WORLD NEWS
Front-runner to be Bangladesh PM returns after 17 years in exile
Tarique Rahman, the front-runner to be the next prime minister of Bangladesh, has returned to the country after 17 years in exile ahead of landmark general elections.
The 60-year-old is the figurehead of the influential Zia family and the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
The party he leads, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is eyeing a return to power when Bangladesh goes to the polls in the new year.
Rahman, who has lived in London since 2008, is expected to become the country’s new leader if the BNP emerges as the largest party.
Rahman’s return comes in the wake of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina being ousted last year.
He had been the subject of various criminal investigations launched while her Awami League party was in power but was cleared of all charges when her regime fell.
Hasina is living in exile in India and her party is unlikely to be permitted to take part in the elections, which many view as among the most consequential in Bangladesh’s history.
Last month, Hasina was sentenced to death for her role in suppressing anti-government protests.
According to UN investigators, up to 1,400 people died in the student-led unrest.
Hasina, who was put on trial in absentia, has denied committing crimes against humanity.
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Tarique Rahman, leader of Bangladesh’s opposition, has returned after 17 years in self-imposed exile in London. The aspiring prime minister left the country in 2008, claiming politically motivated persecution, and has now come back ahead of upcoming elections.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
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WORLD NEWS
Grassroots group’s bank account frozen due to ‘Palestine Action investigation’ | Greater Manchester
A grassroots pro-Palestinian organisation in the UK has been told its bank account was frozen because of “an investigation into Palestine Action”, despite it having no affiliation to the direct action group.
Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine (GMFP), which organises peaceful protests and vigils, had access to its funds cut off indefinitely by Virgin Money after Palestine Action was banned under the Terrorism Act and the account remains blocked.
The bank refused to tell GMFP the reason but a letter from the deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, Kate Green, to the organisation’s treasurer, John Nicholson, said her office had been told by Greater Manchester police (GMP) that “this account has been frozen as a result of an investigation into Palestine Action”.
Nicholson said: “The fact is that this is a bank account in the name of Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine, which supports people starving in Gaza, people displaced, subject to settler violence in the West Bank, aimed at giving funds to non-governmental organisations working on the ground in Palestine. Our bank account has had no transactions to or from Palestine Action.
“The government – Shabana Mahmood [the home secretary] but Yvette Cooper [her predecessor] started it – said that there’s nothing wrong with supporting Palestine but there’s everything wrong with supporting Palestine Action. Well, our bank account has not and our membership has not supported financially or otherwise Palestine Action. So it’s an absolute abuse for the implications of this ban to extend so widely that bank accounts of ordinary Palestinian supporting groups should be closed.”
Nicholson, 71, also had his joint personal account with his partner, Norma Turner, 77, who is chair of GMFP, closed by Yorkshire Building Society without explanation in September.
GMFP’s listed activities include “letter-writing, individual consumer boycotting, through bike-riding, information stalls, leafleting, and our increasing social media output”. It has held demonstrations in support of Palestine Action prisoners, including on 15 December, but it is not affiliated to the group.
In a letter to Nicholson, Green said: “I can confirm my office was told by GMP that ‘we are comfortable to say that this account has been frozen as a result of an investigation into Palestine Action’.”
At the same time the police force told Green’s office that it was not involved in the freezing of the account, raising the prospect that it was another law enforcement organisation carrying out the investigation. The National Crime Agency (NCA) declined to comment on any of the Guardian’s questions about bank account freezes. Counter-terrorism police did not respond.
Even before the reason for GMFP’s account being frozen was known, the fact of the block – and that of Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s funds – was cited in the recent legal challenge to the ban on Palestine Action as an example of “fears and uncertainty over the meaning and effect of proscription, including on broader campaigning around Palestine”.
Scottish PSC’s account with Unity Trust Bank, which promotes itself as the bank of choice for “socially minded organisations” was frozen on 24 June, the day after Cooper, then home secretary, announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action. After Scottish PSC told the bank that its website had previously included a payment link for donations to Palestine Action (before it was proscribed) the block on the accout was lifted before being reimposed two days later. It remains frozen with thousands of pounds inaccessible.
Hussein Ezzedine, a trade union officer at Scottish PSC , attended a meeting with Unity Trust Bank where he said it confirmed the block was imposed by the NCA. “I think it’s important that people are aware, we’re peaceful activists and we’re under attack by the highest force for crime investigation in the country,” said Ezzedine. “It’s outrageous.”
Over 10,000 security personnel have been deployed across the Somali capital of Mogadishu, with hundreds of thousands of voters expected at the polls for the country’s first direct election in many decades.
The local vote in the capital city marks the reintroduction of the “one-person, one-vote” principle for the entire African country.
“This is my first time to vote,” 65-year-old Addey Isak Abdi told the Reuters news agency. “I am very happy and I came here early in the morning, walking with other mothers,” she added.
The ballot “shows Somalia is standing on its feet and moving forward,” National Electoral Commission member Abib Hayir told Reuters. “After the local election, elections can and will take place in the entire country.”
Al-Shabab seen as threat to nationwide polls
Despite these claims, many are questioning the feasibility of nationwide election in the county that is still wrestling with Islamist insurgency. The powerful al-Shabab militia controls large parts of Somalian territory and has also staged deadly attacks in the capital. Due to security concerns, Somali officials closed the Mogadishu airport and blocked off streets for vehicle traffic on election day.
Somali officials said the entire country ‘will be shut down’ to boost securityImage: Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP
The last direct vote was held in 1969, before dictator Siad Barre took power. Barre’s fall in 1991 saw the country switch to a clan-based power sharing system, where clan representatives elect lawmakers who in turn choose the country’s president. Universal suffrage was only legally restored last year, and the Mogadishu vote has been delayed three times in 2025.
Now, the city of some 3 million people is set to choose its local representatives directly among over 1,600 candidates fielded by up to 20 political parties.
Election in Mogadishu ‘stage-managed’
Some opposition parties, however, have criticized the Mogadishu vote as a ploy to keep President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in power, decrying the process as flawed and one-sided.
“There is close to zero civilian participation. It’s mostly a government and security forces operation,” , security analyst Samira Gaid was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Somalia and Somaliland: Here are the differences and issues
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She described the process as “stage-managed” to make the impoverished, war-torn nation “appear like a democracy.”
With the parliament’s mandate ending in May 2026 and President Mohamud’s first term expiring in April, the country’s political elite remains divided over direct elections. This summer, Mohamud made a deal with some opposition leaders that parliamentary deputies would be chosen directly, but the president would still be decided in parliament, which his rivals see as the president trying to shore up his own reelection prospects.
Some Somali states have threatened to run their own election process if no consensus is reached.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
WORLD NEWS
Lucky Powerball player wins $1.8 billion jackpot on Christmas eve with second biggest prize ever
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A Powerball player from Arkansas won $1.87 billion on Christmas Eve in one of the biggest lottery wins in history.
The massive jackpot was the second biggest U.S. lottery prize ever, according to Powerball, and is set to make the winner richer than some of the wealthiest celebrities in the United States.
The identity of the winner remains a mystery, although Powerball revealed that the lucky Arkansan chose numbers 4, 25, 31, 52, and 59. They also chose a red Powerball 19 and a Power Play multiplier of 2.
Eight other winners matched all five white balls, with those tickets being sold in California, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Two others were purchased in New York, with the winners set to bank $1 million.
Meanwhile, 114 Powerball tickets won cash prizes of $50,000, and 31 tickets banked $100,000 jackpots.
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The prize, which has a final total of 1.87 billion, has been steadily climbing in value for weeks (AP)
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, said. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak – every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
The odds of winning a prize stand at 1 in 24.9, according to Powerball. However, the odds of winning the jackpot are a staggering 1 in 292.2 million.
The unnamed winner now faces a choice in how they wish to bank the mammoth cash win. They can have the money dished out to them in annuitized amounts over 30 years or take a cut to their winnings by taking a lump sum now.
The lump sum would be valued at $834.9 million. However, both options are before taxes.
Choosing the annuitized version would make the mystery winner richer than some of the U.S.’s biggest celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen, who has a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
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Eight other Powerball winners are set to bank $1 million (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
They would also be richer than Rihanna, who is worth $1.4 billion, and Taylor Swift, who reportedly has a fortune worth $1.6 billion.
Although their wealth might not stack up to Oprah Winfrey’s $3 billion estate or Michael Jordan’s reported net worth of $3.5 billion, the winner’s jackpot does slightly exceed Kim Kardashian’s $1.7 billion fortune.
The lucky Arkansan would easily be able to purchase a range of luxuries with their new winnings, including a private island.
According to Private Islands Online, buyers can purchase their own property off the coast of Florida for just $2 million.
Larger islands can cost as much as $75 million, although this would still be well within the winner’s budget, even if they took the lump sum amount.
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The massive prize fund will make its winner even wealthier than Taylor Swift (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Purchasing a house in some of the U.S’s swankiest neighborhoods would be easy too, with glamorous mansions in Beverly Hills, California, costing between $1.149 million and $175 million according to JamesEdition.
Holiday pads in the Hamptons would be well within reach, too, with Sotheby’s International Real Estate selling 12-bedroom, 15,000-square-foot homes in the prestigious New York neighborhood for $49.9 million.
This is the second biggest Powerball win ever, with the largest standing at $2.04 billion. That winning ticket was sold to Edwin Castro in California in November 2022.
Castro opted to take the lump sum, meaning that he banked a fortune worth $997.6 million, according to the California Lottery.
NEED TO KNOW
- A single ticket from Arkansas won a Powerball jackpot of $1.8 billion on Wednesday, Dec. 24
- This drawing boasted the second-largest jackpot ever, according to lottery officials
- The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million
A lucky Powerball player in Arkansas is celebrating one very happy Christmas!
The Powerball drawing on Wednesday, Dec. 24, put $1.817 billion up for grabs to any player who could match all five white balls and the red Powerball — and it was won by a single ticket from Arkansas, which scooped the second largest win in Powerball history and the biggest jackpot of 2025.
Matching white balls 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and red Powerball 19 also comes with a cash option of a cool $834.9 million.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO said in a release. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak – every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
Powerball jackpot image.
Ufuk Celal Guzel/Anadolu via Getty
The win marks the second time a Powerball jackpot has been scooped up by a ticket holder in Arkansas, following the sale of a winning ticket in 2010.
The Arkansas ticket holder isn’t the only Powerball plaer to be celebrating this Christmas. A total of eight tickets matched all five white balls, with players Indiana, Michigan, New York (2), Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia all now celebrating a set cash prize of $1 million.
A further 114 tickets also won $50,000 prizes and another 31 tickets won $100,000 prizes.
According to Powerball, the odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
Powerball tickets.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
This latest Powerball jackpot run lasted for 47 drawings, a record for the most consecutive drawings in a single cycle, according to the release
“This jackpot is set to deliver the ultimate windfall,” Strawn said in a previous release on Dec. 18.
Powerball tickets are each $2 per play, and sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The last jackpot was won on Sept. 6 when two tickets in Missouri and Texas split the top prize of $1.787 billion.
Powerball tickets.
Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty
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The largest Powerball jackpot in history was won on Nov. 7, 2022, when an individual in California won $2.04 billion. The second largest was recently won on Sept. 6 — the most recent Powerball drawing to result in a jackpot winner.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, please contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-522-4700 or go to gamtalk.org.
Disadvantaged Australians from all walks of life have gathered for Christmas lunch as political leaders offer food and hope.
Armed with gloves, an apron, and a pair of tongs, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spent Christmas morning serving festive fare at the Rev Bill Crews Foundation in his inner-west Sydney electorate.
He was joined by NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek, state MP Jo Haylen, and NSW Premier Chris Minns, who smothered plates of ham and potatoes with gravy while reminiscing about his short-lived stint at McDonald’s.
Each politician then took it in turns delivering hot meals to those patiently waiting in the courtyard.
‘Most of the people here have dislocated families and lives,’ Rev Crews said.
‘For them to come and connect with one another shows they can find some hope in a world which is pretty grey at the moment.
‘And to have senior politicians here is really important because it says to people feeling at the lowest of the low, that they matter.’
Diners greeted the prime minister in particular with glee, asking for handshakes and selfies as he ferried plates to their tables.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a Christmas lunch hosted by the Rev Bill Crews Foundation in Sydney on Thursday
NSW Premier Chris Minns, Rev Bill Crews, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a Christmas lunch hosted by the Rev Bill Crews Foundation
The Prime Minister worked away armed with a pair of tongs wearing gloves and a hat saying ‘Bill’s Crew’
While serving the food, Albanese sported a plastic apron
It was the warmest welcome he had received in weeks after a fortnight marked by anger, frustration and fear following a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.
Volunteer Di King, known as ‘Auntie Di’, has spent the past 11 Christmases cooking at the Rev Bill Crews Foundation and hugged Albanese as soon as he came through the kitchen doors.
‘It’s important to all of us to have community,’ she said.
‘We have a lot of people who have mental health problems, with addiction, lonely old people, people of Chinese ethnicity who’ve come out to look after grandchildren.
‘They really, really need us, and we need them.’
For years, the now-prime minister and his son have regularly volunteered at the kitchen alongside the 81-year-old.
On Thursday his government pledged $10million for the foundation.
‘This is a cause extremely close to my heart,’ Albanese said.
‘I am so proud to call Bill a friend and to have seen up close the impact his work has made.’
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Touching way Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spent Christmas Day
Jilly Fretwell was left devastated when her black cat Bindi went missing in August 2020
09:07, 25 Dec 2025
Bindi was missing for five years(Image: Jilly Fretwell© SWNS)
A cat has finally been reunited with its family five years after disappearing in what’s being called a ‘Christmas miracle’. Black feline Bindi mysteriously disappeared from her home in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, in August 2020.
Although she had been missing for more than 1,000 days, she finally appeared just before December 25. Owner Jilly Fretwell, 29, said: “She used to go out for a couple of hours and then come straight back, so it was really odd for her to be missing for more than a day.
“We really were left in the dark.” Public appeals and social media posts were made, and months were spent searching for Bindi, but her heartbroken owner simply couldn’t find her.
Jilly searched everywhere for her beloved cat but initially had no luck(Image: Jilly Fretwell© SWNS)
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Jilly, a software project manager, had given up hope of ever seeing her beloved pet again when she received an unexpected phone call from vets on Thursday, December 18. To her surprise, Bindi had been found.
Jilly, who had since moved home, said: “We were just in complete disbelief. It wasn’t really until we saw her that we believed it was her.
“We’re just so glad we had her microchipped and that she was alive and well. I’ve never heard of anyone’s cat going missing for so long and turning up absolutely fine. It did feel like a real Christmas miracle.”
Jilly, a software project manager, had given up hope of ever seeing Bindi again(Image: Jilly Fretwell© SWNS)
Pictured: Bindi as a kitten(Image: Jilly Fretwell© SWNS)
In light of her experience, Jilly is now urging other owners to get their cats microchipped. She said there were ‘no clues’ about where Bindi may have been over the last five years – but she was just happy to have her back.
Jilly added: “She is the most cuddly, affectionate cat I’ve ever met. She puts her paws on either of your shoulders to give you a real cuddle.
“She’s very calm and cuddly really. I think she’s been looked after by someone, she looks in great shape. She’s potentially been inside, but I have no idea.”
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Algeria’s parliament unanimously passed a law declaring France’s colonisation a crime. Lawmakers celebrated in the chamber as they demanded an apology, reparations and assigned France legal responsibility for the harms caused during colonial rule.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
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Historian and political scientist Herfried Münkler recently summed up what he sees as the core foreign policy problem for Germany’s government: “The liberal idealism of a rules-based international order has turned out to be an illusion.”
At the same time, the government continues to view the preservation of multilateralism and a rules‑based international order as its overarching goal. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), warned that “China and Russia are attempting to rewrite the international order that is based on international law.”
CDU Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the rules‑based order was not only being called into question by governments long considered authoritarian. “Unfortunately, this also applies to America,” he said, referring to President Donald Trump. A recent US strategy paper sharply criticizing European allies and the EU has reinforced this impression.
‘Pressure on Europeans’
A major concern among German political and military leaders is that the United States may be distancing itself from Europe on security matters. In early December, General Christian Freuding told the magazine The Atlantic that direct contact with his US counterparts had been “cut off.”
In the past, Freuding told the magazine, communication had been possible “day and night.” He called the loss of rapid-contact channels a “warning sign” — especially in light of the potential for an attack by Russia on eastern NATO states.
Germany’s high-stakes EU gamble over Russia
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Europeans are also feeling the consequences of the US’s shift in policy on Ukraine. Trump sought a peace arrangement that would accommodate many of the demands made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the US security strategy released in late 2025 sought “strategic stability” with Russia — to the dismay of governments elsewhere in Europe.
“If it comes to the point that the Americans somehow bow out, the pressure on Europeans to be capable of acting and to form a strong counterweight will increase once again,” Henning Hoff, of the German Council on Foreign Relations, told DW.
Merz has worked with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to counterbalance the US’s declining commitment to Ukraine. “No one should doubt support for Ukraine,” Merz declared at a trilateral meeting in London in early December. Yet all three leaders face tight budgets, domestic pressure from the political right and waning public support for Ukraine in their own countries, as well.
Dependent on China
WithGerman industry reliant on the rare earth elements controlled by China, Berlin has become increasingly dependent on Beijing.
“The Chinese are very successful at becoming leaders in many technological fields and taking positions that traditionally belonged to German industry,” Hoff said. “And, at such a moment, Germany also becomes not quite so important anymore.”
Wadephul: ‘We want to be reliable trading partners’
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Merz plans to visit China in early 2026. At the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Merz told DW: “China could exert a little more pressure on Russia to end this war [in Ukraine]. If necessary, this will also be raised in my talks with the Chinese president [Xi Jinping] next year.” So far, nothing suggests that this hope will be fulfilled.
Germany and Israel
During his December visit to Israel, Merz said: “I come as a friend of Israel who knows that the friendship between Germany and Israel is infinitely valuable and precious.”
Following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, Israel began a two-year war in Gaza that has killed more than 70,000 people. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Merz acknowledged that the war has confronted Germany with “some dilemmas.” Merz invoked Germany’s responsibility for the Holocaust in saying his government sought to uphold Israel’s security, but he added that he would voice criticism where necessary.
Notably, Merz no longer uses the formulation of his predecessor, Angela Merkel : “The security of Israel is Germany’s reason of state.” Instead, he said, supporting Israel’s existence and security belongs “to the unchangeable core of our relations.”
German Chancellor Merz reaffirms support for Israel
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On key issues, however, the two governments remain far apart — especially on the two‑state solution. Germany continues to support the idea of a future Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu rejects this, saying: “The purpose of a Palestinian state is to destroy the only Jewish state.”
Hans‑Jakob Schindler, a Middle East and security analyst, said the two‑state solution was “possibly a very, very distant future vision whose practical feasibility is increasingly in question.”
Schindler said Germany and the European Union had largely lost their role as mediators in the Middle East. “It is clear that both the Palestinians and the Israeli side look to Washington as the central mediator and not to Europe,” Schindler said. The European Union will play an important role in reconstruction in Gaza and in humanitarian aid, he said “but, as a central mediator, Europe has, in part, really said goodbye over the last 10 years.”
Germany’s uneasy alliances
Germany must decide how to conduct foreign policy in a world where geopolitical weight is shifting and international rules are increasingly ignored.
Johannes Varwick, a professor of international relations at the University of Halle, told DW via email that seeking partners who still value multilateralism — including difficult partners — is the right approach. “Germany is trying to maintain old alliances while also forging new partnerships and expanding networks with other middle powers worldwide,” Varwick wrote, citing Brazil, Mexico and Vietnam as examples. “Remaining in critical dialogue with one another” is essential, Varwick wrote. “Only talking to those who already agree makes one quite lonely in the reality of international politics.”
How Merz aims to regain Germany’s standing on foreign issues
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Merz has emphasized foreign policy right from the start — and, because of his many trips abroad, he has at times been mockingly referred to as the “foreign-policy chancellor.”
“Overall, one can indeed speak of a certain revitalization,” Hoff said.
He added, however, that “Berlin’s foreign policy is still too slow to respond to this new global situation.” Changes are expected at the Foreign Ministry; among other things, a commission will take up the issue of dependence on China in 2026. “All of this is good,” Hoff said, “but it comes two, three, four, five years too late. And, if they don’t manage to inject more speed into the process, things will get difficult.”
This article was originally written in German.
While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
WORLD NEWS
Repeat drunk driver finally busted for murder after teen tennis star who survived deadly fire was mowed down
The woman accused of running over a teenage tennis star over the summer has been arrested and charged with murder after an apparent seven-month delay.
Jenia Resha Belt, 33, faces one count of second-degree murder after she allegedly struck and killed 18-year-old Braun Levi in May 2025.
The fatal hit and run occurred at around 1am on May 4 while Levi was walking around with a friend on Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach. Levi’s family had relocated there after their home burned down months earlier in the Palisades Fire.
Los Angeles County prosecutors say Belt was under the influence of alcohol and plowed an Infiniti FX35 into Levi, who was set to graduate in a month and then start playing tennis for the University of Virginia.
Belt’s blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit that night, according to court records associated with the Levi family’s $200 million wrongful death lawsuit.
Authorities determined that Belt’s license had been suspended since January 2024.
Records also show that she has been previously charged with a DUI from an incident on November 25, 2023, meaning she was not allowed to drive for nearly two years before Levi’s death.
In that case, the DUI charge was dropped in September 2024, when Belt pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor count of hit and run with property damage.
Braun Levi was struck and killed by a car in May. He was an 18-year-old high school senior who was set to play tennis at the University of Virginia
Los Angeles County prosecutors say Jenia Resha Belt, 33, was behind the wheel of the Infiniti FX35 that killed Levi over the summer. She was the suspect in a previous DUI incident she pleaded no contest to
Levi was rushed to the hospital and died from his injuries. Belt was arrested at the scene but was released in June.
Now that she has been formally charged over Levi’s death, Belt is being held on a $2 million bond.
On top of the murder charge, she faces one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and a misdemeanor count for driving on a suspended or revoked license, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
According to the lawsuit the family filed, Belt went to a bar in Hermosa Beach and consumed ‘excessive quantities of alcohol’ before she got behind the wheel.
‘Defendant Belt voluntarily commenced and thereafter continued to consume alcoholic beverages to the point of intoxication, knowing from the outset that she must thereafter operate a motor vehicle,’ it says.
She then ‘willfully chose to operate the subject vehicle while intoxicated at an unsafe and excessive rate of speed’ before hitting Levi, who the suit says sustained ‘severe injuries to his body and head that ultimately resulted in his death.’
The lawsuit went on to claim that officers who arrived at the scene of the deadly crash noticed Belt smelled of alcohol and was taken into custody for driving under the influence.
Levi’s parents have said all of the proceeds from the lawsuit will go toward their Live Like Braun Foundation to raise money for scholarships and public tennis centers, and raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving.
Levi’s parents (pictured) filed a $200 million wrongful death lawsuit against Belt. The lawsuit claims her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when she allegedly hit Levi with her car
At the time of his death, Levi was the captain of Loyola High School’s varsity tennis team. He was described as ‘one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history’
‘Our family has made the decision to file a civil lawsuit against the individual responsible for taking Braun’s life,’ his mother, Jennifer Levi, said in a statement on November 12, the day they filed the lawsuit.
‘This is not a decision rooted in anger, vengeance or financial gain. It is a decision grounded in accountability, prevention, reform and the unwavering love we have for Braun.’
At the time of his death, Levi was the captain of Loyola High School’s varsity tennis team and ‘one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history,’ according at statement from the school’s athletics department.
He and his tennis partner, Cooper Schwartz, had won the Mission League doubles championship just days before he was killed – marking the star athlete’s fourth big win in a row.
Levi also helped create a peer-to-peer counseling group for other students at the $27,000 Jesuit school in Los Angeles who were impacted by the Palisades fire in January.
The fire ravaged roughly 6,800 structures on its own. Combined with the devastation caused by the simultaneously burning Eaton Fire, about 16,000 buildings were wrecked.
Levi’s own family was forced to relocate after the blaze burned down their home in the Pacific Palisades, which was estimated to be valued at $3.2 million to $4.1 million.
WORLD NEWS
Marcus Rashford’s transfer reality as finance expert hails ‘double benefit’ to Man Utd sale
Manchester United misfit Marcus Rashford has looked like his old self since joining Barcelona on loan, but question marks remain as to what lies in store for the England forward next summer
Tom Sunderland Sports Writer
06:00, 25 Dec 2025
Marcus Rashford’s career is back on track ahead of a potential permanent transfer to Barcelona(Image: Guillermo Martinez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Despite his past heroics for Manchester United, few at Old Trafford will have expected Marcus Rashford to kick on quite so forcefully at Barcelona. But after struggling to find his most talismanic self on home soil, the Englishman could now celebrate the most successful season of his career to date away from the club that made him.
On one hand, neither supporters nor the club itself should be surprised. It’s become a sad sort of ritual in recent years for players to leave the Theatre of Dreams before going on to reach greater heights elsewhere, though football finance expert Kieran Maguire suggests it may be a worthy sacrifice in Rashford’s case.
Scott McTominay did it last season when he joined Napoli en route to becoming Serie A Player of the Year following his first season in Italy. He’s since been joined in Naples by a revitalised Rasmus Hojlund, while the likes of Antony, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Anthony Elanga and Alvaro Carreras have each pulled off similar rebounds in the post-United phases of their careers.
Rashford is perhaps different from most of those examples in that he could still have a future under Ruben Amorim in Manchester. The main question is whether that prospect will even tempt the player now his eyes have been opened as to what’s possible at the Camp Nou.
“I don’t see anything here as like a pressure. It’s just, I’m here to play football,” Rashford told BBC Sport in December. “It’s been amazing. I feel welcome, I feel at home. I’ve just been enjoying every step of the way.”
READ MORE: Spanish media in agreement after Marcus Rashford benched for crucial Barcelona clashREAD MORE: Marcus Rashford moves a step closer to dream transfer as Barcelona make big decision
A permanent signing looks like a no-brainer from Barca’s perspective. La Blaugrana can sign Rashford for the affordable sum of around £30million, a good deal less than the £40m United would reportedly demand from any other club wishing to sign their star.
Indeed, United may in fact hope Barcelona don’t trigger the option in Rashford’s contract in light of his Catalan revival. The club stands to make a much greater profit from any deal if a different side steps up for his signature following what’s been such a successful stint in the shop window to date.
“I think there is a desire there at Barcelona to make some form of statement signing,” Maguire told Mirror Football. “I think Marcus Rashford would fall within that at a relatively cheap price, which gives them sort of a double benefit.”
Maguire, who runs the Price of Football podcast and is highly sought after for his knowledge in football finance, contrasted Barca’s modern model against that of rivals Real Madrid. And whereas Real have sustained an era of success in buying and selling, the Catalan kings have been less reliable maintaining their empire.
“Barcelona are a bit more of a basket case. So, I am concerned with Barcelona’s finances,” he continued. “They have to satisfy La Liga’s cost control rules, which are very onerous.
“Progress in the Champions League, however, could be sufficient to warrant or to free up enough money which would allow them to sign Marcus Rashford, because they could easily make in excess of £100m this year from a good run in the Champions League.”
Rashford is looking the best he has in years(Image: David Ramirez/Getty Images)
There are believed to be reservations from Barca’s side, and understandably so. Rashford is already 28, and Barca’s transfer model in recent years has seen them reluctant to splash out major fees on players over 25, especially those in the forward roles.
And with good reason, considering finances at the Camp Nou are a touchy topic at the best of times. The club’s ongoing stadium renovation has left the coffers relatively dry, and it was even briefly in doubt as to whether Barcelona would be able to register Rashford this season after he was signed.
The forward even agreed to take a 25 per cent pay cut in order to force through a move to Barca, who are covering his wages for the duration of his loan. That decision only enamoured fans in Spain even more with the player, as if his on-field output hasn’t done enough talking.
But the fact remains Rashford is now in his 11th season of senior football and eking ever closer to 30, often deemed a no-go area for some clubs when it comes to more expensive recruits. United will be all too wary of that fact also, particularly after it seems certain bridges were burned back in Manchester.
“It’s a horrible thing to say, because ultimately he’s a young man in a professional elite career, but from an ownership point of view, he’s a wasting asset,” added Maguire. “In the sense that his market value is only going to go down at this point, because whoever buys him will get no resale value in all probability, if he goes at 28 or 29, so it’s a five-year contract.
“There’s no upside towards the end of that contract. So that has to be taken into consideration. Clearly there’s also a breakdown in the relationship between him and senior management at [United], which normally means that a parting of the ways is best for all. It’s now an issue of price and just how keen are Barcelona to sign him.”
Ruben Amorim was reportedly “no longer on speaking terms” with Rashford prior to his loan exit(Image: Getty Images)
For his part, the player has done nothing to dissuade his new club from temptation. Rashford quickly settled in Hansi Flick’s system and has had 18 direct goal involvements (seven goals, 11 assists) in 23 outings across all competitions this season.
Only Ballon d’Or contender Lamine Yamal (nine goals, 11 assists) has contributed more in front of goal for Flick this term. And given the youngster’s standing in Spain, that serves to illustrate the kind of impact Rashford has had for his temporary employers.
Speaking to ESPN in October, Rashford had already made up his mind on whether he would like the stint to become permanent. When asked if he wished to extend his time in Barcelona beyond this season, he replied: “For sure.
“I’m enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game. For a player it is an honour.”
Things appear happier for Rashford off the field, too. It was reported not long after the move to Spain was confirmed that the England attacker was back with former fiancee, Lucia Loi.
The childhood sweethearts were due to be wed after becoming engaged in 2022, only to split the following year. It was around the same time Rashford went from the highest-scoring season of his career to plumbing new depths amid a miserable run of form.
Around the same time, Rashford was pictured arriving back at his Miami hotel at 5am with fitness trainer Courtney Caldwell in June 2023, per The Sun. His wild spell continued into early 2024 when he was disciplined for United for missing training following a boozy night out in Belfast.
Rashford is reportedly back together with childhood sweetheart Lucia Loi(Image: PA)
Lucia is understood to have joined Rashford in Barcelona(Image: Daily Mirror)
So it’s good news for Barca fans that Lucia has reportedly joined Marcus in Spain after patching things up. The Daily Mail cited sources close to the player in August, who suggested Lucia has a huge impact on Rashford’s happiness.
It’s little wonder his form has performed a 180-degree turn in Spain if that is the case. And Barcelona’s loss could prove to be another club’s gain should they reject their first-dibs opportunity to take him up on a long-term deal.
Having only recently turned 28, there’s reason to believe Rashford still has plenty of value left to offer. Even if his signing wouldn’t fit with Barca’s usual recruitment model.
Anyone doubting whether Rashford still had the goods to produce at the highest level has been silenced in recent months. The player’s own comments suggest he’s done with United for good, though there are sure to be plenty who hope that isn’t the case if he can be convinced there’s a future to be had under Amorim.
Either way, Rashford’s resurrection is great news for United, wherever he ends up playing his football next season.
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Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
WORLD NEWS
Majority of Russians expect Ukraine war to end in 2026, state survey finds | Russia-Ukraine war News
‘Main reason for optimism’ is a belief that war in Ukraine will end in 2026 with Moscow’s ‘objectives’ achieved,’ pollster says.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
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A majority of Russians expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2026, a state-owned research centre said, as Russian forces make advances on the battlefield and efforts intensify to reach a ceasefire deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
VTsIOM, Russia’s leading public opinion research centre, said on Wednesday that its annual survey of sentiment around the outgoing year and expectations for the coming year found Russians are viewing 2026 with “growing optimism”.
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“Expectations for next year traditionally look much more optimistic … In other words, while the negative perception of the current situation persists, Russians have become more likely to accept (or believe, hope?) future improvements this year, but they still do so with caution,” the organisation said in a review of its survey findings released online.
In a year-end presentation, VTsIOM deputy head Mikhail Mamonov said 70 percent of 1,600 people surveyed viewed 2026 as being a more “successful” year for Russia than this year, with 55 percent of respondents linking hope for a better year to a possible end to what Russia officially calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“The main reason for optimism is the possible completion of the special military operation and the achievement of the stated objectives, in line with the national interests outlined by the president,” Mamonov said at the presentation.
Mamonov pointed to the Russian military’s ongoing offensive in Ukraine, Washington’s reluctance to finance the Ukraine war and the European Union’s inability to fully replace the United States’ role in Ukraine – financially and militarily – as key factors behind the prospects for an eventual deal to end the fighting.
At the conclusion of the conflict, reintegration of Russian military veterans into society and the reconstruction of Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, as well as Russian border areas, will be the main priorities, Mamonov added.
While the actual level of Russian public fatigue with the war is difficult to measure due to strict state controls on the media, expressions of public dissent as well as the prosecution of those who criticise Moscow’s war on its neighbour, approximately two-thirds of Russians support peace talks, according to independent pollster Levada, the highest number since the start of the war in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in comments released on Wednesday that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Moscow reciprocated by also pulling back its forces and allowed the area to become a demilitarised zone monitored by international forces.
In comments to reporters about an overarching 20-point plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the US had hammered out in Florida in recent days, Zelenskyy also said that a similar arrangement could be possible for the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control.
Russia has given no indication that it will agree to any kind of withdrawal from land it has seized in Ukraine and has long insisted that Kyiv must give up the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas industrial area before any discussions on the cessation of fighting.
Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk – the two regions that make up the Donbas.
Zelenskyy also said that figuring out the future control of the Donbas as part of the plan was “the most difficult point”, and creating a demilitarised economic zone in the region would require difficult discussions on how far troops would be required to move back and where international forces would be stationed.
Such discussions should be held at the leaders’ level, he said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged people to pause, reflect, and draw strength over Christmas, while acknowledging the challenges of his first year in office.
“Christmas is a time to pause, to be grateful, and to draw strength in the circle of family and friends,” —Merz said in a Christmas message posted on X. “I wish you blessed, peaceful Christmas days and confidence for the new year. May this time strengthen and encourage us.”
In a separate video message lasting just over two minutes, Merz looked back on a year shaped by February’s elections, which brought him to power at the head of Europe’s largest economy. He said governing with his conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats had required compromise.
“There were discussions, and not everything went off completely smoothly,” Merz said.
“We need patience and persistence, just as much as the drive to continue to decide the best for our country every day,” he said.
Merz also stressed his government’s focus on Europe’s future, underlining peace, security, and prosperity as core priorities. “In these months and years, it’s about the peace, about the security and about the prosperity of our entire continent,” he said, reiterating his strong support for Ukraine.
NEED TO KNOW
- Julius Campbell, a crossing guard in Milwaukee, is celebrating his 100th birthday
- “I am thankful for getting my flowers while I’m alive,” he tells PEOPLE
- Campbell, a World War II veteran and a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher, says he has no plans on retiring and hopes to live to 104
A crossing guard in Milwaukee just celebrated his 100th birthday — and he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
“I feel very loved,” Julius Campbell tells PEOPLE. “I’m thankful to all who have made me what I am.”
Over the course of his life, Campbell has done a little bit of everything.
In addition to being a World War II veteran who served in the Navy, Campbell founded a church, got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees — and is a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher.
And for over 30 years now, he’s worked as a crossing guard — most recently at Yeshiva Elementary.
“I treasure the friendships,” he says, “and the ties, love and respect I have developed with the community that I’ve served for so long.”
Over the decades, Campbell has received several awards for his commitment to the public and was commemorated by the mayor of Milwaukee with his own day in February. At the local police department’s Merit Awards, he was also honored with the Chief’s Superior Leadership Award.
“I am thankful for getting my flowers while I’m alive,” he tells PEOPLE.
Another special moment came on Dec. 6, when loved ones and other special guests celebrated his milestone birthday, which included public tributes from people whose lives he has touched.
But despite all Campbell has achieved, retirement just isn’t on his bingo card.
“I don’t want to miss that love and connection to this wonderful community,” he explains.
Another way he gives back is by consulting and ministering, following a path that began when he first got his calling as a preacher at the age of 14.
“I like to work with the young people that need guidance,” adds Campbell, who says he started his first church back in 1958. “I help families in need with books, clothing and food programs. Serving God and the community is my hobby.”
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Campbell, who previously told ABC affiliate WISN that his goal was to live to 100, now tells PEOPLE that he has a new one: to live to see 104.
His other goals for the future include staying healthy — mentally and physically — and most importantly, to “continue to serve the community.”
WORLD NEWS
Tense bodycam footage shows cop shove state trooper driving Tennessee House speaker during traffic stop
A Tennessee cop got into a heated confrontation with a highway patrol trooper after he attempted to pull him over while he was driving a local politician.
The trooper was escorting state House Speaker Cameron Sexton in a black SUV when an officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department issued a traffic stop, alleging the trooper was driving 30mph over the speed limit.
The police car drove up to the SUV in the left lane while instructing it to pull over, and the trooper finally complied.
Another officer was heard over the radio saying the SUV refused to stop for them earlier.
When the police officer got out of his vehicle, he yelled at the highway patrol officer to ‘get over here!’
‘I’m highway patrol!’ the trooper replied.
The altercation then turned physical as the officer pushed the trooper and fired back: ‘I don’t care who you are!’
‘Get your freakin’ hands off me,’ the trooper responded.
The cop attempted to pull the vehicle over after recording it moving 30mph over the speed limit
The THP officer was escorting state House Speaker Cameron Sexton during the altercation
The Metro officer threatened the trooper to adhere to the speeding limits before the altercation became physical
The Metro officer then threatened to lock him up, at which point the highway patrol trooper showed his badge and revealed that he was driving the house speaker.
‘If you’re going to run 85mph in a 55mph zone, you’re going to have to yield to police. I don’t care who you are,’ the officer said.
The comment elicited a fiery response from the highway patrol trooper, who replied: ‘I am the police!’
The trooper said he put his blue lights on and gave the officer his badge number. ‘I got business to take care of. We got places to go,’ the trooper added.
‘We’re going to see about that, my friend,’ the officer said before retreating to his police vehicle.
The incident occurred in October, and since then, Sexton’s chief of staff, Kevin Johnson, filed a Citizen Complaint Report against the officer.
Sexton’s office called the Metro police officer ‘overzealous’ in a statement to local CBS affiliate, WKRN.
The speaker’s office defended the highway patrol officer and maintained that no traffic laws were violated before the tense altercation.
Dramatic bodycam and dash camera footage highlights the dramatic clash between the police officer and the highway patrol
Sexton’s office defended the THP trooper in a statement and called the officer ‘overly aggressive’ and ‘overzealous’
The statement claimed that the police officer was ‘overly aggressive’ and placed his hand on the trooper, provoking a reaction.
‘The THP trooper showed restraint and refrained from escalating the situation further,’ Sexton’s office added.
‘In the end cooler heads prevailed. We commend THP for their professionalism and dedication to protect and serve.’
An internal investigation conducted by Metro police concluded that the officer acted reasonably and didn’t violate the department’s rules.
‘The Tennessee Highway Patrol maintains a collaborative working relationship with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department built on mutual respect and shared professionalism, and we’re proud of the work our agencies accomplish together to keep Tennesseans safe,’ THP said in a statement.
Tennessee Fraternal Order of Police President Scottie Delashmit told WKRN that police vehicles performing dignitary detail are still required to adhere to the posted speed limit unless they use emergency lights and sirens.
The Daily Mail has reached out to THP, MNPD, and Sexton’s office for additional comment.