacity. In the Commission’s latest transparency register opened on the networks, there are 12,411 lobbies, but it is estimated that there are at least double the number actually operating, as reported in 2016 by Transparency International, which estimated the number of lobbyists who work for these organizations in Brussels with 91,000 people a whole small town. More than 6,000 of them had a pass to enter the European institutions, like Panzeri, who, as a former MEP, walked quietly through the Eurochamber until he was arrested. As of 2016, the growth curve of lobbies in Brussels has skyrocketed, according to data from the European Commission.

The origin of those who influence those responsible for the EU – mostly through the legal channels of professional lobbying – is also significant: only a quarter (3,483) of the people registered in the transparency register are non-governmental organizations or citizens’ platforms. Closely followed by “Enterprises and Groups” (3,026) and trade and business associations (2,619). The small number of registered “established by third countries bodies, offices or networks” is striking, namely just under five. There are increasing indications that not only Qatar but also Morocco is behind the plot allegedly led by Panzeri and his NGO.

There are many organizations that have been calling for strong action in recent days for Brussels to stop being a swamp – Donald Trump’s favorite word to define the other world capital of lobbying, Washington – and for transparency in its interactions with public and private interests elevated. One of the main demands is to make the previously voluntary registration in the Commission’s transparency register mandatory and to use it in all institutions, including the European Parliament, which is preparing measures to avoid new scandals.

German Conservative MEP Dennis Radtke has also called for NGOs to be subject to “the same rules as parties, parliament and other institutions” with disclosure of their funds and donations, because if not, “they will continue to be a portal for dubious organizations or even states that want to buy policy decisions, as we are now seeing,” he stressed.

The left-wing factions in the European Parliament are the strongest in demanding transparency from the lobbying world. But at the same time, they ask for caution and not just make them pay for sinners. The left’s co-leader, French Manon Aubry, recalled this week that she herself worked in a very active NGO in the EU, Oxfam, before taking her seat. “Ask any real NGO and they will have no problem showing the media and interviews they have (in the European Parliament) because those are things they show publicly,” Aubry said in response to a question from the newspaper.

“We know that in the world of influence everything is designed to serve interests and that sometimes foreign powers can use fake NGOs, but we must not put them all in the same bag because it is the NGOs themselves that they are heading towards have pushed more transparency, like Transparency International,” he recalled.

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It may be minus three… but Poldark star Eleanor Tomlinson, 30, braves London’s sub-zero temperatures in a little black dress as she films the summer scene for her Netflix adaptation of best-selling book One Day

• Eleanor Tomlinson braved London’s cold in just a little black dress
• She could barely wear a hat and scarf to withstand the -3 °C (27 °F) temperatures
• The actress directed scenes for the Netflix version of David Nicholls’ One Day

By Katie Hind for The Mail On Sunday

Published: 22:11 GMT, 17 December 2022 | Updated: 22:12 GMT, 17 December 2022

Forget winter wool trousers – actress Eleanor Tomlinson braved the freezing temperatures in London last week in just a little black dress and slingbacks.

The Poldark star even managed to manage a smile despite the very limited protection her sheer dress and black stilettos afforded.

But the 30-year-old’s fashion choice wasn’t her own as she was filming scenes for her latest project, the Netflix adaptation of David Nicholls bestseller One Day. Since the action takes place in the summer – catching up with its characters every July 15 for over 20 years – it could barely wear a hat and scarf to combat the -3 °C (27 °F) conditions. In the new series, Ms Tomlinson, who played Demelza alongside Aidan Turner’s Ross Poldark in the BBC1 drama, will play a seductive love impostor.

Actress Eleanor Tomlinson braved the sub-zero temperatures in London last week in just a little black dress and slingbacks while filming for the Netflix version of the best-selling book One Day

The main characters Emma and Dexter are college friends who then meet up on the same day every year.

Ms Tomlinson will play Sylvie, Dexter’s wife, who ends up in bed with another man while her husband and little girl are at home.

The Mail on Sunday first revealed Netflix was doing the show this summer when Ms Tomlinson was spotted alongside The White Lotus actor Leo Woodall as Dexter filming scenes in south west London.

Ms Tomlinson, who played Demelza alongside Aidan Turner’s Ross Poldark in the BBC1 historical drama, will play a seductive love-enactor in the adaptation

Emma is played by Ambika Mod, who starred in the BBC medical series This Is Going To Hurt earlier this year.

One Day was filmed in 2011, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Blackadder star Tim McInnerny is set to play Dexter’s father Steven in the Netflix version.

According to reports from Reduxx, a male-to-female transgender child rapist has been transferred to a women’s prison in Washington.

Reduxx describes itself as a publication created to accurately report issues affecting women.

Brooke Lyn Sonia, who passed away from Brett David Sonia, was convicted on a dozen counts in 2005 and 2006 related to the sexual exploitation of a young girl, according to the publication.

An anonymous source who spoke to Reduxx, who walked past Shawn, has claimed that someone he knows at the Washington jail said Sonia allegedly left some inmates “petrified” after telling them “she sometimes identifies herself.” as a man”.

Sonia was jailed after a then 13-year-old girl was allegedly groomed by her, according to Reduxx.

Brooke Lyn Sonia, who passed away from Brett David Sonia, was convicted on a dozen charges of sexually exploiting a 13-year-old girl in 2005 and 2006

The convicted child rapist, who posed as a man at the time of the crimes, is said to have convinced the young girl that she would help her make money as a “model”.

Sonia later pressured the 13-year-old to undress and engage in sexual acts while Sonia took photos, according to the publication.

Sonia has stood trial in California and New Hampshire and was convicted in Los Angeles in 2005 of 20 counts of indecent assault on a child and possession of child pornography.

The convicted child rapist was then further charged with repeatedly raping the young girl and photographing the assault in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in 2006.

Sonia was eventually convicted in both California and New Hampshire.

After serving at least 22.5 years for the New Hampshire sentence, a Los Angeles County court is deciding whether Sonia will serve additional time in California.

After her incarceration, Sonia was sent to Washington to serve part of her sentence in 2016, a year after she began identifying as transgender.

The Interstate Corrections Compact (ICC) allows states to share correctional facilities and transfer inmates to cross-border facilities if that better suits their needs.

Sonia had been transferred to several Washington male facilities before leaving a trail of complaints, with the inmate allegedly saying they did not have adequate “gender-affirming care”.

Sonia filed a complaint in 2020, saying she believes she was at “risk of male aggression” while serving at Airway Heights Correctional Center.

Sonia’s request for transfer appears to have been granted, with some female inmates claiming to have seen her at the Washington Correctional Center for Women (WCCW).

Shawn, who has a close family member at the facility, told Reduxx, under a different name, that he was “deeply concerned for the safety of the women at the home.”

Sonia’s request for transfer appears to have been granted, with some female inmates claiming to have seen her at the Washington Correctional Center for Women (WCCW).

Concerns erupted in the women’s prison when Sonia reportedly started going back and forth between identifying as a woman and a man.

“He’s said he’s both… He sometimes identifies as a man and sometimes as a woman,” Shawn explained.

“I know he looks like a normal middle-aged man with glasses. My relative says he doesn’t look trans at all.

“A person approached my relative and informed her that Sonia identifies as a man. She also said at least one woman is scared and uses a buddy system to go to the bathroom.

Shawn claimed that some of the women in it warned each other to stay away from Sonia because they believed he was a risk to them.

On March 31, legislation was passed ending disclosure of the transgender status of current and former inmates.

Shawn worries that men may be transferred under false pretenses and tells Reduxx that the women’s facility is a much more comfortable place to serve time.

‘WCCW is known as ‘Cup Cupcake’ because it’s easy to hang out there. Men want to be there,” Shawn said.

Another inmate had sent a message Shawn shared with Reduxx claiming that many “aggressive men” had been transferred there.

‘This [incarcerated] Women have deep histories of trauma, mostly at the hands of men,” he claimed.

Brett Sonia’s name appeared in a search of the Justice Department’s inmates website, but the prison she is in was not listed. has also reached out to WWCW for comment.

On the occasion of the feast of HanukkahKing Charles III took to the dance floor and danced with his stepsister Anne Frankthe 93 year old Eve Castle, during his visit to a Jewish community center in north London. Survives to Auschwitz and daughter of Elfriede Geringer that in 1953 groom Otto FrankAnna’s father Schloss said – as the Guardian reports – that he was “trying to dance with the sovereign”. “He was very nice, he really participated in the dances. He seemed very relaxed, he was enjoying it.” During his visit to the center of Finchley StreetCharles III also met with other Holocaust survivors who were moving to the United Kingdom after World War II and some members of the local community volunteered. The CEO of the Jewish centre, who was accompanying the king on his visit yesterday, Friday December 16, told the British newspaper the monarch had “arrived with a suitcase full of rice and canned tuna to be included in the donation packages”.

December 17, 2022

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