At least eight people were killed on Friday when an explosion struck a mosque used by Syria’s Alawite minority in Homs, state media reported.

The blast, believed to be the first attack on a mosque since the overthrow last year of longtime leader Bashar Assad, himself an Alawite.

The blast was claimed by an Islamist militant group formed shortly after Assad’s ouster.

Syrians still wait for rebuilding one year after Assad

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What do we know?

The Interior Ministry labeled the explosion at the Imam Ali Mosque in Homs, Syria’s third‑largest city, a “terrorist bombing.”

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the mosque is attended primarily by members of the Alawite community.

State news agency SANA, citing a security source, reported that the blast was caused by explosives planted inside the mosque.

A government official said the devices detonated during the crowded Friday prayer service.

Photos released by SANA showed extensive destruction and bloodstains inside the prayer hall.

In addition to the eight fatalities, Health Ministry official Najib al‑Naasan told SANA that 18 people were injured.

The official said ⁠the figures were not final, indicating that the death toll could rise.

The Syrian government blamed the church attack on a cell of the Islamic State (IS) groupImage: AP Photo/picture alliance

Islamist group claims responsibility

A local security official told SANA that investigators had not yet identified the attacker or confirmed any link to armed groups.

However, in a statement on Telegram, the Islamist militant group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said later Friday that its fighters had “detonated a number of explosive devices” at the mosque.

The group was formed after the ouster of Assad, who is a member of the Alawite community.

Syria has faced multiple episodes of sectarian bloodshed since Assad was driven from power by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni‑led interim government.

After his ouster, Assad fled to Russia, and since then, Alawite communities have faced a series of crackdowns.

The Syrian government has recently stepped up security campaigns against Assad loyalists and the self-declared Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

On December 19, the United States launched strikes aimed at IS targets in Syria, not the Syrian state, in retaliation for an attack which killed two American servicemen and an interpreter a few days earlier.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar blasted the Palestinian Authority (PA) for emboldening terrorism with its infamous “Pay-for-Slay” program after a Palestinian on Friday murdered two Israelis.

Palestinian terrorists murdered 19-year-old Aviv Maor from Kibbutz Ein Harod and Mordechai Shimshon, 68, from Beit She’an on Friday in northern Israel.

The Palestinian Authority “Pay-for-Slay” policy gained wide public attention when Taylor Force, a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was savagely knifed to death by a Palestinian terrorist on March 8, 2016, while on a tour of Israel. President Donald Trump signed the Taylor Force Act into law in October 2018, after a vigorous campaign by Force’s parents, Robbi and Stuart Force.

TRUMP ADMIN WEIGHS TERRORISM SANCTIONS AGAINST UN PALESTINIAN AID AGENCY OVER HAMAS ALLEGATIONS

Israeli security forces inspect the scene where a vehicle was used by an assailant in a suspected terrorist attack involving a car ramming and stabbing that killed two people in Afula, northern Israel, on Dec. 26, 2025. (Gil Eliyahu/Reuters)

Prior to Friday’s terrorist attacks, Sa’ar issued warnings to the international community about alleged Palestinian leadership deception. He wrote on X: “Don’t believe Mahmoud Abbas’ lies. The Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and their families haven’t stopped. The PA decided to continue its ‘Pay-for-Slay’ policy. This includes payments to the families of ‘martyrs’ and injured terrorists, jailed terrorists and released terrorists.  The PA is also disguising the payments to the released murderers as payments to pensioners of the Palestinian Security Services!   This is distorted.  End ‘Pay-for-Slay’ now!”

Abbas is the 90-year-old chain-smoking president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank (the region is known in Israel by its biblical names of Judea and Samaria.)

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital that contrary to Palestinian Authority claims about stopping the “Pay-for-Slay” program, there has been “no substantial change in Palestinian Authority policy with regard to the payments to terrorists.”

Taylor Force was a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was pursuing his MBA at Vanderbilt University. His bright future was savagely cut short on March 8, 2016, when Taylor was walking with his Vanderbilt friends along the Mediterranean boardwalk promenade in Tel Aviv, Israel. A Palestinian terrorist attacked the group with a knife, and Taylor was stabbed to death. (Courtesy of the Force Family)

He continued that “They are making noises as if they are changing their policies.” But he termed it a “façade” with no change in policy.

Michael said that “Pay-for-Slay will continue in a different manner. Donors and the international community [who finance the PA] will find it more difficult to monitor it.”

UN UNDER FIRE AS USAID INVESTIGATORS PROBE HAMAS DIVERSION OF AID TO GAZA

The counter-terrorism expert, Michael, who is also a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, said the PA “defines terrorists as social welfare. They continue to support incitement against Israel. They continue remaining dysfunctional.”

According to a Dec. 19 report in the Times of Israel, a PA-linked organization –The Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (also known as Tamkeen) — disputed the Israeli government claim that “Pay-for Slay” is still intact.

Tamkeen noted in its statement that it “confirms that the payment system linked to the number of years of imprisonment has been completely and permanently abolished and is no longer in effect in any way.” It added that “Claims regarding its continuation fall under the category of deliberate misinformation and falsification of facts.”

Fox News Digital reached out numerous times to the Palestinian Authority for a comment and sent press queries to the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (Tamkeen.)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with then-President Joe Biden in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Friday, July 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

When asked by Fox News Digital what donor nations can do to stop “Pay-for-Slay,” Michael said, “Be strict when it comes to financial donations,” adding there are “many ways to pressure the Palestinian Authority.”

He sharply criticized Western European leaders who recognized an independent Palestinian state in 2025 without ensuring that the state would be a non-sponsor of terrorism. “Western leaders, the British prime minister, the French president and the Spanish prime minister are rushing and running to recognize a Palestinian state, and they don’t care what takes place under the Palestinian Authority in the territories.” He said their recognition is “an incentive to continue to ‘Pay for Slay.”’

Michael said the Trump administration is the only one “applying pressure on the Palestinian Authority.”

A Palestinian terrorist from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is seen carrying a weapon during a military parade in the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. (Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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He stressed that if the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas is not dismantled and disarmed in Gaza, “it will be another achievement of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.”

The U.S. State Department and American Embassy in Jerusalem did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital press queries.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

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In 2019, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon told PBS’ Frontline program how President Donald Trump was engaged in a deliberate strategy to overwhelm the press and his critics by rolling out massive and controversial policy changes while distracting them with trolling to keep them from ever focusing on any one thing that could matter.

He described the tactic as “flooding the zone.”

“Every day, we hit them with three things. They’ll bite on one, and we’ll get all of our stuff done, bang, bang, bang,” he said.

Nearly a year into Trump’s second term, their “flood the zone strategy” has been in full effect.

His administration has unveiled sweeping changes to how America’s government operates in ways that have had and will have dramatic effects on how everyday people live for years to come. But those changes have come in such rapid-fire succession that nearly 365 days after Trump was sworn in on a freezing January day last year, it’s hard to even begin to remember what he’s done.

Here are some of the wildest stories from the White House in 2025:

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Donald Trump’s return to the White House has come with big changes and constant headlines. Here is a look back at some of the wildest stories. (Getty Images)

The Purge of the Watchdogs

Five days after his swearing-in, Trump committed a Friday-night massacre of the independent inspectors general who root out waste, fraud and abuse within federal agencies and departments.

The late-night purge removed the inspectors general at nearly every Cabinet-level agency without warning and in violation of a longstanding law requiring the president to notify Congress of his intent to fire any such official 30 days before actually doing so.

Only the watchdogs at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security were permitted to remain in their jobs.

Trump, who fired a number of inspectors general during his first term in an effort to kneecap their ability to investigate wrongdoing by his appointees, defended the illegal move as “very common” while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the first weekend golf outing of his second term.

“I don’t know them … but some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job. It’s a very standard thing to do,” he said.

The purge took out Senate-confirmed watchdogs at the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Treasury and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration. The move allowed Trump fill the positions with loyalists.

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Days after taking office, Trump removed several government watchdogs from their post. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz was just one of two watchdogs spared by Trump’s January 25 purge (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The U.S. Takeover of Gaza that never happened

Less than a month in the White House, Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an official visit.

Netanyahu’s trip was his first appearance there in quite some time, as Trump’s predecessor, former president Joe Biden, had declined to invite the Israeli leader due to election-year sensitivities around Israel’s brutal campaign of bombing civilian targets in Gaza to retaliate for the October 7, 2023, terror attacks by Hamas.

Just weeks earlier, the Biden and Trump teams had shared credit for what was billed at the time as a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, though the agreement quickly collapsed.

But as Netanyahu stood beside him in the East Room, Trump offered up another plan for the war-torn territory that sent Middle East experts’ heads spinning as the president claimed the U.S. would “take over” Gaza, displacing the 2.1 million Palestinians living there while the territory is rebuilt as “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

The president’s shocking proposal to put the Gaza Strip — territory that Israel has occupied since the end of the 1967 Six-Day War — under American control came at the start of a madcap marathon press conference in the East Room following a bilateral meeting with Netanyahu, the first foreign leader Trump has hosted since returning to the White House last month.

He claimed that “everybody” he had spoken to about the plan “loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”

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Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take questions during a press conference in the East Room of the White House. (AFP via Getty Images)

“I’ve studied this very closely over a lot of months, and I’ve seen it from every different angle, and it’s a very, very dangerous place to be, and it’s only going to get worse. And I think this is an idea that’s gotten tremendous … praise. And if the United States can help to bring stability and peace in the Middle East, we’ll do that,” Trump added.

His comments drew widespread criticism around the world, with Saudi Arabia saying it “unequivocally rejected” the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, and Hamas branding the idea “ridiculous and absurd.”

The White House walked back the idea less than a day later, and the president’s aborted plan was later superseded by the ceasefire agreement negotiated between Israel and Hamas with the aid of Egypt, Qatar and other regional powers in October.

Trump targets a critic with his very own executive order

During his 2024 campaign against former Biden, and later former vice president Kamala Harris, Trump was fond of telling supporters that he would be their “retribution” if he was elected again.

Since taking office, he’s made good on that promise in ways that critics say have strained the rule of law and undermined the independence of the Department of Justice.

But Trump took an unprecedented step on his “retribution” tour in April by ordering the Department of Justice to investigate one of his most prominent first-term critics — for anything that can be found to investigate.

The order singled out Miles Taylor, a veteran of multiple Republican administrations who served as chief of staff to then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly during the president’s first term. During that time, Taylor infamously penned an anonymous New York Times op-ed — and later a book — describing efforts by Trump administration personnel to shield the government from Trump’s worst instincts.

White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said at the time that the order stripped Taylor “of any active clearance that he has in light of his past activities involving classified information” even though Taylor’s writings weren’t alleged to have included anything classified at all.

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Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was as a major critic of Trump. He was targeted by the White House soon after Trump returned to Washington. (AFP/Getty)

“It’s also going to order the Department of Justice to investigate his activities, to see what else might come up in that context, given his egregious behavior during your previous administration,” Scharf added.

The same day, Trump signed a similar order directing a probe of Chris Krebs, the security expert who headed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during his first term. Krebs had incurred Trump’s ire in the immediate wake of the 2020 election — which Trump lost to Joe Biden — by stating publicly that the election was the most secure in the country’s 250-year history.

He also said there was “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised” during the 2020 election, directly contradicting Trump’s false claims of fraud.

That order further targeted Krebs’ employer, the cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, by ordering the stripping of security clearances “held by individuals at entities associated with Krebs, including SentinelOne, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.”

Eight months later, neither Taylor nor Krebs has been accused of any crime, but Trump has continued to escalate his campaign of revenge against critics and adversaries by ordering the Justice Department to prosecute ex-FBI director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, among others.

Those efforts have thus far been stymied by federal judges who dismissed a pair of indictments against both Comey and James on the grounds that the ex-White House official who Trump installed as a prosecutor in Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed.

Trump suggests he’s above the law with dubious Napoleon quote

Less than a month after he swore to “preserve, protect and defend” the U.S. Constitution, Trump took to social media to push back against the myriad challenges to his blitzkrieg of executive actions and threats to federal agencies from the then-Elon Musk-ed Department of Government Efficiency by invoking a movie quote from a film about Napoleon, who justified his despotic regime as the will of the people of France.

Writing on X and Truth Social on February 15, Trump said: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”

Trump, whose efforts to gut federal funding, fire thousands of aid workers and unilaterally redefine the 14th Amendment had been swiftly blocked by federal courts across the country in the opening salvos of what has become a series of months-long legal battles, appeared to be lifting a line 1970 film Waterloo, in which actor Rod Steiger’s Napoleon states that he “did not ‘usurp’ the crown.”

“I found it in the gutter, and I picked it up with my sword, and it was the people … who put it on my head,” he says. “He who saves a nation violates no law,” Steiger said.

Four days later, Trump went even further by crowning himself “king” of his former home, New York City, after the Department of Transportation purported to order the withholding of federal funds to New York unless it nixed the congestion pricing plan that the Democratic-led city government implemented.

“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” he wrote February 19 on Truth Social. “Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

The White House’s X account then shared his statement with a mock cover of Time magazine featuring a portrait of the president wearing a crown with the caption “long live the king.”

Then-White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich also shared an AI-generated image of the president wearing a crown and regal cape.

In response, ​​New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority sued Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and federal transportation officials, arguing the Trump administration unlawfully and “precipitously — and for blatantly political reasons— purported to ‘terminate’ the program, as then-candidate Trump proclaimed he would do in his first week in office.”

A federal judge later blocked the Trump administration from withholding funds in retaliation for the congestion pricing scheme, and the MTA’s lawsuit seeking to permanently enjoin the administration from doing so remains ongoing.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Janelle Brown is sharing an update on her “dream” home at her North Carolina farm
• “For the first time it looks (almost) complete,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a picture of the property’s exterior weeks after showing off the interior in November
• The Sister Wives star first told her followers about her North Carolina property in December 2024

Janelle Brown is getting closer and closer to her dream home.

On Friday, Dec. 26, the Sister Wives star gave fans an update on her “dream” property in North Carolina in an Instagram post. Brown, 56, first told her followers about the 156-acre property in December 2024.

“Today we were out at the property. And as I came around the bend on the road I caught this photo. For the first time it looks (almost) complete. And this part of the dream seems tangible,” Brown captioned a picture of her house’s exterior.

“There is still so much of the inside to finish,” she continued. “The kitchen cupboards and dry wall is finished. That is about all.”

Janelle Brown via Instagram.

Janelle Brown/Instagram

Brown’s followers were excited to hear about the progress. “dreams do come true…. it’s never too late !! so happy for you! cant wait to see the completed forever home,” one fan said.

“What an exciting news chapter in your life…one that you can write,” another wrote. “Congratulations, this is a well deserved dream unfolding.” Others said they loved her front porch.

Days before, the TLC star wrote about how it still surprises her how peaceful she finds the North Carolina farmland. “The farm, the quiet, the way my shoulders drop the second I step outside,” she wrote in part on Dec. 22.

“Life was so loud for so long and having this space — literally and emotionally — has made me see how much I’d been holding without even noticing,” she continued about her new home. “It’s funny how the place you never imagined becomes the place that puts you back together.”

Brown first told her followers about the North Carolina purchase in December 2024 and has been providing plenty of updates on the property’s development.

“Finally putting down some permanent roots. Doesn’t look like much yet but it will 💪🏻,” she posted on Instagram at the time, alongside a video of the property’s vast greenery. “I like the wild feel that it has now and we are planning for many acres to stay that way for the benefit of the wildlife.”

She purchased the land with her daughter Madison Brush and son-in-law Caleb Brush. Their house is located “maybe 100” yards away door to door, facing one another. Together, the trio founded Taeda Farms, whose motto is “building beauty from the ground up.”

Janelle Brown via Instagram.

Janelle Brown/Instagram

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In November, she called building a new house “messy, emotional and one of the most exciting things I’ve done.”

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.

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Rob Reiner’s complicated relationship with his famous father shaped a lifelong mission to save his own troubled son – a mission that may have ultimately cost the filmmaker his life. 

The actor and director spoke candidly over the years about yearning for validation from Hollywood icon dad Carl Reiner, and his commitment to being a better parent to his own children, particularly younger son, Nick, 32, who has long struggled with addiction and instability.

But that private, painful struggle appeared to a devastating twist when Nick allegedly cut the throats of both his father Rob, 78, and his mother Michele, 70, at their Brentwood home on December 14. 

Authorities say the couple died from ‘multiple sharp-force injuries.’

The killings have highlighted the unresolved father-son dynamic that shaped Rob Reiner’s life.

Speaking about his childhood in an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, just three months ago, Reiner said: ‘I felt that my father didn’t, you know, love me or understand me.’ 

Host Terry Gross noted that those feelings seemed at odds with what Reiner had described as his affection and admiration for Carl. But Reiner had no trouble explaining the contradiction.

‘Well, they’re not,’ he said. ‘Because loving your father and looking up to your father doesn’t necessarily mean you’re feeling that back, that you’re feeling that from him,’ he said, noting that the older man didn’t really know him as a boy and young man, let alone lavish praise on him. 

Rob Reiner had candidly spoken about his own painful, complicated relationship with his late father, Carl Reiner, months before his shocking murder 

The legendary film director was determined to be a different kind of parent to his own children, specifically, his troubled, drug-addict son Nick

Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 aged 98, was a comic and actor who performed alongside Sid Caesar before creating The Dick Van Dyke Show and going on to direct successful comedies including The Jerk, Oh, God! and All of Me, among others.

Gross went on to ask about Reiner’s relationship with Nick, whose long history of substance abuse was the subject of Being Charlie, a semi-biographical film about a privileged drug addict child of a high-profile actor turned politician, on which the father and son collaborated in 2015. 

‘Did you feel like your son was sending you the message that you were sometimes too busy to pay attention to him?’ Gross asked.

‘I was never, ever too busy,’ Reiner answered, unequivocally. ‘I mean, if anything, I was the other way. 

‘I was more hands-on and trying to do whatever I thought I could do to help.’

Rob was quick to note that Nick had turned his life around since the years that inspired him to co-write the film with Matt Elisofon, a friend from rehab.

‘He’s been great. He hasn’t been doing drugs for over six years. 

Rob and wife Michele shared three children, Jake, Nick, and Romy; pictured at the premiere of Rumor Has It in 2005 

The Reiner family all shared their support for Romy at her high school graduation 

‘I mean, he’s in a really good place…,’ he said.

Rob Reiner was born in 1947, the eldest of three children. His sister Annie, is an artist, poet, playwright, painter and psychoanalyst, and brother Lucas is a painter, printmaker, photographer and filmmaker. Both live near the home where Rob and Michele were killed.

Estelle, their mother, was an actress and singer, best remembered for her late-career cameo appearance in Reiner’s famed 1989 romcom, When Harry Met Sally. 

She delivered the legendary line: ‘I’ll have what she’s having,’ in the famous scene in which Meg Ryan’s character faked an orgasm in a deli. Estelle died at age 84 in 2008.

Rob revered his dad, even announcing at age eight, that he wanted to change his name to Carl.

‘I loved him so much, I just wanted to be like him and I wanted to do what he did and I just looked up to him so much,’ he told Gross.

Nick is charged with murdering his parents

Nick was in court Wednesday wearing a blue anti-suicide vest, it was his first appearance since the death of his parents. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder

The couple was killed inside their mansion in Brentwood, a ritzy neighborhood in Los Angeles on December 14 

He talked about yearning for his father’s validation, and finally earning it after directing a version of Jean Paul Sartre’s play, ‘No Exit,’ at a Los Angeles theater at age 19.

‘He came backstage after the performance. And he looked me in the eye, and he said, that was good. No bull****. And that’s the first time he ever said anything like that to me,’ Reiner said.

Reiner went on to make a name for himself, at first with his Emmy-winning role as Mike ‘Meathead’ Stivic, the liberal, college-educated son-in-law of Archie Bunker in All in the Family, a sitcom largely about generational divides.

Norman Lear, who created the show, was a close friend of his father.

In his interview with Gross, Reiner spoke about finally differentiating himself from his dad when directing Stand By Me, which he later cited as his favorite piece of work partly because one of its characters, Gordie, felt similarly unloved and misunderstood by his father.

‘It wasn’t until I did Stand By Me that I really started to feel very separate and apart from my father,’ he told Gross. 

‘And when it became successful, I said, oh, OK. I can go in the direction that I want to go in and not feel like I have to, you know, mirror everything my father has done up till then.’

In 2017, Rob and Carl Reiner became the first father and son pair to be honored together during a Hand and Footprint Ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Rob referred to his dad as his idol.

Reiner went on to follow in his father’s professional footsteps as a director and actor, getting his big break on CBS sitcom All in the Family, created by his dad’s close friend Norman Lear, pictured in 2017 

The film director made no secret about his complicated relationship with his father, who he noted, despite his flaws, he loved deeply. Carl Reiner died in 2014 

Reiner was a supportive father to his own four kids, including Tracy Reiner, 61, the daughter of his first-wife, actress Penny Marshall, who played Laverne on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley and died in 2018. Reiner adopted Tracy as a child.

‘I came from one of the greatest families ever and now I have a lot of flagpoles missing – people who held me up,’ she told the Daily Mail on Sunday in the hours after learning of Reiner’s murder.

Tracy, an on-again, off-again actress, has had small roles in several films connected to her family, including work by both her parents.

Rob, who gleaned his love of baseball from his father, shared it with Jake, 34, his eldest child with Michele. Reiner and Michele met while making When Harry Met Sally. 

Jake, a former journalist, is an actor and writer. He told People in 2023 that he and his dad regularly attended games together and talked daily about their beloved Los Angeles Dodgers.

Social media posts by Romy Reiner, 28, Rob’s youngest child with Michele, show an exceptionally close and playful relationship in which father and daughter shared progressive politics. 

She can be seen in one post giving him a home haircut as they joked about the possibility of her having a Brazilian butt lift to make her more ‘marketable’ in show business.

Jake and Romy issued a statement last week calling their parents’ deaths ‘horrific and devastating.’

Reiner was a supportive father to his own four kids, who include Tracy Reiner, 61, the daughter of his first-wife, actress Penny Marshall, who died in 2018. Reiner adopted Tracy as a child

Along with Nick, he shared daughter Romy and older son Jake Reiner, with his wife Michele 

‘Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day,’ they wrote.

‘They weren’t just our parents,’ the pair continued. ‘They were our best friends.’

It was Rob’s relationship with his son Nick that has had by far the most scrutiny.

Rob and Michele realized that Nick had been using drugs just before his 15th birthday.

‘I was never angry,’ Rob told People. ‘I felt bad for him and I didn’t know what to do to help – and a lot of times parents don’t know what to do.’

The father-son duo did a string of joint interviews together in 2016 after the release of ‘Being Charlie.’ 

By that point, Nick had been in and out of nearly two dozen rehab programs and had cycled in and out of homelessness.

The film ended up being as much, if not more, about the father’s take on his son’s addiction as the son’s own experience.

‘Charlie, I know you’re angry at me and probably don’t want to hear this right now, but I do love you,’ the father, played by Cary Elwes, tells his son. 

‘I’m sorry. Every expert with a desk and a diploma told me I had to be tough at you, but every time we sent you away to another one of those programs I saw you slipping away from us. 

‘And all I could tell myself is that I’d rather have you alive and hating me than dead on the streets.’

A Daily Mail review of their promotional interviews shows Rob did most of the talking, acknowledging that the end result was more a film that he, as the director, envisioned than one that Nick, a co-writer, would have wanted.

Rob spoke about his insistence at points that Nick enroll in inpatient rehabilitation centers rather than programs in which he could continue living at home, as he wanted. 

Although he said tough love didn’t come naturally to him, he relied on experts’ advice to practice it in hopes of helping his son break the cycle of addiction. He said he later realized what deep anger it triggered in Nick, and that working together on the film helped heal their relationship.

Nick sounded less upbeat about their collaboration, saying ‘there were disagreements’ and ‘at times it was really rough’ working with his father. 

At one point, he said in an interview, ‘I really wasn’t sure I wanted to do this.’

Nick Reiner had a long history of substance abuse and had spoken about it publicly alongside his father 

Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead in their home on Sunday with stab wounds. Their cause of death was a result of ‘multiple sharp force injuries,’ according to a report from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner

His career in show business seems to have ended after that film and it is unclear what, if anything, has done for work in the decade since. He had been living in his parents’ guest house until Sunday.

One friend told the Daily Mail that Rob and Michele’s approach to Nick was ‘an approach of acceptance, of hope, like, “Nick is Nick and can be a pain, but we’re all 100 percent behind him”. 

‘They really knew Nick, and saw him, and had enormous empathy and patience for him.’

A contemporary of Nick who has known the family since childhood said Nick was always uncomfortable with his status as a nepo baby and couldn’t seem to shake feelings of shame that he was somehow breaking a legacy set by his more brilliant and accomplished father and grandfather.

‘My sense was that he knew he failed to launch and hated himself for it,’ she said. 

‘Nick came from one of the best, warmest, most loving families I know. But maybe all the love in the world couldn’t fix whatever he was going through.’

Nick appeared in court on Wednesday wearing an anti-suicide vest. Prosecutors have yet to announce whether they will seek the death penalty in the double-murder case against him.

His family has hired A-list defense attorney Alan Jackson. In their statement Wednesday, his brother and sister asked that speculation about him and the case be ‘tempered with compassion and humanity’ as authorities investigate what happened.

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A man aged just 20 has died and several others have been injured after a crash in Northern Ireland in the early hours of Boxing Day



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The jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to an additional 15 years after he was found guilty of abuse of power, in the biggest trial yet in the multibillion-dollar fraud scandal related to the state fund 1MDB.

Najib’s conviction substantially increases the six-year prison term he is already serving for a separate case related to the 1MDB graft scandal, one of the world’s biggest financial frauds in which billions were plundered from the now defunct sovereign wealth fund.

In the latest case, Najib had been charged with four counts of corruption and 21 counts of money laundering for receiving illegal transfers of about 2.2bn ringgit ($544.15m) from 1MDB. He has consistently denied wrongdoing in the scandal, which dented Malaysia’s image abroad.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who was presiding, convicted Najib, 72, on all four counts of abuse of power. The former PM will also face a verdict on 21 counts of money laundering linked to the fund, which prompted investigations in several countries, from Singapore to the US.

The judge said in his verdict: “The contention by the accused that the charges against him were a witch-hunt and politically motivated were debunked by the cold, hard and incontrovertible evidence against him that pointed towards the accused having abused his own powerful position in 1MDB, coupled with the extensive powers conferred upon him.”

Malaysian and US investigators say at least $4.5bn was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund Najib co-founded in 2009 while in office. More than $1bn allegedly made its way into accounts linked to Najib, who has denied wrongdoing.

The ruling could add to tensions in the prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim’s, governing alliance, which includes the once dominant United Malays National Organisation, over which Najib, its former leader, has retained significant influence.

Najib has been in prison since August 2022, when Malaysia’s top court upheld a corruption conviction for illegally receiving funds from a 1MDB unit. His 12-year jail sentence in that case was halved last year by a pardons board.

Najib is the son of one of the country’s founding fathers and was groomed for leadership from a young age until his spectacular fall from power. He had been seen as untouchable until public anger over the 1MDB corruption scandal led to the 2018 election defeat of his ruling party, which had governed since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957.

Prosecutors say Najib abused his positions as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chair to move large amounts of money from the fund into his personal accounts more than a decade ago.

According to investigators, proceeds from the state fund were used to bankroll high-end real estate, a luxury yacht and precious artworks.

Najib has repeatedly said he was misled by 1MDB officials and the fugitive financier Jho Low, who has been charged in the US for his central role in the case. Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, has denied wrongdoing.

The judge dismissed several of the defence lawyers’ arguments, including that Najib was duped by Low, his close associate. He also dismissed arguments that the money flowing into Najib’s accounts was “donations” from Middle East funders, calling it a “tale that surpassed even those from the Arabian Nights”.

The prosecution presented bank records, testimony from more than 50 witnesses and documentary evidence.

Najib “paints himself as a victim of rogue subordinates, when in truth, he was the single most powerful decision maker”, the deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court during closing arguments. “The accused wielded absolute financial, executive and political control,” he said.

Najib has apologised for allowing the 1MDB scandal to happen during his tenure, but maintains he knew nothing about illegal transfers from the fund.

His legal battle was dealt a blow on Monday after he lost an application to serve the remainder of his first jail term at home rather than the Kajang prison, outside Kuala Lumpur.

Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press contributed reporting

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⁠Israel ‍has recognized ⁠Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, as an “independent and sovereign state,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday.

“Together with Foreign Minister Sa’ar and the President of the Republic of Somaliland, we signed a joint and mutual declaration,” Netanyahu posted to X.

“This declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump,” he said.

In doing so, Israel becomes the first country to recognize the breakaway state. 

What to know about Somaliland

Somaliland broke ties with Somalia in 1991, and the region has sought international recognition as an independent state since then.

But no foreign government recognized its sovereignty until this afternoon.

Still, Somaliland remains more stable than Somalia, and some analysts say that the breakaway state has a strong case for independence.

In recent years, Somaliland has struck major power investment deals with foreign powers, including Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates, raising tensions with Somalia.

Somalis face a complete travel ban into the US under the Trump administration.

Somalia and Somaliland: Here are the differences and issues

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Israel to seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, economy

Netanyahu said Israel would seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology and economy.

Netanyahu congratulated Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, praised his leadership and invited him to visit Israel.

Somaliland welcomes Israeli recognition

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said in a statement that the breakaway state would join the Abraham Accords, calling it a step toward regional and global peace.

He said Somaliland was committed to building partnerships, boosting mutual prosperity and promoting stability across the Middle East and Africa.

“This is a historic moment,” he posted to X.

What to know about Abraham Accords and why that matters

The Abraham Accords are US President Donald Trump’s signature foreign policy achievement from his first term.

The set of deals to normalize relations between Israel and other Arab nations was considered a big step toward peace in the Middle East region at the time.

There have been some success stories with Israel having normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and others. But progress has stalled.

Trump hopes to expand the number of countries that sign the accords that bring mutual economic and security benefits during his second term.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

A Florida man is suing a major steakhouse chain after one of the restaurant’s toilets “shattered” while he was using it.

Michael Green said in a lawsuit that the incident unfolded during a visit to an Outback Steakhouse in Ocala on March 26.

The lawsuit, which was filed by law firm Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys, alleges that Green left his table to use a handicapped stall during his meal. That was when the seat collapsed beneath him, causing him to fall to the ground.

Green’s lawsuit, which was seen by Ocala News, claims that he suffered “significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function and/or permanent and significant scarring” as a result of his injuries.

Now, he is suing the Australian-themed chain of steakhouses for damages in excess of $50,000. He has also accused the company of negligence on the basis that it failed to “ensure the toilet was secured to the floor.”

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A man is suing Outback Steakhouse after a toilet allegedly collapsed beneath him at a restaurant in Ocala (Getty Images)

Outback Steakhouse has more than 1,000 locations across the world, 670 of which are in the United States, according to its quarterly report.

Founded in 1988, the Tampa-based company is known for its “bloomin’ onions.” The deep-fried dish consists of an onion cut to resemble a flower and is often served with the brand’s dipping sauce.

However, like many restaurant chains, the brand has been forced to close several of its locations as part of a “turnaround plan.”

Two of the sites that have closed are based in Alabama, with another two being located in Florida. Locations in Maryland, Louisiana, New York and Wisconsin were also closed as part of the plan.

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He has claimed that the company failed to check whether the toilet was properly fastened to the floor (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Outback Steakhouse is operated by parent company Bloomin’ Brands which confirmed the news in a statement given to USA Today.

“We considered a variety of factors, including sales and traffic, trade areas, and potential investments to improve performance,” Elizabeth Daly, the company’s spokesperson, wrote.

The wave of closures comes just months after 41 “underperforming” restaurants were shuttered by Bloomin’ Brands in February.

Employees at the axed locations were offered jobs at nearby restaurants if possible.

“Closing restaurants is never easy,” Bloomin’ Brands said in a statement at the time. “This was a business decision that has no reflection on the staff or their service.

“Many team members will have the opportunity to transfer to open positions at another restaurant,” the statement continued. “Employees who do not will receive severance.”

The Independent has contacted Bloomin’ Brands and Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys.

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NEED TO KNOW

• JonBenét Ramsey was 6 years old when her family reported her missing from their home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996
• To the family’s horror, John found her dead in the basement. An autopsy revealed the cause of her death as strangulation
• Now her father believes police are closer than ever to finding her killer

John Ramsey may be closer to finding out the truth about JonBenét’s murder than ever before now that Boulder police say they have “new evidence” in the high-profile case.

“It’s encouraging,” John recently said on NewsNation’s Banfield. “The key really in progress has been the addition of new leadership there. It was not very good for 25 to 26 years. And now, knowing Chief (Stephen) Redfearn…I’ve met with him three or four times. I’m impressed with him. I think he’s sincere and honest.”

JonBenét was 6 years old when her family reported her missing from their home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996. To the family’s horror, John found her dead in the basement. An autopsy revealed the cause of her death as strangulation.

In the Boulder Police Department’s annual report, Redfearn provided an update on the ongoing investigation into JonBenét’s murder — which has given her father hope.

“Last year, we gave you an update about a lot of the work that has been done to solve this crime, and those efforts have continued,” Redfearn said in a video statement. 

“This case remains a top priority for our department,” he said, noting that over the past year, “detectives have conducted several new interviews as well as re-interviewed individuals based on tips we’ve received.” 

“We have also collected new evidence and tested and re-tested other pieces of evidence to generate new leads. Techniques and technology constantly evolve. This is especially true with technology related to DNA testing,” Redfearn said.

Back in January, John met with Redfearn and other officials in Boulder to discuss the case.

“The important thing is that I think they are just certainly committed to getting the case solved,” John told PEOPLE in January 2025. “And I think they’re very interested in using the latest technology that’s out there, this genealogy research, which I think is the key that needs to be employed.”

“I am encouraged and I am hopeful,” he added. “I believe that this case will be solved using the latest DNA technology.”

Shortly after the murder of the little girl who had competed in many beauty pageants in her young life, John, his late wife Patsy, and their son Burke, were considered suspects, but steadfastly maintained their innocence, urging police to look for her actual killer.

Authorities have since apologized for casting suspicion on them.

Redfearn joined the Boulder Police Department in 2021 as deputy chief of operations before being named interim police chief in January 2024. In September 2024, he was named the permanent police chief.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE‘s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

In the annual report, Redfearn encouraged anyone with any piece of information to speak up.

“It is never too late for people with knowledge of this terrible crime to come forward, and I urge those responsible for this murder to contact us,” he said.

The Boulder Police Department encourages anyone with any information to contact detectives at BouldersMostWanted@bouldercolorado.gov or by calling the Boulder Police tip line at 303-441-1974.

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By SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 15:21 GMT, 26 December 2025 | Updated: 15:44 GMT, 26 December 2025

BBC bosses have not pulled tonight’s Would I Lie To You Christmas special featuring David Walliams despite recent harassment allegations against the comedian. 

The 54-year-old was accused of ‘harassing’ junior female employees at HarperCollins following an investigation that began last year.

A junior colleague is said to have complained about his behaviour in 2023, leading to other staff members being interviewed.

One of the women who raised concerns was allegedly given a five-figure payout and has since left the company.

Former employees also described how they were advised to work in pairs when meeting with him and told not to visit his home. 

The Little Britain comedian, who is one of the UK’s most successful children’s book authors, has since been dropped by his publisher. 

But, despite mounting pressure on the BBC to remove Walliams from its TV schedule, the broadcaster appears to have kept him in tonight’s festive episode. 

Walliams has denied any wrongdoing and says he was not informed of any allegations or party to an investigation. He is currently taking legal advice

The BBC has also broadcast two TV adaptations from Walliams’s books earlier this week, as well as a Boxing Day special of the award-winning comedy panel show. 

Mr Stink, adapted from Walliams’s 2009 book and The Boy in The Dress were shown on CBBC on December 21, 2025.

It is understood the BBC also has no plans to remove any content featuring Walliams’ from iPlayer.

A BBC spokesperson said: “While we’re not making any changes to the festive schedules, we have no future projects directly involving David Walliams.” 

David Walliams, 54, is accused of ‘harassing’ junior female employees at the firm, resulting in one staff member being offered a five-figure settlement

Walliams seen here laughing on tonight’s festive edition of the award-winning panel comedy show with Lee Mack

Pictured left to right: David Walliams, Lee Mack and Helen George on tonight’s episode of Would I Lie to You

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BBC bosses refuse to pull controversial Would I Lie To You? Christmas special featuring under-fire David Walliams from tonight’s TV schedules

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The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was pictured at a hunt on Friday, as was Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, despite foxes still often being torn to shreds by dogs at the events

Nigel Farage has defended the hunts, which often see foxes torn apart by dogs(Image: Getty Images)

Reform and the Tories have been accused of defending “cruelty” after representatives of both parties attended trail hunts on Boxing Day.

Nigel Farage was pictured at a hunt on Friday, as was Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, despite foxes still often being torn to shreds by dogs at the events. Trail hunting sees a scent laid out for the hunt to follow rather than a real animal, and was introduced as a replacement for fox hunting, which was banned by Labour in 2004.

Labour has vowed to ban the cruel practice as part of its Animal Welfare Strategy, as part of its long-awaited package of policies to improve the lives of pets and animals on farms and in the wild. Animal welfare activists have long criticised the practice as a smokescreen for hunting wild animals.

READ MORE: Nigel Farage’s ‘authoritarian control freaks’ attack on Labour slapped down by No10READ MORE: Boiling lobsters alive to be banned in animal cruelty crackdownTory MP Kevin Hollinrake at the Sinnington trail hunt

Responding to the politicians backing the hunt, Labour MP Luke Charters MP accused both Reform and the Tories of abandoning working people. He said: “The reality is Reform and the Conservatives stopped listening to working people a long time ago, and now they’re too busy defending hunts and chasing cruelty to notice. While Farage and the Tories focus on defending hunts often used as a smokescreen for killing wild animals, Labour is bringing our laws into the 2020s to improve animal welfare practices.

“And that’s of course alongside what we’re doing to deliver on working people’s priorities: cutting the cost of living, reducing waiting lists and bringing about the change Britain voted for last year. Farage and the Tories are simply out of touch.”

Hunt supporters have vowed to fight the plan to ban trail hunting with thousands gathering to watch the traditional Boxing Day meetings. Emma Slawinksi, CEO, League Against Cruel Sports, claimed the trail hunters had brought the ban on themselves. She said: “The hunts have had two decades and hundreds of thousands of opportunities to show the country that trail hunting complies with a law that was laid down to protect wildlife from being hunted by dogs. They have systematically failed.

“Rural communities know, the police know, the courts know and the politicians know that trail hunting is nothing but a smokescreen for old fashioned illegal hunting. The Government’s forthcoming ban on trial hunting is therefore no-one’s fault but the hunts’ themselves.”

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Russia said it has downed seven British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles over the past week, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he plans to hold a meeting with Donald Trump on Sunday.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces were able to destroy the missiles, Russian media reported.

Mr Zelenskyy said the two leaders will discuss Ukraine territory and security guarantees and that the revised 20-point plan under discussion “is about 90% ready”.

Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine “would like the Europeans to be involved,” but doubted it would be possible at short notice.

The announced meeting is the latest development in an extensive US-led diplomatic push to close the nearly four-year Russia-Ukraine war, but efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands by Moscow and Kyiv.

Mr Zelensky’s announcement came after he said on Thursday he had a “good conversation” with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The revised 20-point plan under discussion was made public on Wednesday and follows recent US-Ukraine talks in Miami.

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Pic: Reuters

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Service members of the 152nd Jaeger Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system. Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, Russian overnight drone strikes damaged Slovakia-, Palau- and Liberia-flagged vessels in ports in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said on Friday.

In recent weeks, Russia has intensified attacks on the southern Odesa region, and Ukrainian officials said Moscow aimed to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea and sow chaos among civilians.

Read more:
Ukraine hits major Russian oil refinery with British missiles, officials say
Ukraine and US agree updated 20-point peace plan

The attacks caused power cuts and damaged elevators and civilian warehouses in the Odesa region, but there were no casualties in Friday’s strikes, Oleksiy Kuleba said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine said it struck a major Russian oil refinery on Thursday using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

Image:
Pic: Reuters

Image:
Pic: Reuters

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces hit the Novoshakhtinsk refinery in Russia’s Rostov region. Rostov regional governor Yuri Slyusar said a firefighter was wounded when extinguishing the fire.

Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion.

Russian troops have also taken ‍control of the settlement of ‌Kosivstseve in the ⁠Zaporizhzhia ‌region in ‍eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported on Friday.

Mr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarised zone monitored by international forces.

Though Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday there had been “slow but steady progress” in talks to end the war, Moscow has given no indication it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized.

In fact, Russia has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas – an ultimatum Kyiv has rejected.

Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk – the two areas that make up the Donbas.

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Tensions are flaring along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border in Central Asia with the Tajik government reporting multiple armed incursions this month, straining its fragile relationship with Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders.

More than a dozen people have been killed in attacks by men whom Tajik authorities call “terrorists” and the resulting clashes with Tajik forces, officials in Dushanbe and Beijing said. Victims include Chinese nationals working in remote areas of the mountainous former Soviet republic.

In the latest fighting this week, at least five people were killed in Tajikistan‘s Shamsiddin Shokhin district, including “three terrorists”, officials said.

Tajikistan has long opposed the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, a country it shares a largely unsecured 1,340km (830-mile) border with.

Despite cautious diplomatic engagement between the two countries to adjust to new regional realities, analysts said, the frequency of the recent border clashes risks eroding the Taliban’s credibility and raises questions about its capacity to enforce order and security.

Here is all we know about the clashes along the Tajik-Afghan border and why they matter:

A Taliban flag flies on top of a bridge across the Panj river on the Afghan-Tajik border as seen from Tajikistan’s Darvoz district [File: Amir Isaev/AFP]

What’s happening on the Tajik-Afghan border?

The border runs along the Panj river through the remote, mountainous terrain of southern Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that “three members of a terrorist organisation” crossed into Tajik territory on Tuesday. The committee added that the men were located the following morning and exchanged fire with Tajik border guards. Five people, including the three intruders, were killed, it said.

Tajik officials did not name the armed men or specify which group they belonged to. The officials, however, said they seized three M-16 rifles, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, three foreign-made pistols with silencers, 10 hand grenades, a night-vision scope and explosives at the scene.

Dushanbe said this was the third attack originating from Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province in the past month that has resulted in the deaths of its personnel.

These attacks, Tajik officials said on Thursday, “prove that the Taliban government is demonstrating serious and repeated irresponsibility and non-commitment in fulfilling its international obligations and consistent promises to ensure security … and to combat members of terrorist organisations”.

The Tajik statement called on the Taliban to “apologise to the people of Tajikistan and take effective measures to ensure security along the shared border”.

Tajikistan has not suggested what the motive for the attacks may be, but the assaults have appeared to target Chinese companies and nationals working in the area.

Workers of Talco Gold, a joint Tajik-Chinese mining firm, speak in front of a poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Saritag antimony mine in western Tajikistan [File: AFP]

How is China involved in all this?

Beijing is Tajikistan’s largest creditor and one of its most influential economic partners with a significant footprint in infrastructure, mining and other border-region projects.

China and Tajikistan also share a 477km (296-mile) border running through the high-altitude Pamir Mountains in eastern Tajikistan, adjacent to China’s Xinjiang region.

Two attacks were launched against Chinese companies and nationals in the last week of November. On November 26, a drone equipped with an explosive device attacked a compound belonging to Shohin SM, a private Chinese gold-mining company, in the remote Khatlon region on the Tajik-Afghan border, killing three Chinese citizens.

In a second attack on November 30, a group of men armed with guns opened fire on workers employed by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation, killing at least two people in Tajikistan’s Darvoz district.

Tajik officials said those attacks had originated from villages in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province but did not disclose any affiliation or motive behind the attacks.

Chinese nationals have also come under attack in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

China’s embassy in Dushanbe advised Chinese companies and personnel to evacuate the border area. Chinese officials demanded “that Tajikistan take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese enterprises and citizens in Tajikistan”.

Who is carrying out these attacks?

While the attackers have not been identified, analysts and observers believe the attacks carry the hallmarks of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), which, they said, aims to discredit Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders.

“The ISKP has attacked foreigners inside Afghanistan and carried out attacks on foreigners inside Afghanistan as a key pillar of their strategy,” said Ibraheem Bahiss, a Kabul-based analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank.

“The aim is to shatter the Taliban’s image as a security provider with whom the regional governments should engage,” Bahiss told Al Jazeera.

Taliban members participate in a rally to mark the third anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul in the Afghan capital on August 14, 2024. [Sayed Hassib/Reuters]

How has the Taliban reacted to these attacks?

Kabul expressed its “deep sorrow” over the killings of Chinese workers on November 28.

The Taliban blamed the violence on an unnamed armed group which, it said, is “striving to create chaos and instability in the region and to sow distrust among countries”, and it assured Tajikistan of its full cooperation.

After this week’s clashes, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, said Kabul remains committed to the 2020 Doha Agreement, its deal with the United States for a phased foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban commitments to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for attacking other countries.

Addressing a police cadet graduation ceremony at the National Police Academy in Kabul on Thursday, Haqqani said Afghanistan posed no threat to other countries and the door to dialogue remains open.

“We want to address problems, distrust or misunderstandings through dialogue. We have passed the test of confrontation. We may be weak in resources, but our faith and will are strong,” he said, adding that security had improved to the extent that Taliban officials now travel across the country without weapons.

The Taliban insists that no “terrorist groups” are operating from Afghanistan. However, in a recent report, the United Nations sanctions-monitoring committee cited the presence of multiple armed groups, including ISKP, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaeda, the Turkistan Islamic Party, Jamaat Ansarullah and Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan.

Jamaat Ansarullah is a Tajik group linked to al-Qaeda-aligned networks and active primarily in northern Afghanistan near the Tajik border.

Afghans travel along a border road as seen from Tajikistan’s Darvoz district [File: Amir Isaev/AFP]

How are relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban?

For decades, the relationship between Tajikistan and the Taliban has been defined by deep ideological hostility and ethnic mistrust with Dushanbe one of the group’s fiercest critics in Central Asia.

In the 1990s, Tajikistan aligned with the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, led by Afghan military commander and former Defence Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud.

After the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Tajikistan stood as the lone holdout among its neighbours in refusing to officially recognise the new government.

However, pragmatic diplomatic engagement quietly began about 2023, driven by economic necessity and shared security fears over the presence of ISKP. Stepping up the restoration of relations, a high-level Tajik delegation visited Kabul in November, the first such visit since the Taliban’s return to power.

But the two governments continue to trade accusations that the other is harbouring “terrorists”, the major thorn remaining in their bilateral relationship, and that drug smuggling is occurring across their border.

The Tajik-Afghan border has long been a major trafficking route for Afghan heroin and methamphetamine into Central Asia and onwards to Russia and Europe, exploiting the area’s rugged terrain and weak policing.

“The rising frequency [of the clashes] is new and interesting and raises a point: whether we might be seeing a new threat emerging,” Bahiss said.

Badakshan province, from which Tajik authorities said the attacks on Chinese nationals originate, presents a complex security situation for the Taliban as it has struggled to stem the threat from armed opposition groups, Bahiss added.

This security issue has been further complicated by the Taliban’s crackdown on poppy cultivation in the province, he said. The Taliban has faced resistance to this policy from farmers in the north. This is largely because the terrain of Badakshan means poppies are the only viable cash crop.

Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called his Tajik counterpart early this month to express regret about the attacks on Chinese nationals and say his government was prepared to boost cooperation between their border forces [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

How is the Taliban faring with other neighbours?

Since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021, some of its neighbours have maintained a pragmatic transactional relationship while others have not.

Relations with Pakistan, previously its patron, have particularly deteriorated. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistan Taliban. Tensions over this issue boiled over in November when Pakistan launched air strikes in Kabul, Khost and other provinces, prompting retaliatory Taliban attacks on border posts.

Dozens of people were killed before a ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkiye. However, both sides have engaged in fighting since, blaming each other for breaking the fragile truce.

The Taliban denies Islamabad’s allegations and has blamed Pakistan for its “own security failures”.

Meanwhile, the Taliban is now invested in developing a new relationship with Pakistan’s archrival, India, with delegations visiting Indian cities for trade and security discussions. New Delhi was earlier part of the anti-Taliban alliance. However, that approach has changed with the deteriorating ties between Pakistan and the Taliban.

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Skip next section Zelenskyy to meet with Trump this Sunday in Florida12/26/2025December 26, 2025

Zelenskyy to meet with Trump this Sunday in Florida

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he plans to meet with US President Donald Trump this Sunday in Florida.

Zelenskyy earlier posted to social media that a meeting would take place in the coming days (see below).

But Ukrainian media and others earlier reported a meeting between the two leaders was likely going to take place on Sunday, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Trump is spending his Christmas break there.

“This meeting ‍is specifically for the ​purpose of finalizing everything as ⁠much ​as we can,” Zelenskyy ‌said.

Kyiv and Washington have been working out details of a 20-point peace plan to present to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump comes after a flurry of diplomatic activity last weekend in Miami.  

Kyiv holds firm on territory as Russia, US talk in Miami

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Skip next section WATCH: Coping with uncertainty on Ukraine’s Donetsk front line12/26/2025December 26, 2025

WATCH: Coping with uncertainty on Ukraine’s Donetsk front line

DW traveled to Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk region to speak with residents living under Russian aggression since 2014. After a decade of conflict, many say they remain resolved to hold on to their freedom.

Coping with uncertainty on Ukraine’s Donetsk front line

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Skip next section Russian forces hit energy infrastructure in Odesa

12/26/2025December 26, 2025

Russian forces hit energy infrastructure in Odesa

Ukrainian energy providers in the Black Sea port of Odesa reported two power supply facilities were damaged in Russian drone attacks on the coastal city.

Teams were working to restore power to Odesa residents, according to regional military administrative chief Sergei Lysak.

“Today, the enemy attacked our city again,” he said in remarks carried by Ukrainian agency Ukrainski Novini, describing the attack as a drone strike and adding he had no reports of casualties.

Russia has been escalating its attacks on Odesa for several weeks, including attacks on its port facilities, an apparent attempt to degrade Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.

https://p.dw.com/p/55zeL

Skip next section EU can rely on US on defense despite Trump, says NATO chief Rutte

12/26/2025December 26, 2025

EU can rely on US on defense despite Trump, says NATO chief Rutte

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says the EU does not need to become fully independent of the United States, despite the direction of Donald Trump’s administration

He added he was “absolutely convinced” that the US was fully invested in the alliance. “There’s no doubt,” he told the dpa news agency.

While the EU was now required to invest more in defense and take more responsibility, the goal was to do so alongside the US, he added.

Many voices in Europe have questioned US’ commitment to its allies amid negative signals coming from the Donald Trump’s administration, including inflammatory rhetoric and economic pressure. On Ukraine, Trump’s has sparked particular concern by feuding with Volodymyr Zelenskyy while making perceived overtures to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The latest US security strategy also points out that “the days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over,” based on Trump’s “America First” slogan.

Talking to dpa, Rutte pointed out that three-quarters of NATO’s economic output come from outside the EU due to countries such as the US, the UK, Canada, Norway and Turkey.

“Let’s not forget that when it comes to Europe (and) NATO, there’s more than the EU,” he said.

https://p.dw.com/p/55zV1

Skip next section Russia claims it shot down 7 Storm Shadow missiles in a week

12/26/2025December 26, 2025

Russia claims it shot down 7 Storm Shadow missiles in a week

A day after Kyiv claimed hits on Russia’s oil refineries with Storm Shadow missiles, the Russian defense ministry said its forces shot down seven of the UK-made rockets in one week.

The ministry also said its air defenses destroyed 8 HIMARS-launched missiles and more than 1,350 drones. The numbers could not be independently verified.

Storm Shadow cruise missiles have a range of more than 250 kilometers (155 miles), fly low to avoid detection, and are designed to blast through hardened enemy targets. They were supplied to Ukraine by the UK in 2023. Initially, the UK limited the missiles’ use to targets within Ukrainian territory, but Kyiv has since used them to strike locations inside Russia.

Germany, allies drop range limits on arms to Ukraine

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https://p.dw.com/p/55zRP

Skip next section Putin says willing to agree limited land swap in Ukraine

12/26/2025December 26, 2025

Putin says willing to agree limited land swap in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that he might be open to swapping some territory held by Russian forces in Ukraine, while insisting that Moscow wants full control of the Donbas region, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

The newspaper reported that Putin outlined the position during a late-night Kremlin meeting with senior business leaders on Wednesday.

Kommersant correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov wrote that Putin said Russia remained ready to make the same concessions discussed previously, summing up the position as “Donbas is ours.”

The term Donbas refers to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Outside Donbas, Kolesnikov reported, a partial exchange of territories controlled by Russia was not ruled out.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Kyiv and Washington have moved closer to finalizing a 20-point plan during talks held over the weekend in Miami.

However, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the United States have not found common ground on demands that Kyiv cede parts of Donbas it still controls, or on the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is held by Russian forces.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the war, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

https://p.dw.com/p/55zE4

Skip next section Zelenskyy says he will meet with Trump soon

12/26/2025December 26, 2025

Zelenskyy says he will meet with Trump soon

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that he had agreed to a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the “near future.”

“A lot can be decided before the New Year,” he posted on social media.

The announcement follows weeks of stepped-up diplomatic efforts to end Ukraine’s war with Russia.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy gave a positive assessment of his conversation with Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about ending the war.

This followed his presentation of a 20-point draft peace plan developed with US officials on Tuesday.

The draft marked a sharp shift from earlier proposals that would have forced Kyiv to give up territory and abandon NATO ambitions.

It calls for security guarantees to prevent future Russian attacks and includes measures to rebuild Ukraine. It also demands Russia to withdraw from several regions, including Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, while Ukraine would create a demilitarized zone in parts of Donetsk, but only if Moscow reciprocates.

However, the Kremlin, buoyed by battlefield gains, is unlikely to accept the deal. It said it was analyzing proposals brought back from the US.

President Vladimir Putin reiterated last week that Ukraine must leave Donetsk and Luhansk and rule out NATO membership.

https://p.dw.com/p/55z3q

Skip next section North Korea’s Kim orders factories to make more missiles in 2026

12/26/2025December 26, 2025

North Korea’s Kim orders factories to make more missiles in 2026

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has ordered a major boost in missile production.

State media reports that he visited munitions factories and told officials to expand capacity and build new plants to meet growing military demand.

“The missile and shell production sector is of paramount importance in bolstering up the war deterrent,” Kim said according to state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Pyongyang has sharply increased missile tests in recent years, aiming to improve precision strikes and challenge the United States and South Korea. Analysts say the weapons are also being prepared for export to Russia.

North Korea and Russia have strengthened ties since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Pyongyang has supplied troops, artillery shells and rocket systems, while Russia provides financial aid, technology and food.

https://p.dw.com/p/55z49

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage 12/26/2025December 26, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Could Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump meet before the New Year?

The Ukrainian president seems to think so.

On Friday, Zelenskyy said he had agreed to meet with his US counterpart, adding: “A lot can be decided before the New Year.”

Washington and Kyiv appear close to finalizing a plan to end the war in Ukraine, though questions remain about Russia’s response and lingering disputes.

A White House meeting could seal the deal, or go off the rails, as one earlier this year did.

We’ll bring you the latest updates right here in this blog.

https://p.dw.com/p/55z3o

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