These are the key developments from day 1,403 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Published On 28 Dec 202528 Dec 2025

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Here is where things stand on Sunday, December 28:

Fighting

• At least two people were killed in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the surrounding region, after Russian forces launched a massive attack with hundreds of missiles and drones, ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war.
• The attack also wounded at least 46 people, including two children, according to Ukrainian officials.
• Zelenskyy, who was on his way to meet Trump in Florida, said that Russia had launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.
• Ukraine’s state grid operator, Ukrenergo, said that energy facilities across Ukraine were struck, and emergency power cuts had been implemented across the capital. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said the attack had left more than a million households in and around Kyiv without power.
• Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said that more than 40 percent of residential buildings in Kyiv were left without heat, as temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) following the attack.
• Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency said in a statement on X that the Rzeszow and Lublin airports in the country’s southeastern region were temporarily shut following Russia’s strikes on Ukraine. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said that Polish and allied jets were deployed during the attack, but no violations of Polish airspace were reported.
• In Russia, air defence forces shot down 11 drones headed for the capital, Moscow, according to the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin.
• Russia’s aviation watchdog, Rosaviatsia, said that Moscow’s Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo airports imposed temporary restrictions on airspace due to security reasons.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence also said that its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed more than 100 Ukrainian drones in three hours over six other Russian regions.
• Russian commanders told President Vladimir Putin that Moscow’s forces had captured the Ukrainian towns of Myrnohrad, Rodynske and Artemivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, as well as Huliaipole and Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhia region, the Kremlin and Russian news agencies said on Telegram.
• But Ukraine’s military said in its daily battlefield update that its forces had beaten back Russian attempts to advance in the vicinity of Myrnohrad and Huliaipole.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy announced in a Telegram message that he would hold talks with European leaders after his meeting with Trump on Sunday, as Kyiv pushes for a stronger position in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations to prevent Russia from prolonging the war in Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy said he wants to discuss with Trump territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end the war, as a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee deal near completion.
• On the way to the meeting in Florida, Zelenskyy stopped in Canada’s Halifax to meet Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister said in a statement after the meeting.
• Carney denounced the latest Russian attack as “barbarism”, stressing that it is important for allies to “stand with Ukraine in this difficult time”. He also announced $1.83bn in additional economic aid to Ukraine.
• Zelenskyy spoke to European leaders following the meeting with Carney. In a statement posted on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We welcome all efforts leading to our shared objective – a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And that strengthens the country’s security and defence capabilities.”
• Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, which represents the bloc’s 27 member states, echoed von der Leyen’s promise to continue backing Ukraine, saying on X: “The EU’s support for Ukraine will not falter. In war, in peace, in reconstruction.”
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Zelenskyy had “the full support” of European leaders ahead of his talks with Trump. The leaders of NATO and the European Union said they would work “in close coordination” with the US “for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, Merz added in a statement.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said in a call with Zelenskyy that the latest Russian strikes on Kyiv showed that Moscow was not interested in ending the war, the AFP news agency reported, citing officials from Macron’s office. During the call, Macron highlighted what he called the “contrast” between “the willingness of Ukraine to build a lasting peace and Russia’s determination to prolong the war that it started”, the report said.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could see Kyiv was in no hurry to end the war by peaceful means, according to the Interfax news agency. Putin said that if Ukraine did not want to resolve the conflict peacefully, then Russia would accomplish all goals of its “special military operation” by force, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) speak to the media as they meet in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, ahead of the former’s meeting with US President Donald Trump on Sunday [Ukrainian Presidential Office/Handout Photo via AFP]



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A man who allegedly displayed Nazi hate symbols by showing off his tattoos at a popular beach in New South Wales has been charged.

Ben Parsons was at Bar beach in Newcastle on 24 December with his children, when he noticed a man with tattoos linked to white supremacist ideology, including symbols associated with the Nazi SS.

“He was speaking really loudly and just kind of being pretty obnoxious,” Parsons, who lives locally, told Guardian Australia on Sunday.

“He turned around, and I just saw the tattoos on his leg.”

Parsons said the man, who was with another woman and children, had a large white power tattoo up his calf, and the logo of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the Nazi regime’s elite guard, responsible for atrocities during the Holocaust, near his ankle.

Parsons took photos of the man’s tattoos. The man then made a white power signal and left the beach.

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Parsons then reported the incident to Crime Stoppers and gave a statement to NSW Police and Operation Shelter, the taskforce overseeing the response to antisemitic incidents.

Parsons said he wasn’t worried to speak up against the display of racist ideology, saying that, especially now, Australians need to come together.

“We all need to be the best Australians we can be at the moment and show solidarity and unity and call out racism and fascism when we see it,” he said.

Coffs Harbour detectives arrested a 36-year-old man at a home in Urunga, south of Coffs Harbour, about 6.30pm on Saturday, NSW police said in a statement.

“He was taken to Coffs Harbour police station and charged with knowingly display by public act, Nazi symbol without excuse and causing a prohibited Nazi symbol to be displayed in a public place.

“The man was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Newcastle local court on Thursday, 22 January 2026.”

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A winter snow storm wreaked havoc across New York City and other parts of the US Northeast over the weekend, causing major travel disruptions during the holiday season.

New York City received about 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of snow Friday night into early Saturday, with up to 10 inches of snow seen in other parts of the state.

“The good news is that the heaviest snow is done,” said Bob Oravec, a Maryland-based forecaster at the National Weather Service.

“The storm is definitely winding down, a little bit of flurries across the Northeast [on Saturday morning],” he added.

New Yorkers were urged to stay indoors ahead of the blanketingImage: John Angelillo/UPI Photo/IMAGO

Flights cancelled across Northeast

More than 1,600 flights were cancelled nationwide on Friday and another 800 flights were cancelled on Saturday, according to air traffic tracker FlightAware.

Thousands more flights were delayed due to the wild weather.

The snow storm reduced visibility at New York’s main airportsImage: Charles Guerin/abaca/picture alliance

Many of the cancellations were flights out of New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as nearby Newark airport.

Additional flights were cancelled as far away as Philadelphia and Toronto.

Cities emerge from state of emergency

Ahead of the snow storm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half the state.

“The safety ⁠of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm,” she said in a statement on Friday.

But as the weather cleared later on Saturday, many took to New York’s parks to enjoy the winter wonderland, with one interstate tourist telling the Associated Press news agency that the blanketing was “absolutely beautiful.”

Some New Yorkers seized the opportunity to play in the snowImage: Angela Weiss/AFP

Acting New Jersey Governor Tahesha Way had also declared a state of emergency.

“This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel,” she said.

“We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to the roads. Drivers should plan their travel accordingly, monitor conditions and road closures, and follow all safety protocols.”

The wild weather began to ease later on SaturdayImage: Deccio Serrano/NurPhoto/picture alliance

Edited by: Rana Taha

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People across Taiwan have reported feeling “shaking” and tremors after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the island’s north-east coast.

The earthquake started at around 11.05pm local time on Saturday – 32 kilometres (20 miles) from the coastal town of Yilan – but was felt across the island.

Buildings in the capital Taipei shook as Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te urged residents to be alert for possible aftershocks.

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Taiwan lies near two tectonic plates and is accustomed to earthquakes (AFP via Getty Images)

One resident in Yilan County described how a building shook first vertically and then horizontally.

“It kept on shaking for a while. Then I ran out, but most people did not run out. I was scared,” he said.

The epicentre was 70 kilometres (43 miles) deep, and there were no immediate reports of widespread damage or casualties.

Local television showed hanging TVs swaying inside an office building, and spilt cleaning products and broken bottles that had fallen off supermarket shelves.

More than 3,000 homes in Yilan briefly lost power, Taiwan Power Company said, as Taipei’s city government reported isolated cases of damage including gas and water leakage and minor damage to buildings.

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An earthquake last year saw buildings collapse in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan (AP)

It designated the incident a category four earthquake, meaning minor damage is possible.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said that a small number of its facilities in the Hsinchu science park, where it is headquartered, reached evacuation criteria due to the quake.

The weather administration warned people should be on alert for aftershocks between 5.5 and 6.0 in the coming day, but that damage from the quake should be limited because it was relatively deep and hit offshore.

A number of “high wave” advisories were issued in the Japanese regions of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Okinawa, but no tsunami alerts or warnings were given.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. An earthquake with a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9 is described as “strong” on the Richter scale.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.

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NEED TO KNOW

• A landlord in Washington has been arrested after the body of a man, who was reportedly his tenant, was discovered in a barrel on his property
• Ricky Dean Miller, 67, was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains on Dec. 17
• The victim was identified as 71-year-old Dennis Eugene Schmitt, and his body showed signs of “multiple blunt-force injuries to the head” and “evidence of strangulation,” per police

A landlord in Washington has been charged with murder after a body was discovered in a barrel on his property — and the victim was reportedly his tenant.

Authorities responded to a report of “suspicious circumstances” in the 3600 block of Old Lewis River Rd. in Cowlitz County at 6:53 p.m. local time on Dec. 16, per a press release shared by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) on Tuesday, Dec. 23. 

The call came from a family member of local man Ricky Dean Miller, 67, who claimed Miller told them he had “killed someone” and that the victim’s body was hidden on his property, according to the statement.

Police obtained a warrant to search Miller’s property, where they located the body of 71-year-old Dennis Eugene Schmitt in a barrel. 

Schmitt was reportedly Miller’s tenant, and he lived in a separate structure on the property, per the statement.

Washington state patrol car.

Washington State Patrol

An autopsy conducted on Dec. 19 revealed that Schmitt had sustained “multiple blunt-force injuries to the head,” and his body showed “evidence of strangulation,” per police.

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Miller was booked without bond into Cowlitz County Jail on charges of second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains on Dec. 17, per public arrest records. Police ask that anyone with information regarding the case contact Detective James Hanberry at 360-577-3092.

PEOPLE reached out to the CCSO and the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office for comment on Saturday, Dec. 27, but did not receive an immediate response.

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By GABRIEL MILLARD-CLOTHIER

Published: 23:33 GMT, 27 December 2025 | Updated: 23:52 GMT, 27 December 2025

Road safety experts were calling for an inquiry on Saturday night as it was revealed motorists are three times more likely to die in hybrids than in petrol cars.

A total of 122 people died in hybrid car crashes last year, compared with 777 in accidents involving petrol cars, according to Department for Transport figures analysed by The Mail on Sunday.

But as hybrids are outnumbered by almost 20 to 1 on Britain’s roads by petrol models, that means hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash.

Experts believe the higher death rates could be explained by hybrids’ combination of petrol engines and batteries and electric motors, which can be harder to control and more prone to fires.

The RAC Foundation, a transport research organisation, called for a ‘dedicated investigation branch’ to look into the trend. ‘It’s high time we had a specialist resource to address road safety risk’, director Steve Gooding said.

The cars’ batteries may also be to blame. They can be damaged by the heat of the engine, which burns at extremely hot temperatures, making them more liable to set ablaze.

The high electric current running through the car also increases the risks for passengers involved in crashes. First responders need special training and equipment due to the different nature of hybrid fires, and the potential for toxic gas to be released.

Some experts blame the number of miles that hybrids can clock up, with many taxi drivers using them due to their fuel efficiency. But as they age, the risks posed by the cars grows as the batteries wear down and performance wanes. 

A total of 122 people died in hybrid car crashes last year, compared with 777 in accidents involving petrol cars, according to Department for Transport figures analysed by The Mail on Sunday (file photo)

Hybrids are outnumbered by almost 20 to 1 on Britain’s roads by petrol models, that means hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash (file photos)

The figures show that diesel cars are slightly safer, with electric vehicles (EVs) found to be safest – causing just 23 fatalities last year despite making up nearly 2million of the cars on British roads.

Nicholas Lyes, of road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: ‘Plug-in hybrids are often heavier and more complex vehicles owing to the fact they run on both a traditional combustion engine and a battery.’

They have two power sources, two cooling systems and more complicated electronics and wiring. They can create ‘complex fire scenarios’ which are harder for firemen to put out.

Hybrids were found by a leading insurer of company cars, Tusker, to burst into flames at higher rates than others. Among their fleet of 30,000 cars, hybrid vehicles had an almost three times’ higher risk with 3,475 fires per 100,000​​​​.  

There are less than a million hybrid cars in the UK and their popularity has stagnated recently. Less than a third of voters back the proposed ban of new petrol and diesel cars as Britons’ enthusiasm for Net Zero cools.

Industry figures have privately raised concerns that demand for EVs and hybrids is not strong enough for the target to be met. With Labour’s ban due to take effect in five years’ time, the new figures will be a worry for ministers as they grapple with a declining interest in hybrid vehicles.

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Death rates in hybrids ‘three times higher than petrol cars’ leading road safety experts to call for inquiry

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing for crucial talks with Donald Trump tomorrow to once again try to bring to an end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The meeting between the two presidents will take place after hours of air attacks by Russia on Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv on Saturday. At least two people died and more than 30 others were injured, according to authorities.

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A firefighter walks at the site of a Russian attack in Kyiv. Pic: Reuters

Mr Zelenskyy has held discussions with Mr Trump several times this year, most recently at the White House in October, as the US leads the diplomatic push to end the war that has been raging for almost four years.

This time, they will meet in Florida to discuss several issues, including territory, security guarantees and the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the Ukrainian leader has said.

Afterwards, he will hold further talks with European leaders.

Mr Zelenskyy said he hopes the “very important” meeting with Mr Trump will be “very constructive”. A 20-point peace framework and security guarantee deal to be discussed “is about 90% ready” and “a lot can be decided before the New Year”, he said.

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Mr Zelenskyy met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday. Pic: Reuters

Ahead of the discussions with the US leader, the Ukrainian president made a pit-stop in Canada to meet the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney.

Mr Carney announced an additional $2.5 ​billion ​of economic ‍aid for Ukraine – and condemned Russia’s latest strikes on Kyiv as acts of “barbarism”.

Explosions boomed across the Ukrainian capital for hours early on Saturday as ballistic missiles and drones hit the city. In a post on Telegram, Mr Zelenskyy said Russia targeted Ukraine with almost 500 drones and 40 missiles of various types.

“There have been many questions these days,” he wrote. “Where is the Russian response to the proposals to end the war, which were made by the United States and the world?”

The strikes left at least a third of the city without power, with private electricity company DTEK reporting around 500,000 families were without power at one point.

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The Russian defence ministry said it carried out a “massive strike” overnight, using “long-range precision-guided weapons from land, air, and sea”, as well as drones, on energy infrastructure facilities “used by the Ukrainian armed forces” and “Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises”.

But several residential buildings were also hit, according to Ukraine’s interior minister Ihor Klymenko.

Russia said the strike came in response to Ukraine’s attacks on “civilian objects” in Russia.

Earlier on Saturday, its defence ministry said it had shot down seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Adygeya overnight. On Saturday afternoon, the ministry said 147 more drones were shot down over a number of Russian regions.

Poland said it scrambled fighter jets and temporarily closed two of its airports in the east of the country in response to Russia’s attack.

There was no violation of Polish airspace, the country’s armed forces command said on X.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Saturday that Russian forces had captured one town in the Donetsk region and one in Zaporizhzhia.

Both areas are heavily contested and key to Russia’s territorial ambitions in the east of Ukraine.

Sky News could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

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Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, surrounded by tents and debris, are suffering through more winter rains after two years of Israeli bombardment destroyed much of the Strip.

A polar low-pressure system accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds swept across the Gaza Strip on Saturday. It is the third polar low to affect the Palestinian territory this winter, with a fourth low-pressure system forecast to hit the area starting on Monday, meteorologist Laith al-Allami told the Anadolu news agency.

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Many families have been living in tents since late 2023, for most of the duration of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The enclave is imminently facing freezing temperatures, rain and strong winds, as the authorities warn the downpour could intensify into a full-blown storm.

Mohammed Maslah, a displaced Palestinian now in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera in his rugged tent that he did not have a choice but to stay there.

“I could not find anywhere to live in Gaza, except Gaza Port,” he told Al Jazeera. “I’m forced to stay here because my home is under Israeli control. After just a few hours of rain, we were soaked.”

In Deir al-Balah, Shaima Wadi, a mother of four children who was displaced from Jabaliya in the north, spoke to the Associated Press. “We have been living in this tent for two years. Every time it rains and the tent collapses over our heads, we try to put up new pieces of wood,” she said. “With how expensive everything has become, and without any income, we can barely afford clothes for our children or mattresses for them to sleep on.”

The heavy rains earlier this month flooded tents and makeshift shelters across Gaza, where most of the buildings have been destroyed or damaged by Israeli attacks.

So far in December, at least 15 people, including three babies, died from hypothermia following rains and plunging temperatures, with several buildings collapsing, according to the authorities in Gaza. Aid organisations have called for Israel to allow more shelters and other humanitarian aid into the territory.

Ibrahim Abu al-Reesh, head of field operations for the Civil Defence in the Gaza Port area, said that his teams responded to various distress calls as weather conditions got harsher in places where displaced people set up fragile tents.

“We worked hard to cover some of these damaged tents with plastic sheets after they were flooded by rainwater,” he told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Al Khalili, reporting from Gaza City, said that winter has been adding to the suffering of tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who do not have safe shelters.

“The same misery repeats as each rain fills neighbourhoods with muddy water,” he said.

Ceasefire talks

As Palestinians face dire conditions in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington, DC, in the coming days while negotiators and others discuss the second stage of the ceasefire that took effect on October 10.

The progress in the peace process has been slow. Challenges in phase two of the ceasefire include the deployment of an international stabilisation force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the proposed disarmament of Hamas and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.

So far, the agreement has partially held despite Israel’s repeated violations.

Since the ceasefire went into effect, more than 414 Palestinians have been killed and 1,142 wounded, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

It also said the bodies of 679 people were pulled from the rubble during the same period, as the truce makes it safer to search for the remains of people killed earlier.

The ministry on Saturday said that 29 bodies, including 25 recovered from under the rubble, had been brought to local hospitals over the past 48 hours.

The overall Palestinian death toll from Israel’s war has risen to at least 71,266, the ministry said, and another 171,219 have been wounded.

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A man has been arrested after a woman and a man – both aged in their 30s – died in an alleged double fatal stabbing in Sydney.

Police said emergency services were called to the home in Quakers Hill just before 5am on Sunday, responding to reports of a disturbance.

Around half an hour after emergency services responded, police arrested a 47-year-old man after he went to Blacktown police station.

“Officers from Riverstone police area command attended and found a man on the footpath, suffering stab wounds,” police said in a statement.

“A woman, aged in her 30s, was found deceased inside the home. She is yet to be formally identified.”

The man who suffered stab wounds was taken to Liverpool hospital after being treated at the alleged crime scene by paramedics. The man, also aged in his 30s, later died.

“A crime scene has been established, and detectives have commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident,” police said.

The police investigation is ongoing.

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The European Union on Saturday called for Somalia’s territorial integrity to be upheld after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state.

Israel’s move, a day earlier, has been denounced internationally, with many African and Middle East nations insisting that Somalia’s borders can’t be changed unilaterally.

Israel officially recognizes Somaliland

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What did the EU say?

EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said the bloc “reaffirms the importance of respecting the unity, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”

“This is key for the peace and stability of the entire Horn of Africa region,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“The EU encourages meaningful dialogue between Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia to resolve long-standing differences,” El Anouni added.

Somalia denounces Israel’s ‘illegal aggression’

Somalia’s government reacted with fury at Israel’s announcement, labeling it a direct assault on its sovereignty.

Officials in Mogadishu said they would pursue diplomatic and legal measures to counter what they called an “unlawful” and “deliberate” attempt to legitimize secession.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accused Israel of violating international norms, insisting Somaliland remains an integral part of Somalia.

Wave of international rejection

Several governments and regional bodies also swiftly rejected Israel’s move. Egypt, Turkey, Djibouti and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the recognition, warning it risked destabilizing the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea corridor.

The African Union and East African bloc IGAD reiterated their longstanding position that Somalia’s borders are internationally recognized and cannot be altered unilaterally.

Nigeria and several Middle Eastern states also issued statements urging countries to refrain from recognizing breakaway regions.

A joint declaration from more than 20 nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation warned of “serious repercussions” for regional and global security.

The United States said it continued to recognize Somalia’s territorial integrity, including the territory of Somaliland.

Somalia and Somaliland: Here are the differences and issues

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Why has Israel acted now?

Israel framed the step as part of the expanding network of partnerships inspired by the Abraham Accords, which have opened diplomatic and economic channels between Israel and several Arab and Muslim‑majority states since 2020.

The Abraham Accords were mostly signed during US President Donald Trump’s first term in office and with mediation from Washington.

But despite Trump’s return to the White House at the start of this year, no new Arab countries have joined the accords, with the war in Gaza complicating any potential agreements.

Somaliland, which has operated as a de facto state since 1991 with its own institutions, currency and security forces, hopes Israel’s recognition will break decades of diplomatic isolation and encourage other countries to follow suit.

Edited by: Rana Taha

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By DAN WOODLAND, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 21:47 GMT, 27 December 2025 | Updated: 21:57 GMT, 27 December 2025

Ex-England and Premier League footballer Andy Carroll has been charged with breaching a non-molestation order after being arrested at an airport. 

The former Newcastle and Liverpool striker, 36, was arrested in April, with the alleged offences relating to an incident in March. 

Carroll was reportedly pounced on by police shortly after landing in the UK from France at Stansted Airport. 

He was questioned by officers and held for a short period, a source told the Sun at the time of his arrest.

‘It seemed as if an issue was flagged up to the Border Force officers at passport control at Stansted, which led to police being called. He was questioned then taken away,’ they said.

‘It caused quite a kerfuffle as there were lots of other passengers around where he was arrested.’

Essex Police told the newspaper: ‘A man has been charged with breaching a non-molestation order.  Andrew Carroll, 36, of Epping, was arrested on April 27 and the alleged offences relate to an incident in March. 

‘He is due to appear at Chelmsford magistrates’ court on December 30.’ 

Ex-Premier League footballer Andy Carroll who has been charged with breaching a non-molestation order

Carroll earned nine England caps during his career. He is pictured playing for the Three Lions during the Euro quarter-final match against Italy in 2012

He is currently dating make-up artist Lou Teasdale, 41. The couple are pictured at the Debenhams x ASHISH Launch Event on October 8 

Carroll, who earned nine England caps during his career, is currently playing for non-league side Dagenham and Redbridge.

The striker joined the National League South side in the summer, after returning to England following spells at French clubs Amiens and Bordeaux.

He is currently dating make-up artist Lou Teasdale, 41, after parting ways with his estranged wife Billi Mucklow in 2024.

Andy split from his TOWIE star ex Billi, 37, in July last year after a turbulent two year marriage. They began divorce proceedings in September this year. 

Just weeks after their split, he went public with Lou, having reportedly met at Glastonbury in June the same year.

Representatives for Andy Carroll have been contacted for comment. 

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Ex-England, Liverpool and Newcastle United footballer Andy Carroll ‘charged with breaching non-molestation order’

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Julius Grant Jackson, 40, and his daughter Mackenzie Elizabeth Hicks, 20, are facing incest charges in North Carolina after DNA tests allegedly confirmed Jackson had fathered Hicks’ baby boy

Charlie Jones Senior US News Reporter and Alana Loftus Boston reporter

21:49, 27 Dec 2025

Julius Grant Jackson, 40, and his daughter Mackenzie Elizabeth Hicks

A father and his daughter are facing incest charges following DNA tests that allegedly confirmed the man had fathered his daughter’s baby boy.

Detectives Charles Norris and Ethan Core from Erwin Police Department have been conducting witness interviews and gathering evidence in the investigation since 9 May 2024.

This is when Mackenzie Elizabeth Hicks, then aged 18, came to the station alleging her father, Julius Grant Jackson, had sexually assaulted her multiple times starting when she was around 13 years old.

When first speaking with investigators, Hicks claimed, “Jackson was aware of the incidents and wanted to file a report but never did,” according to a search warrant filed in the case.

During the conversation in May 2024, Hicks reportedly told police she was reluctant to proceed with the case as her father could potentially face charges too, reports the Mirror US.

Records show that Mackenzie’s mother reached out to authorities to report that her daughter had been molested by Jackson

Four months later, on 18 September 2024, Danielle Hicks, Mackenzie’s biological mother, contacted Detective Core and revealed that her daughter was pregnant as a result of being abused by Jackson, according to online court records associated with the case.

Mackenzie’s mother allegedly told Core that she suspected some of the sexual encounters between her daughter and Jackson were consensual.

On 25 September, Norris obtained and executed a search warrant for DNA samples from Jackson and Hicks, along with any items that might hold evidentiary value to any crimes.

DNA results from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation confirmed Jackson’s paternity of the son. When police attempted to arrest Jackson, he and his accomplice reportedly fled the scene in Jackson’s lorry, leading to a brief pursuit that culminated in their capture.

During an inspection of the lorry involved in the chase, police reported discovering several high-powered, loaded firearms.

Jackson, now 40, residing at 214 St. Matthews Road in Erwin, is facing charges including felony incest; committing a felony crime against nature; felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle; committing a hit and run, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage; resisting a public officer; possessing a fictitious driving licence; and failing to stop for a stop sign or flashing red light.

Hicks, now 20 and living at the same address, has had her bail set at a hefty £1 million. She faces charges of felony incest and committing a felony crime against nature.

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A bus plunged into a ravine along Guatemala’s Inter-American Highway, killing at least 15 people, authorities said.

President Bernardo Arevalo declared three days of national mourning following the crash, which occurred on 26 December near the 174km marker of the highway.

The mountainous area is known as Cumbre de Alaska, in the western department of Totonicapan.

The bus was traveling from Guatemala City to Totonicapan when it lost control and fell approximately 330 feet (100 metres) into a ravine.

Image:
Pic: AP

Emergency crews spent more than two hours trying to rescue the injured and retrieve the bodies of the dead.

Authorities also worked to clear the wreckage, which led to a temporary suspension of traffic along the busy route.

In a message posted online, President Arevalo expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.

Image:
Pic: AP

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“I deeply regret the tragedy that occurred on the Inter-American Highway,” he said.

“From the government of Guatemala, we have been coordinating all necessary assistance for those affected, while standing with those who have lost family members and loved ones.”

Traffic accidents involving public transportation remain a major concern in Guatemala.

Between January and October 2025, the National Transit Safety Observatory recorded 446 accidents involving public transport vehicles, which led to 111 deaths and 623 injuries.

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The Bayeux tapestry will be insured for an estimated £800m when it returns to the UK in 2026 for the first time in more than 900 years.

The Treasury will insure the 70-metre embroidered cloth, which depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, for damage or loss during its transfer from France and while it is on display at the British Museum from September.

It will back the cover under the Government Indemnity Scheme, an alternative to commercial insurance that allows art and cultural objects to be shown in the UK.

The Financial Times reported the Treasury had provisionally approved an estimated valuation for the tapestry with the final valuation expected to be about £800m.

An HM Treasury spokesperson said: “The Government Indemnity Scheme is a longstanding scheme that allows museums and galleries to borrow high value works for major exhibitions, increasing visitor numbers and providing public benefits.

“Without this cover, public museums and galleries would face a substantial commercial insurance premium, which would be significantly less cost effective.”

The scheme is estimated to have saved UK museums and galleries £81m compared with commercial insurance.

The Bayeux tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings and events leading up to it. At the battle William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson and became the first Norman king of England.

The cloth consists of 58 scenes and is widely accepted to have been made in England during the 11th century and was probably commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux.

It will be on loan while the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy closes for renovation until its scheduled reopening in October 2027.

Visitors will have the chance to view it in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum in London between autumn next year and July 2027.

It is part of a major loan agreement between the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced in July. The British Museum will loan the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis Chessmen and other items to France in return for the tapestry.

In France, voices from the art and conservation fields have called on President Macron to abandon the project because of concerns transportation would cause irreparable damage to the tapestry.

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At the end of a little side street in the Beirut neighborhood of Ras Beirut, a faded poster points the way. If you follow the sign, head up a steep path to the left and through a heavy door, you’ll find yourself between tall bookshelves. Novels, political analyses, out-of-print editions about the culture and history of the region.

A few steps further, around the corner you’ll enter a second room. And here the atmosphere changes, it’s more dense and colourful. It’s here where poster heaven begins. Fascinating colors, so many faces, and typographies from over a century of trends in print.

There, at the back of the store, sits Abboudi Bou Jaoude, friendly, unassuming, always ready to tell a story. Behind him, Lebanese and Egyptian film posters from the 1960s and 70s, alongside posters from Iraq, Tunisia and Morocco. In between, there are magnets, postcards and coasters. An archive, but one that is alive and ready to evoke memories.

The entrance to Abboudi Abou Jaoude’s shop is hidden in a small side street in Beirut.Image: D. Hodali/DW

“This shop is an archive for Lebanon, but also for the entire region,” Bou Jaoude says. With more than 20,000 posters, his collection is considered one of the largest of its kind in the region. Many of the posters now hang in private homes — and even in the nearby Cafe Kalei, where film enthusiasts sip espresso while gazing at the faces of iconic Lebanese singers Fairuz or a young Sabah.

A life in cinema

“I was already going to the cinema at the age of six,” the 66-year-old says. “My father always took me along, he was the director of various cinemas in Bourj Hammoud, a predominantly Armenian suburb of Beirut.” While other children played football, Bou Jaoude sat in the dark, absorbing the cinema of his city.

Around the age of 14, he began collecting cinematic memorabilia, initially unintentionally, because he always just got posters from the cinemas. This was in the early 1970s.

“Like many teenagers back then, I wasn’t particularly interested in Arab films, I was more into foreign films. But I liked reading Arabic books,” he said.

Beirut, the region’s former film capital

To understand why Bou Jaoude’s archive is so unique, it’s important to know about the role that Lebanon used to play in Arab cinema.

Officially, the first Lebanese film was made in 1929, but local production remained in the shadow of Egypt’s film industry for a long time. With Lebanon’s independence and an economic boom, this changed. The 1960s were a golden era and Beirut became a regional center for literature and film. In 1965, UNESCO opened the Arab Cinema Center in Beirut, a regional hub for film in the Arab world and the first of its kind. In 1971, Beirut hosted the first international film festival in the region.

Beirut also had over 300 cinemas, with new films playing every week. “The cinema was for many a first destination,” says Bou Jaoude. “Before the civil war, people went to the cinema every week.”

All of this came to an abrupt end with the civil war, which went from 1975 to 1990 and nearly destroyed the cinema scene. Bou Jaoude preserved what remained — film by film, poster by poster. Decades later, he compiled this knowledge in a book, a comprehensive documentation of Lebanese cinema through posters from 1929 to 1979.

Abboudi Abou Jaoude has written a book about the movies between 1929 and 1979Image: D. Hodali/DW

An archive of Arab societies

He never thought that one day he would be considered one of the most important collectors in the region. It wasn’t until the 1990s, he says, that he understood the value of these posters. “At the beginning of my collecting, I didn’t realize what I was contributing.”

Today, he sees each poster as a historical document. “These posters are an expression of what society wanted at the time, what it was interested in, and what it wanted to see in the cinema, what it dreamed of.” 

Yet his archive includes much more than just film posters from Lebanon. During his work as a publisher — he founded the Al Furat publishing house in 2000 — he regularly traveled through the region.

One of his most valuable sub-collections comes from Iraq; he has around 4,000 posters from there. “I always made sure to take an extra two or three days to visit local cine (EN): The man saving L… mas. And there, I always asked if I could get a poster.”

Other posters in his collection come from Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and places like the Palestinian refugee camp in Yarmouk, Syria. In the 1960s, when Egyptian films were banned in Syria, small cinemas carefully preserved their posters. “The staff would often sell them to me for a few lira.”

In Abboudi Abou Jaoude’s shop, you can not only buy posters but also coasters, stickers, and postcardsImage: D. Hodali/DW

Sometimes he came across posters that had long been lost in the country they came from. During the time of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian films were banned in Iraq. “So the film reels were simply smuggled through Lebanon to make it look like the film came from here,” he explans.

Between nostalgia and identity

Many visitors to the store are young Lebanese looking for something that connects them to a past they only know from stories, he notes. Others no longer live in the country. “Many have emigrated and are looking for something that reminds them of home or tells them something about their parents’ or grandparents’ past.”

He often sees the reaction in the faces of the people who watched the films in the cinemas or heard about them from their families. “When people come in here and see a poster of the singer and actress Fairuz, they remember a time that many have pushed aside. People have forgotten a lot due to the war.”

The posters of singer and actress Fairuz are especially popular.Image: D. Hodali/DW

When asked if he has a favorite poster, he smiles almost apologetically. “I can’t decide, but I especially like the posters from the 1960s and early 70s.” It sounds like the answer of a man who knows every film, every color, every crease of a poster and wants to preserve them all.

If you head back out onto the street of Ras Beirut, something of this place lingers. The feeling that the past doesn’t fade, as long as someone guards it. That is what Bou Jaoude is doing, albeit quietly, modestly, in a shop that is more of a cultural and emotional archive than a business. 

This article was originally published in German.

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