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Don’t tell me, I’ve got this one: it’s the answer to ‘what do you get if you cross a GT3 RS with a suction cup?’ Got it in one. This semi-squished frog is the 911 GT3 R, Porsche’s latest, greatest full house racing 911. And it’s a bit of a pussycat. Didn’t expect that. In its first season of racing this year, it’s built to compete in global GT3 championships against cars such as the Corvette C8.R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Aston Martin Vantage AMR and Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo. And from next year, GT3 cars are eligible for Le Mans for the first time. There’s a big, juicy target to aim for. I’m confused, doesn’t Porsche build, like, a dozen different racing 911s? No, it only builds two: this, and the entry-level GT3 Cup. That’s the one that’s less modified from the road car and used mainly for one-make championships. The GT3 R is the one that fights other marques on track. And costs a fair bit more. A Cup car will set you back £225,000 (plus tax), for an R you’re looking at £511,000 before tax. However, for straight line speed there’s almost nothing in it. The Cup mostly uses the 4.0-litre flat six from the road car, so has about 510bhp and weighs around 1,240kg. The R has 565bhp courtesy of a bigger 4.2-litre nat-asp motor, but is a little heavier and has significantly more drag. On the main straight at Estoril, each would just top 260kmh (162mph) before needing to brake (very late) downhill into turn one. The last genuinely quick car I drove round here, a McLaren Senna, was much quicker, hitting 280kmh (174mph) before braking – and you needed to have nailed the pedal at least 30 metres earlier. Hang about, lots to unpack here. Let’s start with cost – why is the R so much more expensive? Because of the extra level of modifications. To keep Cup costs down relatively few mods are made over the road car, but to follow current GT3 regulations and be competitive calls for vastly more invasive surgery. All told it takes five times longer to build the R than the Cup. While the latter mostly come down the Zuffenhausen production line with the road cars, the R’s are built in separate racing bays. I won’t get too in depth on this or we’ll be here all day, but here’s a couple of examples. The R uses the road car engine block, and the cheaper way of modifying it for more power would be to give it a longer stroke. But that didn’t give the power characteristics Porsche wanted, so the engine block is bored as well as stroked so needs new everything. Up front the centrally mounted radiator (the GT3 RS also has this, which is why it has no frunk) has been pushed further back. Not to help centralise the weight, but to make it less vulnerable in a shunt. Inside, the seat position is fixed with pedals and steering moving, but this has a unique steering adjustment lever that protrudes from the dash. Why? Two reasons. Firstly, it’s easier to reach from the fixed chair, but secondly and mainly, when you release the lever the steering wheel springs in and up so it’s out the way, which makes driver changes easier. Amongst all this it’s hardly surprising to learn that Porsche has tilted the engine 5.5 degrees. Why on earth would they tilt the engine? Because the most important facet of performance is aero, and tilting the engine allows Porsche to open out the diffuser more and create extra downforce. They obviously won’t talk exact numbers because that might give their rivals too much information, but they do point out that although the Cup and the R have similar power-to-weight ratios, the R is around four seconds faster around Estoril than the Cup. And it’s a short lap, under 100 seconds. Hold on, wasn’t there a mid-engined Porsche 911 racer? There was, the 911 RSR. Back in 2016 Porsche realised that to be competitive with the WEC and IMSA regulations of the time they needed to mount the engine – or at least most of it – in front of the rear axle. This helped weight distribution and – as with the new car’s tilted engine – allowed the diffuser to grow into the vacated area. It’s all a question of existing FIA regulations though, and for this 992-generation car the engine is back where it belongs, aft of the axle. And if you’re thinking the GT3 R tag sounds familiar, well, that’s been used before as well – and again on a more radical car. Back in 2010 Porsche developed a flywheel hybrid system that was eligible for some series. It was mounted where the passenger seat should be and delivered 163bhp to a pair of electric motors – one for each front wheel. So this isn’t actually a very advanced racing Porsche? As ever all racing cars have to abide by regulations and various balance of performance elements to ensure no-one has an unfair advantage. But yeah, this is actually quite a simple car, but also, as one of the mechanics tells me, a completely extraordinary one. It’s all about the design and development work you can’t see. One of the mechanics tells me the team used to run Audi R8s before this 911, and how much simpler, quicker and more logical this is to work on and fix: “everything is on quick releases, even the brake hoses. We can change an entire front wheel assembly, including the brakes, in 90 seconds”. There’s also little notches on the rear wing stays so the bootlid can be lifted off and attached there rather than put on the floor of the garage for people to trip over, and a button that engages the power steering when the engine is off to make it easier for the mechanics to wheel around the garage. Likewise a lot of the work has been done to make it easier and more flattering to drive, better suited to the gentlemen drivers who often race this alongside professional team mates. That would be you, would it? I’m no-one’s idea of a gentleman. Except possibly my mother’s. But I have to say that driving the Cup and R back-to-back, the R was easier, more stable, fluent and predictable than the Cup. Some of this is down to the aerodynamics, which sit the GT3 R so securely on the tarmac, and some to the astonishing damping, which allows you to take utter liberties with Estoril’s kerbs and not upset the car’s balance at all, and some to the other raft of changes made, such as the 60mm added to the wheelbase and the wider track widths of this carbon bodied monster. It's not overly fast in a straight line – GT3 cars rarely are. Above 100mph a regular cooking 911 Carrera GTS is probably as fast. But what’s bonkers is everything else – particularly the braking and turning into corners and the traction out. The Cup car was a little twitchy, playing around in the margins of understeer and oversteer. It was trustworthy, but moved around. The R was unshakeable. Braking and turning at the same time should have the rear engine behaving like a pendulum, but it didn’t. And pushing out of corners, the rear-biased weight distribution should cause the lighter nose to push wide. It didn’t. I could get on the power way earlier than I anticipated and that double wishbone front suspension would faithfully hang on to its line. Anything that unnerved you? The steering weight to start with. It was very light in both cars with little feedback. I was told that’s how the young drivers prefer it; “yeah, the older guys often want it heavier”, one of the race engineers tells me. Point taken. I also found the brakes a bit disconcerting. You wallop them with everything you’ve got and there’s a fractional delay, presumably while the ABS does some calculations, before you get maximum retardation. I also found the pedal a little soft and long. Just me, being old school. A lot of these guys grew up on sim rigs and they just want something that’s not going to tire them out in multi-hour races. Bet the flat six sounds awesome? It’s absolutely corking from outside, a proper hard rasp that forces every pitlane conversation to pause when a car rips by on the main straight. From inside, you’re less aware, but then you’ve got other things to focus on. I’m sure the wheel buttons and screen info become second nature after a while, and luckily I barely needed to worry about any of them. But while the Cup has a foot clutch, this one uses a – well, not exactly a hand clutch – more an electronic one, that you activate with a button and then it takes over as soon as you’re rolling. Come on then, overall impressions? Two main things: firstly, the astonishing engineering detail and thoughtfulness that’s gone into the whole car, and secondly, how flattering it is to drive. This is a car you can quickly get into a rhythm with, that works with you, not against you. In that way it has plenty in common with the GT3 RS road car – another winged monster that looks like it wants to string you up, but actually wants to give you a hug. I also happen to think the GT3 R looks utterly spectacular. https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/porsche/911/gt3-r

Jurgen Klopp ordered Liverpool's fans to bring the noise and give Arsenal a "proper Anfield experience" at the place where their nerve has so often failed them in past. Arsenal have not won at Anfield since September 2012 and visits into this hothouse atmosphere are always used as a gauge for the Gunners' title-winning temperament and credentials - or lack of them. It was in April, with Arsenal were cruising at 2-0, that Granit Xhaka unwisely infuriated Liverpool fans in a spat with Trent Alexander-Arnold, firing up Anfield to the extent that Mikel Arteta's side ended up so ragged that they were fortunate to escape with a draw. This was the moment the rot set in last season, the start of the late collapse that eventually saw the long-time leaders overhauled by eventual champions Manchester City. The same litmus test was being prepared here, especially after Klopp took it upon himself to criticise the Anfield atmosphere after Liverpool thrashed West Ham United 5-1 in the Carabao Cup quarter-final in midweek. To many observers, including this one, it appeared to be a rather confected 'criticism' specifically designed to whip Liverpool's fans into a frenzy before Anfield's biggest league game of the season against opponents who have cracked in this environment before. Liverpool manager Klopp's words worked on one level as Anfield was at full volume, raucous and hostile before kick-off, but if this was also a ploy designed to put Arsenal to the test, they passed in an impressive demonstration of their growing maturity. Arsenal and Arteta would have loved to get the win that would not only have been three points but arguably the biggest psychological lift they could get. This did not happen and the final scoreline of 1-1 will suit the pursuing new Club World Cup champions Manchester City more than the two teams on show here. City and Pep Guardiola would have been concerned that the victor here could steal a march while they celebrated their triumph in Saudi Arabia - but this was the result they would have wanted. Liverpool, justifiably, will argue they had the better of the chances as substitute Harvey Elliott grazed the outside of a post in the second half and Alexander-Arnold wasted the best chance to win the game when he thrashed a finish against the bar late on. They will also be puzzled how a clear handball by Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in the first half was missed by the officials and VAR. In the final reckoning, however, Arsenal will take a point with satisfaction despite having been pegged back by Mohamed Salah's 29th-minute thunderbolt after defender Gabriel had headed Arsenal in front after only four minutes. If we are using that old Anfield measure, then their performance here showed an Arsenal team more measured and mature than last season, tough to break down and with a stronger temperament when then going gets tough and the Kop's decibels rise, as they did in the second half. Liverpool had stellar performers in defenders Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez but two Arsenal standouts produced the best evidence that they are in good shape for another tilt at the title. Declan Rice was a guarantee of quality and influence, even at £105m when signed from West Ham United, and proved it again here from before the first whistle to the last. Rice, it was, who delivered strong messages to his Arsenal team-mates in the pre-match huddle before producing the performance of a thoroughbred. The midfielder's game awareness was peerless, cleaning up danger, picking passes and acting as a constant source of guidance to his team-mates throughout. Rice barely wasted the ball and his presence acts as a source of calm, ideal on the occasions when the storm raged. William Saliba took the honours along with him for a magnificent performance in defence but this was no rearguard action by Arsenal, whose clear intent was to win this game and they had it under control until Salah's brilliant finish from Alexander-Arnold's raking pass. Yes, they had to suffer but this was not a timid performance. Arsenal were brave and willing to attack when the chance presented itself. There was no doubt who was happiest at the final whistle, even though the door has now been left ajar for City, who next play at Everton on 27 December. Liverpool manager Klopp, despite his frustration, was equally impressed by Arsenal when he said: "Oh my God. How strong are they? The good news is we are good as well." And Klopp is not wrong, although he would have hoped for a better haul than two points from home games against Manchester United and the Gunners. It is the first time Liverpool have two gone successive Premier League games at Anfield without winning since October 2021, but it is a testament to their character that they have recovered 19 points from losing positions in the title race this season, more than any other side. They have lost just one league game in 2023-24 despite falling behind in 10. For Arsenal, this was a test in a wider context. History shows this particular game is examined for flaws in the Gunners' mental and footballing make-up. There were not too many on show here as they left Anfield with an important point and showed they will be right in the Premier League title race once more. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67814111

Israel has intensified attacks on Gaza since Friday’s UN resolution and the US claims to have shot down Houthi drones – here are other major updates. The latest developments The United States said Iran launched a drone from its soil that struck a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) also said it downed several drones launched at vessels from Yemen by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The Houthis also fired two antiship ballistic missiles in the southern Red Sea, but no ships were hit. Pro-Palestinian marches continued in cities across the world, with some of the latest protests in Australia, Germany and Turkey. Heavy raids by the Israeli army continued in the occupied West Bank. A convoy led by bulldozers entered Tulkarem in the early hours of Sunday, and raids have also been reported in Bethlehem, the town of Beita just south of Nablus, and the towns of Sa’ir and Karma near Hebron. The representative for Hamas in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, said Israel has failed in its stated goal of “destroying” the group, and that it will have to stop the war if it wants the captives released. Human impact and fighting Thousands of Palestinians were again forced to flee their homes, this time after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in the central Gaza Strip. Since a United Nations Security Council resolution was passed on Friday without a clear call for a ceasefire, there has been a surge in aerial bombardments in central Gaza. Israeli air raids killed more than 400 people in Gaza in the past 48 hours. Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at nearly 1,140, revised from 1,400. At least 101 journalists have been killed since October 7, according to the Government Media Office, which also said more than 50 media offices have been completely or partially destroyed by Israeli attacks. Al Jazeera Arabic’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa was among those killed in Israeli strikes. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it continues to operate at its medical point in Jabalia, northern Gaza, despite incessant shelling of the area. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said on X: “As the conflict intensifies and the horror grows, we will continue to do our part. We will not give up.” Diplomacy Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, Israel’s current and former defence ministers, respectively, who, along with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu make up the Israeli war cabinet, visited northern Gaza and promised that more attacks would be forthcoming despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire. US President Joe Biden had a “private” phone conversation with Netanyahu. He told reporters after that he “did not ask for a ceasefire”. Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said the UNSC resolution for humanitarian relief would only result in a “drop in the ocean of suffering” in Gaza. She said the White House “holds the key” for putting an end to the carnage. During a meeting in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed the war in Gaza and called for an end to Israeli attacks. The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is set to give his third speech since the start of the war in the coming days to mark the January 3 assassination of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, by the US. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/24/israel-hamas-war-list-of-key-events-day-79

ACOLMAN, Mexico (AP) — María de Lourdes Ortiz Zacarías swiftly cuts hundreds of strips of newsprint and colored crepe paper needed to make a piñata, soothed by Norteño music on the radio while measuring pieces by feel. “The measurement is already in my fingers,” Ortiz Zacarías says with a laugh. She has been doing this since she was a child, in the family-run business alongside her late mother, who learned the craft from her father. Piñatas haven’t been displaced by more modern customs, and her family has been making a living off them into its fourth generation. Ortiz Zacarías calls it “my legacy, handed down by my parents and grandparents.” Business is steady all year, mainly with birthday parties, but it really picks up around Christmas. That’s because piñatas are interwoven with Christian traditions in Mexico. There are countless designs these days, based on everything from Disney characters to political figures. But the most traditional style of piñata is a sphere with seven spiky cones, which has a religious origin. Each cone represents one of the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Hitting the paper-mache globe with a stick is a symbolic blow against sin, with the added advantage of releasing the candy within. Piñatas weren’t originally filled with candy, nor made mainly of paper. Grandparents in Mexico can remember a time a few decades ago when piñatas were clay pots covered with paper and filled with hunks of sugar cane, fruits and peanuts. The treats were received quite gladly, though falling pieces of the clay pot posed a bit of a hazard. But the tradition goes back even further. Some say piñatas can be traced back to China, where paper-making originated. In Mexico, they were apparently brought by the Spanish conquerors, but may also replicate pre-Hispanic traditions. Spanish chronicler Juan de Grijalva wrote that piñatas were used by Augustine monks in the early 1500s at a convent in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City. The monks received written permission from Pope Sixtus V for holding a year-end Mass as part of the celebration of the birth of Christ. But the Indigenous po[CENSORED]tion already celebrated a holiday around the same time to honor the god of war, Huitzilopochtli. And they used something similar to piñatas in those rites. The pre-Hispanic rite involved filling clay jars with precious cocoa seeds — the stuff from which chocolate is made — and then ceremonially breaking the jars. “This was the meeting of two worlds,” said Walther Boelsterly, director of Mexico City’s Museum of Po[CENSORED]r Art. “The piñata and the celebration were used as a mechanism to convert the native po[CENSORED]tions to Catholicism.” Piñatas are also used in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, mainly at children’s parties. The piñata hasn’t stood still. Po[CENSORED]r figures this year range from Barbie to Spider-Man. Ortiz Zacarías’ family makes some new designs most of the year, but around Christmas they return to the seven-pointed style, because of its longstanding association with the holiday. The family started their business in Acolman, where Ortiz Zacarías’ mother, Romana Zacarías Camacho, was known as “the queen of the piñatas” before her death. Ortiz Zacarías’ 18-year-old son, Jairo Alberto Hernández Ortiz, is the fourth generation to take up the centuriesold craft. “This is a family tradition that has a lot of sentimental value for me,” he said. https://apnews.com/article/mexico-pinatas-tradition-christmas-aea87fa66c7263c467559baa8090b77e

Retrieving isn't just for dogs, but the emerging science of cat play can't fully explain the feline phenomenon. Growing up, James Serpell had a cat named Mungo with a penchant for pencils. "If a pencil or pen was on the floor, the cat would bring them to us," he says. Then Mungo would sit and wait, hoping for a toss. "If you picked up the pencil and threw it across the room, he would run and bring it back. He would go on like that for quite a long time," says Serpell, a professor emeritus of animal welfare at the University of Pennsylvania. He is far from the only cat owner to have encountered a fetching feline. A new study published on Thursday in Scientific Reports suggests that many cats run and retrieve in bouts of fetch. The research, an analysis of online survey responses from nearly 1,000 pet owners, sheds light on the often murky, understudied world of cat play and behavior. "As far as I know, it's among the first published studies that have tried to quantify and qualitatively describe this type of fetch interaction between people and cats," says Serpell, who wasn't involved in the new study. And it has revealed some interesting possible patterns: when it comes to fetch with humans, cats might be the ones calling the shots. The study authors distributed their survey through social media and directed it specifically to owners of fetching cats. In the 924 complete and usable answers the team got, more than 94 percent of respondents reported that their cats' retrieving behavior emerged spontaneously — without any deliberate training — usually when the pet was a kitten less than a year old. In some instances, owners described a scenario in which they dropped or accidentally launched an object, and their cat spontaneously fetched it. In other accounts, domestic felines simply brought their owners a cat toy or other random item, which the human then tossed aside — and a throw-and-retrieve cycle began. "We had an overwhelming number of people say their cat was not trained to do this behavior," says Jemma Forman, lead study researcher and a Ph.D. student at the University of Sussex in England. "We even had some people say that their cats had trained them to play fetch." As a caveat, Serpell says humans are likely giving cats unconscious reinforcement by engaging with them in throwing an object in the first place, providing interaction and social reward. Contrary to po[CENSORED]r sentiment, domestic cats are, in fact, very much attuned to their humans. The survey also found that cats initiate and end fetching sessions more often than their owners do. It additionally revealed that the animals often only retrieve in certain places or with certain people and that they strongly prefer playing with some objects over others. Like Mungo, the cats in the survey weren't just interested in retrieving their toys — they also went for everyday objects such as crumpled paper, elastic hair ties, bottle caps, and more. Most of the cats seemed to get bored with the game quickly, usually fetching fewer than 10 times in a session. Some owners described their pets as losing interest in fetch altogether as the animals aged. In other words, fetching cats play on their own terms Anecdotal reports and past studies suggest cat enthusiasts have long observed fetch-like behavior. A small study of cat behavior by animal behaviorists Victoria L. Voith and Peter L. Borchelt that appeared in their 1996 book Readings in Companion Animal Behavior reported that about 16 percent of surveyed cat owners included "fetching" among the tricks their pets could perform. Internet forums and cat fancier sites are littered with individual accounts of cats that fetch — especially Siamese and Bengal breeds. What the new survey data provide are clarity and details about how our feline companions come to retrieve. What science doesn’t yet offer is an explanation for why they do so. Retrieving behavior in dogs is generally assumed to be the result of selective breeding and social tendencies rooted in their wolf origins. Humans have taken advantage of dogs' propensity to bring prey back to the pack and have heightened it in hunting dogs — which might, for example, be bred to retrieve ducks shot down in a marsh. Yet domestic cats "are not heavily selected for anything except physical features," says Mikel Delgado, co-founder of the cat behavior consulting business Feline Minds, who has a Ph.D. in psychology, with a focus on animal behavior, and wasn't involved in the new study. Cats are anecdotally known to bring their owners found objects or animals they've killed or collected outdoors, and it's possible fetching is an extension of this behavior. But how that instinct itself arises is unclear, Delgado and Serpell say. Mother cats will bring their kittens prey items, but both male and female cats seem to play fetch. Unlike dogs, house cats are not descended from pack animals, so these cats aren't generally considered innately social. But breed tendencies do seem to suggest there might be a genetic component to fetching felines. The new study is a "nice dipping of the toe into this topic" but leaves a lot unresolved, Delgado says. She's trying to address some of the still-open questions in her own follow-up work. And Serpell has been passively collecting data on cat behavior for years through an online survey called the Feline Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire, which has yielded thousands of responses and includes a question about fetching. He has passed along his raw data to Delgado, who is working to establish just how common fetching is among all pet cats. By Serpell's early rough estimates, more than a quarter of cats might be retrievers. https://www.livescience.com/animals/cats/some-cats-spontaneously-start-playing-fetch-and-we-have-no-idea-why

Young men are grabbing weapons to fight with the army, defend their cities, raising fears of deepening ethnic conflict. By Mat Nashed Published On 24 Dec 2023 24 Dec 2023 When the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) called on young men to enlist last June, Zakariya Issa* went to the nearest recruitment centre. He was one of thousands of young people who trained for 10 weeks in Wad Madani, a city just south of the capital Khartoum. In September, he was deployed with 500 people to fight the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group stronger than the army and backed by the United Arab Emirates. Many of his friends and peers were killed or wounded within a couple of weeks. “I lost five of my friends,” Issa, 20, told Al Jazeera from Saudi Arabia, where he now lives. “They were more than friends. They were my brothers.” The Sudanese army and allied groups are relying on young men with little or no military training to fight as foot soldiers against the RSF. Over the past week, recruitment has picked up across River Nile State since the RSF captured Wad Madani, Sudan’s second-largest city. River Nile state is a traditionally privileged region that has produced many of the political and military elites in Sudan’s modern history. But now, army officers and figures from Sudan’s political Islamic movement, which ruled for 30 years under former autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, are calling on young men from this region to thwart the RSF. New recruits told Al Jazeera that they are motivated to pick up weapons due to the risk that the RSF could attack their cities, loot their belongings and subject women to sexual violence. Most view the RSF – which is primarily made up of tribal nomadic fighters from Sudan’s neglected province of Darfur – as invaders and occupiers. While the group has evicted thousands of people from their homes, army supporters are also exploiting ethnic undertones to recruit young men. “I picked up a gun to defend myself, my ethnic group and my homeland,” said Yaser, 21, from Shendi, a city in River Nile State where thousands of people have reportedly picked up weapons in recent days. “The RSF are not just at war with the army. They are at war with civilians,” he told Al Jazeera. ‘Cannon fodder’: Civilians arming themselves After Wad Madani fell to the RSF, civilians across eastern and northern Sudan were devastated. The city was a haven for internally displaced people who fled Khartoum and surrounding towns earlier in the war. They are now on the move again. “People mostly think that the army can’t protect them now,” said Suleiman al-Sadig,* a lawyer from Atbara, a city in River Nile State. Recent RSF advances have compounded the panic. Photos and videos surfacing across social media show what appear to be children and young men arming themselves in River Nile State. According to residents and journalists, some of those recruits have gone to Wad Madani to fight the RSF, while others are staying behind in case of an attack. “The calls to get armed are not coming from the army. They’re mostly coming from civilians themselves,“ al-Sadig, told Al Jazeera. Sulieman Baldo, the founder of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker think tank, believes arming young men is irresponsible. “For me, these young recruits are really cannon fodder for ideological reasons,” he told Al Jazeera. “Sudan’s [political] Islamic movement is pushing for this kind of mobilisation in areas that are beyond the RSF’s control.” In one photo on social media, which Al Jazeera could not independently verify, one of the young recruits is seen captured by the RSF and tied to the windshield of a car. A former soldier, who is in close contact with officers in the army, added that new recruits are often the first people to die in battle. “They have no combat or military background and they just carry weapons. They die quickly,” he told Al Jazeera. Ethnic targeting Over the last two decades, River Nile State has attracted many young men from Arab and non-Arab tribes in search of work and stability. Many were uprooted by the state-backed Arab tribal militias – later repackaged as the RSF – which crushed a mostly non-Arab rebellion in Darfur in 2003. These young men are now being accused of spying on behalf of the RSF based on their ethnicity and tribal affiliations. According to local monitors, many have been arrested, tortured and even killed by military intelligence and by civilians carrying arms in northeastern cities. On December 19, Zeinab Noon* spoke with her male cousins who are all between the ages of 16 and 20. They told her that they captured RSF spies in Shendi. “[They said] they’re torturing them, so there is a sense of paranoia,” Noon, who lives outside of Sudan, told Al Jazeera. “I don’t think they know [for sure if they’re really spies].” The Darfur Network for Human Rights (DNHR), a local monitoring group, said in a statement that these attacks are “linked to incitement to ethnic violence” in River Nile cities. Jawhara Kanu, a Sudanese expert with the United States Institute for Peace, said that the ethnically targeted attacks risk pushing vulnerable people from Darfur and Kordofan, a province in central Sudan, into the arms of the RSF. “These people are going to find themselves in a situation where they are going to be tortured [by parties aligned] with SAF unless they choose to join the RSF for protection.” Ending the war Despite growing calls to bear arms, some activists are pushing for an end to the war and for young men not to fight. So far, their efforts appear to be in vain, according to al-Sadig from Atbara. He said that there was a protest held in his city on December 23. Young men were demanding that the governor arm them, so that they could defend their city and join the army in battles across the country. RSF abuses in Wad Madani are also fuelling calls for mobilisation. More than 300,000 people are fleeing the city, mostly on foot. RSF fighters are also reportedly looting cars, hospitals, homes and markets, adding to a hunger crisis. In one video circulating on social media and which Al Jazeera could not independently verify, an RSF fighter declares that it is “his right” to rape women in cities he conquers. Al-Sadig says that news of abuses travels wide and is terrifying civilians in the River Nile region. “Every single day, young men are being told by people in their community that the RSF is going to come and get you and that they will take your homes, kill your children and rape your women,” he told Al Jazeera. Non-violent activists like al-Sadig hope that the war will stop soon. On December 22, local media reported that top army chief Abdel Fatah al-Burhan had agreed to sit down with RSF leader Mohamad Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. While an agreement could spare Sudan further bloodshed, al-Sadig is waiting to see where the RSF attacks next. He told Al Jazeera that he will pick up a weapon if he has to. “I don’t want to pick up arms. But if the RSF targets my home, or my children or my wife, then of course I will defend them,” he said. *Some names have been changed for safety reasons. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/24/sudans-civilians-pick-up-arms-as-rsf-gains-and-army-stumbles

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السؤال ما حكم الاحتفال بعيد الكريسمس ( أول السنة الميلادية ) ؟ بالتفصيل الإجابــة الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه أما بعد: فلا يجوز لأحد من المسلمين مشاركة أهل الكتاب في الاحتفال بعيد الكريسمس "أول السنة الميلادية" ولا تهنئتهم بهذه المناسبة لأن العيد من جنس أعمالهم التي هي دينهم الخاص بهم، أو شعار دينهم الباطل، وقد نهينا عن موافقتهم في أعيادهم، دل على ذلك الكتاب والسنة والإجماع والاعتبار: 1- .أما الكتاب: فقول الله تعالى: وَالَّذِينَ لا يَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَاماً [الفرقان:72] قال مجاهد في تفسيرها: إنها أعياد المشركين، وكذلك قال مثله الربيع بن أنس، والقاضي أبو يعلى والضحاك. وقال ابن سيرين: الزور هو الشعانين ، والشعانين: عيد للنصارى يقيمونه يوم الأحد السابق لعيد الفصح ويحتفلون فيه بحمل السعف، ويزعمون أن ذلك ذكرى لدخول المسيح بيت المقدس كما في اقتضاء الصراط المستقيم 1/537، والمعجم الوسيط1/488، ووجه الدلالة هو أ نه إذا كان الله قد مدح ترك شهودها الذي هو مجرد الحضور برؤية أو سماع، فكيف بالموافقة بما يزيد على ذلك من العمل الذي هو عمل الزور، لا مجرد شهوده. 2- وأما السنة: فمنها حديث أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال: قدم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المدينة ولهم يومان يلعبون فيهما، فقال: ما هذا اليومان؟ قالوا: كنا نلعب فيهما في الجاهلية، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن الله قد أبدلكم بهما خيراً منهما: يوم الأضحى ويوم الفطر. رواه أبو داود، وأحمد، والنسائي على شرط مسلم. ووجه الدلالة أن العيدين الجاهليين لم يقرهما رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا تركهم يلعبون فيهما على العادة، بل قال: إن الله قد أبدلكم بهما خيراً منهما...... والإبدال من الشيء يقتضي ترك المبدل منه، إذ لا يجمع بين البدل والمبدل منه، وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: خيراً منهما. يقتضي الاعتياض بما شرع لنا عما كان في الجاهلية. 3- وأما الإجماع: فمما هو معلوم من السير أن اليهود والنصارى ما زالوا في أمصار المسلمين يفعلون أعيادهم التي لهم، ومع ذلك لم يكن في عهد السلف من المسلمين من يشركهم في شيء من ذلك، وكذلك ما فعله عمر في شروطه مع أهل الذمة التي اتفق عليها الصحابة وسائر الفقهاء بعدهم: أن أهل الذمة من أهل الكتاب لا يظهرون أعيادهم في دار الإسلام، وإنما كان هذا اتفاقهم على منعهم من إظهارهم، فكيف يسوغ للمسلمين فعلها! أو ليس فعل المسلم لها أشد من إظهار الكافر لها؟ وقد قال عمر رضي الله عنه: إياكم ورطانة الأعاجم، وأن تدخلوا على المشركين يوم عيدهم في كنائسهم فإن السخطة تتنزل عليهم. رواه أبو الشيخ الأصبهاني والبيهقي بإسناد صحيح. ووجه الدلالة أن العيدين الجاهليين لم يقرهما رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا تركهم يلعبون فيهما على العادة، بل قال: إن الله قد أبدلكم بهما خيراً منهما...... والإبدال من الشيء يقتضي ترك المبدل منه، إذ لا يجمع بين البدل والمبدل منه، وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: خيراً منهما. يقتضي الاعتياض بما شرع لنا عما كان في الجاهلية. 3- وأما الإجماع: فمما هو معلوم من السير أن اليهود والنصارى ما زالوا في أمصار المسلمين يفعلون أعيادهم التي لهم، ومع ذلك لم يكن في عهد السلف من المسلمين من يشركهم في شيء من ذلك، وكذلك ما فعله عمر في شروطه مع أهل الذمة التي اتفق عليها الصحابة وسائر الفقهاء بعدهم: أن أهل الذمة من أهل الكتاب لا يظهرون أعيادهم في دار الإسلام، وإنما كان هذا اتفاقهم على منعهم من إظهارهم، فكيف يسوغ للمسلمين فعلها! أو ليس فعل المسلم لها أشد من إظهار الكافر لها؟ وقد قال عمر رضي الله عنه: إياكم ورطانة الأعاجم، وأن تدخلوا على المشركين يوم عيدهم في كنائسهم فإن السخطة تتنزل عليهم. رواه أبو الشيخ الأصبهاني والبيهقي بإسناد صحيح. 4- وأما الاعتبار فيقال: الأعياد من جملة الشرع والمناهج والمناسك التي قال الله فيها: لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنْكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَاجاً [المائدة:48].

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Bristol City and Hull City at Ashton Gate on Friday | Jason Knight scores winner in five-goal thriller to hand Liam Manning's men all three points Saturday 23 December 2023 10:09, UK Jason Knight's 84th-minute strike earned Bristol City a thrilling 3-2 Championship win over Hull at Ashton Gate. The hosts took a 24th-minute lead when Jacob Greaves handled Tommy Conway's glancing header and Conway sent goalkeeper Ryan Allsop the wrong way from the spot. But Hull battled back to equalise on 33 minutes through Aaron Connolly and went in front eight minutes later with the game's second penalty, coolly converted by Ozan Tufan after referee Ben Toner spotted a foul on Greaves as he contested free-kick from the left. Anis Mehmeti brilliantly equalised and a terrific advertisement for Championship football ended with Bristol fans celebrating thanks to Knight, while those who had made the long journey from Hull could console themselves with the fact that their team had given everything. Bristol had the better of the opening exchanges, Knight forcing saves from Allsop with a shot and a header before Conway's opener. Sponsored Links Trending World Darts schedule: Rock and Aspinall feature in Saturday's action Transfer Centre LIVE! Osimhen signs new Napoli contract World Darts Championship LIVE! Clayton, Gurney and Beaton in action Papers: Man Utd turn attention to Sevilla striker En-Nesyri Arteta looks to end Anfield hoodoo | Klopp: Result won't gauge title race PL Predictions: Martinelli to star in statement Arsenal win AJ: There is no future if I don't beat Wallin! Carra: Liverpool haven't convinced me - but win over Arsenal would Van Barneveld rolls back the years as Van den Bergh loses Ally Pally epic Welch to become first woman to referee a Premier League match today Watch Latest News But Zak Vyner had already made a saving tackle on Connolly before the striker's fine solo equaliser, cutting in from the left to drill a sweet low drive beyond the reach of City goalkeeper Max O'Leary. The home side bitterly disputed the penalty decision that put them behind but Hull were worthy of their interval lead after finishing the first half strongly. O'Leary saved well from Tufan after one of several strong runs by Liam Delap, who caused problems down the right wing for Hull. Bristol began the second period well and Conway was just wide with a near-post volley from a Taylor Gardner-Hickman cross. Again Hull rallied and Lewie Coyle shot wide from distance after two corners in quick succession. Delap had a shot from a narrow angle saved by O'Leary and Connolly saw a fierce volley blocked as Liam Rosenior's men wrestled back the initiative. At the other end Greaves did well to get in the way of a close-range shot from Knight. Both teams looked to play out from the back and through midfield as an entertaining contest developed. On 77 minutes, Mehmeti matched Connolly's goal with a brilliant solo effort, racing in from the left and placing a perfect low shot beyond the diving Allsop. Hull had to substitute Allsop through injury on 82 minutes and two minutes later replacement Matt Ingram was beaten by Knight's fierce shot from just inside the box, which took a deflection. There were chances at both ends right into seven minutes of stoppage time, when Hull substitute Adama Traore volleyed narrowly wide at the near post. Neither side deserved to lose and rightly received a rousing ovation at the end of a brilliant game. The managers Bristol City's Liam Manning: "Up to our goal, we were excellent and caused them real problems. Then we got a bit emotional and they took advantage as a very good side who are well coached and on a good run of form. "The less said about Hull's penalty the better. There was so little contact on their player and I'm just glad the result wasn't influenced by a poor refereeing decision. "But we responded to the setback well, even in the final minutes of the first half, and the second-half performance was excellent. "We got on the front foot and showed some moments of real quality. We spoke at half-time and there was so much good in the first half that I didn't want to derail it. "The message to the players was that we faced a terrific challenge and could either step up and build on our good first-half play or let the penalty decision have an adverse effect." Hull's Liam Rosenior: "Watching from the stand was horrendous. I have learned my lesson and never want to let it happen again. "Credit to Bristol for playing well, but for us it was three points dropped. I sound like a broken record when I say that we didn't get the result we deserved. "Our level of performance was again good, but we have to manage games better because the end product is all-important. It's so frustrating because we should have more points on the board than we have. "The defeat was self-inflicted. There was so much good in the way we played. "Ryan Allsop hurt his back diving for their second goal and that is just bad luck. "I believe that if you perform consistently over the course of a season you will end up where you deserve to be. We were by far the better team, but key moments in the game have cost us." https://www.skysports.com/football/bristol-city-vs-hull-city/report/484967

Ferrari looks certain to return to the SUPER GT grid in 2024, with two teams believed to be planning to run the new 296 GT3 in the Japanese series. The Prancing Horse disappeared from the GT300 class entry list following the end of the collaboration between Pacific Racing and CarGuy Racing, which led to the former switching to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 this year. However, with the new ORECA-built Ferrari 296 GT3 having successfully debuted in various sportscar series across Europe and North America, the car is now set to be used in SUPER GT next season. The two teams believed to have plans to run the Ferrari are Team LeMans and Gainer. Team LeMans currently campaigns the Audi R8 LMS GT3, but has been known to be eyeing a change of model since last year, while the German manufacturer is also winding down its customer GT3 programme after this year. That makes the team, which has used Audi machinery since it joined the GT300 class in 2021, a logical candidate to run the new Ferrari. Likewise, Nissan customer outfit Gainer is thought to have become disillusioned by the GT-R NISMO GT3’s lack of performance this year and is thought to be planning to go into the 2024 campaign with two new cars. One of these is expected to be a Ferrari on Michelin tyres with backing from PONOS, which sponsored the #10 Gainer GT-R this season, while the other is rumoured to be an all-new Nissan Z built to GTA-GT300 (‘JAF’) rules. Fellow Nissan customer team Kondo Racing is expected to continue with the GT-R. As well as Ferrari, the Aston Martin brand is also set to be back on the SUPER GT grid in 2024 after a three-season absence. D’station Racing revealed plans to return to SUPER GT for the first time since 2020 in early October, but without giving any details regarding what type of car it will use. However, the team looks likely to use Aston Martin machinery and Dunlop tyres, while Fujii has been tipped to be joined in the cockpit by one of the British marque’s factory drivers. There were plans for Aston works driver Nicki Thiim to partner Fujii at D’station for the 2020 season, but these were scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The arrival of D’station would partly offset Dunlop's loss of one of the two Gainer entries and the Shade Racing Toyota GR86, which is set to run on Michelins next year. NISMO’s expected tie-up with Bridgestone in GT500 also looks like it will have ramifications for the GT300 class. Apr’s #31 Lexus LC500h has been tipped to switch tyre brands, potentially ending a partnership with Bridgestone dating back to 2015, although it remains unclear which brand it will use. https://www.motorsport.com/supergt/news/ferrari-return-2024-296-gt3/10544520/

Hundreds of Palestinians were forced to evacuate Bureij and Nuseirat on Friday amid rising attacks and a mounting death toll. By Maram Humaid Published On 23 Dec 2023 23 Dec 2023 Central Gaza Strip — Israel has ordered Palestinians to evacuate from parts of central Gaza, its latest such directive as it pushes more of the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million-strong po[CENSORED]tion into a smaller area while widening its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military on Friday ordered families to flee for their “safety” to shelters in southern Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, from Bureij and areas of Nuseirat in central Gaza. The announcement has incensed the region’s weary and exhausted residents, many of whom have already been internally displaced several times since October 7. Scenes of mass displacement once again filled Salah al-Din Street that is linked to the entrance of the Bureij refugee camp. Salah al-Din, a road stretching across the length of Gaza, has been dubbed the “death corridor” by many in the Strip. In previous evacuations, Palestinians fleeing parts of northern Gaza have been arrested, shot at and even killed – despite it being declared as a safe route by the Israeli army. On Friday, hundreds of people carrying what is left of their personal belongings poured onto the street on foot. Others loaded pick-up trucks and donkey carts with mattresses, blankets, plastic chairs and whatever else they could grab. Some could barely move after sustaining injuries from previous attacks, yet found themselves with no choice but to escape once again. This was the case for Walaa al-Nuzeini, who was fleeing Bureij in a wheelchair and for the third time since the beginning of the assault. Al-Nuzeini lived in the Shujayea neighbourhood of Gaza City when an Israeli air strike targeted her home on November 7. “I lost my daughter, she died in my arms,” al-Nuzeini told Al Jazeera. “We stayed under the rubble for three hours before they got us out,” she said, adding that the entire area is now “destroyed”. Al-Nuzeini was badly hurt. She suffers from wounds in her leg, and said the nerve is affected which has been causing her “extreme pain”. She was taken to al-Shifa Hospital for treatment, but three days later Israeli soldiers raided the facility, Gaza’s largest hospital that is now no longer operating. Walaa al-Nuzeini lost her daughter in an Israeli attack on their home in Gaza City’s Shujayea [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] “We left running out of fear and had to walk all the way to Nuseirat,” she recalled. At the time, Israeli soldiers ordered doctors, patients and displaced people at the hospital to evacuate the medical compound, forcing some to leave at gunpoint, according to testimonies by doctors and Palestinian officials. More than 7,000 people, including patients in a critical condition and newborn babies, were sheltering inside al-Shifa Hospital. Humanitarian circumstances have become “very difficult”, al-Nuzeini said. She is now heading to Khan Younis, where her other children have set up a tent. “This is not a life. We have no water, no food, no freedom of movement.” ‘We’re exhausted’ Two months ago, the Israeli military called on Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee to the south, but has continued to target and bomb civilians even there. Khan Younis is now a focus of Israeli attacks. “There is no place that’s safe,” Salem al-Sheikh told Al Jazeera. The elderly man said he was forcibly displaced from his home in Nassr neighbourhood in the west of Gaza City. “They [the Israeli army] told us to leave, so I fled to al-Shifa Hospital, where I stayed for a month and a half. I then left to Nuseirat,” al-Sheikh said. He was among the thousands who sought refuge in al-Shifa Hospital before it was attacked by Israeli forces. Salem al-Sheikh has been forcibly displaced three times since October 7 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] Now, for a third time, he is being displaced from Nuseirat. The latest call for evacuation comes as Israeli ground troops continue to battle Palestinian fighters in southern and central Gaza. In the last 48 hours alone, at least 390 people have been killed as the enclave plunged into digital darkness for the sixth time amid a communications blackout, Gaza’s health ministry said. The United Nations says nearly 1.9 million people have now been displaced – more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip’s pre-war po[CENSORED]tion. Many are crammed inside the Rafah governorate in southern Gaza, where al-Sheikh is heading. The health ministry has warned that disease there is flourishing amid a lack of supplies, medicine, clean water and much-needed fuel. Meanwhile, UN-run schools have largely become overcrowded shelters for thousands of displaced Palestinians. “It’s been extremely difficult,” al-Sheikh said. “We walked from al-Shifa on foot … we passed Israeli army tanks until we made it to a school,” he said, referring to the second time he was displaced. The schools, however, “are full,” he said. “There is no space.” The United Nations says nearly 1.9 million Palestinians have been internally displaced in Gaza [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] Many believe that the UN designation of these buildings will keep them safe from the constant Israeli bombardment. However, several of the schools have been targeted or sustained damage from Israeli air raids in their vicinities. According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), some 1.4 million Palestinians are trapped in overcrowded and unprotected shelters run by the body that are now uninhabitable. The poor conditions in the makeshift accommodations have already led to an outbreak of scabies and smallpox, among other infections. Al-Sheikh said he just wants to return home. “We’re exhausted, moving from one place to the next. They need to let us get back to our homes.” Some 60 percent of all residential units in the Strip have been damaged, or 254,000 homes. More than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the latest offensive, including at least 8,000 children. Rights groups have warned of the consequences of mass displacement, with organisations including Human Rights Watch labelling it a “war crime”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to “stop committing crimes and killing people’s children,” al-Sheikh said. “He needs to stop destroying homes on top of people’s heads.” https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/12/23/palestinians-in-central-gaza-flee-along-death-corridor-after-israel-order

People are increasingly looking beyond roasts and other traditional fare to diversify their festive dinners More than a third of people would rather not have a traditional roast on Christmas Day, according to a survey. Photograph: The Irish Image Collection/Getty Images/Design Pics RF Christmas ‘It’s time for a Christmas food rethink’: the Britons escaping the tyranny of turkey People are increasingly looking beyond roasts and other traditional fare to diversify their festive dinners Esther Addley Esther Addley Sat 23 Dec 2023 07.00 GMT This 25 December will be the first Martin Bellamy and his wife, Alison, have spent in their new home in Sherburn, North Yorkshire, and, with their children and grandchildren scattered across the UK, they are planning to spend this Christmas Day doing things their way. Above all, that means escaping what Bellamy calls “the tyranny of a roast dinner”. He says: “The plan is to take a flask of chestnut soup, some turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwiches, some Christmas cake (and cheese – this is Yorkshire after all) and head to the beach at Hunmanby Gap to blow away the cobwebs. “We’ll arrive home with a tired schnauzer and a sense of relaxed contentment, before an afternoon of seasonal trashy TV and an evening of grazing and mild inebriation. Bliss.” Every family who celebrate Christmas have their own traditions, he says, “but I can imagine that this year a lot of people are struggling to manage a full roast and all the trimmings. I think people have moved on from that, anyway. We’re a diverse nation, aren’t we? It’s a bit weird that we expect everybody to have a turkey.” For many people, of course, 25 December is an ordinary day like any other. But in the UK at least, for those who do celebrate Christmas, a traditional roast dinner has been a remarkably enduring family mainstay. There are signs, however, that those Britons who “do Christmas” increasingly want to do it differently. Though almost 90% of people in the UK say they celebrate the holiday, more than a third, according to one survey, don’t want a traditional Christmas dinner. Many of them told the survey they would be opting for a takeaway. Research cited by Asda found that more than two-thirds of Britons said it wasn’t important to eat turkey at Christmas – as a result, it has diversified its “ready to roast” range to include alternatives like monkfish wrapped in Parma ham. Waitrose says this will be its biggest ever year for plant-based food. The disruption wreaked by Covid allowed many families to rethink their festive traditions, and with finances particularly squeezed this year, many Guardian readers told us they too were planning to celebrate Christmas differently this year. Alison and Martin Bellamy. “For 50 years I’ve felt obliged to produce the typical Christmas roast with all the trimmings, but this year is going to be the start of a much easier spread going forward,” says Alice from Warminster in Wiltshire. For her three-generation gathering, that will mean “a big pot of homemade curry with all the sides, followed by an array of favourite desserts. We all love a mild creamy curry and my grandchildren prefer it to a traditional Christmas roast. Also, it’s a lot cheaper. “I can make it ahead of the day in my slow cooker and just reheat instead of spending hours on Christmas Day getting sweaty and stressed in the kitchen. Win, win, win, win.” As a family of dessert lovers, a big spread of tiramisu, trifle and sticky toffee pudding will become their once-a-year feast, she says. “It’s definitely time for a Christmas food rethink. We can all be together and feast just as well for a lot less money and a lot less hassle.” As her children grew older, Louisa in Warwickshire decided some years ago that she too was fed up roasting turkey, abandoning the tradition in favour of a different international menu each year. Previous Christmases have seen Chinese, Indian, Spanish, Polish and Lithuanian menus, and this year will be a multi-course tasting menu themed around herbs and spices. “Over those years we have been joined by girlfriends, boyfriends, long-term partners and now spouses. No one has ever complained or thought we were strange. In fact many people have said what a good idea it is, but that they wouldn’t do it because their family wouldn’t like it. To those people I always say, go ahead … I love it!” Pip Bradley, who owns a small business selling her own-recipe hot sauce and running independent markets in Birmingham, says the period before Christmas is far too frantic to bother with a roast when the bank holidays finally arrive. “Christmas Day is the day the work stops, but after being so busy cooking our sauces, the last thing we want to do is cook a big feast. “So we gather the best cheeses from our cheese-selling mates at markets, and these, along with the most amazing nibbles, breads and sweet treats, are our Christmas dinner. Our cheese board is epic! So it’s bad movies and lots of cheese and not moving from the sofa all day.” Even for those who keep things traditional, there’s no reason not to mix it up a little. Maureen Clyne grew up in Malaysia, where her family celebrated Christmas with dosa and chutneys and a spread of curries. Her marriage to “a very traditional English boy”, and two daughters who love a traditional roast, however, have meant years making a festive spread that she personally finds terribly bland. Her one rebellion has been “a big jar of sambal”, and a liberal application of the chilli paste across meat, potatoes and vegetables. This year, to her great delight, her sister is coming from Malaysia for Christmas, meaning that alongside the roast will be mutton and chicken curries, and the sambal will be shared. “When you’re not from this country and you’ve got family abroad, it’s something that connects me with the family that I’m missing.” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/dec/23/its-time-for-a-christmas-food-rethink-the-brits-escaping-the-tyranny-of-turkey

Fossilized bird tracks discovered in Australia show these ancient creatures lived in the southern polar regions on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Wonthaggi bird tracks discovered in Australia are the oldest ever discovered in the Southern Hemisphere. (Image credit: Martin et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0) Researchers have discovered the earliest bird footprints ever found in Australia, showing that these early birds once lived in southern polar regions on the supercontinent Gondwana. Palaeontologists unearthed the bird tracks in Wonthaggi Formation in Victoria, Australia, that date back to around 120 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous (145 million to 100.5 million years ago). Prior to these findings, there has been minimal evidence of Early Cretaceous birds in Australia — consisting of limited skeletal material, feathers and two tracks. At that time, what is now Australia was part of Gondwana and was further south, sitting near the South Pole. "These bird tracks are scientifically important for several reasons. For one, they’re the oldest in Australia, telling us that birds have been living in Australia for at least 120 million years. But they’re also the oldest bird tracks in the Southern Hemisphere, which covers a lot more of the Cretaceous world," study co-author author Anthony Martin, a paleontologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, told Live Science. "These tracks are from when this part of Australia was still connected to Antarctica and close to the South Pole then. So this makes them the oldest bird footprints from formerly polar environments." Related: Extinct 'Lord of The Rings' eagles had a 10-foot wingspan and probably could have carried a hobbit Researchers say the tracks give insight into how early birds dispersed across landmasses and biomes. Cretaceous bird fossils are extremely rare in southern regions — unlike in the northern continents, where a diverse range of early bird fossils have been found. The study, published Nov. 15 in the journal PLOS ONE, describes 27 bird footprints of varying sizes and shapes, which are evidence that several ancient bird species lived in the region, including some of the largest known birds from the Cretaceous. Wonthaggi Formation avian tracks with a diagram showing the digits. Scale = 5 cm in all parts. (Image credit: Martin et al., 2023, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0) The researchers identified the tracks as belonging to avian animals because they were tridactyl (meaning they had three digits on a foot), with thin digits and sharp claws. The bird tracks were discovered on marine outcrops that would once have been an ancient polar floodplain, suggesting that the area could have been part of a migratory route during polar summers, the researchers suggest in the study. The authors suggest the fossilized tracks are evidence of seasonal behaviors, as the birds would have walked across the surface of the beds after the weather thawed in the spring season. It also suggests that Early Cretaceous birds might have flown to what is now Australia from northern regions of Gondwana during Southern Hemisphere springs. "Because these bird tracks were made in polar environments at least 120 million years ago, and they were preserved on what were then river floodplains, we think this shows that birds were living in these places during the summers there, after spring thaws," Martin said. "That further implies that they probably aren't living there during cold, dark winters, so they may have migrated seasonally to and from other environments." The researchers hope the new finds will inspire others to look for more evidence of Cretaceous birds in the Southern Hemisphere. "We can then better understand where birds dispersed early in their evolutionary history, and about when they started changing the world," Martin said. https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/120-million-year-old-birds-tracks-near-south-pole-are-the-oldest-ever-discovered-in-the-southern-hemisphere