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Texas rabbi fighting for life in ICU after Bondi Beach terror attack as growing list of American victims emerges
American victims with deep Texas ties are emerging after the Bondi Beach terror attack, including a mother who hid from the gunmen in the sand with her baby and a young rabbi who’s clinging to life in ICU.
The horrific antisemitic attack that killed at least 15 people unfolded Sunday afternoon in Sydney where hundreds were gathered at Australia’s most famous beach to attend the Chanukah by the Sea event for the first day of Hanukkah.
Two gunmen opened fire on the crowd – making it the country’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years.
Authorities have named Sajid Akram, 50 and his son Naveed Akram, 24, as the shooters. The father was killed at the scene, while he son is in custody.
At least 15 people were killed and 27 other victims are fighting to recover at Sydney hospitals.
Among them is Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, 20, from College Station, Texas who helped organize the Hanukkah event.
‘He’s still in the ICU and he’s intubated,’ Leibel’s older brother Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff told the Daily Mail by phone on Monday afternoon.
‘He had another two-hour surgery recently. They just removed more shrapnel from his abdomen and his leg.
‘Now, there’s liver damage, and rib damage and tissue damage, but the doctors think he’s going to make it.’
Texas Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff tweeted his son Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff, 20, was among those injured in Sunday’s terror attack in Australia
Leibel, 20, moved to Australia in September to intern for a year after becoming a rabbi earlier this year, Menachem told Daily Mail Monday afternoon.
Before that, he has spent most of his life in the Lone Star State where his father, Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff’s leads the Jewish Center at Texas A&M University.
It’s unclear if Leibel knows exactly what he lived through, or that his boss, Rabbi Schlanger, is among the dead.
Schlanger was confirmed to be among those killed by family, who called him an ‘incredible guy.’
The London-born religious leader leaves behind a wife and young children.
‘I don’t know what he knows. He’s still asleep until they finish doing all the surgeries. I don’t know what he knows or what he doesn’t know,’ his brother stated.
The third oldest of nine siblings, Leibel recently studied in a Brooklyn yeshiva, a Jewish educational center.
‘Being a rabbi kind of runs in the family,’ Menachem added. ‘He was very busy (in Australia) organizing and helping others.’
Bondi Beach terror victim Leibel Lararoff (right) poses with a friend Joseph Waks (left)
Texas A&M Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff confirmed his son Leibel faced multiple surgeries after being shot in the Bondi Beach antisemetic attack
Rabbi Eli Schlanger (pictured) was one of the organisers for the Chanukah by the Sea event allegedly targeted by the gunmen at Bondi Beach on Sunday
Rabbi Schlanger (pictured) was the head of the Chabad mission in Bondi where he had served the community for 18 years
Meanwhile, Leibel’s father emotionally tweeted about this tragedy while en route to his child’s side.
‘Sitting on a very long plane ride to Australia from Texas, while still grappling with the lives lost & communicating with the hospital as my son Leibel goes into multiple surgeries for his life threatening injuries,’ the campus rabbi tweeted Monday.
‘Leibel was spreading light, helping a community thrive, volunteering his year to bring joy to others. While doing so, a father & son duo, filled with an ideology of Jewish hatred, hunted him & his fellow Jews down. This is about good vs evil, light vs darkness, up-standers vs bystanders. It’s your choice to make. Who are you?’
Menachem remains in College Station where he lighted the menorah in on campus Sunday.
‘It bogles the mind how someone can have so much hate- do something like that to people just celebrating a holiday. I’m a few thousands of miles away- not much I can do- but I can do one thing. All I can do is to spread light, and spread kindness to others’ Menachem said.
The uncle of a San Antonio preschool teacher has been confirmed as being among the dead, according to the Jewish Federation of San Antonio.
While the name of the uncle has not been released, the Jewish organization also shared that a San Antonio rabbi had to hide in the sand with her baby to dodge bullets, Fox San Antonio reported. It’s unclear if the mother and baby were hurt.
A rabbi in Dallas also confirmed his relative is among the dead.
Rabbi Mendel Dubrawsky of Chabad of Dallas (pictured above) confirmed that the son of his cousin was gunned down, according to Fox 4
Rabbi Mendel Dubrawsky of Chabad of Dallas confirmed to Fox 4 that the son of his cousin was gunned down.
‘The young man whose life was snuffed away, his mom, is my cousin. So it’s very personal. Our hearts go out,’ Dubrawsky told the local TV station.
The religious leader did not name his loved one.
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Thailand and Cambodia have had disputes over land going back generations, causing thousands to be displaced along their shared border. Al Jazeera’s Victoria Gatenby breaks it down.
Published On 16 Dec 2025
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Jonathan BealeDefence correspondent in Kyiv
YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP
Across Ukraine electricity is being rationed – with supplies turned on for a few hours each day
Ukraine’s biggest energy provider is living in permanent crisis mode because of Russian attacks on the grid, its chief executive has told the BBC.
Most of Ukraine is suffering from lengthy power cuts as temperatures drop and Maxim Timchenko, whose company DTEK provides power for 5.6 million Ukrainians, says the intensity of strikes has been so frequent “we just don’t have time to recover”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia knew the winter cold could become one of its most dangerous weapons.
“Every night Ukrainian parents hold their children in basements and shelters hoping our air defence will hold,” he told the Dutch parliament.
As the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion approaches, Maxim Timchenko says Russia has repeatedly targeted DTEK’s energy grid with “waves of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles” and his company has found it difficult to cope.
Tens of thousands of people in the southern city of Odesa have been without electricity for three days this week, following a co-ordinated Russian attack.
Reuters
Much of Odesa has been without power in recent days
“Life has been difficult, but people are very supportive of each other,” says Yana, who is among those lucky enough still to have power. She has invited friends to her home to charge their phones.
Power outages also cut off heat and water supplies and Yana says those still connected to the grid have offered strangers the chance to wash or take a shower.
Across Ukraine electricity is being rationed – with supplies turned on for a few hours each day.
Many Ukrainians rely on power banks and generators as a back-up, and the sound of generators in the capital is now more constant than the air raid warnings.
Kyiv resident Tetiana says the first thing she does in the morning is to check her phone to find out the daily schedule for when her power will be switched on. Like many she has invested in power banks to make life more bearable:
“You need to remember when you leave home to leave the powerbanks on so that you have them charged when you get back home.”
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Many Ukrainians rely on powerbanks and generators during regular power cuts
About 50% of Ukraine’s energy is currently supplied by three large nuclear power plants in central and western Ukraine. But the network that transfers that power has been severely damaged.
DTEK runs about 10 power stations, most of them fuelled by coal.
One was recently targeted by five 5 ballistic missiles and Mr Timchenko said some of their power plants and sub stations had been attacked “every three or four days”.
“I don’t remember a single day when I had no reports about some damage to our grid.”
Matthew Goddard/BBC
DTEK chief executive Maxim Timchenko says his company has found it hard to cope
Finding spare parts to repair damaged equipment has become a significant challenge.
The energy provider used to be able to source equipment from within Ukraine, but now it has to scour the ret of Europe for replacement parts.
This year DTEK has had to spend $166m (£123m) on repairing its damaged thermal power plants and coal facilities.
“We will not give up,” Maxim Timchenko insists: “We have a responsibility to millions of mothers to have power and heat”.
DTEK’s origins are in the Donbas in Eastern Ukraine where the fighting is fiercest and where power supplies have been disrupted the most.
Eight of its engineers have been killed doing their job.
“Every day they risk their lives to keep power in this area,” Mr Timchenko said.
Additional reporting by Anastasia Levchenko and Kyla Herrmannsen.
A trial got underway in Seoul last week for 46 South Koreans, mostly men in their 20s, accused of participating in online scam operations in Cambodia.
Since mid-October, South Korea has repatriated 107 nationals from Cambodia where officials estimate upwards of 1,000 of its citizens are working either “voluntarily or involuntarily” in scam compounds.
The repatriation effort follows public outrage over the death of a South Korean college student, who was reportedly lured to Cambodia and forced to work in a scam center. The 22-year-old’s body was discovered with injuries consistent with torture, suggesting that he may have been beaten to death.
An autopsy revealed he “died as a result of severe torture, with multiple bruises and injuries across his body,” according to a Cambodian court statement.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said “the government’s greatest responsibility is to safeguard the lives and safety of our people.”
Lee added that, “we must protect the victims and swiftly repatriate those involved in these incidents back to Korea.”
A trial is underway in Seoul for 46 Korean suspects accused of participating in online scam rings in CambodiaImage: Hwawon Ceci Lee/Anadolu/picture alliance
South Korea recently joined the US, UK and Singapore in imposing sanctions on Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group, a multinational network whose founder is accused of running large-scale fraud operations across Southeast Asia — charges the company has rejected.
“What we have seen recently is that like South Korea, there has been a push towards following the money and putting sanctions and freezing people’s money,” said Brian Hanley, Asia-Pacific director for the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), a global non-profit fighting online fraud. “And we think this has started to make a dent.”
Billions lost to Southeast Asia scam networks
Southeast Asia has become a major hub for digital scam operations. It is estimated that over 200,000 people have been trafficked into countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia under the guise of lucrative job offers. There they work in massive scam centers that are part of a multibillion-dollar cyber fraud industry running online scamming schemes.
These large scam operations are concentrated in remote conflict zones of Southeast Asia, particularly along Thailand’s borders with Cambodia and Myanmar.
Recent clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces have included strikes on suspected scam compounds in Cambodia. In Myanmar, such centers have proliferated and are reportedly financing both sides of the country’s ongoing civil war.
Freed captives describe scam operations in Myanmar
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Scam center workers are typically citizens of Asian countries who are often victims of human trafficking, while the scams primarily target people in Western, English-speaking nations.
“We’re talking about human trafficking and slavery so obviously this is a major human rights issue,” said Hanley. “But it is also a national security issue, not just for the region but for the whole world.”
In its State of the Scams 2025 report, GASA estimates that $442 billion (€375.4 billion) has been lost to scams worldwide in the 12 months ending October 2025. That figure could be higher as many people do not report their losses to online scams.
GASA also found that 57% of adults worldwide have had a scam experience in the last 12 months.
Examples of scams include online shopping, investment and romance scams, which fraudsters refer to as “pig butchering” — a term referring to “fattening” victims by gaining their trust, often through fictitious romantic relationships.
Once trust is established, scammers convince victims to transfer funds into fake cryptocurrency investment platforms, which are then laundered through accounts across Asia, making recovery extremely difficult.
Why the US is a top target for scammer networks
The FBI estimates that the scam industry in Southeast Asia defrauds Americans of $9 billion to $10 billion (€7.7 billion to €8.5 billion) per year.
The GASA report says that $64.8 billion was stolen from Americans in the year ending in October 2025, with each victim losing an average of $1,087. It added that the average American now encounters a scam attempt every single day.
Authorities in Myanmar detain a group of suspected scam centre workers and victims during a crackdown operationImage: AFP/Getty Images
In response to rising instances of cyber fraud, US authorities established the Scam Center Strike Force in November. It is an interagency task force focused on investigating, dismantling, and prosecuting scam centers and those who finance them.
“My office will not stand by as these Chinese organized crime enterprises empty out the bank accounts of hardworking Americans,” said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro when launching the task force.
The US partnered with the UK in 2025 to sanction individuals and entities that operate illegal scam centers across Southeast Asia.
Australia and Singapore also made strides in enacting legislation to protect their citizens from scams and also cooperate with the US on law enforcement operations and sanctions.
For Jacob Sims, a visiting fellow at the Asia Center at Harvard University who has been tracking transnational crime in Cambodia and greater Southeast Asia, the issue of scams has gained significant political traction in the US over the past year.
“A year ago today in DC there was one sanction,” said Sims. “And today, a large number of the prominent names and entities have been sanctioned and there are a dozen bills in Congress.”
However, these actions have also been hampered by cuts to USAID programs in Southeast Asia that monitored human trafficking along the Thai-Myanmar border and in Cambodia, which were eradicated under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“The response thus far, as much momentum as there clearly is, does not yet constitute a truly strategic response and is not yet commensurate to the threat or sufficient to meaningfully disrupt it,” said Sims.
The role of China in scam centers
Many of the massive scam centers across Southeast Asia are said to be run by Chinese criminal networks.
Scam factory: Behind Asia’s cyber slavery
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China has taken steps to shut down scam centers in Cambodia and Myanmar — but only those targeting Chinese people.
A report submitted to the US Congress in July found few links between these criminal networks to the Chinese government or members of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP), but stated that the actions of these organizations often further fuel these regional conflicts through corruption and crime.
Even with the recent announcements of sanctions and criminal investigations, countries like South Korea and even the US appear reluctant to criticize the governments of China or Cambodia and instead target the criminals and their networks directly.
According to Sims, as long as Phnom Penh performs just enough cooperation to preserve the illusion that it remains strategically “in play,” Western capitals have proven reliably willing to tolerate industrial-scale scams targeting their own citizens.
“Many governments hesitate to confront Cambodia directly because they still view it as a pivotal chess piece in a China-versus-the-West geopolitical game,” he said.
Edited by: Keith Walker
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Bystanders were seen on video confronting a gunman before his ISIS-inspired deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could begin.
Despite their efforts to disarm him, the gunman eventually overpowered the two bystanders and killed them, according to authorities.
The bystanders were later identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The outlet reported that the Gurmans were walking by as they saw the assailant exiting a vehicle. Though Boris had the upper hand for a moment after picking up the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly picked up another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.
“We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman,” the family said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.”
RABBI KILLED IN SYDNEY HANUKKAH ATTACK HAD WARNED AUSTRALIAN PM ABOUT RISING ANTISEMITISM
Bystanders were seen confronting one of the gunmen behind the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)
In the video, obtained and verified by Reuters, an eyewitness replaying the dashcam footage recalls how the incident unfolded.
“You see the shooter here — he fired shots from here, shooting from here. And then look, this guy went and tackled him (shooter), knocking him to the ground. At that point, he had already grabbed the gun,” the witness, who was speaking in Mandarin, said in the video, according to a Reuters translation.
Authorities have identified the shooters as a father, 50, and a son, 24. The father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said that the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.
On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving more than two dozen injured. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.
GAL GADOT, ASHTON KUTCHER CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC TERROR ATTACK AT BONDI BEACH HANUKKAH EVENT
Police teams take security measures at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday after a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community during the first night of Hanukkah. ( Claudio Galdames A/Anadolu via Getty Images)
During the deadly rampage, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, wrestled a gun away from one of the shooters. His attorney said that Ahmed does not regret intervening, despite being “riddled with bullets” and in intense pain.
“He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,” Ahmed’s attorney, Sam Issa, told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”
The outlet reported that Ahmed has undergone his first round of surgery and that Issa fears the hero bystander may lose his left arm.
“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” Issa said.
President Donald Trump praised Ahmed for his actions, calling him “a very, very brave person” and saying that he has “great respect” for him.
People attend a floral memorial in honor of the victims of a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. (Flavio Brancaleone/Reuters)
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The Bondi Beach attack is the worst mass shooting Australia has seen since the country implemented sweeping reforms after a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Following the Bondi Beach attack, Australian leaders have vowed to strengthen the country’s already restrictive gun laws.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced several proposed actions, including limiting the number of guns one can possess.
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” he said after meeting with his National Cabinet.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano, Bradford Betz and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
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Four of America’s largest retail chains have been criticised by federal health officials for their failure to promptly remove contaminated infant formula from sale.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters on Monday to Walmart, Target, Kroger, and Albertsons, stating that these companies continued to sell ByHeart infant formula for days or weeks after a nationwide recall was initiated on 11 November. The formula is linked to a dangerous botulism outbreak, which has reportedly sickened more than 50 babies across 19 states.
“As a participant in the supply chain, your firm should take prompt and effective action when notified of a product recall,” FDA officials said in warning letters sent to the companies on Dec. 12 and posted online Monday.
The formula was found at Target stores in 20 states “well after the recall was initiated,” one letter said. In addition, it was sold at a Target store in New Hampshire on Nov. 16, despite an electronic block on the product’s sales code, the FDA noted. And at a Target store in Arkansas, single-serve packs of ByHeart formula were promoted with a “Sale!” sign and a $2 discount from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22.
Information from state and local health officials said ByHeart formula was found at Walmart stores in 21 states from Nov. 12 to Nov. 26. The formula was found in Albertsons stores in 11 states from Nov. 12 to Nov. 19, and at Kroger stores in 10 states from Nov. 12 to Nov. 19.
In addition, the companies failed to provide FDA with evidence that corrective actions have been put in place, despite multiple requests, the agency said. The companies have 15 working days to respond to the letters.
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Stephen Dexter holds a container of ByHeart baby formula, which was recently recalled by ByHeart, in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey, File) Formula-Botulism Recall (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Walmart officials said in a statement that no ByHeart formula was sold after cash registers were blocked from selling the formula following the recall.
“We moved swiftly to issue a sales restriction and removed this product from our impacted stores and clubs and online,” a company spokesperson said in an email. “We take all reports of inaction seriously and will respond to the letter.”
Albertsons officials said the company worked closely with suppliers and regulators to identify and remove the products and communicate to customers.
“ByHeart infant formula products have been removed from our store shelves,” the company said in a statement.
All of the babies in the outbreak have been hospitalized and treated with an IV medication to stop the progress of the disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded the outbreak to include all babies treated for botulism after consuming ByHeart formula since it was first produced in 2023.
Steven Mandernach, executive director at the Association of Food and Drug Officials, said the FDA itself was slow to distribute information about the recall with state and local food safety officials. The agency didn’t fully share product lists until Nov. 14 — nearly a week after the initial recall of two lots of ByHeart formula on Nov. 8.
He said it was “disappointing” in an outbreak involving the sole source of nutrition for vulnerable infants.
“There probably wasn’t the sense of urgency to ensure the product was off the market that I would expect,” Mandernach said.
NEED TO KNOW
- The last pennies ever to be minted in the U.S. sold for over $16 million in an auction on behalf of the United States Mint on Friday, Dec. 12
- The pennies were sold in sets of three, which featured a 2025 penny, a 24-karat gold penny struck from the Philadelphia Mint, and a 2025-D penny struck from the Denver Mint
- The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia concluded its minting of the penny on Nov. 12, exactly one month before the auction
The last pennies to be minted in the U.S. sold for over $16 million in an auction.
Auction company Stack’s Bowers Galleries in California announced in a press release that it garnered a total of $16.76 million from a special auction of the pennies sold on behalf of the United States Mint on Friday, Dec. 12.
Among the auction were 232 sets of three coins that each featured a 2025 penny, a 24-karat gold penny struck from the Philadelphia Mint and a 2025-D penny struck from the Denver Mint, the auction company said.
The coins were particularly special as they featured a small marking of the final Greek letter Omega, which signified “their role as the capstone to a two-centuries-long legacy that first began in 1793 with the Chain Cent,” the release said.
A photo of the final pennies put up for auction by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in California.
United States Mint
The auction house noted that the pennies in particular garnered “unprecedented levels of collector interest,” which slightly delayed the auction and led to “nearly four hours of competitive bidding” among coin collectors.
Each of these sets sold for an average of $72,000 while 17 lots sold for more than $100,000 each. The most expensive sets were the first, which was sold for $200,000 and the final one — Set #232 — which sold for a whopping $800,000.
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach holds the last penny stamped at the US Mint on November 12, 2025.
Matthew Hatcher/Getty
The final set, which included the “very last circulating penny intended for issuance struck at Philadelphia and Denver,” the final Omega penny in gold and three sets of “canceled dies used to strike this historic series,” took the top price during the auction.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries noted that the final set ranks as the “most valuable modern U.S.” currency set sold after surpassing the previous record held by a Space Flown 24-karat Gold Sacagawea dollars, which sold for $550,000 in September 2025.
“It’s an extraordinary honor to again be selected to partner with the United States Mint to offer exciting numismatic rarities to the collecting public,” Stack’s Bowers Galleries President Brian Kendrella said in a press release.
“They captured the public imagination like few rare coins we’ve ever handled. Even our staff of expert numismatists, who see the world’s most famous and valuable rare coins day in and day out, were excited by the chance to handle the very last pennies struck before the suspension of circulating production,” he added.
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach holds the last penny stamped at the US Mint.
Matthew Hatcher/Getty
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The auction came exactly one month after the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia concluded its minting of the penny. President Donald Trump ordered the coin to be discontinued after it became more costly to produce than what it is worth.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in a post in February, according to NBC News. “This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”
The penny is the first coin to be discontinued since the half-cent in 1857, according to the AP.
A new trend of ‘micro gifting’ is growing in popularity, with a fifth of people choosing multiple smaller presents instead of big-ticket items
Brits are opting for smaller more budget-friendly presents this Christmas(Image: Getty Images)
Brits are abandoning expensive Christmas presents this year in favour of ‘micro gifting’, new research has revealed. A study found that 22% have no plans to splash out on a single costly item for anyone, choosing instead to shower their nearest and dearest with a number of smaller presents.
The research found that 39% of respondents believe micro-gifting is gaining traction, particularly amongst younger demographics, with a third convinced that Gen Z is leading the movement. The trend seems to stem from people’s desire to offer more meaningful and personalised gifts, at a lower price tag. As well as it being easier to spread the cost and budget better.
Brits believe smaller gifts are more thoughtful and personal(Image: Getty Images)
The study of 2,000 adults, commissioned by Virgin Money following the release of its autumn spending report covering September to November expenditure by credit card holders, highlights this growing trend.
Nick Martin, head of lending insights at Virgin Money, said: “Everyone loves opening presents on Christmas Day, but what really stands out is the move towards more thoughtful, personal gifts for friends and family. This trend is proving popular with both shoppers and recipients.”
Almost half (45%) also said they’d recommend ‘micro gifting’ to friends and family due to it being budget-friendly, encouraging thoughtfulness and being a fun and creative way to surprise someone.
Shoppers will buy an average of five presents per person this year(Image: Getty Images)
According to the OnePoll.com findings, 38% believe that having more smaller items to purchase makes Christmas shopping more enjoyable. What’s more, 17% would rather receive these ‘micro-gifts’ compared to 10% who would choose a single, more costly present.
Top smaller presents include chocolates, cosy socks and scented candles or diffusers. Other popular mini gifts include bath salts, food and drink sets, as well as lip balms, hand creams, or hot chocolate sets.
The research also revealed respondents will purchase an average of five presents per person this year, spending £49 in total, which is down £16 from £65 in 2024.
Virgin Money’s spend trends report revealed their credit card customers spent £1.9 billion on purchases in September, October and November this year.
Nick Martin from the brand added: “Our customer spend data shows tech and electrical goods dominated spending in autumn, likely for Christmas gifts.
“We can see people were making the most of the recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, as our credit card customers made 1.2 million lifestyle purchases, the equivalent of seven per second, totalling £77m on Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone.
“Interestingly, overall spend for the quarter is down compared to the previous quarter, suggesting smaller, more thoughtful, budget-friendly gifts could be on the agenda this Christmas.”
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US military says eight ‘narco-terrorists’ killed in strikes on three boats in Pacific | World News
Eight people have been killed in US military strikes on three boats it has accused of smuggling drugs in the Pacific Ocean.
The US military’s Southern Command said the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organisations” killing three “narco-terrorists” in the first vessel, two in the second boat and three in the third.
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No evidence the vessels were involved in drug trafficking has been given, but a video showing the strikes on the boats was posted on social media.
Southern Command added that defence secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strikes, and claimed intelligence confirmed the vessels were using known drug trafficking routes and engaged in drug trafficking.
The US military said it carried out strikes in the Pacific Ocean on three boats it accused of trafficking drugs. Pic: X/@Southcom
One of the boats targeted during the strikes. Pic: X/@Southcom
It is unclear where the vessels were from, but the strikes mark the latest in Donald Trump‘s “war” with drug cartels, which has also seen vessels targeted in the Caribbean Sea, including near Venezuela.
Over the past several months, the US has been carrying out a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean, with the stated goal of combating drug trafficking.
In its first lethal strike on 2 September, the White House posted on X that it had conducted a strike against “narcoterrorists” shipping fentanyl to the US, without providing evidence of the alleged crime.
Sky’s Data & Forensics unit last week verified that in the four months up to 10 December, 23 boats were targeted in 22 strikes, killing 87 people.
US forces also seized a crude oil tanker, named Skipper, off the coast of Venezuela last week.
The government in Caracas, led by President Nicolas Maduro, who insists the real purpose of the US military operations is to force him out of office, branded the ship’s seizure a “blatant theft” and an “act of international piracy”.
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On Monday, Mr Trump signed an executive order declaring fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction”.
The order instructs the State and Treasury departments to pursue the financial assets of and sanctions on financial institutions and groups involved in fentanyl trafficking.
It also calls for greater co-operation between the Pentagon and the Justice Department on fentanyl and drug trafficking issues.
The latest strikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs come on the eve of briefings on Capitol Hill for all members of Congress as questions mount over the Trump administration’s military actions.
Mr Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and other top national security officials are expected to provide closed-door briefings for politicians in the House and Senate.
WORLD NEWS
Venezuelan opposition leader Machado injured on covert Nobel Prize trip | Nicolas Maduro News
President Maduro’s rival was hurt as she sped on a boat through choppy waters in secret escape from hiding to reach Oslo ceremony.
Published On 16 Dec 2025
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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was injured as she made a clandestine dash to collect her Nobel Peace Prize last week, her spokesperson has said.
Claudia Macero said late on Monday that the right-wing opposition figure fractured a vertebra during a choppy boat ride that had formed part of a risky cloak-and-dagger journey to reach the Norwegian capital, Oslo, for the Nobel award ceremony.
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Machado has been in hiding since she was banned from running in Venezuela’s July 24 presidential election, fearing that her life is under threat from long-time Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“The vertebra fracture is confirmed,” Macero told the AFP news agency, adding that no further details would be released beyond what had been reported in the Norwegian daily Aftonbladet.
The newspaper had earlier reported that the 58-year-old Machado sustained the fracture while crossing the sea in a small fishing boat battered by high waves.
The opposition leader was examined by doctors at Oslo University Hospital during her time in the city.
Dangerous dash
Media reports in the United States said Machado’s escape last week involved wearing a disguise, including a wig, and travelling from a small Venezuelan fishing village on a wooden boat to the island of Curacao, before boarding a private plane to Norway.
Machado has said she feared for her life during the voyage, which saw US forces situated in the Caribbean alerted to avoid a strike on the vessel.
Several similar boats have been attacked in recent months in a campaign that the Trump administration asserts is a bid to avert drug smuggling into the US.
Maduro has accused Washington of seeking to engineer regime change in the hope of seizing Venezuela’s large oil reserves.
The leader of the opposition Vente Venezuela party was attempting to reach the ceremony at which she was due to be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize.
She was announced the winner of the prestigious award in October, with the selection committee praising her role in the country’s opposition movement and her “steadfast” support for democracy.
‘Broken soul’
Despite her speedy trip, Machado failed to reach Oslo in time for the ceremony. Her daughter received the award on her behalf and delivered a speech that slammed Maduro and warned of the need to fight for democracy.
Hours after the ceremony, early on Thursday morning, Machado greeted supporters from an Oslo hotel balcony in what was her first public appearance in a year.
Despite the fracture, she climbed over a barrier to greet supporters outside the hotel, AFP reported.
Machado said authorities in Venezuela would have attempted everything possible to prevent her journey to Norway.
Appearing set to challenge Maduro in the vote, the opposition leader was barred from running in the country’s presidential election in July last year.
She then announced that she would be going into hiding within Venezuela due to fear for her life while Maduro is in power.
The Venezuelan president commented dismissively on the reports of Machado’s injury on television on Monday.
Machado “says she has a broken vertebra”, he said. “What’s broken is her brain and her soul because she’s a demon – she hates Venezuela.”
WORLD NEWS
Starmer urged to stand up for BBC against Trump’s ‘outrageous’ $10bn lawsuit – UK politics live | Politics
Starmer urged to tell Trump his anti-BBC lawsuit ‘unacceptable, as president quotes Badenoch to back his ‘fake news’ claim
Good morning. Ministers are due to publish today a green paper on BBC charter renewal, setting out plans for how the corporation will be funded into the 2030s. With fewer and fewer people watching free-to-air TV, the licence fee is getting harder to justify, but there is no consensus as to what should replace it.
However, within the BBC at least, there probably is a consensus that the last thing licence fee payers want to see their money spent on is a multimillion-pound compensation payment to Donald Trump.
This has come to a head because the president has finally filed his lawsuit demanding damages worth up to to $10bn for the way a BBC Panorama documentary edited a clip from the speech he gave to supporters on 6 January 2021 before they attacked the US Capitol. Here is our overnight story by Callum Jones and Jeremy Barr.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has regularly accused the BBC of being biased on particular issues and, when news of the Panorama edit became a political controversy (more than a year after the programme was actually broadcast), she merrily joined the chorus of people attacking the BBC over the way the programme was put together. What British voters made of her comments is not entirely clear, but she seems to have impressed the president’s legal team, who quote her in the lawsuit to support their case. They say:
Conservative party leader and member of parliament Kemi Badenoch said that the distortion of the speech by the Panorama documentary was “absolutely shocking,” adding: “That is fake news, actually putting different things together to make something look different from what it actually was.” She continued: “And I do think heads should roll. Whoever it was who did that should be sacked, that’s what Tim Davie should be doing, identifying who put out misinformation, and sacking them.” Badenoch added: “The public need to be able to trust our public broadcaster .. . They should not be telling us things that are not true. This is a corporation that needs to hold itself to the highest standards, and that means that when we see people doing the wrong thing, they should be punished, they should be sacked.”
Keir Starmer has, up to now, done his best to avoid getting embroiled in this row, arguing that the BBC is operationally independent and that this is a matter for the corporation and the president to settle themselves. Although there were suggestions at one point that he and Trump would speak about the dispute, that does not seem to have happened. However, he may find it hard to remain uninvolved as this goes on. The lawsuit has been filed as there is evidence in other areas – trade policy, for example – that US-UK relations are no longer quite as warm as they were at the time of the state visit.
But Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is more than happy to speak out. He has regularly urged Starmer to be more robust with Trump in public, over a range of issues, and this morning he said the PM should tell Trump his compensation demand is unacceptable. He said:
Keir Starmer needs to stand up for the BBC against Trump’s outrageous legal threat and protect licence fee payers from being hit in the pocket.
The Trump administration has clearly set out they want to interfere in our democracy, which includes undermining our national broadcaster.
The prime minister needs to make clear this is unacceptable.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet.
10am: Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor and former PM, resumes giving evidence to the Covid inquiry about the economic response to the pandemic.
11am: John Healey, the defence secretary, hosts a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius.
11am: Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, holds a press conference.
2pm: Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, gives evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee.
Late afternoon: Peers vote on the employment rights bill, with business groups urging Tory and cross-bench peers to drop their opposition to the one measure that stopped it being passed last week.
We are also getting 17 written ministerial statements today, which is what tends to happen shortly before a holiday recess, as ministers clear the decks. Today’s statements cover the BBC charter review, sentencing reform and planning reform, among other topics.
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Updated at 10.03 CET