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With her rosebud lips and raven-black hair contrasting with the snow-white of her complexion, the young woman in the photograph epitomised the legendary beauty of Japanese geisha. And this particular image of her in an alluring silk kimono had been specially chosen for the delicate task in hand. Brandished by a group of soldiers as they approached a bamboo hut deep in the jungle on the Indonesian island of Morotai, it was the bait they hoped would coax out its occupant - a man who'd had barely any contact with other humans for decades and was likely to be armed and dangerous. His name was Teruo Nakamura and he had been a private in the Imperial Japanese Army. Now it was December 1974, almost 30 years since the Second World War had ended. But Nakamura was convinced that it was still raging - and there was every danger he would come out fighting.

Liam Payne's ex Sophia Smith has announced her engagement to her boyfriend James Bridgwood.  The One Direction star and the influencer, 30, dated from 2013 after having been friends since their schooldays in Wolverhampton until October 2015.  Sharing an update to Instagram on Friday, Sophia shared the happy news with a sweet black and white clip of the proposal.

Robert Brooks, 43, was pronounced dead on December 10, the morning after the savage assault at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County.

She has become well known for her glamorous designer outfits. And Georgina Rodriguez made sure all eyes were on her as she wowed in a black mini dress for the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Friday. The 30-year-old accompanied her long-time partner Cristiano Ronaldo to the event as the pair beamed at each other as they took their seats.

Emily Blackwell has revealed she and fiancé Jordan Oldershaw welcomed their first child, a baby daughter prematurely, almost two months ago.  The Made In Chelsea star, 28, took to her Instagram with a heartfelt post as she detailed the newborn's gruelling 53 days in Intensive Care. Eva June Oldershaw was born 10 weeks early on November 3rd and was forced to spend weeks in an incubator, which Emily described as the 'hardest time' of her and Jordan's lives.

Viewers of The 1% Club were left baffled during this year's Christmas special as a festive-themed question saw more than quarter of contestants wiped out. The ITV game show features a studio audience who all face 'logic and common sense'-style questions in a bid to win up to £100,000. All questions have been put to members of the public beforehand, and the percentage of those who answered correctly goes down at each stage.

The Prince of Wales, 42, officially stepped into father mode as he greeted friendly well wishers following Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Norfolk estate. He attended the special annual mass at Sandringham with his wife, the Princess of Wales, 42, and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte , nine and Prince Louis, six. The doting father had his work cut out for him as he fended off endless gifts such as Cadbury chocolates, stuffed animals and flower bouquets, having collected as many as the family could humanly carry. (Pictured left: Prince William fends off chocolate gifts for his sons from well wishers; right: Prince Louis clutches his chocolate haul).

This is the hilarious moment a dog stole Christmas - by running off with the turkey. The footage was filmed on Christman Eve in Armagh, Northern Ireland , when the woman in the video was dropping off presents at her friend's house. When she got back into her car, she could hear her daughter saying 'no Chuck, no' and when she looked around the Golden Retreiver had ran off with the turkey. She chased the dog into the field to get it back but had to leave empty-handed as the dog wouldn't let go.

The Duchess of Sussex was missing from Sandringham, but there was one member of the Royal Family who benefited from a tradition that was broken for the American former actress. Princess Margaret's grandson Samuel Chatto was allowed to invite his girlfriend, Eleanor Ekserdjian, to stay at the Norfolk retreat. She was able to do so after King Charles followed the example of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, who permitted Meghan Markle to join the festive gathering in 2017, five months before she exchanged vows with Prince Harry at St George's Chapel, Windsor. Meghan was the first person to be allowed to spend Christmas at Sandringham before marrying into the Royal Family.

The Gavin and Stacey finale went down a storm with fans when it hit screens on Christmas Day, bringing an end to a story that was 17 years in the making. However, viewers have been quick to spot a hilarious continuity gaffe, during Mick Shipman's touching speech to Smithy at his stag night. The moving scene showed an emotional Mick describing Smithy as a second son to himself and wife Pam, after they struggled to conceive another child.

This is the shocking moment a shoplifter casually stuffs his bag with items before pushing his way past staff in a bid to flee.  The relaxed thief was filmed brazenly pulling items from the shelf into his duffel bag whilst making eye contact with the camera at a Marks & Spencer's on Chancery Lane.  Unfazed, the thief keeps tucking away items even as a staff member confronts him and asks that he place the items in his basket on December 23.

The eye-watering prices at some of the nation's most popular winter events have reportedly left some people shelling out almost £800 on food, tickets and activities. At Nottingham 's festive market, one family was left blown away after being charged a staggering £618 for just two hotdogs . Laura Brumpton, 34, and her husband Alan, 37, were left with the eye-watering sum following an error by a stallholder when they bought two treats for their children. Ms Brumpton - who claims she is still waiting for a refund on the hotdogs, which were meant to cost £18 - said: 'It was just a very expensive family day out.' In London , comedian Daniel O'Reilly, 39, was horrified by the cost of the capital's famed Winter Wonderland event after reportedly spending £775 on day out. In Scotland, families have shelled out £50 for a 150-second 'interactive' train ride, while visitors to Winchester's winter wonderland could splash out £2,750 on a lavish wood carving of a stag.

James Corden shared a slew of behind the scenes snaps from Gavin & Stacey's final episode to Instagram on Boxing Day. The actor, 46, who stars as Smithy and co-created the series with Ruth Jones, also thanked the whopping 12.5M fans who tuned in for the send off in an emotional post.

They have been dubbed as one of Hollywood's hottest power couples. And now Dua Lipa and Callum Turner took their relationship to the next level and reportedly got engaged after he 'got down on one knee for a romantic proposal' over Christmas. But who is Dua's loved-up boyfriend and reportedly now fiancé? Here is everything you need to know about the pop star's whirlwhind romance with the Fantastic Beasts actor.

Gavin And Stacey star Laura Aikman (inset, on the show) has shared the adorable moment her parents discovered she was returning to the sitcom while watching the highly-anticipated finale on Christmas Day. During the episode, fans were on the edge of their seats when Smithy's (James Corden ) fiancée was revealed as Laura's character Sonia, rather than Ruth Jones' Nessa. Her appearance came as a shock to the nation, as Laura had been 'hidden away' in a separate hotel during filming, and she had signed an NDA preventing her from revealing she was returning. As 12.5 million viewers gasped in shock at the big reveal, no one was more dumbfounded than her beloved parents - who had no clue she was making her big comeback.

Frenzied scenes erupted across Bicester Village, in Oxfordshire, as hordes of shoppers joined huge queues to snap up some of the site's biggest discounts ever. Up to 70 per cent off is being offered by leading designer brands like Armani, Balenciaga , Tommy Hilfiger and watch company TAG Heuer - with more than 100 top offers available. Bicester appeared to buck the national trend of people staying at home to shop online, with thousands of customers braving the chill to get the best bargains. Scores of early risers caused chaos on the railways as they packed onto trains to flock to Bicester - with operators putting on extra services to accommodate them. And at the shopping mall itself, miserable-looking bargain hunters were left waiting as winding queues spilled out into the car park, which was already full by 9am.

King Charles has 'clearly made up his mind' about Prince Harry and Prince Andrew after not mentioning either of them in his Christmas Day speech, a royal expert has claimed. Addressing the nation in a pre-recorded message from the Fitzrovia Chapel in London, the King paid tribute to the medical staff who supported him and the Princess of Wales during their cancer treatment. He also spoke of his pride at how communities across the UK responded to the riots in the summer and included snippets of Prince William and the wider Royal Family. But his message did not mention Harry, Meghan or his disgraced brother Andrew. Royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop said the speech showed that Charles, 76, was 'choosing to focus on family strengths, not weaknesses, to shore up the nation'.

A photograph allegedly shows the first fighter sent by Kim Jong Un to bolster Putin's war effort who is believed to have been held in Russia's Kursk region by Ukrainian forces. The image is yet to be verified, but South Korea's National Intelligence Service confirmed a POW had been taken by Ukraine soon after the picture emerged. In a brief statement, they said: 'Through real-time information sharing with a friendly nation's [Ukraine's] intelligence organisation, [we] confirmed the capture of a wounded North Korean soldier and plans to thoroughly examine the subsequent development.' The South Korean spy agency issued a second statement early this morning reporting that the POW later died from his wounds.