Christmas joy feels more elusive than ever. Look for quiet contemplation instead | Paul Daley
OpinionChristmas This article is more than 1 month oldChristmas joy feels more elusive than ever. Look for quiet contemplation insteadThis article is more than 1 month oldPaul DaleyIn troubled times like these it’s hard to know where to find beauty and meaning, let alone any joy
Christmas, most of us are brought up to believe, is all about joy.
Joy about being with loved ones. Joy about giving and gracefully receiving.
Did Brazils evangelical superstar have her husband killed? | Brazil
Flordelis dos Santos de Souza. Photograph: Andre Lucas/The GuardianFlordelis grew up in a Rio favela, but rose to fame after adopting more than 50 children, becoming a hugely successful gospel singer and winning a seat in congress. And now she is on trial for murder
by Tom PhillipsWhen Flordelis dos Santos de Souza boarded an air force jet from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília on the morning of 1 January 2019, she felt she was witnessing the beginning of a new dawn.
I'm obsessed with the number twelve | Health & wellbeing
ExperienceHealth & wellbeingI'm obsessed with the number twelveWhen I was a boy, my dad used to help me do my tables. For some reason, perhaps because it was the trickiest, he used to force me to repeat the 12 times table over and over again. I think it's what led to my obsession with the number 12, and the fact that I now count constantly in my head anything I see - eggs, potatoes, tins in the cupboard.
My wife has put on weight and I dont find her attractive any more
Sexual healingSexHow do I tell her how I feel without hurting her feelings?My wife and I were 26 when we met, and had an intense mutual sexual attraction. We have been together for six years and now she has stopped going to the gym and let herself go. (We both have pretty busy schedules with work.) I love her very much but I am not attracted to her the way I used to be.
The mood is heating up: Germany fears strikes will play into hands of far right | Germany
The ObserverGermany‘The mood is heating up’: Germany fears strikes will play into hands of far rightAngry protests by farmers, hauliers and railway workers risk being exploited by populists such as Alternative für Deutschland
The symbolism that German farmers chose to express their discontent with the government in the first days of the new year was as unambiguous as it was ominous: by the side of rural roads across the country, there were sightings of makeshift gallows dangling traffic-light signs, a reference to the colours of the three governing parties.
Ciss out for France after breaking leg in friendly | World Cup 2006
World Cup 2006Cissé out for France after breaking leg in friendlyDjibril Cissé's chances both of featuring in the World Cup finals and leaving Liverpool appeared to have been dashed last night when he was stretchered from the field with a suspected broken leg during France's final pre-tournament friendly against China in Saint-Etienne.
The 24-year-old striker was chasing the ball down the right flank only 10 minutes into the fixture when he was knocked off balance by a China defender and, as he fell, his right leg twisted under him and buckled above the ankle.
March Madness: 2015 men's NCAA bracket | NCAA tournament 2015
NCAA tournament 2015March Madness: 2015 men's NCAA bracketFollow along with us as the men’s teams face off for the 2015 March Madness tournament
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Radiation exposure: a quick guide to what each level means | World news
Radiation exposure levels compared. Click image for graphic As radiation exposure around the Fukushima nuclear power plant reach levels of 400mSv per hour (although they've since gone down), we thought it was time to put the figures into perspective.
Radiation is all around us, all the time. But what level does it have to get to before it becomes really dangerous?
The World Nuclear Association (which represents the 'global nuclear profession') does have a guide.
The Shaking Woman or a History of My Nerves by Siri Hustvedt
BooksReviewThis is a moving examination of what it means to be human, says Hilary MantelWhen Siri Hustvedt's father died, she wrote his eulogy and at his funeral delivered it "in a strong voice, without tears". Two and a half years later, back in her Minnesota home town, she stood up to talk about him again to a college audience, on the campus where for 40 years he had been a professor of Norwegian studies.
We didnt set out for it to be a treatise on masculinity: Liam Williams on Ladhood
TV comedyThe actor and writer mined his teenage years to write the hit comedy. As it returns for its final series, he and the cast discuss masculinity, boredom … and Noel Edmonds
When Liam Williams was encouraged to apply for Cambridge University, he thought nothing of it. The process barely punctured his daily routine. “I filled in my application watching Deal Or No Deal with a spliff,” he recalls. “We got stoned and watched it every afternoon – it was bliss.