A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in 2025 found both the HMP Liverpool and HMP Altcourse were battling violence, organised crime groups, drugs and failing infrastructure

Paddy Edrich, Liverpool Echo and Tannur Anders

05:11, 27 Dec 2025

HMP Prison Liverpool(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)

Investigations into two Merseyside prisons have found high volumes of drug use and targeted organised crime groups, reporting by the Liverpool Echo showed.

Problems at United Kingdom prisons are not new and have been well-documented, including overcrowding, crumbling infrastructure, lack of rehabilitation and poor living conditions.

In early 2025, sources of the Liverpool Echo raised concerns over the HMP Liverpool, where prison officers were struggling to deal with an increase in violence. One officer had her head split open after being assaulted with a tap.

In the second half of 2025, focus turned to privately-run HMP Altcourse. Headlines were flooded with the story of a former inmate who shot dead prison officer after an internal dispute years earlier, the Echo reported.

The Merseyside’s prisons were visited by HM Inspectorate of Prisons this year and inspectors found both were battling violence, organised crime groups, drugs and failing infrastructure.

Inspectors found that prisoners at the HMP Liverpool were “lying on their beds watching daytime TV and taking drugs to pass the time”. The prison was also found to have the highest positive drug test rate of any jail of its kind across the country. Almost 50% of tests yielded positive results.

The prison was found to have been “continuously targeted” by organised crime groups who were delivering drugs into the facility via drone. The illicit drug network was found to pose “an ongoing threat to the safety and stability of the prison”, the report said.

HMP Liverpool is battling with drugs delivered by drone(Image: HM Inspectorate of Prisons)

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said it was investing £40m in new security measures this year alone to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars. The spokesperson said that £10m would be spent on anti-drone measures such as exterior netting and reinforced windows.

Inspections at the HMP Altcourse also found a significant amount inmates were using drugs and at risk of gang-related violence. The facility also was found to have one of the highest drug among similar jails in the country. Drugs were found to have resulted in a “major threat” to safety and security.

Prisoner-on-prisoner assault had increased steadily over the past two years. This was largely fuelled by debt collection, the Echo reported, and almost three quarters of prisoners felt debt was the biggest driver of violence.

HMP Altcourse(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Other issues found by investigators included self-harm, dilapidated buildings and high staff sickness at HMP Liverpool. HMP Altcourse was found to be facing a rise in self-harm rates and issues around debt-collection within the prison.

Positively, inspectors found that staff retention at HMP Liverpool was considerably better than other jails. At HMP Altcourse, inspectors found that relationships was a strength, with prisoners commenting the support they felt. These resulted in much lower rates of staff assaults than similar jails.

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BREAKINGBREAKING,

Agreement follows talks aimed at ending weeks of deadly clashes along the Thailand-Cambodia border.

Published On 27 Dec 202527 Dec 2025

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Thailand and Cambodia said they have signed a ⁠ceasefire ​agreement to end weeks of fierce fighting along their border that has killed more than 100 people and forced the displacement of more than half a million civilians in both countries.

“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement,” ‍the Thai and Cambodian defence ⁠ministers said in a statement on Saturday.

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“Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement,” the ministers said.

The ceasefire is scheduled to take effect at noon local time (05:00 GMT) and extends to “all types of weapons” and “attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”.

The agreement, signed by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha, ‌ends 20 days of fighting, the worst between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in years.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow soon.

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Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire, pledging to end weeks of deadly border clashes that have killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.

In a joint statement, the two south-east Asian neighbours said the ceasefire would take effect on Saturday at noon local time and involve “all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”.

“Both sides agree to maintain current troop deployments without further movement,” their defence ministers said in a joint statement.

According to the statement released by Cambodia’s defence ministry, “any reinforcement would heighten tensions and negatively affect long-term efforts to resolve the situation”.

The two countries also agreed to cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime.

The agreement, signed by the Thai defence minister, Natthaphon Narkphanit, and his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Seiha, ended 20 days of fighting that have included fighter jet sorties, exchanges of rocket fire and artillery barrages.

Even as the two countries held talks on Saturday to put an end to the skirmish, Cambodia reported that Thailand hit a site in the country’s north-west with an airstrike.

Cambodia’s defence ministry said Thailand deployed F-16 fighter jets to drop four bombs on Saturday morning on a target in Serei Saophoan in the north-western province of Banteay Meanchey. On Friday, Cambodia said a similar airstrike dropped 40 bombs on a target in Chok Chey village in the same province. Thailand’s military confirmed the Friday attack.

What to know about the Thailand-Cambodia conflict – video analysis

Longstanding competing claims of territory along the border are the root of tensions that broke into open combat in late July. Despite a shaky ceasefire mediated by the Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and backed up by pressure from the US president, Donald Trump, renewed combat erupted in early December.

Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since 7 December, according to officials. Thailand has also reported 44 civilian deaths from collateral effects of the situation. Cambodia hasn’t issued an official figure on military casualties, but says that 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas on both sides of the border.

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Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire, a joint statement by both countries’ defense ministers announced on Saturday.

“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement with effect from 12:00 hours noon (local time, 0500 GMT) on 27 December 2025, involving all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas,” said the statement from the countries’ Special General Border Committee, issued by the Cambodian side.

The announcement comes amid peace talks held between the two neighbors after border tensions reignited earlier in December, claiming dozens of lives.

Thailand, Cambodia accuse each other of targeting civilians

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What do we know about the ceasefire?

The ceasefire agreement was signed by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Nakrphanit and his Cambodian counterpart ‍Tea Seiha.

“Both sides agree to ‌maintain current troop deployments without further ‌movement,” ⁠both defence ministers said in the joint statement. “Any reinforcement would heighten tensions ​and ​negatively affect long-term efforts to resolve the situation.” 

The ceasefire ends 20 days of fighting that has killed at least 101 ​people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.

As part of the ceasefire, both sides agreed that residents from the border areas affected by the fighting will now be able to return to their homes.

Edited by: Felix Tamsut

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President Donald Trump showed off a model “America First 250” plane in a flurry of social media posts he fired off the day after Christmas.

At one point, Trump was posting on Truth Social on average every two minutes early Friday morning.

One of the posts was a picture of the president beaming in the Oval Office with the model aircraft on the Resolute Desk.

The new photo was posted without comment, as the president fired off other messages ranging from ending the Senate “zombie apocalypse” filibuster, touting federal unemployment levels, and a news article about the Jeffrey Epstein files “blowing back” on Democrats.

It followed a bizarre Christmas Day Truth Social post from the president about Epstein, saying that he dropped ties with the late sex offender “long before it became fashionable,” and that the controversy surrounding the release of the files is a “Radical Left Witch Hunt.”

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President Donald Trump showed off a model ‘America First 250’ plane in a flurry of Truth Social posts he fired off the day after Christmas (The White House)

The jet — which bares the slogan “America First” on the fuselage with “250” towards the empennage — appeared to be a reference to the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary, which takes place next year.

Trump has already announced plans for the anniversary, including a UFC event on the White House South Lawn, as well a competition for young athletes called the ‘Patriot Games,’ which has drawn unfavourable comparisons to The Hunger Games franchise.

The picture of Trump with the model plane was also posted by the official White House account. The lack of context led a handful of followers to question whether the miniature aircraft was the $400 million jet the president accepted from Qatar.

In the spring, Trump accepted the luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar as a stand-in for Air Force One after complaining about the length of time it was taking the U.S. aircraft giant to build replacements.

“Is that the Qatar plane?” one person replied to the White House account.

“Is that the new Air Force one?” asked another.

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Trump accepted the luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar as a stand-in for Air Force One after complaining about the length of time it was taking the U.S. aircraft giant to build replacements (AFP via Getty Images)

Trump’s acceptance of the plane caused an ethics uproar at the time, despite his assurances it would go to his presidential library once he leaves office.

Amid a furore in Congress over the jet potentially violating the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clause, Justice Department lawyers moved quickly to rule that taking delivery of it would break no laws.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House lawyer David Warrington said they had concluded the donation of the aircraft was “legally permissible.”

It was reported in late July that the U.S. had already begun refitting the plane at great expense, with Trump himself saying it could be ready for service by February 2026.

Joe Sommerlad contributed reporting.

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The medication is commonly prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, and panic attacks

Venlafaxine can cause a variety of side effects(Image: Getty Images)

People taking venlafaxine are being urged to keep an eye out for a variety of symptoms and side effects that will warrant a call to either 111 or their doctor. Venlafaxine is a commonly prescribed SNRI (serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor) that is mainly prescribed to treat depression, although it can sometimes be used to treat anxiety and panic attacks.

It is generally prescribed as either a tablet or capsule to be swallowed and works by increasing the levels of serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain, which can help enhance a person’s mood. While guidance from the NHS notes that venlafaxine has fewer side effects than older antidepressants, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any side effects.

Typically, it takes four to six weeks for venlafaxine to fully work, although people taking it tend to feel better after one to two weeks. While common side effects of venlafaxine include sweating, feeling sick, dry mouth, and headaches, the NHS notes that these are usually mild and go away after a couple of weeks.

A variety of common side effects tend to be mild(Image: Getty Images)

Despite this, some other side effects may be considered more serious and could require a call to 111 or a doctor. Such serious side effects are uncommon and affect less than one in 100 people taking venlafaxine.

Serious side effects of venlafaxine and when to call 111

Guidance from the NHS highlights that you should book an appointment with your doctor if you gain or lose weight without trying or experience significant changes to your periods – this can include bleeding between periods, heavy bleeding, or spotting. Otherwise, patients are urged to call their doctor or 111 if they experience the following side effects:

• The whites of your eyes or skin turn yellow
• Bleeding from the gums
• Bruises that appear without a reason or that get bigger
• You have thoughts about harming yourself or ending your life
• Unexplained muscle pain or weakness
• Shortness of breath, or a fast or irregular heartbeat
• You experience feelings of overwhelming happiness (euphoria), excessive enthusiasm or excitement, or a feeling of restlessness that means you cannot sit or stand still
• Any changes in eyesight, such as blurred vision or dilated pupils
• You cough up blood
• Have blood in your pee
• You get constant headaches, long-lasting confusion, weakness, or frequent muscle cramps
• You have black or red poo, or blood in your vomit – these can be signs of bleeding in the stomach

Some side effects may warrant a 111 call(Image: Getty Images)

Keep in mind that the NHS notes taking venlafaxine over a long period is generally safe and there are no lasting effects. However, if you are concerned bout any side effects relating to your medication, you should either speak to a qualified pharmacist, doctor, or relevant health professional.

Further guidance on venlafaxine can be found on the NHS website here.

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White House officials wanted Bill Clinton to avoid shaking Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams’ hand in front of cameras during his historic visit to Ireland in 1995, newly released records show.

Mr Clinton visited Northern Ireland in November 1995, becoming the first serving US president to make the trip.

Mr Adams was president of Sinn Fein, regarded as the political wing of the IRA paramilitary group, between 1983 and 2018, but has always denied being a member of the IRA.

Mr Clinton and Gerry Adams famously shook hands on the Falls Road in Belfast on the morning of 30 November, but official documents which have been declassified show that the White House had wanted to avoid a handshake being seen by the public.

A letter written by the Irish government official David Donoghue ahead of the presidential visit detailed how “the Americans would prefer to avoid a handshake photograph between the president and Adams”.

Mr Clinton would later say the handshake was a “big deal” and that it felt at the time as though “the pavement was about to crack open”.

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Adams and Clinton greet each other in 2023 at Queen’s University Belfast. Pic: PA

The pair had met for the first time in the White House earlier that year, but only shook hands after photographers left the room.

Mr Clinton was reportedly put under pressure at the time from then British prime minister John Major not to give Mr Adams a warm reception, according to the New York Times.

Clinton’s ancestral links to Co Fermanagh ‘largely fantasy’

The documents from the National Archives of Ireland also included the findings of a genealogy expert researching Mr Clinton’s ancestry, as there had long been claims that he had Cassidy ancestors on his mother’s side who were from Co Fermanagh.

Genealogist Sean Murphy wanted to trace the president’s ancestry after “media dissemination of claims concerning the president’s Irish ancestry which proved to be baseless, yet were left un-contradicted by any authoritative source”.

Image:
Clinton meeting locals in Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh during a 2001 visit. File pic: PA

He told the Taoiseach’s office that his links to Co Fermanagh in northern Ireland were “based largely on fantasy”.

He said the earliest trace of the president’s maternal ancestors of his mother’s line was “probably” Zachariah Cassidy, born in about 1750-60 in South Carolina, and his son Levi.

“The Cassidy ‘clan’ claim that the earliest ancestor was a Luke or Lucas Cassidy of Roslea, Co Fermanagh, appears to be based largely on fantasy,” he wrote.

Read more:
Which prime minister in history had the worst Christmas Day?
Scotland’s ‘most boring town’ was once the ‘beating heart of the Central Belt’

However, he said it was “reasonable to speculate” that his family had at one time emigrated to America from an Ulster county.

The National Archives of Ireland releases batches of declassified government files annually, with information typically relating to events 30 years before.

Last year, it was revealed former US attorney general Janet Reno had strongly advised Mr Clinton not to give Mr Adams a temporary visa in 1995, as there was no evidence that suggested “progress has been made towards the disarmament and demobilisation of the IRA”. The visa included permission for fundraising in the US.

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More than 40 million Americans under winter storm warnings or weather advisories as heavy snow expected.

Published On 27 Dec 202527 Dec 2025

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Thousands of flights have been cancelled and delayed in the United States due to winter storm Devin, airline monitoring website FlightAware reports, dealing a blow to air travel during peak holiday time.

A total of 1,581 flights “within, into or out of the” US were cancelled and 6,883 delayed as of 4pm US Eastern Time (21:00 GMT) on Friday, according to FlightAware, which describes itself as the world’s largest flight tracking data company.

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The delays and cancellations came as the US National Weather ⁠Service warned of winter storm Devin causing “hazardous travel conditions” and heavy snow forecast across parts of the Midwest and northeast.

More than 40 million Americans were under winter storm warnings or weather advisories on Friday, plus another 30 million under flood or storm advisories in California, where a so-called atmospheric river has brought a deluge of rain.

New York City, the largest US city, was bracing for up to 250mm (10 inches) of snow overnight on Friday, the most expected in four years. Temperatures were forecast to drop into the weekend when an Arctic blast is expected to swoop down from Canada.

New York’s John F Kennedy airport, ⁠Newark Liberty international airport and LaGuardia airport warned travellers of potential delays or cancellations. More than half of the flight cancellations and delays took place at these three airports, according to FlightAware.

JetBlue Airways cancelled 225 flights on Friday, the most among the US carriers, closely followed by Delta Air Lines, which cancelled 212 flights. Republic Airways cancelled 157 flights, while 146 were cancelled by American Airlines and 97 by United Airlines.

“Due to winter storm Devin, JetBlue has cancelled approximately 350 flights today and tomorrow, primarily in the Northeast where JetBlue has a large operation,” a JetBlue spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.

On the US West Coast, powerful winter storms brought the wettest Christmas season to Southern California in 54 years.

There was still a risk of more flash flooding and mudslides on Friday despite slackening rain around Los Angeles, the National Weather Service warned.

Firefighters rescued more than 100 people on Thursday in Los Angeles County, with one helicopter pulling 21 people from stranded cars, officials said.

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Israel has become the first country to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state, a breakthrough in its quest for international recognition since it declared independence from Somalia 34 years ago.

The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, announced on Friday that Israel and Somaliland had signed an agreement establishing full diplomatic relations, which would include the opening of embassies and the appointment of ambassadors.

The recognition is a historic moment for Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but until now had failed to be recognised by any UN member states. Somaliland controls the north-west tip of Somalia, where it operates a de facto state, and is bordered by Djibouti to the north-west and Ethiopia to the west and south.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said the declaration was “in the spirit” of the Abraham accords, a series of normalisation agreements between Israel and mostly Arab states signed in 2020.

It posted a video of Benjamin Netanyahu speaking via video call with Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, in which he invited him to visit Israel and described the friendship between the two countries as “historic”. Abdullahi said he would be “glad to be in Jerusalem as soon as possible”.

Donald Trump said he opposed US recognition of Somaliland in an interview with the New York Post published on Friday, adding: “Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?”

The US administration is reportedly split over the recognition of Somaliland, with some fearing such a move could endanger military cooperation with Somalia. The US has troops deployed there, where it supports Somali forces in their fight against the Islamist movement al-Shabaab.

Somalia’s foreign ministry said in statement the decision was a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine peace in the region, a sentiment echoed by the African Union (AU).

The AU said it “firmly rejects” Israel’s move, warning: “Any attempt to undermine the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia … risks setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent.”

The pan-African body’s head, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, said Somaliland “remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia”, which is a member of the AU.

Israel’s move was also condemned by Egypt and Turkey, which said in a statement: “This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy and its efforts to do everything to prevent the recognition of a Palestinian state, constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs.”

Sa’ar said the recognition came after a year of talks between the two countries and that he had instructed Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs to immediately “institutionalise ties between the two countries”.

Israeli analysts have said recognition of the breakaway state could be in Israel’s strategic interest, given Somaliland’s proximity to Yemen, where Israel has conducted extensive airstrikes against the Houthi rebels over the past two years.

A report in November by the Institute for National Security Studies, an Israeli thinktank, said: “Somaliland’s territory could serve as a forward base for multiple missions: intelligence monitoring of the Houthis and their armament efforts; logistical support for Yemen’s legitimate government in its war against them; and a platform for direct operations against the Houthis.”

The Somaliland authorities already host a military base operated by the United Arab Emirates in Berbera, which has a military port and an airstrip for fighter jets and transport aircraft. Analysts have suggested that the base is a key part of the UAE’s anti-Houthi campaign in Yemen.

Somaliland’s president revealed in May that US military officials, including the most senior officer in the Horn of Africa, had visited Somaliland and that another US delegation was expected to visit soon. “It’s a matter of time. Not if, but when and who will lead the recognition of Somaliland,” Abdullahi told the Guardian.

Project 2025, which was published in 2023 and is alleged to have guided much of the doctrine of Donald Trump’s second administration, called for the recognition of Somaliland as a “hedge against the US’s deteriorating position in Djibouti”, where Chinese influence is growing.

This August, the Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz wrote to Trump asking him to recognise Somaliland. Cruz said Somaliland was an ally of Israel and that it had expressed support for the Abraham accords.

Somaliland has a population of a little more than 6.2 million. The breakaway state has a democratic system that has had peaceful transfers of power, though the Washington-based non-profit organisation Freedom House noted an “erosion of political rights and civic space” in recent years, with journalists and opposition figures facing repression from authorities.

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Ukraine’s president last met President Donald Trump at the White House in October

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, as talks continue on ending Russia’s full-scale war.

Zelensky said he expected the meeting to focus on a US-brokered peace plan, and separate proposals for US security guarantees. But a senior Russian official said the plan was “radically different” to the one it was negotiating with the US.

Moscow has spoken of “slow but steady progress” in talks but has not commented on Zelensky’s offer to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, if Russia pulls back too.

On Saturday night, blasts were heard in Kyiv, in what Ukrainian officials said was a new Russian aerial attack.

Kyiv Major Vitaliy Klitschko said Ukraine’s air defence forces were repelling the attack, urging residents of the Ukrainian capital to go shelters. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The regions are collectively known as Donbas.

Ukraine has sought to secure guarantees from the US as part of a peace deal, and Zelensky has suggested that a demilitarised “free economic zone” is a potential option for areas of Donbas that Russia has failed to take by force.

On Friday, Zelensky told reporters that the 20-point plan was 90% complete: “Our task is to make sure everything is 100% ready.”

He wrote on social media: “We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the new year.”

But in an interview with Politico published on Friday, Trump said his Ukrainian counterpart “doesn’t have anything until I approve it”.

“I think it’s going to go good with him. I think it’s going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin,” Trump said.

He also said he expects to speak with the Russian president “soon”.

Trump also told Politico that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would visit him in the coming days.

Putin’s senior aides have held further talks with US officials over the phone, after Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev returned from a meeting in Florida last weekend.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was positive about latest developments, but accused Ukraine of trying to “torpedo” talks on the US plan.

“I think December 25, 2025, will remain in all our memories as a milestone when we truly came close to a solution. But whether we can make the final push and reach an agreement depends on our work and the political will of the other side,” he said in comments to Russian state TV on Friday.

Shortly after details of Zelensky’s imminent visit to Florida emerged, the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city in the north-east, said two people had been killed and several others wounded in a Russian air strike.

Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers were pictured eating a Christmas meal together as fighting continued along the front line

Zelensky has met Trump several times this year, since an initial White House meeting in February descended into a hostile shouting match. Their most recent meeting at the White House in October was far more amicable.

Confirmation of planned top-level talks came after the Ukrainian leader said he had spoken to Trump’s chief negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, for an hour over the phone on Christmas Day.

He said the latest round of negotiations had generated “new ideas” on how to end the war, and described it as a “really good conversation”.

The White House has proposed establishing what would in effect be a demilitarised zone in eastern Ukraine where both sides agree not to deploy troops – a compromise that would avoid settling the intractable question of legal ownership over the contested territory.

Zelensky signalled on Wednesday that if Ukraine were to pull back by up to 40km (25 miles) from the front line in the east to create an economic zone, then Russia would have to do the same from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s industrial heartland in the Donbas.

Ukraine has secured a number of changes to an earlier 28-point draft plan, which was formulated by Witkoff but widely seen as being favourable to Russia.

Zelensky told reporters on Friday that the weekend talks in Florida would focus on several documents, including US security guarantees and a separate economic agreement.

However, Zelensky has repeatedly said the question of territory has proved to be the most difficult issue to resolve, along with the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The White House has proposed Ukraine and Russia split the energy generated by the plant, the largest in Europe. Russian troops currently control it.

Russia is unlikely to agree to a number of points in the updated US plan, especially its territorial proposals. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused “groups of states, primarily Western European” of seeking to derail the diplomatic progress that had been made.

Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

Zelensky outlined the latest version of the plan this week, the first time since the original 28-point draft was leaked in November.

Latest proposals commit the US and Europe to providing security guarantees modelled on Nato’s Article 5, committing allies to providing military support in the event Russia launches a renewed invasion.

The deal would also see Ukraine’s military maintained at 800,000 personnel, a level the Kremlin has demanded be cut.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Actress Amanda Peterson was in Annie and the TV series Boone, before rising to fame in 1987’s Can’t Buy Me Love
• She later struggled with drugs and died at 43 of an accidental morphine overdose
• Her parents later gave an interview revealing she’d been raped at 15 and never recovered from the trauma

Amanda Peterson is going viral for her hard-hitting solo in the 1982 film Annie, in which she played an orphan who belted out a line about Rover in the song “Sandy.”

Instagram user Ian McConnell posted a clip of the actress’ solo, noting, “It takes real nerve shushing a girl when she’s absolutely EATING during her solo.” The clip has been viewed 2.2 million times.

Who is the adorable on-screen orphan with the big voice?

She is no other than actress Amanda Peterson, who later became best known for her role opposite Patrick Dempsey in the 1989 teen comedy Can’t Buy Me Love, in which she played popular girl Cindy Mancini. In the film, Dempsey’s nerdy Ronald Miller pays Peterson to hang out with him to make himself more popular.

After starring in the hit film, Peterson fell out of the spotlight and struggled with drug addiction.

Peterson was arrested several times, including in March 2010, following a fight with another woman in Fort Collins, Colo. According to a police report, Peterson “appeared intoxicated” and “was slurring” and had been drinking earlier at a bar. Her then-boyfriend told police that Peterson was taking medication for bipolar disorder and ADD and was not supposed to drink.

Two years later, she was arrested for a DUI and for possessing narcotic equipment.

On July 5, 2015, Peterson was found dead at the age of 43 in her Greeley, Colo., home. The Weld County Coroner’s report revealed Peterson died of an accidental morphine overdose.

Amanda Peterson.

According to a coroner’s report obtained by TMZ, Peterson reportedly had a deadly cocktail of prescription drugs in her system at the time of her death, including benzodiazepines, opiates and phenothiazines (an anti-psychotic medication).

The report also stated the actress told someone a week before her death that she was self-medicating to manage pain. She was found to have six times the normal level of Gabapentin in her system. The report noted she died of a “morphine effect,” which triggers respiratory failure.

After Amanda’s death, her mother, Sylvia Peterson, told Entertainment Tonight that her daughter struggled with drugs when she was younger. However, Sylvia said her daughter had been clean for a long time and that “this was not, in any way, a drug thing.”

In September 2015, Amanda’s parents and sister gave an interview on The Doctors, where they revealed their daughter had been raped when she was 15.

“She just felt so ashamed. She didn’t want people to know,” Sylvia said during the episode, later adding, “I think it affected her forever.”

Amanda’s father, Dr. James Peterson, said he noticed a marked difference in her personality after the alleged rape.

“After that she became so defensive, less trusting. Some of the sparkle was gone,” James said, adding that “she did have significant bipolar problems.”

Sylvia noted that her daughter never wanted to press charges against her attacker, who was described as a man who was “27 years older – double her age.” Her voice began to break when she recounted the time Amanda asked to see a counselor, and she didn’t take the request seriously.

“She had said to me one time, ‘Mother, I think I need a therapist.’ And I thought, ‘This is just Hollywood,’ ” she said. “I didn’t say, ‘Why? What’s going on? Let’s find someone.’ I said [dismissively], ‘Oh, that’s a good idea.’ ”

Amanda’s sister, Ann-Marie Peterson, also said on the show that her sister kept the burden of her trauma inside.

“She did not tell me about it. She did not talk about it with anyone,” she said. “I think for her to carry this secret, this burden of his assault must have been overwhelming.”

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After Amanda’s death, Sylvia spoke with PEOPLE and shared some of her daughter’s final moments.

“She was in bed, and she’d had a wonderful day, and we were planning on a dinner the next day,” Sylvia said of her chatting with her daughter. “So it was just a very, very big surprise.”

Photographer Ryan Hartsock later recalled working with Peterson on what would be her last ever photoshoot in 2012.

“She had the greatest smile. I know it brightened her day when she got all the emails and fan mail from everybody,” he told PEOPLE in 2015. “Really, any time that we were together, she was a kindhearted, great person.”

The photographer says the star’s death was a shock, and that Peterson seemed in good health whenever he spent time with her.

“I always thought she was healthy. I’ve never thought otherwise. She was a great gal,” he said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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By JAMES CIRRONE, US NEWS REPORTER

Published: 00:03 GMT, 27 December 2025 | Updated: 01:46 GMT, 27 December 2025

A 36-year-old woman was stabbed to death last month in an unprovoked attack outside a Dollar General store in Florida, according to police.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said Cheyenne Kastens was ambushed by Lemar Beasley, 54, in the parking lot in Fruitland Park, a town in Central Florida.

Beasley stabbed her more than 40 times, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

There is no indication that Kastens knew Beasley, nor is there evidence the two interacted before the attack. Kastens was rushed to the hospital and was pronounced dead.

Beasley ran away and was found inside a nearby camper, where he was apprehended and taken to jail.

‘No words can bring back the irreparable harm to Ms. Kastens’ family and friends caused at the hands of a stone-cold killer,’ Sheriff H.D. ‘Gator’ DeLoach said. 

‘However, I hope they can take solace in knowing the intent to hold Lemar Beasley accountable for his actions.’

Beasley is a convicted sex offender who was released from prison in July after serving just over four years for not complying with registered offender requirements.

Beasley was convicted of a series of violent offenses throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery with a firearm and sexual battery.

Cheyenne Kastens, 36, was killed last month in a random attack outside a Dollar General in Fruitland Park, Florida

Kastens was attacked in the parking lot of this Dollar General. Police and prosecutors are treating this as an unprovoked stabbing

Records also indicated he was charged with escaping from law enforcement custody in May 2000, but those charges were never pursued.

Beasley was indicted by a grand jury on December 1 for first-degree murder in the killing of Kastens.

On December 18, prosecutors filed a motion with the court stating their intent to seek the death penalty.

‘The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,’ Assistant State Attorney K. Mark Johnson wrote in a signed letter. ‘[It] was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.’

In her obituary, Kastens was remembered as someone who ‘filled the world around her with light, humor, and an unmistakable spark that was entirely her own’.

She was described as ‘kind, intelligent, and genuine, someone who cared deeply for the people and animals she loved’.

Police say career criminal Lemar Beasley, 54, stabbed Kastens 40 times. Prosecutors have announced their intent to seek the death penalty for him

Shawn Kastens, the victim’s brother, started a GoFundMe to pay for his sister’s funeral costs.

‘She worked on boats and absolutely loved the life that came with it. She was fun-loving, kind, smart, and always ready with a joke to make someone smile. She loved her cats and animals, cherished time with her friends, and brought joy to every room she walked into,’ he wrote.

‘This loss has shattered our family. While the suspect is currently in custody, nothing can ease the pain of losing Cheyenne far too soon,’ he added.

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Woman, 36, stabbed to death in Dollar General parking lot by stranger in unprovoked attack

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Jason Kenney, 47, allegedly shot his wife Crystal after she asked him to turn off an NFL game on Sunday, before turning the gun on their 13-year-old daughter who begged him not to shoot

01:09, 27 Dec 2025Updated 01:09, 27 Dec 2025

Jason Kenney took his own life after police tracked him down(Image: Facebook/ Polk County Sheriff’s Office)

A teenage girl made a heartbreaking plea to her stepdad after he allegedly shot her in the face after he reportedly murdered her mum in a drunken fury.

Jason Kenney, 47, is alleged to have shot his wife, Crystal, after she asked him to switch off the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts game on Sunday, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd at a press conference.

Kenney had been drinking when his wife requested him to turn off the telly, sparking an argument so severe that Crystal asked her 12 year old son to dial 999. As the boy ran to a neighbour’s house, he heard the chilling sound of gunshots.

A ‘murder-suicide’ claimed the life of Crystal and Jason Kenney, but Crystal’s 13-year-old daughter survived the shooting in a “Christmas miracle”(Image: Facebook/ Polk County Sheriff’s Office)

Police found Crystal dead inside the home, and her 13 year old daughter had been shot in the face and shoulder. “‘I begged him, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, and he shot me anyway,'” the girl told investigators, according to Judd.

She was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition and is now recovering. The bullet that hit her face “hit her on the bridge of the nose, went straight up and out the top of her head,” Judd said, describing it as a “Christmas miracle.”, reports the Mirror US.

The boy who ran for help wasn’t injured, nor was the couple’s 1 year old daughter, who was found asleep in her cot, police confirmed. Kenney fled the scene and rang his sister, confessing that he had “done something” terrible, and they would never converse again. He then drove to his father’s house, where the police located him.

Crystal sent her 12-year-old son to the neighbor’s house and told him to call 911 as the fight escalated(Image: Facebook/ Polk County Sheriff’s Office)

Officers attempted to coax him out of a shed, but Kenney tragically took his own life, reported Judd. During a search of the family home, officers discovered a note penned by Crystal to her husband, pleading with him to seek help for his substance misuse issues.

“You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God,” the note read, according to Judd. The children are now in the care of their grandparents.

“The entire family was destroyed,” Judd stated. “Our homicide detectives are distraught. When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under it, just like the nuclear family should be.”

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These are the key developments from day 1,402 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Published On 27 Dec 202527 Dec 2025

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Here is where things stand on Saturday, December 27:

Fighting

• The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under a “massive” Russian attack early on Saturday, according to reports, with air defences in operation and the military warning of the impending deployment of missiles. Witnesses said air defences were in action in the city. A military Telegram channel said Russian cruise and ballistic missiles were being deployed to target the city.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed that its forces captured the Ukrainian village of Kosivtseve in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, adding that it had taken more than 23 square kilometres (9sq miles) of territory to secure the village.
• Ukraine’s military has acknowledged that one of its units committed errors in “an unfortunate incident” when a group of just three infiltrating Russian soldiers deceived Ukrainian forces into abandoning a post in Huliaipole town, which encompasses Kosivtseve.
• Russian overnight drone attacks damaged vessels under the flags of Slovakia, Palau and Liberia in ports in Ukraine’s Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said in a statement on Telegram. Kuleba said that there were no casualties in the attacks.
• Kuleba also said that a separate drone attack damaged a locomotive and a freight car at the northwestern Kovel railway station, about 60km (37miles) from the Polish border.
• A blaze ignited by a Ukrainian drone attack at Russia’s Azov Sea port of Temryuk has been extinguished, a local task force said. Temryuk port handles LPG, oil products and petrochemicals, as well as grain and other bulk food commodities.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed that during the past week its forces had downed seven British-made Storm Shadow missiles, Russian news agencies reported.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of using ordinary apartment blocks on the territory of its ally Belarus to attack Ukrainian targets and circumvent Kyiv’s defences. “It is unfortunate that Belarus is surrendering its sovereignty in favour of Russia’s aggressive ambitions,” Zelenskyy said.
• Poland deployed fighter jets to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near its airspace over the Baltic Sea and said dozens of aerial objects – believed to be balloons used by smugglers – approached its airspace from Belarus overnight, warning that the separate incidents during the holiday season may signal a provocation by Moscow.

Regional security

• Moscow is likely stationing new nuclear-capable hypersonic ballistic missiles at a former airbase in eastern Belarus, a development that could bolster Russia’s ability to hit European targets, two United States researchers have found by studying satellite imagery, according to an exclusive Reuters news agency report.

• The American researchers said reviews of the Planet Labs imagery revealed a hurried construction project that took place between August 4 and 12 and showed features consistent with those of a Russian strategic missile base, the report added.
• Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia was “somewhat” delaying the export of Russian-made weapons and military equipment to prioritise deliveries to its own armed forces, according to Interfax news agency.

Peace talks

• President Zelenskyy said he wants to discuss territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end the war, with US President Donald Trump in Florida, as negotiations on a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee deal near completion.

• Zelenskyy said in a WhatsApp chat with reporters that a security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the US is “almost ready” and that a draft of the 20-point plan was 90 percent complete.

• In a separate interview with the Axios news site, Zelenskyy said that the US offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees that could be renewed, and Kyiv wanted a longer-term agreement.
• Zelenskyy was also cited by Axios as saying that if he is not able to push the US to back Ukraine’s “strong” position on the land issue in the peace proposal, he is willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum – as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to prepare for and hold the vote.

• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Kyiv’s version of the 20-point plan was radically different from what Russia has been discussing with the US, according to Interfax-Russia.
• Ryabkov also accused Ukraine of trying to “torpedo” the talks, adding that Moscow’s ability to make the “final push” and reach a deal will depend “on our own work and the political will of the other party”.
• Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported that President Vladimir Putin told some of Russia’s top businessmen that he might be open to swapping some territory controlled by Russian forces elsewhere in Ukraine, but that in exchange, he wanted the whole of the Donbas.

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Zelenskyy and discussed the latest developments in the ongoing peace talks, Carney’s office said in a statement. During the call, Carney “emphasised the need to maintain pressure on Russia to negotiate”, the statement added.

• Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev participated in talks with members of the US administration along with the Kremlin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov, Reuters reported, citing a source close to the talks.

Politics and diplomacy

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that his nation and Russia had shared “blood, life and death” in the Ukraine war, as he sent President Vladimir Putin New Year’s greetings. Pyongyang has deployed thousands of troops to Russia to help in the fight against Ukraine.

• A Moscow court has sentenced a former Russian diplomat, Arseniy Konovalov, to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony for selling secrets to US intelligence while on a posting to the US, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

• Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said Konovalov worked in the US from 2014 to 2017 and served as second secretary of the Russian Consulate General in Houston, Texas.

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Australia is bracing for two extremes over the next week with parts of the west facing days of extreme fire danger and a cyclone and flood watch issued for parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Residents who evacuated their homes ahead of an out-of-control bushfire near Boddington, 130km south-east of Perth, were still unable to return home on Saturday, Western Australian fire authorities said.

The fire has burned through more than 4,000 hectares and caused significant damage to the Newmont Boddington goldmine. Many residents were forced to spend Christmas night in an evacuation centre.

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It was downgraded to a watch and act level on Saturday morning, but WA’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said there was still a possible threat to lives and homes.

Bushfire in Boddington in Western Australia. Photograph: Darlington Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

“It is not safe to return due to unstable fire and weather conditions,” DFES said.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said a cool change would help to ease the fire danger but there were still eight fires burning.

The milder conditions across the rest of the state will persist through Sunday but more heat is on its way, with large parts of WA expected to see temperatures remain above 30C.

Meanwhile, large parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory are expecting monsoonal rain, with the possibility of thunderstorms and floods.

Boddington fire in Western Australia. Photograph: Darlington Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

“We have seen the monsoon trough develop across northern Australia and with that we are expecting very widespread monsoonal rain and storms,” How said.

The flood watch currently sits over “a very large area”, from the Mackay coast up towards Townsville, and then inland all the way to the west and south-west of Queensland, through to the NT into Tennant Creek.

North-west Queensland, particularly around the Gulf Coast, is expected to be hit with between 300 to 500 millimetres of rain – enough to cut off roads, isolate communities and halt travel.

A flood warning has also been issued for areas between Townsville and Cairns, with forecast rainfall of 50 to 100 millimetres, increasing to 150 millimetres early next week.

Most of the rest of the country is expected to have warm weather for the next few days, with temperatures in the mid to high 30s for Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra. Hobart will be a little cooler, staying in the low 20s.

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