A broadcast on Israel’s right-wing Channel 14 openly celebrated a severe winter storm that’s hitting Gaza, with participants expressing hope that flooding would ‘drown’ the territory and even voicing indifference to whether ‘any people’ survive.
Christmas shoppers seeking the ultimate gift for chocoholics should look no further than Marks and Spencer. The high street giant offers a letterbox hamper, brimming with luxury Belgian chocolate, making it the perfect festive treat.
The Belgian Chocolate Gift is priced at £35, but savvy shoppers who purchase through TopCashback can snag it for less than £20. It may seem intimidating, but it’s free, straightforward, and quick to do.
The money-saving site is offering new M&S customers and new members of its website a complimentary £15 sign-up bonus, as well as cashback that will be added to your account ready for withdrawal. This brings the cost of the Belgian Chocolate Gift down to £19.42 after all discounts have been applied.
Existing Marks and Spencer customers will receive a slightly lower rate of cashback, bringing the price down to £19.71 through the deal. To unlock these discounted prices, shoppers simply need to make their purchase through this unique link.
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The gift set also includes free nominated delivery, providing even better value for money, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The Belgian Chocolate Gift contains nearly a kilo of Belgian chocolate. Inside the letterbox hamper, you’ll discover milk, dark and white chocolate truffles, along with M&S’s sought-after Belgian Cocoa Dusted Chocolate Truffles.
Ideal for those who enjoy a cuppa, the set includes a Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Selection and Belgian Marquess Biscuits. To top it off, M&S has thrown in nearly 200g of its popular Belgian Chocolatier Classics.
In other deals, a large 600ml box of Lindt Lindor Truffles has been slashed by 33% on Amazon, now priced at £12.99 down from £19.50. Each box contains roughly 48 balls, each one a smooth chocolate filling encased in a chocolate shell, promising a moment of pure indulgence with every bite.
Alternatively, Cadbury Gifts is offering the Cadbury Giant Christmas Selection Box for £20. This extra-large selection box is packed with full-sized bars, including Dairy Milk, Crunchie, Wispa, Twirl, Flake, Double Decker, Dairy Milk Caramel, and much more.
Back at Marks and Spencer, The Belgian Chocolate Gift has an impressive overall star-rating of 4.7 out of five based on 970 reviews. One pleased customer said: “Good selection of chocolates and biscuits. My mother was thrilled with the presentation and choice of chocolates and biscuits.”
Another commented: “Bought as a birthday present for my elderly brother who is a chocoholic, and he was delighted with the numerous assortment of goodies. This is the second time I have purchased this item, highly recommended.”
A third wrote: “Lots of tasty chocolate treats at Christmas. Arrived on time, packed in a lovely bag tied with a ribbon, it’s perfect.”
Amongst the less favourable feedback, one buyer awarded The Belgian Chocolate Gift three stars due to ‘the bag was too big’. The review stated: “I was rather disappointed with this. Lots of chocolate rattling around in a large bag. Have dispensed with the bag and found something smaller. These would be better boxed.”
Another customer felt let down by the chocolate hamper and awarded it just two stars. They commented: “This gift set was lovely except the biscuits were broken, which isn’t really nice to hear when given as a present.”
However, another customer adored their recent Marks and Spencer buy, commenting: “I had some vouchers so I just got this for my son and I, so luxurious. Would make a really amazing gift. Good selection and the quality is brilliant.”
Yet another delighted shopper noted: “Bought for a Christmas present and it will be absolutely perfect for a chocolate lover.”
More than 400 civilians have been killed following the recent surge in fighting as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group continues its offensive in South Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to regional officials.
The M23 consolidated control over the strategic town of Uvira in South Kivu on Thursday, residents said.
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M23’s latest offensive, which has displaced some 200,000 civilians, comes despite a United States-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington, DC, which is now under severe threat of unravelling.
The accord did not include M23, which is negotiating separately with the DRC after agreeing earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating.
However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.
“More than 413 civilians [have been] killed by bullets, grenades, and bombs, including many women, children, and young people” in localities between Uvira and Bukavu, the regional capital, the South Kivu government spokesperson said in a statement late on Wednesday.
“According to the information gathered, the forces present in the city are composed of Rwandan special forces and some of their foreign mercenaries, operating in clear violation of the ceasefire as well as the Washington and Doha agreements, in total disregard of the commitments made,” the statement added.
M23 said it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month.
Sporadic gunfire echoed on Uvira’s outskirts on Thursday morning, according to the Reuters news agency. For months, the town had served as the base of the Kinshasa-appointed provincial government after rebels captured Bukavu in February.
Despite the tension, residents ventured out in search of food after spending the previous day taking cover at home or fleeing to the countryside to avoid hostilities.
“The government told us that Uvira would never fall and that the situation was under their control,” Godefroid Shengezi, a local teacher, told Reuters. “The reality today is quite the opposite.”
Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighbouring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.
Not only the DRC, but the US and United Nations experts also accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021.
Now, according to the UN, the group has about 6,500 fighters.
While Rwanda denies the allegation, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in the eastern DRC, allegedly to safeguard its security.
UN experts estimate up to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are present in the DRC.
Earlier in the week, the US Department of State said it was “deeply concerned by the ongoing violence” in the eastern DRC, with a spokesperson saying: “Rwanda, which continues to provide support to M23, must prevent further escalation.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan forces to withdraw.
On Wednesday morning, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X.
“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” it said.
More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich east near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23.
More than 110 Palestinian prisoners have died from torture and mistreatment since Itamar Ben-Gvir became Israel’s security minister. Now he wants the power to hang them.
An air attack by Myanmar’s military government has hit a hospital in Rakhine state, killing at least 30 people. Many of those killed were patients and care workers. Dozens more were injured in the attack.
Olivia Attwood has lifted the lid on a ‘horrible’ experience she suffered while being interviewed – after a BBC presenter made a cruel comment about her looks during the chat.
Love Island star turned TV presenter Olivia, 34, did not specifically name the presenter in question, but revealed details of the interview which appears to link to her chat with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour host Emma Barnett. Olivia revealed the interview took place on a show that was meant to be ‘uplifting’ for women and revealed she appeared on the show alongside Jodie Comer, who she said greeted her warmly while the host of the programme didn’t get up to say goodbye to Olivia.
In January 2024, Olivia appeared on Woman’s Hour hosted by Emma to discuss the launch of her new TV documentary series Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection. During the interview, Emma was heard telling Olivia: “I think you look a bit older than 31”. Almost two years on, Olivia has spoken out about the interview, which she has branded as a “psychological assault”.
In the latest episode of her podcast, Olivia’s House, she was quizzed about the ‘top three w**kers’ she had met in her industry. She sighed and said: “People always ask this question and I understand it because I’d wanna know as well. I’ve been pretty lucky I’d have to say I’ve met people I’ve been slightly disappointed by.”
Olivia, who also opened up about her ‘really bad’ patch with husband Bradley Dack earlier this year, continued by recalling one particular interview, being careful not to name the host in question. She: “I saw something on Instagram the other day and it gave me a little PTSD trip down memory lane about something – I don’t think I’ve ever spoken about it before because I think I’ve been pretty lucky and also I’m really thick skinned as you guys know so it takes quite a lot for me to be ruffled – I’ve done GMB, I’ve been on with Piers Morgan.
“I’ve been on with people who are tough and given me… and I like an interviewer who is tough with me. But I had an experience for – I think it was the first series of the Price of Perfection I was promoting and I had an experience with a female host and it was really one of the worst experiences that I have probably had in an interview because I felt like she didn’t want me there. The question of… I don’t mind being put on the spot. I was meant to be promoting the documentary and everything I’ve learnt about the industry and she very much wanted to make it about me and what I looked like. She said, in her second question, she said, ‘So you, what have you had done’ and I was a bit like ‘woah’ and I’m open to it but that’s kind of not where… I wanted to talk about the cosmetic industry as a whole.
“And she was like, ‘can I say something to you” – this is live on air – she goes, ‘I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve but you look a lot older because of what you’ve done to yourself’. That was her second question. It felt very tonaly wrong for a show that is meant to be about a safe space for women and uplifting women and it was just a really horrible experience and it stayed with me for a while because, like I say, I’ve been on the spot, I’ve had tough interviews but when I left that studio I was like… I remember for 20 minutes I just sat in silence and I was like, ‘What actually happened’. My worst nightmares is for someone to be on one of my shows and to feel that way.”
However, Olivia revealed she was cheered up following the “15 minute psychological assault” by meeting actress Jodie Comer, who had also appeared on the same episode as Liv. “That was a bit of sweetness,” she said. “And this host had not got up to say goodbye to me but she got up to greet Jodie but it was probably in her ear shot so I thought, ‘Ok, well if I’m good enough for Jodie Comer I’m happy’.”
In the January 2024 interview on Woman’s Hour, Emma open by saying: “Can I start by asking, because you fronted this series and it’s a multi-part series, what treatments and surgeries you’ve had?“ Olivia answers the question, revealing she’s had two boobs and ‘several tweakments’.
Emma is then heard saying: “I’m going to say this as politely as I can, but I’m now known for mincing my words; I can see that you’ve had work in your face. Isn’t the point not to be able to see it?“ Elsewhere, Emma also asks: “Again, I don’t mean this disrespectfully, but because we live in this crazy world where there’s a look of how you look if you’ve had treatments and know this as well, the trend as well is this whole, ‘Don’t look like you’re really wearing makeup, don’t look like you’ve had things done. But we all know – because we’ve got a visual language between us when a face doesn’t look quite how it might have looked. You know, why don’t you stop?“ Olivia replied and insisted it “makes her feel good“ and she goes down the “correct paths“ when she has treatments.
Emma then says in the interview: “I think you look a bit older than 31,“ to which an astonished Olivia then says: “Thank you“ with an awkward laugh. Emma then says: “That’s going to sound… you know, you come across really mature. You don’t look old – in inverted commas, whatever that means – but you actually look… erm… because there’s now something associated with how people look, you definitely don’t look younger than 31 that’s what I’m saying, so what is that?“
Olivia responded: “I don’t think I’m trying to look younger than 31, I mean, I’m just…“ Emma interjected with: “Well you’re an incredibly beautiful woman…“ Olivia continued: “I’m just looking as a version of myself.“