WORLD NEWS
Moment jealous ex tells friend to kick down door of family home before he murdered his former partner’s sister and three children in arson attack – as video shows arrest of accomplice
This is the chilling moment a jealous ex-boyfriend told his accomplice to kick down the door of a family home moments before he started a catastrophic blaze that killed his former partner’s sister and her three children.
Sharaz Ali, 40, was today found guilty of murdering Bryonie Gawith, 29, and Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle – by setting fire to their house in Braford.
Doncaster Crown Court heard the blaze was a botched revenge attack on Bryonie’s sister Antonia Gawith, who was staying there after ending her seven-year relationship with Ali.
Newly released doorbell footage shows Ali and convicted arsonist Calum Sunderland, 26, approaching the door of the house in the early hours of August 21 last year.
Ali can be seen holding a bottle of vodka while Sunderland is holding a seven-litre canister of petrol.
The footage shows Ali saying: ‘Kick the door in Calum,’ before telling him to ‘kick it in’ four times.
Sunderland, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of Bryonie and the three children but cleared of murder, broke the door down before fleeing.
Other CCTV clips released by police show Sunderland at a Shell garage filling the canister with the petrol that Ali would later use to douse Bryonie’s home.
Another clip shows Ali buying vodka from the same garage.
CCTV also shows Ali and Sunderland being driven by Mohammed Shabir – who had been due to go on trial with them but died of a heart attack while on remand – to the house, before Ali and Sunderland get out of the car.
Doorbell footage captured Sharaz Ali telling Calum Sunderland, who was carrying the petrol and a lighter, to ‘kick the door in’, which he did before running back to the car
Bryonie Gawith, 29, and her children Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle all died in the blaze
Ali, 40, (pictured) forced his way into Bryonie Gawith’s home and poured petrol around inside before starting the catastrophic blaze in the early hours of August 21 last year
Ali attended today’s hearing via a video link from prison, and appeared to wipe away tears before the jury came in.
Doncaster Crown Court heard that Ali wanted to ‘inflict maximum pain’ with the fire and ‘did not care who was there’, although prosecutors said he must have known the children were at home.
Antonia told police that Bryonie had given her the ‘confidence and support’ to leave her violent and controlling relationship with Ali weeks before the fire, and that Ali had blamed her sister for the break-up.
On the night of the fatal blaze, Ali and convicted arsonist Sunderland, who sometimes sold drugs for Ali, were driven to the house on Westbury Road, Bradford, by Mohammed Shabir, who was due to go on trial with them but died of a heart attack while on remand.
Jurors heard they stopped on the way to fill a seven-litre canister with petrol, and Ali sent Antonia a series of aggressive messages accusing her of being with someone else.
When the men arrived, Antonia, who had finished her shift at Tesco at 12.30am, was with Bryonie in the main bedroom upstairs.
Antonia said she went downstairs after hearing a noise and saw an ‘angry’ Ali run into the house and begin pouring petrol on her while shouting.
She described trying to wrestle the canister and lighter from him, before running outside in an attempt to lure him out of the house.
As she realised he had not followed her, Antonia went back towards the house and saw Bryonie, who had woken up, kick Ali down the stairs.
Antonia Gawith, sister of Bryonie Gawith and who survived the fire, speaking to the media outside Doncaster Crown Court today
Footage released by West Yorkshire Police shows the arrest of Calum Sunderland
Sunderland was found guilty of manslaughter but was cleared of murder
Antonia said Ali then hit the lighter, igniting the petrol and setting himself and the house on fire.
In a video interview played to jurors, Antonia sobbed as she told police how she ‘couldn’t save’ her sister, nieces and nephew.
She described trying frantically to get in through the back door, which was jammed shut, while screaming for help.
Antonia said Bryonie, who had rung 999 while coming down the stairs, threw her phone out of the window.
She told officers she picked it up and started ‘shouting down the phone telling them to send everybody – the police, ambulance, fire brigade’.
‘I was just screaming, trying to get back in the house and I couldn’t get in. I couldn’t save them,’ she said tearfully.
The court heard the first police officers on the scene managed to break the door down and pull Ali from the blaze, but when firefighters arrived it was too late to save Bryonie, who was found on the floor next to her bed, and the three children, who were all found in their beds.
Footage played during the trial was edited to mute screaming, which may have been from one of the children.
Prosecutor David Brooke KC said one of them may have been woken up by the noise and ‘frightened by the sound of the explosion’.
Pictured: Bryonie, 29, and her children, Denisty Birtle, nine, Oscar Birtle, five, and 22-month-old Aubree Birtle
The house on Westbury Road, Bradford, where the mother and her children were killed
The court heard Ali refused treatment from paramedics at the scene and was put into an induced coma for months before his recovery began.
Jurors were told that after the incident two fingers on each of his hands had been amputated, that he still uses oxygen and still has difficulty speaking.
He told the trial he wanted to kill himself in front of Antonia, and only intended to set himself alight.
Sunderland said Ali had recruited him to torch a car, and that he did not know there was anyone in the house.
In a statement issued after Bryonie’s death, her family said the loss of ‘our B’ and the children, referred to as ‘Chuch, Oggy and Strawberry’, had brought ‘unimaginable sadness and grief’.
The tribute read: ‘Our B was the life and soul of the party, music was a big part of her life, she loved music, singing and dancing, she would always be singing and dancing with Chuch (Denisty), Oggy (Oscar) and Strawberry (Aubree).
‘B was always a really happy, joyful, bubbly beautiful woman, who cared for everyone and was loved by everyone, her kids were everything to her, her whole life.
‘Oggy had the cheekiest smile, he was cheeky but he was a shy boy, Strawbs was shy and bashful with big blue eyes and blonde hair and Chuch was a beautiful, confident, outgoing and creative young girl.’
After they returned their verdicts, Mr Justice Hilliard thanked jurors and said the case had been ‘distressing beyond measure – three children and their mother murdered’.
He said: ‘I don’t think anyone who heard Antonia’s desperate cries for help will ever forget them.’
He added: ‘These are truly dreadful crimes.’
But, he said, there was also the ‘extraordinary bravery’ shown by people who tried to save the children trapped in the house, including their mother Antonia.
He praised Pc Miles Milner, who pulled Ali out of the fire, along with a colleague.
The judge asked: ‘Did you ever hear a braver thing?’
Mr Justice Hilliard said jurors were excused jury service in the future.
NewsFeed
Violent protests have erupted in Bangladesh, after the killing of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Protesters burnt down buildings and vandalised offices, including the HQ of the largest daily newspaper. Hadi was standing as a candidate in elections scheduled for early next year.
Published On 19 Dec 2025
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Tabby Wilson,Sydney
‘An absolute superhero’: father describes how Jess saved his daughter
When bullets began flying at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, strangers Wayne and Jessica found themselves in the same nightmare scenario. They couldn’t find their three-year-olds.
In the chaos, separately, they desperately scanned the green. People who’d gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah screamed and ducked. Others ran. Some didn’t make it far.
The 10-odd minutes that followed were the longest of their lives.
Wayne’s body was acting as a human shield for his eldest daughter, but his mind was elsewhere: with his missing daughter Gigi.
“We had to wait all that time for the gunshots to stop. It felt like eternity,” he tells the BBC.
Unbeknown to him, Jessica’s gaze had caught on a little girl in a rainbow skirt, confused, scared and alone – calling out for her mummy and daddy.
In that moment, the pregnant mother couldn’t protect her own child, so she’d protect this one, she decided. She smothered Gigi’s body with her own, and uttered “I’ve got you”, over and over again. They could feel the moment a woman about a metre away was shot and killed.
By the time the air finally fell silent, Wayne had become all but convinced Gigi was dead.
“I was looking amongst the blood and the bodies,” he says, growing emotional.
“What I saw – no human should ever see that.”
Eventually, he caught a glimpse of a familiar colourful skirt and found his daughter, stained in red – but okay, still shrouded under Jessica. Her son too would soon be found, unharmed.
“She said she’s just a mother and she acted with mother instincts,” Wayne says.
“[But] she’s a superhero. We’ll be indebted to her for the rest of our lives.”
It is one of the incredible accounts of selflessness and courage that have emerged from one of Australia’s darkest days.
Declared a terror attack by police, it is the deadliest in Australian history. Dozens were injured and 15 people – including a 10-year-old girl – were killed by the two gunmen, who police say were inspired by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
Watch: Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed gifted A$2.5m (£1.24m) in his hospital bed
More people undoubtedly would have been harmed if it weren’t for Ahmed al Ahmed.
A Syrian-Australian shop owner, he’d been having coffee nearby when the shooting began. His father told BBC Arabic Ahmed “saw the victims, the blood, women and children lying on the street, and then acted”.
Footage of the moment he sprung out from behind a car and wrestled a gun off one of the attackers immediately went viral. He was shot multiple times, and may lose his arm.
Another man, Reuven Morrison, was also seen on the video hurling objects at the same attacker in the moments after Ahmed disarmed him.
Sheina Gutnik easily recognised her dad in the footage.
“He is not one to lie down. He is one to run towards danger,” Ms Gutnick told BBC partner CBS News.
He had jumped up the second the shooting started, she said, and was throwing bricks at one of the gunmen before he was fatally shot.
“He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved most.”
The first two victims of the assault, Boris and Sofia Gurman, were also captured on dashcam footage grappling with one of the men for his weapon. When they succeeded, he got another gun from the car he’d just climbed out of and killed them.
Bondi beach attack: Dashcam video shows couple tackle attacker
“Even in the final moments of their lives, they showed the depth of who they were by facing those moments with courage, selflessness and love,” read a message from their proud son Alex, which was read out at the couple’s funeral on Friday.
“In doing so, they reminded us that they were not only devoted parents, but, in every sense of the word, heroes.”
The list goes on.
Chaya, only 14 years old, was shot in the leg while shielding two young children from gunfire.
Jack Hibbert – a beat cop just four months into the job – was hit in both the head and the shoulder but continued to help festival attendees until he physically couldn’t, his family said. The 22-year-old will survive, but with life-changing injuries.
Lifeguard Jackson Doolan was photographed sprinting over from a neighbouring beach during the attack, armed with critical medical supplies. He didn’t even pause to put on shoes.
Alexandra Ching/Instagram
Jackson Doolan heard gunshots and took off running towards them
Others at Bondi rushed from the beach into the fire, their red-and-yellow lifesaving boards working overtime as stretchers. One lifeguard even dived back into the surf to save swimmers who’d been sent into a panic by the shooting.
Student Levi Xu, 31, told the BBC he felt he could not shout for help, as he didn’t want to draw attention to himself or risk any potential saviours being targeted.
But lifeguard Rory Davey saw him and his friend struggling, and dragged them back to shore.
“We stood up and wanted to thank him, but he had already gone back into the sea to rescue other people,” says Mr Xu.
Thousands of Australians flocked to donate blood, dwarfing the previous record.
Authorities say many off-duty first responders travelled to Bondi on Sunday – from as far as two hours away – simply because they knew there was a need. Likewise, healthcare workers rushed to hospitals when they heard of the attack, shift or no shift, confronting unspeakable trauma to save lives.
“[They were] just coming into the station and saying ‘I’m ready to go’. Coming to the scene and saying ‘I’m ready… put me in’,” New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park told the BBC.
“Normally on a Sunday night, there is staff available to run one operating theatre [at St Vincent’s Hospital]. There were eight operating at once,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
State premier Chris Minns, too, has been quick to praise the heroics of ordinary, everyday Australians.
“This is a terrible, wanton act of destructive violence. But there are still amazing people that we have in Australia, and they showed their true colours last night,” he said, the day after the attack.
Wayne says he shudders to think what would have happened without people like Jessica and Ahmed.
When he speaks to the BBC, he’s just attended a funeral for the gunmen’s youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda.
“I was sitting at this funeral and I was just thinking, tears pouring out of my eyes… I could have been in the front… It could have been my little girl.”
“There could have been so much more devastation without the bravery of [these] people… someone who could run just comes in. Someone who could worry about their own child looks after another child.
“That’s what the world needs more of.”
Additional reporting by Fan Wang.
Police officers — one toting a submachine gun — and security guards are grouped around the entrances to Magdeburg’s Christmas market. Occasionally, people are stopped and questioned. Large red and green concrete blocks, sand sacks and steel security barriers line the access points to the market, situated in the square by the city hall.
On December 20, 2024, six people were killed here — five women and a 9-year-old boy — and more than 300 were injured, some severely, when a man drove a vehicle into the crowds. His precise motives remain unclear.
Stallholder Mirko Stage was standing just 20 meters (65 feet) away from the area where most victims were killed in Magdeburg on December 20, 2024.
Just around the corner from his sugared-almonds and waffle stand, there are memorial stones set into the pavement, adorned with candles and flowers.
Stage had his stall near the site of the attack, but is happy he decided to come back Image: Julie Gregson/DW
Stage, who lives in Magdeburg, said he had had some qualms ahead of the November 20 opening. “All of us went into this Christmas market with a funny feeling because we weren’t sure how it would be to suddenly reopen here after the events of last year,” said Stage.
He said his experiences had been unexpectedly positive, with stallholders and visitors beginning to open up and process their grief. “First of all, you are shocked and depressed,” he said, “and, at some point, you start talking to one another about what happened.”
Stage said visitors had approached him to share their experiences. “People who say: “I was standing there as a first-aider and was standing there and there that evening.” Those very people are returning here because the Old Market Square is the city’s living room. We don’t want to let this be taken away from us by some kind of crazy perpetrator,” said Stage.
Karim Champi, an Italian stallholder with Tunisian roots, saw the attacker’s car drive right past his olive-wood handicrafts stall.
His stall now stands in a different location. “This year, there aren’t as many tourists. People are frightened,” he said, tearing up.
Karim Champi, an Italian stallholder with Tunisian roots, saw the attacker’s car drive right past his olive-wood handicrafts stallImage: Julie Gregson/DW
Christmas cheer and tragedy side-by-side
The market has been given a redesign. The optical changes — along with the security measures — are intended to calm people’s anxieties.
Not everyone is convinced by the changes. “It’s like Fort Knox,” said one Christmas market visitor. “It’s madness all this barricading.” The 54-year-old lives almost 60 kilometers from Magdeburg, but he came here with his wife “out of principle and protest.”
“If we don’t come, he has won,” he added in reference to the attacker, sipping a mulled wine.
As dusk settles and the lights go on, more people begin to arrive at the market. The hum of voices, Christmas music, and fairground rides becomes louder. Couples, families and friends of all ages stroll across the square or gather.
Fact check: How fake news target Europe’s Christmas markets
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Mixed opinions about market reopening
Magdeburg’s Christmas market has about 140 stands this year. Traditional wooden Christmas decorations from the Ore Mountains and illuminated stars are on offer. But lots of food, too — from German Bratwurst and Christmas biscuits to burgers, Belgian waffles and, this year, falafels.
Market managing director Paul-Gerhard Stieger said not everyone had agreed with the decision to hold the event again this year.
“Some of those affected by the attack, of course, say: ‘How can you do this here?’ and there are some city residents of that opinion, too,” Stieger said. “But there are also people directly affected who have approached us and said they think it is important that the Christmas market takes place here.”
The number of visitors is down this year. Turnout, says Stieger, is nonetheless better than expected. He conceded that holding the event was a tricky balancing act. “Of course, a Christmas market is a commercial event, but it’s also the stallholders’ livelihood. It’s their peak season.”
Vendor Fares Saleh Aga came from Syria to Magdeburg eight years ago and has set up shop at the Christmas market this year to send a signalImage: Julie Gregson/DW
The market organizer said only two stallholders had pulled out — one in connection with the tragic events. And there were even 10 newcomers this year, Stieger said.
Among them is Fares Saleh Aga, who came from Syria to the city eight years ago and now runs a falafel store in the city. He said he had decided to come here to send a signal.
“People walk past me and see a friendly face. The meaning of Christmas is peace. I am very happy. The people are nice,” said Aga, who was giving people heart-shaped chickpea balls to taste.
One visitor there with her husband and son said she welcomed the inclusion of food from other cultures. The 49-year-old conceded feeling a little uneasy, but added, “Christmas markets are definitely part of Christmas for us. It is our tradition and we love Christmas.” She said she also wanted to support the traders.
German far-right AfD rallies after Christmas market attack
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Fake news about canceled Christmas markets
Frank Hakelberg, CEO of the Deutscher Schaustellerbund, a national organization representing event stallholders and fairground operators, confirmed that this year’s visitor figures were lower across Germany, but said they seemed to be picking up in the run-up to the holidays. He blamed a social media campaign, in part, for the slow start to the season.
Hakelberg said his organization had fielded media inquiries from all over the world after rumors went viral that Christmas markets were being canceled in Germany. In fact, he stressed that only a handful or so of the 3,200 major markets in the country had been called off.
He said there was no such thing as 100% security — no matter how tight the measures are.
Germany’s Christmas markets open amid security concerns
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On December 12, a man was detained in Magdeburg in connection with suspected plans to attack the Christmas market.
The trial of last year’s perpetrator has been underway in the city since October. He is charged with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder. The now 51-year-old was detained minutes after the attack and has admitted to driving the hire car involved. He does not appear to have had Islamist motives.
The market is closed on Saturday. Instead, memorial services will be held to commemorate the one-year anniversary. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Saxony-Anhalt State Premier Reiner Haseloff will be present. A cross-faith initiative is calling for people to form a chain of light around the Christmas market.
Edited by: Rina Goldenberg
While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
WORLD NEWS
Ukraine-Russia war latest: EU agrees to loan Kyiv €90bn and reserves right to use frozen Russian assets
Kremlin welcomes EU summit decision not to use Russia’s frozen assets
Kirill Dmitriev, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said today that “law and sanity” won, after European Union leaders decided to borrow cash to fund Ukraine rather than use Russia’s frozen assets.
“Fatal blow to Ursula, Merz, Starmer & the warmongers: they burned political capital pushing illegal moves against Russia’s reserves—and FAILED. ‘There’s no alternative,’ they said. Apparently there is. The whole world just watched you fail to bully others into breaking the law,” he said on X in a post this morning.
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 06:15
Zelensky thanks EU leaders for loan: ‘Strengthens our resilience’
Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked EU leaders for the loan to Ukraine that was agreed last night in Brussels.
“I am grateful to all leaders of the European Union for the European Council’s decision on €90 billion in financial support for Ukraine in 2026–2027. This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience,” he said on X.
The Ukrainian president said the deal ensured financial security for his country and said Russia’s assets in a Belgian clearing house must be kept frozen.
“It is important that Russian assets remain immobilized and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years. Thank you for the result and for unity. Together, we are defending the future of our continent,” he said.
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 05:49
Will need to speak to Putin, says Macron
French president Emmanuel Macron said it “will become useful” to speak to the Russian leader Vladimir Putin after the EU agreed on a loan to finance Ukraine.
“I think that we Europeans and Ukrainians need to find a framework to engage a discussion in due form,” he said.
The French president added that Europeans should not let the conversation be led solely “by intermediaries” as peace talks continue between Moscow and Washington.
Emmanuel Macron arrives to a press conference after the European Council meeting in Brussels (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 05:37
Belgium says Ukraine and Europe are both winners after loan deal agreed by EU
Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever welcomed the loan for Ukraine as a win for Europe, having led the objections to using frozen Russian assets to fund it.
“I think Ukraine has won… Europe has won, and financial stability has certainly won,” he said, answering a question on whether he saw the result of the talks as a win.
“I contributed to finding a solution for Ukraine, which was of the essence,” he said.
De Wever said that he was in theory “willing to discuss” the frozen assets plan again in future, but said fresh discussions in January were “not realistic”.
Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever talks to the press after pictured during a summit of Heads of State and Government of the European Union in Brussels (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 05:25
How Europe will fund Ukraine loan of €90bn from joint borrowing
European leaders have agreed to meet Ukraine’s immediate financial needs for the next two years via a joint borrowing mechanism, avoiding the controversy of funding a loan through frozen Russian assets.
A 15-hour high-stakes summit in Brussels concluded with EU leaders announcing they will borrow cash to fund Ukraine’s defence against Russia until the end of 2027.
In doing so, the bloc has to set aside its plan to make Russia indirectly finance Ukraine with Russian sovereign cash held in Brussels, following objections primarily from Belgium and Hungary.
The cash for the loan will be raised through joint borrowing by 24 of the EU’s 27 countries, excluding Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia. All members were required to agree to the plan because it’s guaranteed by the central EU long-term budget.
European leaders said the plan will only require Ukraine to pay back the loan if Russia provides reparations at the end of the war. If Moscow declines to do so, the EU says it still reserves the right to take the €90bn back out of the €210bn worth of Russian assets that are frozen in Europe, mostly at Belgian financial clearing house Euroclear.
Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen, European Council president Antonio Costa, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen attend a press conference after the European Council meeting in Brussels (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 05:06
Watch: Putin calls European leaders ‘little pigs’ ahead of crucial summit in Brussels
Putin calls European leaders ‘little pigs’ ahead of crucial summit in Brussels
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 04:42
Zelensky says he understands Belgium’s concerns about using Russian assets
Volodymyr Zelensky said he understand Belgium’s concerns on using frozen Russian assets after a conversation with the country’s prime minister Bart De Wever.
“Together with Prime Minister of Belgium @Bart_DeWever, we discussed mechanisms for using frozen Russian assets. I understand all of Belgium’s concerns; however, a decision on the reparations loan must be made. It is fair and will ensure long-term predictability for Ukraine,” he said on X.
“We also discussed coordination in diplomacy between Europe and the United States for the sake of peace, Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union, support for Ukraine’s energy system, and reconstruction,” Zelensky said.
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 04:23
EU has avoided chaos and division with agreement on Ukraine funding, Belgium says
EU leaders have avoided “chaos and division” with their decision to provide Ukraine with a loan through borrowing cash rather than use frozen Russian assets, Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever said in the early hours today.
“We remained united,” De Wever said after EU leaders had discussed for hours how to provide Ukraine with the money it needs to sustain its fight against Russia’s invasion.
Some €210bn (£183bn) worth of Russian assets are frozen in Europe, most of them in the Belgian financial clearing house Euroclear. Belgium had objected to the loan plan, calling it legally risky and warning that it could harm Euroclear’s business.
Belgium was rattled last week when Russia’s Central Bank launched a lawsuit against Euroclear to prevent any loan being provided to Ukraine with frozen Russian funds.
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 03:49
Germany’s Merz hails zero-interest loan for Ukraine
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has hailed the deal reached by European leaders working late into Thursday night in Brussels.
“The financial package for Ukraine has been finalised,” Merz said in a statement, noting that “Ukraine is granted a zero-interest loan”.
“These funds are sufficient to cover the military and budgetary needs of Ukraine for the two years to come,” Merz added.
He said the frozen assets will remain blocked until Russia has paid war reparations to Ukraine. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that would cost over €600bn (£525bn).
“If Russia does not pay reparations we will — in full accordance with international law — make use of Russian immobilised assets for paying back the loan,” Merz said.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the German chancellor Friedrich Merz attend a meeting on immigration at the EU summit in Brussels (AP)
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 03:43
Macron says EU leaders delivered what they committed for Ukraine
French president Emmanuel Macron described the deal agreed between the EU leaders as a major advance, saying this option “was the most realistic and practical way” to fund Ukraine and its war efforts.
Calling the gathering a “very good summit for Ukraine”, Macron said the European leaders delivered what they committed to do for Ukraine.
He added that the deal included a mechanism to protect three countries — Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic — from any financial fallout.
Arpan Rai19 December 2025 03:22
WORLD NEWS
Florida Man Executed for Killing Man and Girlfriend During Home Invasion, Marking State’s 19th Execution This Year
NEED TO KNOW
- Frank Athen Walls was executed by three-drug lethal injection on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 18
- He was executed at Florida State Prison near Starke, Fla., marking the 19th prisoner execution in Florida this year
- Walls was convicted of two counts of murder and was sentenced to death in 1988 for the murders of Edward Alger and Alger’s girlfriend, Ann Peterson
A Florida man was put to death for killing two people, a man and his girlfriend, during a home invasion.
Frank Athen Walls was executed by three-drug lethal injection on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 18. He was executed at Florida State Prison near Starke, Fla., the Associated Press reports. The death of Walls, 58, marks the 19th execution in Florida this year, the outlet reports.
Walls was convicted of two counts of murder and was sentenced to death in 1988, the AP reports. The Florida Supreme Court went on to reverse the conviction and order a new trial, during which Walls was convicted once again and re-sentenced to death in 1992. Walls was convicted of committing the murders of Edward Alger and his Alger’s girlfriend, Ann Peterson.
The execution began at 6 p.m. local time, and Walls was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m., the outlet reports. A Catholic priest was seated near Walls with his right hand extended toward Walls’ lower leg or foot, per the AP.
Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, told the outlet that Walls made a brief statement before being put to death.
“Good evening, everyone. I appreciate the opportunity to say what’s on my heart. If any of the members of the family are here, I am sorry for all of the things I did, the pain I caused, and all of that you have suffered all these years,” Walls was quoted as saying, per the AP.
Per court records obtained by the AP, Walls broke into the Florida Panhandle mobile home of Alger, who was an Eglin Air Force Base airman, and Peterson, in July 1987. Walls is believed to have then tied the couple up — and after Alger broke loose, Walls slit his throat and shot him in the head. Walls then went to attack Peterson and shot her as she struggled to break free, the outlet reports.
Years later, when new technology was developed, DNA evidence linked Walls to the May 1987 rape and murder of Audrey Gygi. Walls pleaded no contest in an attempt to avoid another trial and potential death sentence. Walls went on to admit responsibility for the killings of Tommie Lou Whiddon in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in September 1986 as part of a deal with prosecutors, per the AP.
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Walls became the 47th prisoner in the U.S. to be executed this year after receiving a death sentence, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
The highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014 since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, per the AP. Florida has executed the most prisoners in the U.S. this year.
Florida executions are done via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, per the state’s Department of Corrections.
The 24-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and was unconscious after they lost their balance before spiralling out of control for about 300 metres in the French Alps
05:21, 19 Dec 2025
Ski authorities have since urged visitors to steer clear of extremely steep off-piste areas due to the potential dangers.(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A British skier has tragically died after plunging almost 300 metres while sking in the French Alps.
The 24-year-old holidaymaker who has not been named was sking down a steep off-piste slope with a groups moments before tragedy struck. The fatal plunge unfolded when two skiers in the group tried to traverse down a particularly steep section of the slope in Les Arcs 2000.
One of the skiers lost their balance before spiralling out of control for about 300 metres. Horrified members of the group sounded the alarm before two ski patrollers rushed to the scene.
Ski authorities in Les Arcs have urged visitors to stick to pisted areas after the death (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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The dangerous area was above an avalanche dam, located in Chavonnes, Le Dauphiné Libéré reported.
The 24-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and was unconscious following the fall. An air ambulance was scrambled from Courchevel to pick the victim up.
Police arrived about half an hour after the first report was made – but despite the efforts of emergency services, the Brit tragically died.
The second skier who also attempted to go down the tricky path is understood to have become trapped at the top of the slope. He was later rescued by a police helicopter.
Les Arcs has since issued a statement offering “its most sincere thoughts to the family and the friends of the victim”.
According to The Times, the deadly slope was wide at the top but narrowed towards the bottom before ending on the ridge, which was covered in a small quantity of hard snow, increasing the risk of accidents.
Ski authorities have since urged visitors to steer clear of extremely steep off-piste areas due to the potential dangers.
British holidaymakers planning their dream winter getaway in the coming weeks face potential hospitalisation or even death, according to Foreign Office warnings. More than 20 million people flock to the European destination each year, with over one million of those being UK travellers.
The Foreign Office has warned that some Brits may be engaging in ‘risky’ activities that might not be covered by their insurance policies.
Being inadequately prepared could result in serious consequences for both your well-being and your finances, particularly if you haven’t been careful about selecting the right insurance cover for your trip. In certain circumstances, you might find yourself liable for more than £3,000 if you lack proper travel insurance protection, and that’s excluding medical expenses and hospital bills.
Foreign Office guidance warns: “Adventure sports can be risky. British nationals in the Swiss Alps have been involved in accidents and have been hospitalised or died. Check the company you are using is well-established and that your travel insurance covers any specific activity.
“For sports activities like skiing, potholing and mountaineering, and for sports classed as particularly dangerous (for example, off-piste skiing, mountain biking, climbing, paragliding or BASE jumping), you could get into difficulty and need emergency rescue. Adventure sports can be risky. British nationals in the Swiss Alps have been involved in accidents and have been hospitalised or died.
“Check the company you are using is well-established and that your travel insurance covers any specific activity. For sports activities like skiing, potholing and mountaineering, and for sports classed as particularly dangerous (for example, off-piste skiing, mountain biking, climbing, paragliding or BASE jumping), you could get into difficulty and need emergency rescue.”
WORLD NEWS
Australia PM Albanese launches gun ‘buyback’ plan after Bondi Beach attack | Gun Violence News
Albanese said Australia has more guns now than 30 years ago, when the country’s deadliest-ever mass shooting took place.
Australia will launch a national gun buyback scheme, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced, as the country continues to come to terms with the deadly attack on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead.
Albanese called the plan the country’s biggest gun buyback since 1996 – the year of Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in modern history, the Port Arthur massacre in the island state of Tasmania – and said authorities will purchase surplus, newly-banned and illegal firearms.
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“Right now, there are more guns in Australia than there were during Port Arthur. We can’t allow that to continue,” Albanese told a news conference on Friday, adding that there are currently more than four million firearms in the country.
“Non-citizens have no need to own a gun. And someone in suburban Sydney has no need to own six … The terrible events of Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets,” he said.
Albanese added that authorities in Australia’s states and territories will be tasked with collecting the weapons and processing payments for surrendered firearms under the scheme. Federal police will then be responsible for destroying them.
“We expect hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed through this scheme,” Albanese added.
Aided by some of the toughest gun restrictions globally, Australia has one of the lowest gun homicide rates in the world.
Restrictions were tightened after a lone gunman, armed with semiautomatic weapons, killed 35 people at the Port Arthur tourist site almost 30 years ago.
The massacre shocked the country, with authorities soon after launching a major gun amnesty and buyback scheme that removed more than 650,000 newly-prohibited firearms from circulation.
‘We need to do more to combat this evil scourge’
Sunday’s shooting in Sydney’s Bondi Beach area – in which two attackers, named as father and son Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, went on a shooting spree and killed 15 people – has had a similarly jolting impact on Australian society as the Port Arthur massacre and prompted self-reflection.
Albanese said 50-year-old Sajid – who was shot dead at the scene – and 24-year-old Naveed – who was charged with “terrorism” and murder offences after he awoke from a coma on Tuesday – were inspired by “Islamic State ideology”.
On Thursday, Albanese announced tougher hate speech laws as he acknowledged the country had experienced a rising tide of anti-Jewish hate since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Albanese said rising anti-Semitism in Australia “culminated on Sunday in one of the worst acts of mass murder that this country has ever seen”.
“It was an attack on our Jewish community – but it was also an attack on the Australian way of life,” he said.
“Australians are shocked and angry. I am angry. It is clear we need to do more to combat this evil scourge, much more,” he added.
The prime minister also announced on Friday that Australia will hold a national day of reflection this Sunday – one week after the mass shooting.
Albanese urged Australians to light candles at 6:47pm (07:47 GMT) on Sunday, December 21 – “exactly one week since the attack unfolded”.
“It is a moment to pause, reflect, and affirm that hatred and violence will never define who we are as Australians,” he told reporters.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of people plunged into the ocean off Bondi Beach in another gesture to honour the dead.
Swimmers and surfers paddled into a circle as they bobbed in the gentle morning swell, splashing water and roaring with emotion.
“They slaughtered innocent victims, and today I’m swimming out there and being part of my community again to bring back the light,” security consultant Jason Carr told the AFP news agency.
“We’re still burying bodies. But I just felt it was important,” the 53-year-old said.
“I’m not going to let someone so evil, someone so dark, stop me from doing what I do and what I enjoy doing,” he said.
Surfers and swimmers congregate in the surf at Bondi Beach as they participate in a tribute for the victims of Sunday’s Bondi Beach attack, in Sydney, on December 19, 2025 [David Gray/AFP]
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The suspect in last week’s mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, following a six-day multi-state manhunt, police say.
They identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who studied at the university in Providence, Rhode Island, about 25 years ago.
Providence police chief Oscar Perez said video evidence and tips from the public led investigators to a car-rental location where they found the suspect’s name and matched him to their person of interest.
Officials said they also believe Valente killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days after the 13 December shooting at Brown.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter said Valente was found dead with a satchel, two firearms. Evidence in a car nearby matched to the scene of the shooting at Brown University in Providence.
Initial findings suggest Valente died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and police were unable to comment on how long he might have been inside the storage unit.
“Even though the suspect was found dead tonight our work is not done. There are many questions that need to be answered,” FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks said, adding that the agency had deployed approximately 500 agents to assist local authorities in the investigation.
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Images of Claudio Neves Valente were displayed during the Thursday press conference
Brown University President Christina Paxson said that Valente was enrolled at the Ivy League school from the autumn of 2000 to spring 2001, and was studying for a PhD in physics.
He had “no current active affiliation” to Brown, she said.
Officials said they believe Valente shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, on Monday at his home in Brookline, which is about 50 miles (80km) from Providence.
Both the victim and the suspect had studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s, police said.
Officials said the cases were linked when the suspect’s vehicle was identified via CCTV footage and a witness at Brown University.
The same car was spotted nearby to the scene of the professor’s shooting in Brookline, Massachusetts.
“He was using a phone that was obfuscated the ability to track it,” said Leah B Foley, the US state attorney representing Massachusetts.”
“He was sophisticated in hiding his tracks.”
Authorities have not provided any suspected motive for either attack.
For days, members of the public had expressed frustration at the investigation into the shooting at Brown University last Saturday, after it appeared to yield little progress almost a week after the attack.
A gunman burst into Brown University’s Barus & Holley engineering building and opened fire during final exams.
Two students were killed and a further nine injured. Six remain in hospital.
Authorities identified the two dead victims as Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American freshman student.
Police had asked for patience from Rhode Islanders and on Wednesday released new footage of a person of interest, where a man was seen walking around the university campus with a black mask over his mouth.
The FBI also offered a $50,000 (£37,350) reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the attack.
A man suspected of killing two people and wounding nine others at Brown University last weekend has been found dead in a storage facility in the state of New Hampshire, authorities said late Thursday.
“He took his own life tonight,” Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said of the suspect, a 48-year-old Portuguese man who two decades earlier was a Brown University student.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said the suspect attended Brown from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001 as a graduate student in physics.
“He has no current affiliation with the university,” she said.
Investigators believe the man was also responsible for the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was fatally shot in Boston on Monday, US Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said.
What do we know about the investigation?
It has been nearly a week since the mass shooting took place at Brown University. Tension mounted in Providence as the shooter managed to escape.
Another person was identified in connection to the suspect, who came forward after Wednesday’s press conference and helped “blow the lid” off the case, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
“When you crack it, you crack it. That person led us to the car, led us to the name,” Neronha said.
So far, authorities have not been able to determine any motive behind either of the shootings at two of the top universities in the United States.
There are still “a lot of unknowns” in regard to motive, Neronha said. “We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom,” he said.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
WORLD NEWS
Brown University shooting suspect found dead in New Hampshire storage facility after 5-day manhunt
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The suspect in the shooting at Brown University last weekend has been found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire after a five-day manhunt, officials said.
“I will tell you that he took his own life tonight,” Colonel Oscar Perez, the chief of the Providence Police Department said Thursday night.
Two students were killed and nine were injured Saturday after a gunman sprayed a classroom with more than 44 rounds of ammunition during a study session on Brown University’s campus. Perez identified the suspect in the shooting as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national. Massachusetts authorities later confirmed Neves Valente was responsible for the shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor earlier this week.
Earlier Thursday, police tracked Neves Valente to a storage unit where he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Brown President Christina Paxson said Thursday night Neves Valente was a physics PhD student at the university from the Fall 2000 to Spring 2001 before taking a leave of absence and formally withdrawing in the summer of 2003. Neves Valente arrived to the U.S. 25 years ago on a student visa and obtained lawful permanent residency in 2017, according to officials.
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The suspect in the shooting at Brown University last weekend has been found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire after a five-day manhunt (AP/Reba Saldanha)
A satchel, two firearms and evidence “that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence” were found with Neves Valente’s body, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
Police believe Neves Valente acted alone in the shooting.
Officials in Providence, Rhode Island, shared details about how they located Neves Valente using video footage.
They said a video provided them with a description of a car that led them to a car rental place in Massachusetts. Law enforcement were then able get a copy of an agreement, which included the suspect’s name.
Neronha said a person with information about the suspect “blew this case right open.”
“That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, that matched the satchel,” he said.
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Perez identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national (REUTERS/CJ Gunther)
The car that Neves Valente rented in Boston was found in New Hampshire, and that he changed license plates, making him harder to track, Neronha said.
“We were able to find evidence in the car from looking at it from the outside that connected this individual to our crime scene here in Rhode Island,” the attorney general said.
An arrest warrant for Neves Valente charging him with two counts of murder and 23 felony counts of assault and felony firearms offenses was issued Thursday, according to a press release from Neronha’s office.
The suspected shooter’s motive is still unclear.
Two days after the Brown University shooting, 47-year-old MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Brookline is about 50 miles northeast of Providence.
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Police were reportedly investigating a potential link between the shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and the Brown University shooting (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot “multiple times” in his home Monday night, and died Tuesday after first responders rushed him to the hospital, investigators said. Police have said they’re investigating his death as a homicide.
Officials said Thursday night that Loureiro was a Portuguese national like Neves Valente. Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston field office, said Thursday ight that it is believed Loureiro and Neves Valente attended the same university in Lisbon.
Leah Foley, the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, said Thursday night, “On December 15, [Valente] murdered MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at Loureiro’s home in Brookline, Massachussets.”
Foley said Valente used a phone that obscured authorities ability to find it and credit cards not in his name, calling him “sophisticated in hiding his tracks.”
Community members have been mourning the two students killed on the Ivy League campus: Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov.
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Photos of Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook sit next to bouquets of flowers at a memorial on Brown University’s campus (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Cook, a 19-year-old from Alabama, was the vice president of the Brown University College Republicans. She was also a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham.
Reverend Craig Smalley described Cook as an “incredible, grounded, faithful bright light,” according to AL.com. The College Republicans of America said Cook was known for her “bold, brave and kind heart as she served her chapter and fellow classmates.”
Umurzokov, an 18-year-old from Uzbekistan, was studying to become a neurosurgeon, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by his family. He was described as “incredibly kind, funny and smart,” and his family’s “biggest role model.”
“He always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew,” the GoFundMe reads. “Our family is incredibly devastated by this loss.”
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said Thursday night., We’re going to be forever changed but our commitment on the state level is to continue to support Providence, Brown and the people in the state of Rhode Island in recovery.”
This is a developing story….