1. POPE ATTACKS 'SUPERFICIAL GLITTER'
Attacking the commercialisation of Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI has urged people to "see through the superficial glitter of this season and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem". Speaking at the Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter's Basilica in Rome, he used a moving platform to travel up the aisle, due to his mobility issues.
2. PRINCE PHILIP IN HOSPITAL FOR XMAS
Prince Philip has spent a second night in hospital after undergoing a procedure on his heart. The 90-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, said to be in "high spirits" and keen to be discharged, is expected to spend Christmas Day in hospital. Palace officials will review his future workload in the light of his heart troubles.
3. CALLER DIALS 999 FOR LOO PAPER
Ambulance chiefs are condemning a man who rang 999 to say he had run out of toilet paper. Audio of the call has been released to remind the public that nuisance calls can stop people facing genuine emergencies from getting through. Emergency services expect to receive hundreds of prank calls over the festive period.
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4. ARCHBISHOP MOURNS 'BROKEN BONDS'
The Archbishop of Canterbury will focus on the financial crisis and the summer riots in his Christmas Day sermon. Dr Rowan Williams will lament the "broken bonds and abused trust" in Britain. "The most pressing question we now face... is who and where we are as a society," he will say. The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Vincent Nichols will speak about the plight of the Palestinians.
5. GORBACHEV TELLS PUTIN TO GO
Mikhail Gorbachev has called on Vladimir Putin to resign. "I would advise Vladimir Putin to leave now," he said on radio. "He has had three terms: two as president and one as prime minister. Three terms – that is enough." Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Russians protested in central Moscow yesterday, in another show of anger at alleged electoral fraud.
6. QUEEN'S SPEECH TO FOCUS ON FAMILY
Her Majesty The Queen will focus on family and community values in her Christmas speech. During 2011 her grandson Prince William got married and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, turned 90. She will also describe the Commonwealth as a "family of 53 nations", and speak of its "shared beliefs" and "mutual values".
7. SCORES DEAD IN NIGERIAN FIGHTING
Around 70 people have died in battles between Nigerian forces and a radical Muslim sect in the country's north-east. Churches have been bombed and many have fled their homes as fighting continued between the army and the Boko Haram sect. The government has ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew following days of violence.
8. ARMY HEAD VISITS AFGHAN TROOPS
The head of the British Army, General Sir Peter Wall has made a pre-Christmas visit to UK forces in Afghanistan. Paying tribute to the 9,500 British troops serving there, he expressed gratitude for their dedication. A member of the Royal Air Force, injured in an explosion in Afghanistan on Thursday, has died of his injuries.
9. DARFUR REBEL LEADER 'KILLED'
The leader of the most powerful rebel group in Darfur has been killed by the Sudanese army, say reports. The chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement, Khalil Ibrahim, is said to have been killed yesterday as anti-government forces advanced on the capital to try and topple the regime led by President Omar al-Bashir.
10. HENRY DECISION WITHIN A WEEK
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger will decide by the end of next week whether to sign record goalscorer Thierry Henry on a loan deal. The Gunners lose Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho next month to the Africa Cup of Nations, and Henry has been training with the club during the American league's summer break.
