This could save you some money ahead of Christmas

Sophie Buchan Money and Lifestyle Writer and Lauren Haughey Lifestyle and Money Reporter

04:14, 13 Dec 2025

Special stickers can be found in selected Asda stores(Image: MMassel/Getty Images)

It’s no secret that Christmas can get expensive. From gifts and decorations to the big roast dinner on the day, these festive costs can quickly add up.

However, a new initiative from Moonpig may just help to soften this financial blow. The firm is now offering Asda shoppers the chance to claim free greeting cards before December 25 – but they’ll need to spot a crucial detail. Although simple, this involves keeping an eye out for Moonpig stickers on items sold in the supermarket’s bakery aisle.

These bright pink labels feature a pig wearing reindeer antlers and can be peeled to reveal details on how to claim the freebie.

Asda shoppers should look out for Moonpig stickers on bakery items(Image: Moonpig)

Currently, the festive offer is available at more than 150 selected Asda stores across the UK, including major cities such as Wolverhampton, Portsmouth and Canterbury. According to a previous Mirror article, others encompassed in this are:

1. Aintree
2. Ashington Lintonville Terrace
3. Ashton
4. Barnsley
5. Beckton
6. Benton
7. Bexley Heath
8. Birmingham Barnes Hill
9. Blackburn
10. Blackpool
11. Bloxwich
12. Blyth
13. Boldon
14. Bolton
15. Boston
16. Bridge of Dee
17. Brighton Hollingbury
18. Brighton Marina
19. Bromborough
20. Burgh Heath
21. Burnley
22. Cannock
23. Canterbury
24. Chadderton
25. Chatham
26. Chelmsley Wood
27. Clydebank
28. Coatbridge
29. Colindale
30. Corby
31. Coventry
32. Crewe
33. Cumbernauld
34. Cwmbran
35. Dagenham
36. Derby
37. Doncaster
38. Donnington Wood
39. Dundee Milton
40. Dunfermline
41. Eastbourne
42. Eastgate
43. Eastlands
44. Eastleigh
45. Edinburgh
46. Elgin
47. Ellesmere Port
48. Falmouth
49. Fareham
50. Farnborough
51. Ferring
52. Fulwood
53. Gateshead
54. Gillingham Pier
55. Glasshoughton
56. Glenrothes
57. Gloucester
58. Govan
59. Grantham
60. Gravesend
61. Great Bridge
62. Grimsby
63. Halifax
64. Hamilton
65. Harrogate
66. Hartlepool
67. Havant
68. High Wycombe
69. Huddersfield
70. Hull Hessle Rd
71. Hulme
72. Hunts Cross
73. Huyton
74. Ipswich
75. Isle of Dogs
76. Keighley
77. Kendal
78. Killingbeck
79. Kingswood
80. Kirkcaldy
81. Lancaster
82. Leigh
83. Leyton
84. Linwood
85. Liscard
86. Livingston
87. Long Eaton
88. Longwell Green
89. Lower Earley
90. Luton
91. Mansfield
92. Milton Keynes
93. Minworth
94. Morley
95. Newton Abbot
96. Norwich
97. Nuneaton
98. Oadby
99. Parkhead
100. Patchway
101. Peterlee
102. Pilsworth
103. Plymouth
104. Poole
105. Portsmouth
106. Pudsey
107. Queensferry
108. Queslett
109. Radcliffe
110. Robroyston
111. Rochdale
112. Rotherham
113. Runcorn
114. Scunthorpe
115. Sheffield
116. Sheffield Drakehouse
117. Shoeburyness
118. Skelmersdale
119. Slough
120. Small Heath
121. St Austell
122. Stafford
123. Stevenage
124. Stockton
125. Strabane
126. Sunderland
127. Sutton in Ashfield
128. Swanley
129. Swindon West
130. Tamworth
131. Taunton
132. Thornaby
133. Thurmaston
134. Tilbury
135. Toryglen
136. Totton
137. Wakefield
138. Wallington
139. Walton
140. Washington
141. Watford
142. Wembley
143. West Bridgford
144. Westbrook
145. Weston Super Mare
146. Widnes
147. Wigan
148. Wolstanton
149. Wolverhampton
150. York

Beyond the new Moonpig freebie, Asda recently revived its ‘Winter Warmer’ scheme across 212 cafes, which will run until the end of February 2026. The deal allows anyone over 60 to enjoy soup, bread and unlimited tea or coffee for just £1 during the colder months.

Customers can select either tomato or chicken soup as part of the seasonal offer. They also have the option to upgrade the meal deal: for an additional 55p, they can add a small latte, cappuccino, or speciality tea, or choose a medium size for £1.10.

In light of the initiative, Jordan Cummings, Buying Manager, Cafes and Concessions at Asda, said previously: “We know winter is set to be incredibly hard for thousands of pensioners as they continue to worry about how to keep themselves warm in the face of rising living costs and on a fixed income. Last year alone we sold over half a million meals showing the vital need for this initiative.”

He also added: “By bringing Winter Warmers back this November, we hope it will continue to be just as impactful across the winter months for those who need it most, as well as offering a relaxed social environment to come and chat to others.”

Asda has been approached for further information on the Moonpig offer.

Christmas can be a very costly festive holiday (stock image)(Image: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images)

When are Asda’s Christmas delivery slots available?

Asda made its festive delivery bookings available to passholders from October 15, with others able to book starting October 21. These deliveries are scheduled between December 21 and 23.

Asda’s online advice reads: “Pre-order your festive centrepieces and let us take the hassle out of your festive food shop. Whether delivered directly to your door or collected from one of our stores, your festive feast will make this a Christmas celebration to remember.

“You can now order from our Food to Order range by booking a Christmas delivery or collection slot between 21st–23rd December.” This year, ASDA’s Christmas range includes more than 500 products, including festive classics and various new items.

Visit Asda’s website for more information.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attacks ‘had no … military purpose whatsoever’.

Russian forces have attacked two Ukrainian ports, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels, including a ship carrying food supplies, according to Ukrainian officials and a shipowner.

Friday’s attacks by Russian forces targeted Chornomorsk and Odesa ports in Ukraine’s southwestern Odesa region on the Black Sea. A Ukrainian navy spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that three Turkish-owned vessels were damaged in total, but did not provide additional details.

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Posting video footage on social media of firefighters tackling a blaze on board what he described as a “civilian vessel” in Chornomorsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attacks “had no … military purpose whatsoever”.

“This proves once again that Russians not only fail to take the current opportunity for diplomacy seriously enough, but also continue the war precisely to destroy normal life in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

“It is crucial that … the world maintains the proper moral compass: who is dragging out this war and who is working to end it with peace, who is using ballistic missiles against civilian life, and who is striking the targets that influence the functioning of Russia’s war machine,” he said.

Today, the Russian army carried out a missile strike on our Odesa region, and last night there was also a Russian attack on Odesa’s energy infrastructure. At one point we talked about the situation in this city and the people of Odesa with President Trump.

Today’s Russian… pic.twitter.com/gIgXUlc4AJ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 12, 2025

Zelenskyy did not name the vessel, but it was identified as the Panama-flagged and Turkish-owned Cenk T by Reuters, which matched cranes and buildings to satellite imagery of Chornomorsk port.

The ship’s owners, Cenk Shipping, confirmed it was attacked at about 4pm local time (14:00 GMT). There were no casualties among the crew, and damage to the ship was limited, it added.

An employee of a private company was also injured in a separate attack on Odesa port, where a cargo loader was also damaged, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba confirmed.

He added that Russia had used drones and ballistic missiles in the port strikes, which were “aimed at civilian logistics and commercial shipping”.

Ukraine’s three large Black Sea ports in the Odesa region are a key economic artery for Kyiv.

Late on Friday, Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the vessel had been attacked in Chornomorsk port. It added that there were no reports of injured Turkish citizens.

The ministry said in a statement that the attack “validates our previously stated concerns regarding the spread of the ongoing war in the region to the Black Sea, and its impact on maritime security and freedom of navigation”.

“We reiterate the need for an arrangement whereby, in order to prevent escalation in the Black Sea, attacks targeting navigational safety as well as the parties’ energy and port infrastructure are suspended,” it added.

Hours earlier, in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for calm in the Black Sea and suggested that a limited ceasefire for energy facilities and ports could be beneficial for regional security.

Turkiye, which has the longest Black Sea coastline at approximately 1,329km (826 miles), has grown increasingly alarmed at the escalating attacks in its back yard and has offered to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow.

The attacks come just days after Putin promised retaliation and threatened to cut “Ukraine off from the sea” for Kyiv’s maritime drone attacks on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” – unmarked tankers thought to be used to circumvent oil sanctions – in the Black Sea.

Kyiv says the tankers are Moscow’s main source of funding for its almost four-year-old war. It has also tried to squeeze Russian revenues by expanding attacks to the Caspian Sea, where it struck a major oil rig this week.

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Venezuelan oil exports have reportedly fallen sharply since the US seized a tanker this week and imposed fresh sanctions on shipping companies and vessels doing business with Caracas, according to shipping data, documents and maritime sources.

The US seizure of the Skipper tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday was the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019 and marked a sharp escalation in rising tensions between the Trump administration and the government of Nicolás Maduro.

Since the seizure, only tankers chartered by US oil company Chevron have sailed into international waters carrying Venezuelan crude, the data reviewed by the Reuters news agency showed. Chevron has US government authorisation to operate through joint ventures in the country and export its oil to the US.

Other tankers that have loaded about 11m barrels of oil and fuel are stuck in Venezuelan waters, according to the sources and data seen by Reuters.

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said this week the Skipper was intercepted and retained under a seizure warrant, while Guyana’s maritime authority said it was falsely flying the country’s flag.

The tanker is now reportedly heading to Houston, where it will offload its cargo on to smaller ships. Washington is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Footage shows US forces taking control of oil tanker off Venezuelan coast – video

Venezuela has condemned the tanker seizure as “blatant theft” and “international piracy”, saying it would file complaints with international bodies. At the same time, Venezuelan lawmakers took a step to withdraw the country from the international criminal court, which is currently investigating alleged human rights abuses in the South American country.

After more than 20 US military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific against alleged drug vessels this year, and a large-scale US military buildup in the southern Caribbean, relations between the US and Venezuela are at their most volatile point in years.

Nearly 90 people have been killed in the US strikes on suspected drug boats, alarming human rights advocates and stirring debate among US lawmakers as to the legality of the actions.

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke by phone with Maduro about “peace” in South America, the Brazilian presidency said on Friday.

Lula, one of Latin America’s most influential leaders, had not spoken to Maduro since Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, the results of which Brazil – along with much of the international community – did not recognise.

The Trump administration does not recognise Maduro, in power since 2013, as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Washington has signalled more seizures are planned as part of efforts to choke off sanctioned oil flows, and subsequently imposed new sanctions on three nephews of Maduro’s wife and six tankers linked to them.

Trump has also repeatedly floated the possibility of a US military intervention in Venezuela.

Maduro says the US is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.

After slipping out of the country in secret to collect the Nobel peace prize, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Friday promised Maduro would leave power “whether there is a negotiated changeover or not”. However, she vowed she was focused on a peaceful transition, and thanked Trump for his “decisive support.“

Machado defied a decade-long travel ban and a period in hiding to travel to Oslo on Thursday, noting that she would soon bring the Nobel peace prize back home to Venezuela.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse

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Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces continued early on Saturday hours after US President Donald Trump said the two countries had agreed to a ceasefire.

Thai prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he told the US president a ceasefire would only be possible after Cambodia had withdrawn all its forces and removed landmines.

“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people. I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” he said on social media.

Shelling continued overnight, as Thai forces push to take a number of vantage points along the border. At least 21 people have died in the renewed fighting and 700,000 have been evacuated on both sides.

Trump had claimed earlier in the week that he could stop the fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces that broke out on Monday just by picking up the phone.

After speaking to both prime ministers on Friday night he wrote on social media that the two countries had agreed to “cease shooting effective this evening” and go back to the agreement they signed in front of the US president in October.

“Both countries are ready for peace,” he wrote.

However, Anutin said he told Trump that Thailand was not the aggressor, and that Cambodia must show that it had withdrawn its forces and removed landmines from the border before a ceasefire was possible. “They must show us first,” he said.

There was no mention of the use of tariffs as leverage to force the two sides to disengage, as happened in July.

Thailand has warned the US not to link the conflict to trade.

On Saturday Cambodia reported that it had been struck by more Thai air strikes.

“On December 13, 2025, the Thai military used two F-16 fighter jets to drop seven bombs” on a number of targets, the Cambodian defence ministry said in an X post.

“Thai military aircraft have not stopped bombing yet,” it said.

The Thai military also confirmed that fighting continued.

The long-standing border dispute escalated on 24 July, as Cambodia launched a barrage of rockets into Thailand, which responded with air strikes.

Both countries have accused each other of initiating the attacks.

After days of intense fighting which left dozens dead, the neighbouring South East Asian countries agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” brokered by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. This was formalised at a ceremony in Malaysia in October presided over by the US president.

However both sides continued to trade accusations of ceasefire violations, with Thailand publishing evidence of Cambodian troops laying landmines, which have caused seven Thai soldiers to lose limbs. Cambodia says the mines are left over from the civil war in the 1980s.

Since then, tensions continued to build.

This week, Thailand launched air strikes inside Cambodia after two of its soldiers were injured in a skirmish last Sunday. Cambodia has responded with rocket barrages. The fighting affected six provinces in north-eastern Thailand and six provinces in Cambodia’s north and north-west.

The two countries have been been contesting their 800km land border for more than a century. The border was drawn by French cartographers in 1907, when France was the colonial ruler in Cambodia.

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Argentina soccer superstar Lionel Messi arrived Saturday in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, as large crowds of jubilant fans gathered at the airport and lined the streets in the city to welcome him.

Indian news agency ANI said the soccer player, considered the greatest of his generation, was escorted out of the airport via an alternative route because an overwhelming number of people turned out at the airport to catch a glimpse of him.

Messi is visiting India as part of what’s billed as his “GOAT (greatest of all time) Tour” and he is set to tour four cities in total: Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Messi visited Kolkata, the former capital of British-ruled India, for the first time in 2011. 

This time, the soccer-mad city built a 70-foot-tall statue to mark his visit. The statue is set to be inaugurated Saturday, and Messi is scheduled to participate in an inauguration ceremony.

Messi in India for less than 72 hours

Messi, who just won Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player award for the second season in a row after leading Inter Miami to MLS Cup glory, is scheduled to visit Hyderabad and Mumbai before concluding the tour in New Delhi on Monday.

In Delhi, Messi is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 2022 World Cup winner is set to cover India in less than 72 hours.

Messi is accompanied on the tour by his Inter Miami clubmates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar

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NEED TO KNOW

• Carrie Underwood revealed she is back to brunette in a new Instagram post
• Underwood famously has had blonde hair since her time on American Idol
• She previously tried out the hair color in August

Carrie Underwood revealed a dramatic hair transformation in a new Instagram post.

Underwood, 42, shared a selfie wearing a t-shirt in honor of St. Jude’s on Friday, Dec. 12 — and she revealed her new brunette hair.

“Every child deserves hope.  Become a Partner in Hope with @stjude and get your @musicgives shirt at musicgives.org and help kids facing cancer. ❤️,” Underwood wrote in the caption.

The country star, known for her blonde locks throughout her career, made the reveal while wearing a black-and-white t-shirt that read “Music Gives to St. Jude’s Kids.” Fans of the “Before He Cheats” singer were shocked at the hair transformation in the comments.

“Didn’t even look like Carrie,” one Instagram user wrote.

Underwood previously tested out going brunette in August, before ultimately returning to the blonde tresses that she has had since her American Idol days. Underwood shared the Instagram photos on Aug. 5, and explained at the time that she hadn’t been brunette in 30 years.

“Well, the last time I saw my natural hair color, I was probably about 12 years old,” the Grammy winner wrote, “but I thought it might be time to give it a second chance.”

Carrie Underwood’s new hair color.

Carrie Underwood/Instagram

Underwood had an assist from Nashville hairstylist Katelin Megert, who cut, colored and styled her hair into a brown mid-length cut with golden highlighted layers.

“Thanks, @hairbykatelin_ at @parlour3beauty for helping me get back to my roots! #NewOldMe #Bronde,” she added.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In a 2012 interview with Refinery29, Underwood explained her reasoning for always being blonde. Despite wanting to experiment with her hair color, she felt it was tethered to her music career at the time.

“I’d love to do a little more with hair color. I’ve always been blonde! The problem is, I don’t want to shock people — like if I dyed my hair brown, I don’t want people think I’m turning dark and serious. I wish I had started changing my hair around in the beginning, then it wouldn’t be such a big shock if I did something like that now,” she said.

Underwood will soon join Alan Jackson on tour.

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By CAITLIN POWELL – NEWS REPORTER and KARLEIGH SMITH

Published: 22:20 EST, 12 December 2025 | Updated: 22:27 EST, 12 December 2025

A phone belonging to missing Belgian backpacker Celine Cremer has been discovered by a private search party in a major development in her baffling disappearance. 

Ms Cremer, 31, vanished on a simple one-hour return hike to Philosopher Falls, in the state’s north-east, 73km south of Burnie, in June 2023.

The alarm was raised when she failed to board the Spirit of Tasmania ferry from Devonport bound for Victoria on June 21, and never arrived at the terminal.

But on Saturday, police revealed there had been a discovery that could help find the missing woman. 

‘Tasmania Police can confirm that a mobile phone located today by a private search party in the Philosopher Falls area has been identified as belonging to missing Belgian woman, Celine Cremer,’ a statement said.

‘Police were notified immediately following the discovery and are attending the scene.

‘The phone will now undergo forensic examination as part of the ongoing investigation into Celine’s disappearance.’ 

The discovery comes just days before a new search of the gloomy, mist-shrouded forest surrounding Philosopher Falls, helmed by leading Australian licensed private investigator Ken Gamble.

Belgian backpacker Celine Cremer did not return from an easy hike at Philosopher Falls in 2023

Ms Cremer’s car was discovered at the trailhead’s car park on June 27

Several searches of the dense, treacherous forest have been undertaken

A police search controller has been working closely with the private search party to ensure safety and that any discoveries are managed appropriately.

Officers remain in close contact with Celine’s family and continue to assess new information ‘to provide them with answers and closure’.

Ms Cremer’s white SUV was discovered by police in the car park at Philosopher Falls on June 27, 2023.

Using mobile phone data, they determined that it had been there since June 20.

Ms Cremer, an experienced hiker, had been travelling around the Apple Isle for six months before she disappeared.

The case baffled police, who called off the search in early July 2023 after medical experts advised she would not have been able to survive the frigid winter conditions.

More to come. 

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Major update in the baffling case of missing Belgian backpacker who disappeared in a remote Australian forest

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Elwood Jones was convicted of aggravated murder, robbery and burglary in the 1994 beating death of 67-year-old Rhoda Nathan at a hotel in Blue Ash, a Cincinnati suburb

Elwood Jones spent 26 years behind bars

A man who languished on death row for more than 25 years over the robbery and killing of a woman at an Ohio hotel has had his case thrown out by prosecutors on Friday.

Elwood Jones has been walking free since shortly after a judge awarded him a fresh trial in December 2022, after determining that prosecutors had failed to hand over crucial evidence to his legal team years earlier.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich revealed the dismissal of his case came after months of thorough examination of evidence and court documents. “I did not take this extraordinary step lightly,” Pillich said in a statement.

Elwood Jones has been free since shortly after a judge granted him a new trial in December 2022

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“But after reviewing the evidence, I am not convinced that Mr. Jones killed Rhoda Nathan.”

Jones had been found guilty of aggravated murder, robbery and burglary in the 1994 fatal beating of the 67 year old from Toms River, New Jersey, in Blue Ash, a Cincinnati suburb. Under Pillich’s predecessor, Melissa Powers, the prosecutor’s office had challenged the judge’s ruling and that legal battle was still working its way through the courts.

Only last week, the Ohio Supreme Court had determined the appellate court made an error in blocking the challenge and sent it back to the lower court for fresh consideration. Supreme Court Justice Joe Deters, the former Hamilton County prosecutor who obtained the original conviction against Jones, stepped aside from that ruling.

But Pillich said proceeding with a fresh trial without evidence, witnesses or current scientific methods “would be futile.”

Among the issues addressed by her review were: the lack of physical or forensic evidence linking Jones directly to the murder, and several witness statements suggesting other potential suspects that were not adequately pursued. Furthermore, Jones’ defence was not provided with a significant amount of investigation material before the trial.

Modern medical testing has also ruled out Jones as a suspect.

Jones was an employee at the hotel where the woman was killed and was on the job that day, police said.

Police had previously stated that Nathan, a grandmother visiting town for her best friend’s grandson’s bar mitzvah over Labour Day weekend, was murdered after interrupting a robbery attempt in her room. Jones, an employee at the hotel, was working that day, according to police.

A request for comment was sent to Jones’ lawyer. In court documents, his defence team argued that the “win-at-all-cost mentality” displayed by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office resulted in Jones, an innocent man, losing over 28 years of his life and nearly costing him his life.

Pillich announced plans to establish a Conviction Integrity Unit to investigate and review claims of wrongful conviction and unfair sentencing using nationally recognised best practices.

“Had such a unit existed years ago, this decision may have been reached much sooner,” she commented.

Jones becomes the 12th death row prisoner to be cleared in Ohio and the second from Hamilton County, according to Kevin Warner, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, a group campaigning for the abolition of capital punishment.

Warner said the public is becoming increasingly fed up with wrongful convictions. He said: “We’re thinking of the Nathan family and we’re thinking of the Jones family, both… h who were irreparably harmed by Ohio’s death penalty system.”

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BREAKINGBREAKING,

Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence said Thai F-16 fighter jets continued to bomb targets inside country.

Published On 13 Dec 202513 Dec 2025

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Cambodia has accused Thailand of continuing to drop bombs in its territory hours after United States President Donald Trump said Bangkok and Phnom Penh had agreed to stop fighting.

“On December 13, 2025, the Thai military used two F-16 fighter jets to drop seven bombs” on a number of targets, the Cambodian Defence Ministry said in a post on social media on Saturday.

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“Thai forces have not stopped the bombing yet and are still continuing the bombing,” the ministry said, listing aerial attacks on hotel buildings and bridges earlier in the morning.

The reports of continued bombing follow after President Trump said that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed “to cease all shooting” on Friday.

“I had a very good conversation this morning with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, concerning the very unfortunate reawakening of their long-running War,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said.

With Thailand’s attacks reportedly ongoing against Cambodia, the current outbreak of violence between the two Southeast Asian neighbours has now entered a sixth day.

The latest cross-border clashes, which broke out on Monday, have so far killed at least 20 civilians and soldiers in both countries and left some 200 more wounded.

An estimated 600,000 people have also been displaced on both sides of the 800-kilometre-long (500-mile) Thai-Cambodia border, where the conflict centres on disputed ownership of centuries-old temples.

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House Oversight Committee

US President Donald Trump was among several prominent figures featured in the images released on Friday

Back-to-back batches of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate have been released, revealing private details from the convicted peadophile’s life and his ties to the rich and powerful.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released 19 photos on Friday morning and then later published nearly 80 more, which they said are part of more than 95,000 images the US congressional committee has received from Epstein’s estate after a subpoena.

The photos include never-before-seen images of Epstein on his private island and pictures of him with high-profile figures like US President Donald Trump.

The US justice department is approaching a deadline next week to release all Epstein-related documents.

Watch: Massie and Garcia on latest photos from Epstein estate

The justice department mandate is separate from the files being released by Congress, which is conducting its own investigation into the Epstein case and has been asking his estate for documents and images as part of the probe.

The justice department has until 19 December to release all documents related to the Epstein case. That deadline comes from a bill passed by Congress and signed by Trump last month following months of pressure from his Maga – Make America Great Again – base.

Despite that legal requirement for the justice department, committee Democrats said on Friday: “In the interest of transparency, we will continue to release photos from the Epstein estate.”

The release on Friday marked the second time in a month that the committee has published new images from its investigation into Epstein. These new photos include private images of Epstein, including one of him in a bathtub and another that appears to show sexual toys. They also show him with powerful people, including former President Bill Clinton and tech billionaire Bill Gates.

Epstein’s connection to so many high-profile figures, along with various unanswered questions about the case, and his 2019 suicide in a Manhattan jail as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges, has fuelled online conspiracies and accusations of a government cover-up.

No additional context or details were included with the newly released images, so it is not clear when, why or where many of the photos were taken or by whom. Merely being pictured in files related Epstein is not an indication of wrongdoing.

In the first batch of photos released on Friday, Epstein is seen with multiple high-profile figures, none of whom have yet commented. Many of them have previously denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

In a statement, Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the congressional committee, said: “It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends.”

“These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW,” he added.

Republicans, who are in the majority on the committee, have accused Democrats of “cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions to create a false narrative about President Trump”.

The White House called the release a “Democrat hoax” against Trump that has been “repeatedly debunked”. Trump had for months argued the Epstein saga was a distraction orchestrated by his critics to take attention away from his administration’s accomplishments.

Trump had been pressuring Republicans to move on but failed to keep his party from approving a measure forcing the justice department to release all files in the investigation.

Trump was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the investigations into his former friend.

According to Trump, the pair fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. The White House has also suggested that their fallout was connected to Epstein’s behaviour, and that Trump booted him from his Florida resort for “being a creep”.

Trump appeared in three of the images released on Friday. One image showed him standing next to a woman whose face has been redacted.

Another showed Trump standing next to Epstein while talking to model Ingrid Seynhaeve at a 1997 Victoria’s Secret party in New York – an image that was already publicly available.

House Oversight Committee

A third photo showed Trump smiling with several women, whose faces have also been redacted, flanked on either side of him.

An additional photo showed an illustrated likeness of the president on red packets next to a sign that reads: “Trump Condom”.

House Oversight CommitteeHouse Oversight Committee

Among the photos released on Friday were some that had already been in the public domain for several years.

One such image was a cropped section of a picture originally taken by a photographer working for Getty Images in 2018, which showed King Charles in conversation with the tech billionaire at a London summit.

The image contained in Epstein’s collection was cropped to show only Andrew and Gates. It’s unclear why Epstein had the image or why it was included in his estate.

Andrew, who has faced years of scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein, was stripped of his “prince” title and left his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge, earier this year. He has denied any wrongdoing.

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Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was also pictured in some of the images. He was shown speaking with Epstein at a desk, and in another, standing beside him in front of a mirror.

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A third image showed him speaking with filmmaker Woody Allen.

A photo featuring former US President Bill Clinton’s showed him standing next to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in facilitating the disgraced financier’s abuse.

Two other people the BBC has yet to identify are also in the image, which appeared to have been signed by Clinton.

Clinton has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. In 2019, a spokesperson said he “knows nothing about the terrible crimes” Epstein pleaded guilty to.

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Other prominent figures which appear in the images include US economist Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz and entrepreneur Richard Branson. Not all the images show those individuals in the company of Epstein.

Also in the newly released photos are images from Epstein’s sunny estate on the US Virgin Islands, showing multiple rooms – including one with a dental chair surrounded by sculptures of moustached men on the walls.

There is an image of an orange pumpkin with a blonde wig that has been carved in the likeness of Trump. Above it, a sign reads: “Trumpkin. Make Halloween Great Again.”

On Friday, Trump was asked about the new photos and told reporters that a lot of people knew and were photographed with Epstein, calling the release “no big deal”.

Watch: “I know nothing about it”, says Trump on recent Epstein photos released

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