USA Update

BBC sitcom Outnumbered, which followed the daily chaos of the Brockman’s and their three precocious children, became one of Britain’s best-loved comedies.

Now the popular show is back for a Christmas special, with actor’s Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner returning as Sue and Pete Brockman and the children.

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The Christmas special of the hit show airs on Boxing Day on BBC One[/caption]

BBC

The special follows the challenges of the Brockmans managing the demands of their adult children[/caption]

But as the new trailer drops this weekend, it seems that there is one catch: the children- Ben, (Daniel Roche) Karen, (Ramona Marquez) and Jake, (Tyger Drew Honey) are now adults.

Written and directed by the show’s creators Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton, the special which airs on Boxing Day, follows the Brockman’s managing the demands of their grown up children, under the roof of their downsized home.

The harassed duo find that they still need as much parenting as when they were kids, as they gather their offspring, including one grandchild to celebrate a traditional family Christmas.

But it seems there’s some unwelcome tidings on the way, as they struggle with how to break to the news to their children.

The hit series first aired in 2007 and ran until 2014.

A one-off Christmas reunion special was broadcast on 26^th December in 2016, so this year will be the first on screen get together in eight years.

Initially the show garnered critical acclaim for being partly improvised by comedy stars Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner, who also worked from scripts, where the children were given last minute instructions.

The series was praised for its realistic portrayal of children and family life and has won several awards including The Royal Television Society, the British Comedy Awards and the Broadcasting press guild awards.

Ahead of the special, the core cast members reflected on behind-the-scenes memories from their time filming.

Hugh Dennis – who played dad Pete – told why they didn’t take any mememtos from the set.

He shared: “We couldn’t really take anything from the set as it was filmed in an actual house, it was someone else’s house so we couldn’t really steal some of their things.”

Meanwhile, the conversation turned to their characters’ clothing throughout the show.

As actress Claire Skinner revealed that most of the clothes worn by her character Sue had been her own.

Having played a married couple onscreen for seven years, actors Hugh Dennis and Clare Skinner were confirmed to be in a real life relationship following the show’s ending in 2014.

In an interview Dennis said: “I am very very happy, we are so very happy.” While Skinner described their romance as  “a lovely little life surprise.”

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The show first aired in 2007 and the kids have grown up on screen[/caption]

BBC

The last Christmas special aired back in 2016[/caption]

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Actress Ramona Marquez who plays Karen in the show[/caption]

BBC

Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner confirmed that they’re in a real life relationship after the show ended in 2014[/caption]

GAGGED, handcuffed and her legs bound with rope, tears sprang to 15-year-old Kara Robinson’s eyes as she desperately scoured her captor’s flat trying to figure out an escape plan. 

The school girl had endured unimaginable suffering – forced into a car at gunpoint, then sexually assaulted and tortured for 18 hours by evil rapist and kidnapper Richard Evonitz, 38.

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Kara was just 15 when she was abducted and repeatedly sexually assaulted by serial killer Richard Evonitz[/caption]

If that wasn’t bad enough, she would have been even more petrified if she’d known Evonitz was already a serial killer – responsible for the rape and murder of at least three other young innocent girls previously.

The odds were undoubtedly stacked against her.

However abducting brave Kara, now 38, would prove to be Evonitz’s downfall, as she would miraculously escape and consequently bring an end to the monster’s reign of terror. 

And how she did it was also remarkable.

Putting aside her terror and panic, Kara memorised even the tiniest details to help identify her attacker, even remembering the serial number on the inside of the plastic container he had forced her into. 

FBI

Kidnapping Kara would, thankfully, be the biggest mistake the twisted killer ever made – and it ended his reign of terror[/caption]

‘I just knew something bad had happened’ 

For Kara it was a chance encounter on June 24 2002 that changed her life as she knew it.

She’d spent the night at her best friend Heather’s house, and they had plans to go to the lake that day after completing some chores.

Kara started to water the garden while Heather took a shower. 

However when going out into the garden Heather discovered the hosepipe was still running – but there was no sign of Kara. 

Speaking on Hayu documentary, Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story, Kara’s mum Debra says: “I was at lunch and I got a call from Heather and she told me Kara was missing. She said she was in the front yard and [then was] gone.

“Heather was completely hysterical. She knew Kara would not just walk away.

“When I was driving to Heather’s house I just really knew something bad had happened. I could feel it in my heart.” 

Recalling the events of that morning, Kara says: “I was outside watering the flowers and I noticed a car on the way out of the neighbourhood. 

“It was a green trans am – such a cool car. I kept watering the flowers and I saw the car come back into the neighbourhood.

“A guy gets out of the car. He said ‘hey, how are you doing? I have these magazines’ and then he asked if my parents were home. 

“I told him this was my friend’s house… and said her mum’s not home right now. 

“At that point the man asked if he could give me the magazines. 

“When I said yes he leaned in to give them to me and as he was leaning in I felt a red flag somewhere in my head. 

“At the same time… I felt a gun press to the side of my neck. 

“He said ‘if you scream I’ll shoot you. You’re going to come with me’. I think I felt a moment of terror but I knew I just needed to do what he told me to do.

“I looked in the back seat and there’s a giant plastic storage container. He said ‘get in the container’. 

“At that point my brain shut off my emotions. I just went into survival mode.”

Heather called her mother, who reported Kara, who lived in Lexington County, South Carolina, missing to the local police. 

instagram/@kararobinsonchamberlain/

‘I knew I had to be my own victor’ 

Once in the car, Kara was trapped inside the storage container, unable to see where she was being taken – but she knew her life was in danger.

Kara says: “I thought he was going to assault me and that my life could possibly be at risk if I did not take action. 

“I knew I had to be my own victor and that I had to save myself. 

“I had to get as much information about this person and my surroundings as I can so that I can escape and so that I can identify this person when I do. 

“One of the first things I locked into my brain was a serial number on the container itself. 

“We drove for a little while [then] he took the lid off the container and he told me that he was going to restrain me and he put a gag in my mouth… handcuffs around my wrists and rope on my feet.”

‘I had to call him daddy’ 

Once they arrived at Evonitz’s flat, he snuck Kara in under the cover of darkness. 

Kara recalls: “He opened the container and told me if I promised not to scream or yell he would take the gag out of my mouth. 

“I looked around and noticed we were in a living room. 

“There was a wall with some small animal cages, fish, lizards. There was a guinea pig, there was at least one bird. 

‘He told me to come with him and we went through a door. Inside the bedroom there was a big blanket hanging above the bed with a wolf on it. 

While I was being assaulted it felt like something that happened to someone else. I shut off my brain and left my body. 

Kara Robinson

“He told me he was going to tell me what the rules were going to be while I was there. 

“The first rule was that he would always have a gun nearby and I had to listen to what he said or there would be consequences. 

“He also told me while I was there I was going to have to call him daddy. 

“He started asking me questions… When he asked me about my boyfriend and about my family and my friends… I kinda broke down a little bit into tears. 

“It was very real for me in that moment I may never get to see them again.”

‘I shut off my brain & left my body’

Over the course of 18 hours, Kara was held captive and repeatedly sexually assaulted at the hands of her captor. 

She says: “When I started crying my abductor told me to lay down in the bed and I could just feel panic in my whole body. 

“I knew what was coming next. I knew what this man’s intentions were for me. 

“While I was being assaulted it felt like something that happened to someone else. I shut off my brain and left my body. 

“After that we went into the bathroom and he made me take a shower. 

“That’s when I noticed some hairspray, I noticed feminine hygiene products. I noticed a hairbrush with long red hair in it. I just remember thinking there was a woman that lived here.”

She was right – however at that time his wife was on holiday at Disneyland with his mother – and had no idea the man she married was a monster. 

Kara knew she had to play a strategic game if she was to get out of this alive, saying: “I knew that if I was easy to get along with he would be more likely to let his guard down at some point.

“When it was time for dinner… I said ‘is there anything I can do while you’re making your food?’ and I swept his kitchen. 

“I used that as an opportunity to get close to his refrigerator where there were magnets that had his dentist information. 

“Gather information, wait for him to be complacent, escape. I said it over and over again.”

facebook.com/OnTheCase

Evonitz abducted Sofia Silva, 16, from the porch of her home[/caption]

Assaulted & forced to watch explicit sexual content

Later that night he took Kara into the bedroom, and made her get back into the container while he made a call.

She says: “When I got out the container he told me he was going to give me a pill for my anxiety.

“I was assaulted multiple times but there were a lot of things that happened during that time.

“He made me sit down in front of the TV and watch a tape [with explicit sexual content] and describe what was happening. 

“I was 15 years old. I was seeing things I didn’t really know how to describe. There were things he asked me to do I didn’t know how to do. 

“The things that were happening to me were any person’s worst nightmare.”

A daring escape… & horrifying discovery

Early the next morning, Kara was finally gifted her chance, and was able to free herself from the restraints used to tie her to the bed. 

She says: “I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was there was just a sliver of early morning light. I just instantly was hit with this thought – this is it, this is your time, lets go.’

“My biggest fear was I was going to wake up my captor. 

“I slowly just slid out of the bed to the side. I put my shorts on, and went to the front door. My heart was beating so fast. I put my hand on the knob and I [knew] this is my moment to escape. 

“I just ran. I saw a car driving across the parking lot and I just ran straight for the car. There were two men… I said I was kidnapped by the man in that apartment [and] I said take me to the police station.”

Arriving at the police station, Kara says: “I held my arm up to show him my handcuffs and I said ‘my name is Kara Robinson, I was kidnapped and I escaped my captor.” 

The police took Kara back to the apartment complex, and based on all the information she had gathered, the block’s maintenance manager was able to help identify which flat she’d escaped from. 

However, by the time authorities arrived, Evonitz had fled to Florida, calling his sister and confessing to killing someone and committing “more crimes than he can remember.”

I was really, really angry. I just wanted him to sit in a court room across from me and look in my eyes and know that picking me was the greatest mistake he ever made.

Kara Robinson

Inside his apartment, police found sex toys, a revolver and a locked chest containing underwear and newspaper clippings about the unsolved murders of three girls.

Sofia Silva, who disappeared from her front porch in September 1996 aged 16, and sisters Kati, 12, and Kristin Lisk, 15, who were abducted from their home.

Sofia’s remains were found a month later in a creek, while sisters Kati and Kristin’s bodies were found in a nearby river.

They’d been raped then murdered, each missing their shoes and underwear and neither case was solved – until Kara’s abduction. 

‘Greatest mistake he ever made’

Forensic evidence found at the crime scenes matched evidence found inside Evonitz’s home, and two of Kristin’s fingerprints were also discovered inside the trunk of Evonitz’s car.

Police tracked Evonitz  and after a high-speed chase Evonitz then shot himself, dying immediately on June 27 2002.

Upon hearing about his death, Kara says: “I was really, really angry. I just wanted him to sit in a court room across from me and look in my eyes and know that picking me was the greatest mistake he ever made.”

Finally, in August 2002, Spotsylvania County Sheriff Ronald Knight announced that Evonitz was responsible for the other murders. 

One officer recalls: “We recovered homemade tapes where he filmed himself masturbating and fantasising at the same time talking about the crimes he committed.”

For her help in solving Silva and the Lisk sisters’ murders, Kara received $150,000 in reward money, and met the families of the victims.

“It was one of the most important things that’s ever happened to me,” she previously told People magazine.

“Because it brought home the importance of what I did. Because I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m actually giving these families something that they never would’ve gotten without me.’

“Just the closure of knowing that the person responsible for their daughters’ [deaths] is no longer here.”

TikTok/@kararobinsonchamberlai

The case attracted huge media attention at the time, as Kara survived against all odds[/caption]

THIS year’s much anticipated Royal Variety Performance was attended by His Majesty The King and will air on ITV1 on Sunday.

As the world’s longest-running entertainment show we take a look back at five of its most memorable moments in anticipation for what’s to come.

John Lennon’s cheeky remark that made headlines

Times Newspapers Ltd

The Beatles performed four songs at the show[/caption]

Beatlemania was at its highest in 1963 when The Beatles made their debut on the show.

The Beatles performed three songs – From me to you, She Loves you and Till there was you.

When the applause died down John Lennon asked: “Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you’d just rattle your jewellery.’

Then the Fab Four went on to sing their hit single called Twist and Shout.

If the Royals in attendance rattled their jewellery – we do not know but the Queen Mother has been reported as having said: “one of the best shows I’ve seen.”

Ginger Spice’s hilarious bum pinch

PA:Press Association

Spice Girl Geri allegedly pinched the future King’s bottom[/caption]

Back in the nineties we were all about Girl Power and Ginger Spice, of Spice Girls fame, was famously pictured during a royal variety performance in 1997.

In a very naughty scene, Geri Halliwell appeared to be pinching the future King on the bottom.

More than 20 years later, ‘Sporty Spice’ Melanie Chisholm revealed what actually took place during an interview with Aussie radio show Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa.

“When [Prince Charles] came along … Because there are some very cheeky members of the [Spice Girls] … Geri gave him a big squeeze on the bum,” Mel C told the radio hosts.

“And she’d put so much red lippy on and she gave him this big smacker [kiss] so of course, the pictures were brilliant. It was such a smart thing to do, PR-wise, back in the day.”

Despite strict royal protocols, Mel insisted there’d been no fallout afterwards.

“I think he quite enjoyed it, so we didn’t really get in trouble,” Mel C said.

Catherine Tate wasn’t bothered!

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HM Queen Elizabeth II meets singers Katherine Jenkins, Charlotte Church and comedienne Catherine Tate backstage following the Royal Variety Performance[/caption]

During the 2005 show held in Cardiff, the monarch was cheekily asked “Are you disrespecting me?” by comedienne Catherine Tate.

While on stage, Catherine looked towards the Royal Box and asked the Queen: “Is one bothered? Is one’s face bothered?.”

Then she demanded to know: “Who’s looking after the corgis?”

The Queen smiled politely, while the Duke of Edinburgh chuckled at the joke.

The act concluded with Tate announcing: “I’ve just been made a dame.”

After Catherine went back stage she revealed the Queen said: “It was certainly a variety show wasn’t it?”

Dame Edna Everage crashes the Royal Box

AFP

The then Duchess of Cornwall speaks with Australian comedian Barry Humphries in his alter ego as Dame Edna Everage during the Royal Variety Performance in 2013[/caption]

In 2013 Dame Edna Everage – aka comedian Barry Humphries playing his alter ego – crashed the royal box and sat next to a terrified looking Camilla.

The royal couple were left in hysterics by the comedian, who looked bewildered as she took up a seat beside them.

However, a member of the Royal security team came in and presented Dame Edna with a card.

Dame Edna then told Charles and Camilla: “I’m so sorry, they’ve found me a better seat.”

The pair continued to laugh and the audience burst into laughter as Dame Edna gave a little wave to the crowd before leaving the royal box.

David Walliams calls a Royal couple ‘Riff Raff’

AFP

David pretended to be an usher and berated the then Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall for taking the wrong seats[/caption]

Comedian, David Williams in 2016, dressed as a theatre usher made his way to the Royal box with a group of people following him behind.

He lead them to where the royal couple were sitting, asking to see their tickets.

He then turned to the group, saying: “There’s some riff-raff sitting in your seats.”

But then David pretended to recognise who they were, by cheekily saying: “It’s an honour to meet you, it’s Steph and Dom from Gogglebox!”

The future King and Queen found the whole situation funny as did the audience.

What to expect in this year’s show

Hosted by Amanda Holden and Alan Carr, this year’s spectacular show sees Britain’s Got Talent winner Sydnie Christmas take up her prize and perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

The event also features a host of West End shows, including Elton John introducing a number from his brand new West End musical The Devil Wears Prada, featuring Vanessa Williams and the cast.

Other music acts performing this year include Eurovision winner Nemo, Brit Award-winner James Bay and disco diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor, performs her latest hit and Murder on The Dance Floor.

American magicians and comedy duo Penn and Teller flew in to London for the show to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Host Alan Carr said in a statement: “I am completely thrilled to be asked back to host the Royal Variety Performance so soon, what a compliment and an honour!

“To be able to host this magical evening with my best friend and tv wife Amanda Holden is the icing on the cake for me.”

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Amanda Holden and Alan Carr attend the Royal Variety Performance at Royal Albert Hall on November 22, 2024 in London, England[/caption]

The Royal Variety Performance Show airs on ITV1 on Sunday 15 December at 8pm.

US military chiefs were repeatedly told that Covid was a lab leak at the start of the pandemic, a former Pentagon official has revealed.

Jon Myers, who was a Marine Corps officer for 28 years and joined the Pentagon in 2018, claims he first told Joint Chiefs of Staff about a lab leak in China in October 2019.

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Wuhan Institute of Virology has come under scrutiny over the role it may have played in the Covid pandemic[/caption]

AP

US military chiefs were reportedly told about a ‘virus in China that leaked from a lab’[/caption]

Mr Myers said he “knows with absolute certainty” that top US military chiefs were told Covid had leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

The FBI and the US Department of Energy believe Covid most likely leaked from a lab in China.

And a new congressional report came to the same conclusion earlier this month.

But Mr Myers claims the Joint Chiefs of Staff were briefed in October 2019 – more than five years ago – about a new virus that had leaked from a lab in China.

He told The Sun: “This was briefed in October and November 2019 as a lab leak. It’s important that people realise.

“It was in the intelligence. We briefed it. It was accepted. I briefed it numerous times about a viral outbreak and that it was from a lab.

“Over the course of late November and December, it probably came up six or seven times in briefings.

“Nobody said, ‘hey I heard that was not true, it was not from a lab’. It was just stated as fact.”

Then, in April 2020, the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, said the “weight of evidence” pointed to “natural” origins. 

By that point, Mr Myers was retiring after nearly three decades in service – and he said intelligence officers were no longer providing briefings that mentioned a lab leak. 

Supplied

Mr Myers’ believes the truth was suppressed as “it was not politically favourable at the time” – and for “self-preservation”.

He said: “It was very interesting to me how I was the one briefing all these officers on the fact it was a lab leak – and then after I left, that whole aspect of it had disappeared. 

“Nobody came out and said, ‘hey, we have intelligence that it came from a lab’. It just disappeared.

“It became a political issue. That’s why it was quashed.

“If you mentioned that it came from a lab, you were some sort of conspiracy theorist. I found it very odd and intriguing that the early intelligence just vanished.

“It seems to fall out of the realm of the Department of Defence and became more health and human services.

“We were no longer talking about the military intelligence aspect of it.”

I was the one briefing all these officers on the fact it was a lab leak – and then after I left, that whole aspect of it had disappeared

Jon MyersFormer Pentagon intelligence official

As director of regional intelligence at the Pentagon, Mr Myers’ sifted “all the most classified intelligence produced by every American government intelligence agency”.

It was in October 2019 that Mr Myers gave his first brief on a “viral outbreak in China” that had been “released from a lab”.

He said: “We briefed that to the joint staff – all the generals. I know this to be a fact.

“When we briefed that in October, November and December 2019, there was no protest.

“It was a fact and the joint staff, the generals… they accepted it. It was briefed as fact because it was in the intelligence.

“Intelligence is processed data. When it’s presented to us at that level, it’s as good as fact. This is intelligence vetted through various sources – and we don’t brief unless it’s certified.  

“Nobody said, ‘hey I heard that was not true, it was not from a lab’. It was just stated as fact. It was in the intelligence. We briefed it. It was accepted.”

Because it came out of a very powerful Communist dictatorship, there seems to be a conspiracy of silence – which is a scandal

Bob SeelyFormer Conservative MP

More than five years after the lab leak intelligence was first briefed, Mr Myers doubts anyone will come forward with the “truth” about what happened.

He said: “Once you’re in a lie, you’re caught in a lie.”

The former intelligence officer believes it will take decades for the world to uncover the truth about the origins of the pandemic.

He said: “Until certain people who were involved in trying to manipulate the way we viewed the outbreak are no longer with us, then maybe we’ll find out some facts.

“But I think if there were people involved in trying to frame how we viewed the outbreak – for whatever reason – they’re never going to admit that they did that.”

Former MP Bob Seely described the apparent lack of attention to the intelligence as a “scandal”.

Until certain people who were involved in trying to manipulate the way we viewed the outbreak are no longer with us, then maybe we’ll find out some facts

Jon MyersFormer Pentagon intelligence official

He told The Sun: “Because it came out of a very powerful Communist dictatorship, there seems to be a conspiracy of silence – which is a scandal.

“This just shows that when you have a conspiracy of silence, you have a horrible set of circumstances, which effectively led to China getting off scot-free.

“You have a global scandal, where you have the soft corruption of institutions, the soft corruption of science, and unwillingness of people to hold China to account for this.

“I think it’s got to do with people being scared to offend China. There seems to be political reactions to go slow on China.”

The Sun has contacted Joint Chiefs of Staff for comment.

Earlier this month, the US Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released its final report.

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General Mark Milley was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early days of the pandemic[/caption]

Following a two-year investigation involving dozens of interviews and high-profile hearings, the bombshell report said: “The weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis.

“By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced.”

The report noted that Wuhan Institute of Virology was China’s top coronavirus research lab and it had “a history of conducting research at inadequate biosafety levels”.

It added that researchers at the lab “were sick with a Covid-like virus in the fall of 2019, months before Covid-19 was discovered at the wet market”.

The report accused the Chinese government, agencies in the US government and even members of the scientific community of a “cover up”.

It also implicates a US organisation that worked with the Wuhan lab using taxpayer cash.

The Department of Justice launched a grand jury investigation – a probe into potential criminal conduct – into EcoHealth Alliance, the report reveals.

EcoHealth Alliance has been under fire since the early days of the pandemic over its bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan lab.

The group has faced scrutiny over whether Covid may have emerged from the research at the lab that was funded by the US government.

Experts claim the Wuhan lab and EcoHealth Alliance endangered the world by carrying out so-called “gain of function” experiments to engineer chimeric viruses.

This “souping up” involves extracting viruses from animals to engineer in a lab to make them more transmissible and deadly to humans.

And the report found that the US government funded this type of research at the lab.

The details of the federal investigation remain secret – but it raises questions about whether some in the scientific community could face criminal charges over the pandemic.

But Congressman Brad Wenstrup, chairman of the subcommittee, said Dr Daszak “should never again receive US taxpayer dollars”.

Investigators blasted the US government for incorrectly calling the lab leak theory a “conspiracy” – and peddling “misinformation”.

Dozens of scientists and politicians believe Covid likely escaped from the Wuhan lab.

In September, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believes the pandemic was caused by a lab leak – and did not originate in a Wuhan wet market.

The natural origins theory contends that Covid jumped from bats into humans through an “intermediate host”.

But an animal host has not been found after nearly five years of searching.

SNATCHED from their homes, Ukrainian children are piled onto Putin’s presidential planes bound for Russia.

It marks the start of a chilling journey that will see everything they have ever known wiped from their memory.

Forced into sinister camps, they are starved, tortured and “brainwashed” into becoming Russian citizens.

Some snatched youngsters are also forced to take part in the Kremlin’s military organisations and train with weapons.

It’s part of Putin’s sick scheme to create a new generation of fighters for his dwindling army.

Ukraine now believes nearly 20,000 children have been deported to Russia and forced to start new lives in the homes of strangers since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.

A chilling new report followed 314 Ukrainian children as they were placed in Russia’s systematic programme of coerced adoption.

In harrowing detail, it reveals the journey these vulnerable children were forced to take as part of Russia’s bid to strip them of their Ukrainian identity.

Damning new evidence shows it was Putin who ordered and facilitated the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

Experts now fear time is running out to bring thousands of youngsters home.

This is the story of Ukraine’s lost children.

The sick deportation of Ukrainian children started with the Kremlin’s invasion of Crimea in 2014.

The programme was founded by Putin’s celeb doctor Elizaveta Glinka – known in Russia as Doctor Liza, pictured below – who was accused of abducting children by the Ukrainian government. 

She was believed to be behind the first transfer of children from Donetsk to Russia in December 2014 and 500 more in the following two years.

Described by Russians as a “saint”, Glinka asked Putin to change the law to allow the relocation of Ukrainian children on “medical grounds”.  

Glinka died on Christmas Day in 2016 days after receiving a “human rights” award from Putin – killed in a helicopter crash en route to Syria to deliver medical supplies.

Now, it’s thought the Kremlin’s Children’s Rights commissioner Maria Lavova-Belova – pictured below with Putin – is using a similar illegal deportation system. 

When Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia was already “systematically” transporting children across the border just days before, according to The Yale School of Public Health. 

Around 500 children were allegedly deported from Donetsk and placed in new foster families in what Russia claimed was a bid to “evacuate and rehabilitate”. 

The child pictured below was taken from an institution in Donetsk in 2022 and was listed on Russia’s databases.

Other children were also taken under the guise of “summer camps” to escape the shelling – with Russia promising parents the youngsters would return home. 

Tatyana Glagola was one of the parents who “thought she was doing the right thing”.

Her nine-year-old daughter Polina is still missing. 

At the camps, children are forced to speak and write Russian and sing the national anthem every day.

So far Ukraine believes nearly 20,000 children have been deported – with 555 feared dead and 1,429 left injured. 

Now, a new report by The Yale School of Public Health has shed more light on Russia’s sinster child adoption practices.

It followed 314 Ukrainian children who were snatched from Russia-occupied Ukraine. 

It revealed the journey the children were forced to take before being fostered, adopted or placed under guardianship in Russia.

And Putin himself was highly involved in the sick scheme, evidence showed.

It also suggested the Kremlin had made attempts to cover its tracks during the adoption process – by changing the child’s identity and location and even amending its laws to change their citizenship. 

The disturbing process – “internationally and directly authorised by Putin and senior officials” – began with children from four groups:

• Children separated from their families in filtration facilities after the siege of Mariupol in 2022
• Children taken into custody of the Russian military
• Children taken from Ukraine’s institutes and facilities
• Children from occupied areas sent to camps for re-education

While held in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, many were subjected to starvation and torture and forced to renounce their Ukrainian heritage. 

They were told their families no longer wanted them and were forced to speak Russian and sing the national anthem daily being beaten if they refused. 

Harrowing survivors’ testimony reveals how Ukrainian children have been left confused and isolated:

Masha* was taken from an orphanage in Luhansk and placed with citizens of Russia in October 2022. They reported that Masha is bereft at having been separated from her friends and now prefers to be left alone

Gleb* was taken alongside 233 other children from a boarding school in Donetsk in February 2022 and placed with a citizens of Russia. According to Gleb, he was told that his placement would be temporary. Gleb said that he used to dream of returning to Ukraine.

According to Lyubov’s* foster parent, Lyubov only learned that she had been permanently placed with a citizens of Russia after her arrival in their home. She had thought that she would be returned to Ukraine after she temporarily stayed with citizens of Russia and was shocked to find out that she would be living with them until she came of age.

Satellite images show a “camp” where children were allegedly held.

From there, they were illegally transported across the border using government assets from Russia’s Aerospace Forces and Putin’s presidential plane, according to the Yale report. 

Images show Lvova-Belova accompanying 125 children on the flight from Donetsk to Moscow in September 2022.

And satellite images apparently show Putin’s presidential aircraft at Rostov-On-Don North Airbase being used to transport children in May 2022.

From there, the children are taken to “temporary accommodation centres” – midpoints in Russia where they are added to one of three child placement databases. 

When added to the database, the children are listed as being from Russian territories in a bid to conceal their true identity and make it appear as if they had been born there, the Yale report claims. 

Russia has refused to register the children with the Government of Ukraine or the Red Cross – which is a requirement under the Geneva Convention. 

The report also suggested Russian officials concealed or changed open-source information to track the child’s whereabouts – such as social media posts and articles – and changed details in the database to make children harder to trace. 

From the “temporary accommodation centres”, the children are placed with new families or placed in educational institutions where they will be naturalised as Russian citizens. 

At one ceremony, Ukrainian children received Russian citizenship from Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov – with Lvova-Belova present.

The child are given new documents, with their names tweaked or changed, making them difficult to trace.

Families can apply for adoption or guardianship if the minor is under 14 and trusteeship for those aged 14 to 18. 

In a sick attempt to legitimise the adoption programme, Russia is using psychologists to match the child with prospective parents. 

Youngsters underwent medical examinations at the hands of Russian professionals in preparation for being placed with their new families, the report states. 

Federal guidance to the doctors even acknowledged that they should work with the children’s anxiety “in a situation of forced stay”.

They played the children’s introductory videos of their new potential families, organised online meetings and carried out testing of an “unknown nature”.

The 314 children were taken to at least 21 regions – and around 80 percent of them were taken from the Donestk region of occupied-Ukraine. 

Around 67 of those children have been naturalised as Russian citizens.

But the number is thought to be much higher. 

Nearly half of the children had brothers and sisters, and there was at least one case where siblings had been separated during the adoption process. 

At least 208 of the 314 children have been placed with citizens of Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Putin even amended federal law to simplify the process of changing a child’s citizenship.

He also granted powers to pro-Russian authorities in annexed territories to apply for citizenship on behalf of the child. 

Lvova-Belova and Anna Kuznetsova, the former Child’s Rights commissioner, were key individuals in the programme, along with the heads of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic, the Ministry of Education among others.

Lvova-Belova is seen pictured below with her husband Pavel and her biological children.

At least three children in the report were placed with the families of Russia’s officials or Russia’s military forces.

Lvova-Belova “adopted” a Ukrainian child from the war-ravaged city of Mariupol – thanking Putin for giving her another child to raise.

She’s seen beaming with 17-year-old Filipp Golovnya.

Experts told The Sun that they are now in a race against time to get the lost children of Ukraine home before they are lost in Putin’s evil system for good.

Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, told The Sun:

The law in Russia once a child is either adopted or under guard allows those parents to change the name of the child, to change identifiable information about the child and fundamentally there is real concern that children that have been adopted could have entirely different identities

The onus is on Russia now to identify all the children from Ukraine that are in the database and we are dealing with a situation where every day that goes by the chance of these children will be returned gets lower and lower because Russia has more and more time to obfuscate their identities. This entire programme was fundamentally based on deception.

The Yale report has now been handed to the United Nations Security Council in the hopes that more charges could be brought against Putin and his ring of sick child-snatchers.

Oona Hathaway, a professor at Yale Law School who was involved in the study, believes the evidence will form a basis for potential crimes against humanity, war crimes and a case of genocide.

She told The Sun:

There’s an extensive set of clear violations of international criminal law that are documented here

Daria Zarivnan, an adviser to the Ukrainian government and chief operation officer at Bring Kids Back UA, said the report reveals a higher levels of crime by Putin’s cronies.

She told The Sun:

The meeting of the UNSC is an opportunity for global scrutiny and accountability for Russia’s war crimes in a way that hasn’t previously been possible

As noted, the report reveals a higher level of crime than previously understood, which could support further charges under the Rome Statue

Children have protected status in war, and this protected status is being eroded grievously through forced deportations by Russia and policy of coerced adoptions

This report provides irrefutable evidence which contradicts Russian denials and misinformation about their handling of Ukrainian children

We hope all parties in the meeting recognise the violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes taking place by Russia

Russia must immediately provide Ukraine and the international community with a complete list and detailed information about all Ukrainian children who have been subjected to unlawful deportation, followed by adoption and guardianship arrangements with Russian citizens

OSCAR Pistorius has reportedly found a new woman just months after he was released on parole 11 years after he murdered Reeva Steenkamp.

The disgraced former Paralympian, 38, served nine years behind bars for gunning down his partner but he has apparently made time to find a new girlfriend since his release.

Peter Jordan - The Sun

Oscar Pistorious has reportedly found a new girlfriend[/caption]

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Pistorious is on parole 11 years after he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp[/caption]

Rita Geyling/Instagram

He is reportedly dating Rita Greyling, 33[/caption]

Rita Geyling/Instagram

Greyling is a business management consultant[/caption]

The double amputee dubbed “Blade Runner” for the prosthetics he used to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics was sentenced to 13 years and five months for murder.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp, 29, when he fired four bullets through the locked door of their bathroom in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius has reportedly found a new partner after he was released from jail and granted parole on 5 January.

The convicted killer is said to be dating his family friend Rita Greyling, 33, according to South African newspaper Netwerk24.

Greyling, a business management consultant from Wakkerstroom, in eastern South Africa, has reportedly kept her romance with Pistorius quiet.

His reported new fling’s family also made headlines in 2022 when someone died at her brother Ghini’s bachelor party.

Sources close to the reported couple said the disgraced Olympian is attempting to revamp his life.

A source said: “He is trying to rebuild his life in a low-key way and avoids bars and restaurants and the general public and is flying under the radar.

“He is slowly trying to reintegrate into society but that is being done through families that his family have been close to for decades and is slowly slowly.

“The word on the street for three months now is that he is dating again.”

Pistorius moved into his wealthy uncle’s £2 million Pretoria home, and relies on him for protection.

His tycoon uncle Arnold, who made his millions from property and tourism, hired armed guards with attack dogs, while his nephew lives in a cottage on his grounds.

Part of his rebuilding has reportedly included volunteer work at a nearby Dutch Reform Church,  as he has reportedly found it difficult to find work with his record.

Pistorius’ sentence ends in 2029 and he is subject to certain conditions for life outside jail.

These include attending therapy for anger and “gender-based violence issues”.

Steenkamp family friend previously said Pistorius should not expect forgiveness and issued a stark warning to him.

They said: “Oscar will get the shock of his life when he is back out in the real world.

“It’s a very different world where gender-based violence is now taken far more seriously.

Rita Geyling/Instagram

Greyling is said to be Pistorious’ family friend[/caption]

Rita Geyling/Instagram

Sources close to the reported couple said they have kept their relationship mostly private[/caption]

Rita Geyling/Instagram

Greyling is from Wakkerstroom in eastern South Africa[/caption]

“I don’t know if he will be able to cope with no longer being the centre of attention and the superstar everybody wanted to be around. He will always be looking over his shoulder.”

The former Golden Boy of athletics claimed he woke in the early hours thinking a burglar was breaking in unaware his girlfriend Reeva was in the bathroom, on Valentine’s Day 2013.

He fired repeated shots through the door killing her instantly with special “dum dum” bullets but Reeva’s family have always claimed it was intentional.

The horrific shooting and his trial caught the world’s attention as he was initially jailed for culpable homicide which was later upgraded to murder.

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Reeva Steenkamp was gunned down on Valentine’s Day in 2013[/caption]

Peter Jordan - The Sun

Oscar Pistorius was sentenced with murder[/caption]

SYDNEY Sweeney looked incredible in a see-through lace corset and leather trousers in New York.

The actress, 27, pulled off rock chic effortlessly in the gothic-tinged ensemble which she finished with shades and loose-fitting jacket.

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Sydney Sweeney caught the eye in New York last night[/caption]

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She went hell for leather in the rocky outfit[/caption]

instagram/sydney_sweeney

Sydney beefed up to play boxer Christy Martin[/caption]

The busty star is well and truly flexing her acting chops in her latest flick, Black Bear.

It sees her transform into boxing legend Christy Martin as she tells the story of her illustrious prize-fighting career and near murder at the hands of her trainer and husband Jim Martin.

For the role, Sydney trained hard in the gym and packed on muscle. It led to a lot of trolling as cruel keyboard warriors criticized her looks.

She tackled the abuse head on, sharing a collection of hurtful comments on Instagram.

One read: “Too pale and she needs to lose a few pounds around the middle.”

Others called her “frumpy,” “average chunky Yankee girl” and “butterface.”

Another said: “She’s really not very attractive. Not sure why she’s so popular. I had a better body at 37 before I got pregnant with my youngest”

The comments were followed by a montage of Sydney working out and looking in fantastic shape.

She also revealed her slick boxing skills in the ring and on a speedbag.

Christy took the boxing world by storm in the 90s, winning the WBC title and appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated – the first female boxer to do so.

She was nicknamed The Coal Miner’s Daughter after her father’s job and became controversial promoter Don King’s first female client when she joined his stable in 1993. 

Christy fought on the undercard of Mike Tyson‘s heavyweight world title clash with Brit fighter Frank Bruno and put on a masterclass that many say outshone the main event.

Tyson said in a new Netflix documentary: “I believe I was in jail and they were talking about “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, she’s knocking out people, she’s really exciting.

“I’m like, ‘Get the f*** out of here.’ But then I started going to some of her fights.

“She throws a lot of hard punches, crowd-pleasing. She gave everybody their money‘s worth. So I said, ‘Put Christy Martin on my undercard’.”

The pinnacle of her 59-fight career came in 2009 when she beat Dakota Stone for the WBC female super welterweight title.

However, she made headlines for devastating reasons the following year when she was stabbed several times, shot in the chest and left for dead by her husband after a row at their Florida home.

The ugly incident unfolded after Christy told Jim she wanted a divorce from their toxic relationship and was seeing her high school girlfriend Sherry Lusk.

Instagram /sydney_sweeney

Sydney is one of the industry’s biggest sex symbols[/caption]

Christy said: “He stopped everything and just left me laying there… I could hear my lung gurgling. So I know it’s filling up with blood.

“He’s walking in and out of the room to see if I had to died yet. I’m begging him, ‘Please don’t let me die. I’m sorry Jim, I made a mistake. Truth is, I love you.’

“But then by the time I realised he can’t let me live I was like, ‘Oh, f*** you. I never loved you. You’ve been a piece of s*** the whole time. I’m your personal ATM, you’ve done nothing but use me’.”

Jim did eventually walk back towards Christy – only to fire a shot into her torso.

Christy remembered: “He stands at my feet with my own pink 9mm.

“I told him, ‘You don’t have the balls to shoot me.’ And he shot me.

“My mind’s like, ‘No, I don’t wanna die. I have to get out. I have to save me. Some way, I have to save me’.”

The writing had been on the wall for their relationship for a long time.

KNOCKOUT BLOW

As Christy’s career reached its height in the early 2000s – her private life was the opposite.

She wanted to bring in a new trainer – but Jim would not tolerate the thought – and made it known during a sparring session.

Christy said: “He knocked me out. I’d never been knocked out. I’d never been dropped even.

“You know when you’re hitting someone in the right spot. You know when you’re hitting someone hard enough to knock them out.

“He knew exactly what he was doing. Is it abuse? Yeah, he’s smart. He disguised it.

“All I wanted to do was leave him, all I wanted to do was live my life freely.”

Jim Martin would later be sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder.

The vicious attack left Christy with severe PTSD. Amazingly, she returned to the ring in 2011 when she lost a rematch with Stone.

She fought for a final time in 2012, ending her sporting career with a defeat to Mia St John.

Since then, she has found love again with former boxing foe Lisa Holewyne, whom she beat by unanimous decision in 2001.

A WOMAN has opened up about the frustrating experience she had at a Hyundai dealership when trying to buy a car.

The customer nearly paid $3,000 extra before she did a bit of research and found she was getting an unfair deal.

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Two women were left frustrated at a Hyundai dealership[/caption]

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It appears the sales clerk was trying a sneaky trick by raising the price $3,000[/caption]

TikTok user @molybdenum96 posted a video that racked up over 114,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

She captioned it, “Just two gals not being taken seriously at a car dealership.”

Molybdenum96 went on to explain that she or her friend had a master’s degree in computer science and wanted to buy a car in cash that day.

She wrote that the other girl “hasn’t finished college yet, but her dad is a product liability lawyer that sues car companies for a living.”

At the end of the video, it appears the sales clerk offered the pair a Hyundai Santa Fe from 2019 at a price of $20,000.

However, the exact same car appeared to be advertised on their website for under $17,000 – suggesting they were trying to charge her $3,000 extra than what was listed online.

What’s more, the price of $17,000 seems steep enough as it is for the car.

One commenter under the video wrote, “$17,000 for a car with almost 150k miles is insane.”

The original poster replied, “It had so many dings on it too.”

However, other commenters offered advice on how to approach this scenario differently to be taken more seriously as women.

One wrote, “Ask for a saleswoman. If they don’t have one, let them know you’re not interested in doing business with them.”

Another said, “Having worked at a dealership, the guys talk in the back office and it’s rarely nice.”

molybdenum96 appeared to appreciate all the advice and responded to a lot of the commenters.

She added, “We were ignored because he thought we could not afford a financial plan much less the whole car lol.”

This comes as a Hyundai dealership in Michigan was recently shut down after sellers used sneaky tricks that duped customers and put the public in imminent harm.

Michigan state regulators found a raft of violations when they investigated the Hyundai dealership in Detroit.

The owners of LaFontaine Hyundai of Livonia admitted to the wrongdoing, and has now paid out a fee to get its license back.

Elsewhere, the best-selling Korean car brand recently named a new CEO.

They announced the appointment of Randy Parker as their new head of operations and functions in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Parker will also oversee their luxury car arm Genesis in the US and Canada, as well as Hyundai‘s manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Georgia.

TikTok/@molybdenum96

The dealer didn’t realize the two girls knew all the tricks[/caption]

TikTok/@molybdenum96

The dealership apparently tried to sell them a car over $3,000 pricier than advertised online[/caption]

WAYNE MARDLE is a darts legend who now works as a pundit and commentator for Sky Sports.

He is seen as the voice of the sport on the channel and is known for his Hawaiian shirts and energetic dance moves – Mardle will once again take to the microphone for the PDC World Darts Championships 2024/2025.

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Wayne Mardle lost in three PDC major finals to darts legend Phil Taylor[/caption]

Who is Wayne Mardle?

Wayne Elliot Mardle was born on May 10, 1973 in Dagenham, east London.

He is often referred to as Hawaii 501 — a play on the TV series Hawaii Five-O — because he began wearing Hawaiian shirts after losing a bet.

His dad taught him to play darts from the age of 11 and he took to it like a fish to water, hitting his first 180 within a fortnight.

Wayne won his first competition at the Double Top pub on his 13th birthday.

He has gone one to have a long career in the sport he loves, first as a professional player, then as a commentator and pundit.

Mardle also works as a professional speaker at events and exhibitions, and has set up the Wayne Mardle School of Darts for anyone wishing to improve their game.

How long has Wayne Mardle been commentating on the darts?

Wayne started commentating at the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship alongside Sid Waddell and Dave Clark — as well as predicting results in the tournament with Eric Bristow and Rod Harrington.

He has gone on to become a regular commentator and pundit for Sky Sports.

Mardle famously produced an iconic piece of commentary during the 2023 PDC World final, when Michael Smith triumphed over Michael van Gerwen.

He could be heard screaming “I can’t speak” after van Gerwen narrowly missed a nine-darter and Smith hit one with his next visit.

What did Wayne Mardle do before becoming a darts commentator?

Before lending his expertise of the game to viewers of the sport as a pundit and commentator, Wayne was a professional player who reached the world championship semi-finals five times — four in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and one in the British Darts Organisation (BDO).

He also lost in three major finals to Phil Taylor — the 2003 World Matchplay, and the Las Vegas Classic in both 2004 and 2005.

Speaking about why he stopped playing, Wayne told the Guardian in 2021: “I can honestly say I was fraught with the pressure, with the tension.

“My head was swimming, my arm was tight, my hand was cold, my feet were freezing.

“I don’t want to be that pressurised ever again. And you know what? I absolutely hated it.”

Is Wayne Mardle married and does he have children?

Wayne is married to Donna Mardle.

The couple like to keep their private life out of the public domain, so there is very little information about them available.

But he did let on that they don’t have kids in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in 2018.

He posted a picture of his brown Labrador Sherlock, along with the words: “Donna and I have no kids so our life revolves around this beast.

“In two days I’ll be home and kissing him all over. Who in there right mind wouldn’t want to snog him!!! Look at him!!! What a sexy beast.”